Letter: T-S 8Ja1.3

Description

India Book (IB), II, 75. Letter sent from Aden to Cairo dealing with a package of pearls, which had been the object of litigation before the Nagid (Avraham Maimonides) in Egypt and before Maḍmūn b. David in Aden. The beginning and end of the letter are missing, so that we do not know who the writer and addressee were. The letter deals exclusively with the package of pearls, which belonged to the writer. Someone had arranged for their salvage/release and deposited them in Fustat, in the presence of Avraham Maimonides, with al-Shaykh al-Muwaffaq (‘Successful’). The writer’s business partner later encountered some difficulties in getting Muwaffaq to deliver the bundle, and he made a public report on these difficulties in Aden in Maḍmūn b. David’s presence. Muwaffaq had claimed that he had been instructed to deliver the pearls to another merchant. The writer now appeals to the latter to take delivery of the pearls for him. He suspects that there may be further difficulties in getting ‘Successful’ to relinquish the valuable deposit, however. The Tripolitan merchant ʿAlī the Maghrebi was instructed to bring the merchandise with him when he came to Aden or have an oath imposed on Muwaffaq for breach of trust. The blessing for the dead, added to Moshe Maimonides’ name, ‘may he find mercy!’ suggests that he had passed away recently; the same is suggested (as noted by Goitein) by the informal reference to Avraham Maimonides: ‘the Rayyis Abū l-Munā, the offspring of our master Moshe.' (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book, II, 75.)