Letter: T-S NS 320.129a

Letter T-S NS 320.129a

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Input date

In PGP since 2019

Description

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 11th century or early 12th century. Mentions Abū Kathīr; the sender was distressed to learn that the addressee received the money (al-danānīr) but not the belts (al-zanānir); he swears by all that he believes in that he has sworn in front of Jews and Muslims that Abū l-ʿIzz is the most trustworthy man who lives: "If I had 1,000 Maʿaddī dinars with him, it would be as if they were in my own chest and under my lock, may God avenge [...] if you say the opposite of what I believe." (Maʿaddī dinars are mentioned again on verso and also in ENA 4011.72 from 1100 CE; presumably they refer to dinars minted under the caliph Abū Tamīm Maʿaa al-Mustanṣir, who died in 1094 CE.) At the bottom of recto, the letter mentions a ḥaver and someone named Muḥammad al-Būnī. Almost all of the text on verso consists of detailed business accounting, with references to multiple types of currency.