Letter: AIU VII.E.21

Description

Continuation of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic (likely the last of multiple pages). The sender is rejoicing at an unexpected happy turn in a serious affair. He says he set out to kiss the feet of the addressee in gratitude, but he fell sick in Banhā and was also sought out by the tax collectors. Some of the next lines are faded, but he later returned (home?) and decided to fast for 30 days and donate a dinar to the poor, and his children likewise. He also reports on the farming out of a concession for bee-keeping; Abū l-Ṭayyib al-Naḥḥāl has died and left behind him 300 hives. His son-in-law approached the sender with a request for letters to the addressee for transferring the documents from the name of Abū l-Ṭayyib to his name. However, the bearer of the current letter then approached the sender and offered a higher bid. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)