State document: MIAC 23973.46

State document MIAC 23973.46

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  • 1 Translation

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Letter from the amīr Kanz al-Dawla, probably in Aswān, to al-Bazīl, the deputy (nāʾib) of the eparch Abū l-Khayr Darmā, in Qalʿat Ibrīm. The sender is likely the same as in docs. 1 and 8 (see Khan, Medieval Nubia, p. 52). The sender has the epithet al-ʿĀḍidī, indicating that he was affiliated with the caliph al-ʿĀḍid (r. 1160–71). The eparch Darmā (ⲇⲁⲣⲙⲉ) is mentioned in Nubian documents dating from 1155 to 1187; he appears also in doc. 23. The current letter is sent with a man called "the head" (al-raʾīs) and the addressee is asked to protect him from harassment in Nubia. The fragment was reused for a private letter (doc. 35, PGPID 40707). Alternative readings (ASE): In l. 5 it is possible to read ومن معه من تجار وغيرهم ("and those merchants and others who are with him") Khan, Qaṣr Ibrīm, doc. 26.

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MIAC 23973.46 recto

°
recto
Geoffrey Khan, Arabic Documents from Medieval Nubia (University of Cambridge and Open Book Publishers, 2024).
  1. بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
  2. اعلم البزيل النائب عن صاحب الخيل بقلعة ابريم
  3. ادام الله حراسته وسلامته ونعمته ان
  4. متحمل هذه السطور الرئيس كتب ه الل سلامته
  5. فيجب اعزازه واكرامه وحماية خيانته ومن يتعد من تجار وغريم
  6. وكف اسباب المضار عنهم حتى ينكفوا عنها وهم شاكرين ان شا الله
  7. والحمد لله وحده وصلواته على سيدنا محمد النبى واله الطاهرين
Geoffrey Khan, Arabic Documents from Medieval Nubia (University of Cambridge and Open Book Publishers, 2024).
  1. In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate.
  2. I inform al-Bazīl, the deputy of the Master of the Horses in the fortress of Ibrīm—
  3. may God cause his protection, safety and wellbeing to endure—that
  4. the bearer of these lines is the Head, may God decree his safety,
  5. and he must be shown favour and respect, and be protected from breach of trust and from unjust treatment by merchants and competitors,
  6. and the means of harm should be removed from them until they willingly desist from causing such harm, if God wills.
  7. Praise be to God alone and His blessings be upon our lord Muḥammad, the prophet, and his pure family.

MIAC 23973.46 verso

°
verso

Verso - address

  1. البزيل النائب عن صاحب الخيل
  2. ووزير الملك واكشيله ابى الخير درما
  3. ادام الله حراسته وسلامته ونعمته
  4. من الامير السعيد المخلص المنصور عضد الخلافة
  5. عز الملك تاج الامرا فخر العرب كنز الدولة
  6. وعمدتها ذو الفخر وحسام امير المومنين
  7. العاضدى الجيوشى

Verso - address

  1. Al-Bazīl, the deputy of the Master of the Horses
  2. and vizier of the king and his Ikshīl, Abū al-Khayr Darmā,
  3. may God cause his protection, safety and wellbeing to endure.
  4. From the auspicious, devoted and victorious commander, the Power of the Caliphate,
  5. the Might of the Kingdom, Crown of Commanders, Pride of the Arabs, Treasure of the Dynasty (Kanz al-Dawla)
  6. and its Support, the Glorious One, Sword of the Commander of the Faithful,
  7. al-ʿĀḍid, Commander of the Armies.