Letter: JRL Series A 284

Description

Letter in what Goitein identifies as the handwriting and style of well-known India trader Abu Nasr Avraham informing recipient about events, apparently taking place in the Red Sea. On the recto, the author alludes to travel to or from Dahlak, mentions an unspecified group of islands (possibly the Dahlak archipelago itself), a sojourn of 18 days in Dahlak, and the arrival of an unnamed individual from Aden, and wishes for favorable winds and safe arrivals. The verso contains greetings to a number of people (legible among them are Ibn Yaḥyā, Musallam, al-shaykh Yaʿqūb and Abū Naṣr al-Ḥalabi) and gives date as the 6th of month of Av. Abū Naṣr al-Ḥalabī appears as al-tājir, the merchant, in the extant document of his wife's deathbed declaration preserved and dated to 26th of Iyyar 1454/April 13 1143. (Information from R.E. Margariti and S. D. Goitein, 'India Book' VI.40/IB.94; Mediterranean Society 5:151-155)