Letter: T-S NS J291

Description

Beginning and end of an important business letter written probably after the arrival of the sender from al-Mahdiyya to Alexandria, containing a list of prices in al-Mahdiyya. Dated to the end of the 11th or the beginning of the 12th century. There are greetings from "I, Abū l-Surūr" at the end, which could mean either that the sender is Abū l-Surūr or that Abū l-Surūr served as scribe for the sender. The journey from al-Mahdiyya to Alexandria took an unusually long time (35 days). Commodities include: amber or ambergris; lac; pepper; costus; brazilwood; indigo; good flax; purple textiles; wool; moringa; spikenard. The sender is concerned about ʿAllān and Abū Yaʿqūb and requests to hear their news and the news of the children. Most of verso is a detailed discussion of a legal case involving a woman, orphans, powers of attorney, and 200 dinars. The parties have sent letters to "Sayyidnā" regarding this lawsuit. Greetings are sent to Abū l-Iṣḥaq. Reused for jotted Judaeo-Arabic accounts on verso. (Information in part from CUDL and Mediterranean Society, I, p. 221.)