Letter: T-S Misc.28.183

Description

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Quite long, and written in an elegant script. The sender gives a convoluted account of a business/legal dispute, involving stakes of over 150 dinars and the underhanded tactics of another merchant. This man was preparing to travel to the West from Rashīd. He gave his merchandise to his wife and his daughter, so that when the Jews asked his father and brother where his goods were, they said "we have nothing, it's all with his wife." Then the women interrogated the wife, who said that she had only 2 dinars and 2 qirats. Her father rebuked her for admitting this, saying that now all of the husband's creditors would come and demand their due. She then reneged on her declaration before the judge. The story goes on. The sender hopes that the addressee will write a letter supporting his side of the case to the judge. Places mentioned: Tripoli (Libya) and 'the West.' People mentioned: ʿAmmār b. al-Dayyān, ʿImrān, Ibn Shammārī, a Rayyis who died, and aṣḥabunā al-Barqiyyīn wa-l-Ghurabā (associates from al-Barqa and the West). Needs further examination. On verso a business account in Judaeo-Arabic (in a different hand).