Letter: T-S 8.69

Description

India Book VI,22. Letter from Makhlūf b. Mūsā to an unknown recipient (the address is cut off). Dating: ca. 1134–35. Deals with the Indian Ocean trade. Includes commercial queries and reports on the one hand, and muttered imprecations against his adversaries on the other. One object of his ire is Ibn Yijū, who had come west from India, most likely to Aden, and whom Makhlūf had tried and failed to see. Another is Maḥrūz: Makhlūf had asked Maḥrūz in several letters whether someone (possibly Ibn Yijū) had stayed or traveled with his assets, and Makhlūf reports having made several queries to the addressee that have gone unanswered. He also wants to know who resides in Bilād al-Hind. The interpersonal dynamics are difficult to follow owing to the fragmentary state of the letter. Among the commercial matters on Makhlūf’s mind is how oil is selling where the addressee is. He promises to send him whatever is suitable for purchase, even if it is expensive. He discusses a khazz (high-quality silk) robe, two fūṭas made in the Fayyumī town of Būsh, a small sack of cowries, a long, embroidered textile that he had commissioned for his son and a payment or delivery to Zikrī b. Sar Shalom, likely Abū Zikrī b. al-Shāmī b. Sar Shalom, an India trader and nākhudā who eventually died in a shipwreck between Aden and India. Makhlūf also mentions an ivory trader residing in one of his houses who possesses mother-of-pearl that Makhlūf intends to use for wooden clogs (either as inlay or to sell and spend the proceeds).