Literary text: T-S AS 205.197

Description

Story in Judaeo-Arabic. A merchant arrived in a certain city together with a female slave (jāriya). He came to a "qaysariyya" (on which see Goitein, Med Soc I, p. 194; but in context here it seems to refer to an inn (or brothel?)) and approaches the "wakīla" (female agent, but in context here seems to refer to a proprietress (or madam?)) and asks if she has a room (ʿindik ḥujra?). She has a room (fa-qālat naʿam). He takes the room and spends some a period of time there. "She" (the enslaved woman?) gets to know the proprietress (taʿarrafat bi-l-wakīla) who turns out to be "kind (anīsa), affectionate (muḥibba), literate (? katība), noble (ḥasība), and learned (ʿālima). She "wrote on the wall poetry and grammar and [...]." The handwriting is similar to that of T-S 12.257 + T-S AS 145.278 + T-S K25.209 (PGPID 7184), but is probably not the same.