Letter: Unknown (excavation registration number 74/12; photograph 27)
Letter Unknown (excavation registration number 74/12; photograph 27)What's in the PGP
- 1 Transcription
- 1 Translation
Description
Letter to the Nubian eparch Īsū in Ibrīm from the qāḍī Abū l-Faḍl Muḥammad ibn al-Fātiḥ. The qāḍī is writing from Aswān, where he has just arrived safely. He asks Īsū to extend his protection towards his colleague (ṣāhib) and the bearer of this letter, Hibat Allāh ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qulzumī. The letter indicates that an armed garrison post played an important role in controlling the flow of traffic in this transitional zone between Egypt and Nubia. Abū l-Faḍl Muḥammad asks Īsū to extend his protection towards Hibat Allāh's colleagues in the armed garrison post (al-maslaḥa or al-musallaḥa). He is likely referring here to the armed garrison at al-Qaṣr, which is located south of Philae on the east bank of the Nile (Khan, 86–87, 219–220), and is only a few miles south of Aswān, where the sender is located. PG. Khan, Qaṣr Ibrīm, doc. 19.
Tags
Editor: Khan, Geoffrey
Translator: Khan, Geoffrey (in English)
Unknown (excavation registration number 74/12; photograph 27) recto
Recto
- بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
- اعلم صاحب الخيل [ووزير الملك] اطال الله بقاه وادام تاييده وحراسته
- وسلامته ورفعته وصولي الى ثغر اسوان حماه الله [ ] واعتمد على
- وصول موصل كتابي هذا [من ...] ناحيتى هبة الله بن ابرهيم بن عبد الرحمن القلزمى وانا
- [ تـ]ـخلي انفاذ رسول اليها بعد ذلك وليسلم ان يتقدم الى اصحابه مراعات
- صاحبي المذكور وحمايته واصحابه في المسلحة ايضًا بذلك حتى يصلني كتابه شاكرا لها فانا الشاكر
- له على ذلك والمكافي وكتابه واسل ويخليني منه مضمو[ن الـ]ـشكر اخباره واحواله فاني اسر
- بذلك وابتهج ان شا الله
- والحمد لله وحده وصلواته على محمد ومن خلفه وصحبه وسلم تسليما وسلامه
- حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل
Recto
- In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate.
- I inform the Master of the Horses [and vizier of the king]—may God prolong his life, cause his support, his guardianship,
- his safety and his high office to endure—of my arrival at the border of Aswan, may God protect it, [ ] and I trust that
- the conveyor of this letter of mine from me, Hibat Allāh ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Qulzumī, has arrived. I
- [request that you arrange for] the dispatch of a messenger to it (Aswan?) afterwards. Please ensure that he proceeds safely to his colleagues, and take care of
- this colleague of mine and protect him, and also his colleagues in the armed garrison post, in order that his lettermay reach me, thankfully, here (Aswan). I thank
- him for that and shall requite him. I request that he writes—for which I would be most grateful—concerning his news and his situation. I would be glad
- of that and delighted, if God wills.
- Praise be to God alone, and His blessings be upon Muḥammad, those who succeeded him and companions, and may He save (them), and His peace.
- Our sufficiency is God. What a fine keeper is He!
Unknown (excavation registration number 74/12; photograph 27) verso
Verso, address, right column
- لصاحب الخيل ووزير الملك ابي الخير يسوا
- متولي بلاد مريس مكن واعمالها
- اطال الله بقاه وادام سلامته
Verso, address, left column
- من القاضي ابي الفضل محمد بن الفاتح
- ابن عبد الله الحسيني القاضي
- الموفق السديد ثقة الملك
Verso, address, right column
- To the Master of the Horses and vizier of the king, Abū al-Khayr Īsū,
- the governor of the land of Marīs Migin and its districts,
- may God prolong his life and cause his safety to endure.
Verso, address, left column
- From the judge Abū al-Faḍl Muḥammad ibn al-Fātiḥ
- ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusaynī, the
- prosperous and just judge, Trust of the Kingdom.