Letter: ENA 3930.4

Letter ENA 3930.4

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Description

Letter in Arabic script. Addressed to someone titled al-amīr al-ajall reporting on a ship bearing wood (markab al-ḥaṭb) that arrived at the port of Fusṭāṭ on the Nile (al-ṣināʿa maḥrūsa). “The ship bearing wood has arrived after a delay. I’m sorry for the delay, it’s not my habit. Please hold off Ibn al-Tabbān and tell him to wait until a fiscal official (ʿāmil) is available to […].” It seems that the addressee was in the service of al-Afḍal b. Badr al-Jamālī, hence the letter could be dated to that period. On verso, there are various jottings and pen trials in Hebrew and Arabic script. Needs examination. ASE, YU, MR

ENA 3930.4 recto

recto

Transcription

Yusuf Umrethwala and Alan Elbaum, unpublished editions (n.p., 2022).
  1. بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

  2. اعلم حضرة مولاي الامير

  3. الاجل ادام الله عزه رب(؟)

  4. انتق….. اقول لك فيما يتعلق

  5. مركب الحطب الذي وصل

  6. الى الصناعة المحروسة 

  7. عمرها ببقا مولاي الافضل

  8. احياه الله وثبت اياديه (ايامه:alt)

  9. وقد سمعت ان قد انعاق

  10. وهذا ما جرى لي به عادة

  11. وانا اسل حضرتك ان تشيل عني

  12. ابن التبان وتقول له يقعـ[ـد

  13. الى يفرغ  عامل يعمل في

  14.  حبل؟ ويكون لك بهذا

  15. الفوز الاعظم ان شا

  16. الله تعالى (؟) الله (؟)

Translation

Yusuf Umrethwala, unpublished translations (n.p., 2023).
  1. In the name of God, most merciful and benevolent

  2. I inform my master, the illustrious Amīr

  3. may God perpetuate his glory

  4. I report to you regarding

  5. the shipment of wood which has arrived

  6. at Ṣināʿt al-Maḥrūsa (the port of Fusṭāṭ)

  7. its continued existence is because of my Master al-Afḍal [b. Badr al-Jamālī or al-Afḍal Kutayfāt b. al-Afḍal b. Badr al-Jamālī]

  8. may God make his existence eternal and perpetuate his reign

  9. I have heard that there was a delay in this shipment,

  10.  I am sorry for this delay, it is not my habit, 

  11.  I request your eminence to hold off Ibn Tabbān and tell him to sit

  12.  until a fiscal officer/labourer is available in

  13.  ……this will reap manifold profits for you, 

  14.  God willing

ENA 3930.4 verso

verso
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  • ENA 3930.4: Images provided by the Jewish Theological Seminary Library (JTSL) CC-Zero / Public Domain