State document: Moss. IXa,2.37

Description

State document, in Arabic script. The perfumers/druggists (ʿaṭṭārīn) petition to the Ayyubid Sultan al-Malik al-Ṣālīḥ regarding the injustice of the notables (ʿurafa) in the construction of the garden of al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ Najm al-dīn Ayyūb (The garden is believed to have been constructed near the Bāb al-Lūq). Their trade has been affected by this and they have been unfairly demanded money. This petition could refer to the unfair market conditions during that time. “The slaves, druggists/perfumers of Fusṭāṭ, are oppressed by the injustice of the ʿUrafā(notables) in the construction of the garden of al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ, may God glorify him, and they have been affected by the magnitude of which cannot be known, from the seizure of business arrangements/partnerships, and they demanded from us a raṭal for the sake of……. 20 raṭals and …..3000 dīnārs and there remained no Jew or a Christian…”. Needs examination.