Letter: ENA 3921.1

Description

Letter from Ṣāliḥ b. Ṣāʿid b. Saʿīd, in Mirbāṭ (in present-day Oman), to Abū l-Surur Faraḥ b. ʿAbbās al-ʿAsqalānī. In Arabic script. Dating: probably 12th century. The sender reports that he had sent the addressee a number of letters from Nahrwāra (Anahilavada, present-day Patan in Gujarat) and from Mirbāṭ, but he has received no response. He emphasizes how much he yearns for news of the people in Egypt/Fustat "and news of the journey" (akhbār al-ṭarīq). Bū l-Faraj Ibn Qasāsā arrived and conveyed "news of the traders (al-nās), who has died and who is alive, and we praised God and thanked Him." The bottom part of the letter is mostly missing. In the continuation the sender inquires about various other items of news including "the passage to Jidda." MCD/ASE