Letter: T-S 12.470

Description

Letter in Arabic to a certain Amīr [...] al-Dawla wa-[...]hā, perhaps reporting on business setbacks and the imposition of a new tax. The sender begins the letter saying - “the justice of the amīr has engulfed every person” and then expresses his gratitude and prayers for the amīr. He then conveys a prevailing issue on the coast of the upper Nile delta (al-ṣaʿīd al-aʿlā) which has greatly affected the poor and weak. Here, “rusūm” could refer to a new tax levied upon the population. “None of the dīwāns accept them, and they have to pay it in agreement and disagreement. If one of them seeks help, no one lends a helping hand, if they seek solace, no one grants it to them. All of them are in a similar situation.” It seems that when the addressee - the amīr - looked into their affairs, no one was brave enough to convey this in his presence, hence the petitioner is reporting the affairs to him. The text in the margin mentions some form of wool cultivation, clauses of damages and the wool brokers of Ushmunayn and Fayyūm. The name of the Amīr could be Rashīd al-Dawla wa-Muṣīhā but this admittedly is just a guess. YU.