Letter: Halper 466

Description

Pledges for ransom of captives. A pledge-drive (pesiqa) for the man from Antioch for the ransom of his children. In four columns divided further into six sections. The sums are astoundingly small. The total, which must have been less than 10 dinars, was far less than the amount needed to ransom one captive. The man from Antioch, which was taken by the Crusaders in 1098, might have been ransomed by money given by a notable, partly to be restituted by the community. Our list might have been drawn up for such a purpose. There are other possibilities, too (see Goitein). The Hebrew term ransom of captives was also applied to many different states of hardship, e.g. a man in prison for failure of paying taxes. [Abu] Sa'd the katib (government official) pledges a quarter gold dinar. Around 1100. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 507, App. C 135.) There are numerous fragments in the hand of the same scribe, e.g., T-S Ar.34.186; see Penn catalog (https://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0002/html/h466.html) for the list.