Letter: AIU VII.E.43

Description

Verso: Letter probably from Binyām the druggist of Rashīd, in Alexandria, to Abū Saʿīd al-ʿAfṣī, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 12th century. (This sender, who left us numerous letters, has a confusing habit of writing מולאי אבו סעיד בניאם at the tops of his letters, making it seem that Binyām is part of Abū Saʿīd's name.) The letter entirely consists of instructions for selling and buying pharmaceutical goods, including wormwood (afsantīn), tamarind, and antimony (rāṣakht). Abū [...] Ibn Shaʿyā is mentioned. Written on a recycled official document (PGPID 30345). ASE.