Letter: T-S Ar.39.480

Letter T-S Ar.39.480

Metadata

Shelfmark
T-S Ar.39.480
Primary Language
Arabic

What's in the PGP

  • Image

Description

Letter from Ṭāhir, in Qūṣ, to his mother, in Alexandria. In Arabic script; large, very regular characters. Dating: Possibly 11th century. Goitein notes that this fragment is a palimpsest, but the 'undertext' may simply be a mirror-image imprint. The sender has rented animals (either donkeys or camels) to travel to ʿAydhāb for 8 dinars. He hopes to set sail at the end of Rajab. A large part of the letter is devoted to greetings to everybody at home and requests for prayers. He reports that a man known as [...] al-Farsī (or al-Qurashī?) told him that his cousins (awlād ʿammī) are well, living in a place called تبليه ?نبايه? in Yemen. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card and attached notes.)

Related Places

Destination
Alexandria
Mentioned
ʿAydhāb
Origin
Qūṣ

Tags

Additional metadata

Provenance
Geniza
Collection
Cambridge University Library, Taylor-Schechter
Historical shelfmarks
TS Arabic Box 39, f. 480; TS Arabic Box 39, fol. 480
Input date
In PGP since 2017
Image
Transcription
Translation

T-S Ar.39.480 1r

°
1r

T-S Ar.39.480 1v

°
1v
Image Permissions Statement
Cambridge University Library, Taylor-Schechter, T-S Ar.39.480. Available online through the Princeton Geniza Project at https://geniza.princeton.edu/documents/9218/ (accessed June 9, 2026).