Documents

Fragment of a legal document. Menahem b. Shemuel mentioned. Avraham b. Shemaya and Avraham b.

1 Transcription

Document date

4971 Anno Mundi (1210–1211 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Legal document concerning the community in Alexandria sending a sum of money to help repair an old synagogue in Jerusalem. There are five signatures on …

Tags

• 13th c

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Document date

479[0]-479[9] Anno Mundi (11 September 1029–21 September 1039 CE)

Primary language

Hebrew

Part of a legal document dealing with inheritance, mentioning debts and an administrator. Dated 479[.] (= 1029-39 CE). The body of the text mentions Saʿīd b. [...]. Signed by Shelomo [b.] Ṣedaqa, Isaac ha-Kohen and Shelomo he-Ḥaver b. [...].

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter from Yosef b. Farah from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. October 25, 1056. The letter contains details about shipments of dinars for exchange …

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2

Related Places

6

Tags

• suftaja

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation

Primary language

Aramaic

Part of a ketubba, mostly illegible. (Information from CUDL)

Tags

• ketubba
• marriage

No Scholarship Records

Inferred date

1100–1138 CE

Primary language

Aramaic

Recto: geṭ for [...] b. Menaḥem (husband), Dated 1 Iyyar [...]3 in Egypt. It might be possible to calculate an exact date for this document based on when Rosh Ḥodesh Iyyar fell on Shabbat in years ending in __3 during the period when Ḥalfon b. Menashshe was active. Verso: witnessed receipt, signed by [Ḥalfon b.] Menashshe (1100-1138 CE), and […] b. Moses he-Ḥaver.

Related People

1

Tags

• get

1 Transcription

Document date

Iyyar 1443 Seleucid (18 April 1132–16 May 1132 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Two court records in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi (fl. 1100-1138 CE), per Weiss' paleographical assessment. Recto: bill of release from Abū l-Munā to his father-in-law, signed by Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen and Shemuel b. Natan he-Ḥaver. Dating: mentions Iyyar 1443 Seleucid = 1132 CE Verso: document in which a woman collects her ketubba after her husband’s death and a claim is made against her by the heirs.

Related People

1

Related Places

1

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Hebrew

Letter addressing a communal leader, a certain ʿOvadya. Other names mentioned are Yaʿaqov b. Aba Mari Moshe, and [...] b.

Related Places

1

Tags

• iran

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Aramaic

Power of attorney appointing Yeshuʿa b. Ḥananya as agent. Dating: Probably ca. 11th century, but no date is legible. (Information in part from CUDL)

No Scholarship Records

Inferred date

1007–1055 CE

Primary language

Hebrew

It is unclear which "island" the address may refer to, however, for medieval references to properties on Nile islands near Cairo/Fustat, see for example: BL OR 5557B.17 (PGPID 30831), T-S 8J34.4 (PGPID 7720).

Tags

• island

1 Discussion

Primary language

Hebrew

Poem of praise, or example of a poetic opening to a letter addressed to a community. Excerpts: בשורו בן בליעל . . . חשבו צר …

No Scholarship Records

Inferred date

1007–1055 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter from Ismaʿīl b. Barhūn al-Tahartī (CUDL), Yosef b. Berekhya or Moshe b. Barhun al-Taharti, Qayrawān (PGP), to (Efrayim b.) Shemarya, Fustat. Discusses responsa of …

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1

Related Places

2

Tags

• geonim
• musa al-taherti
• qayrawan
• responsum

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation

Primary language

Hebrew

Poetical opening of a letter to the Nagid Mevorakh (Mevorakh b. Saʿadya, 1079-1111 CE). (Information from CUDL) On verso there are jottings in Arabic script in a rudimentary hand (وكبت اعداها...).

Related People

1

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Fragment of a letter in which the writer describes a business affair in which he was under threat (taḥta al-tahdīd) and also involved the sultan. …

Tags

• business

1 Transcription

Primary language

Hebrew

Recto: Note to a man with many titles. In the margin there is the actual information: someone had gone to Rashid and Abu l-Faraj and …

Related Places

3

Tags

• minyat zifta
• rashid

1 Transcription

Primary languages

Hebrew, Judaeo-Arabic

Daniel probably to a personality in Fustat, late 11th century.

Tags

• 11th c

2 Transcriptions 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Commentary or discussion in Judaeo-Arabic on the difference between men and animals, with citations from Ecclesiastes 3:17 and Psalms 49:21.

1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Apparently the addressee sent him a sheep (kharūf) with Abū Ṣāliḥ in lieu of a response, which also pained him, because of the trouble the addressee had to go to. Mentions Abū Saʿīd Ibn al-Dust[arī = Tustarī?]. A notable called here Sayyidnā recently had a baby girl, and the sender expresses his hope that a boy will be born to him.

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Dating: ca. 1062. The writer mentions a shipment of goods and he is interested to know the prices for several items.

Related People

2

Related Places

2

Tags

• 11th c

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Dating: There are reports of men seized for forced labor to dig a ditch around the city. […] The city is locked up, and forced labor is imposed upon the population." The writer then gives a detailed report about the medical condition and treatment of a woman who had been injured in an unrelated accident, then discusses some small errands, then an important family affair, and concludes with greetings to at least fifteen persons. […] Information and translations from Goitein, Med Soc, V, 56, and note cards #27138–39. This date-palm plaster is recommended for treating wounds and abscesses in the medievalmedical literature—a Google search of مرهم نخلي will lead to citations in works by the Andalusians Aḥmad b.

Related Places

1

Tags

• alexandria
• corvee
• crusade
• illness
• illness letter 969-1517
• (+ 9 more)

2 Transcriptions 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Mainly in Judaeo-Arabic, with the last few words in the margin in Arabic script. Moshe has apparently quarreled with his wife. […] Goitein reconstructs the situation somewhat differently, "The writer's wife quarreled with the wife of the recipient.... The recipient should visit next Sunday, since he was at peace with the writer's wife.

Related Documents

1

Tags

• abu sahl levi
• astrologer
• marital conflict

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Arabic

Letter or possibly a decree to a lower official in a chancery hand. Upper part only. Someone has attempted to wash out the text of …

Related Documents

1

Tags

• chancery

1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter sent by a young weaver to a woman, probably his aunt, reporting that he is looking for a place to stay and for work. Mentions people such as al-Najīb, the sender's paternal uncles Hiba and Abū l-Majd, and his paternal aunt and her son Abū l-Ḥasan.

Related Places

1

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Arabic

Verso (original use): Small fragment of an account in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals.

Related Documents

1

Tags

• account

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

(Information from Mediterranean Society, V, 34, where there is a full translation.)

Related Documents

1

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary languages

Arabic, Greek/Coptic Numerals

Accounts containing a list of names and numbers in Arabic script with Coptic numerals, in the right margin and on the back of a letter …

Related Documents

1

Tags

• account
• coptic numerals

1 Discussion

Primary languages

Arabic, Judaeo-Arabic

(Information from Mediterranean Society, V, p. 365) Reused for Arabic accounts with Coptic numerals (see PGPID 35173).

Related Documents

1

Tags

• alexandria
• communal
• complaints
• petition
• qaraites

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Arabic

Recto: Official letter in Arabic script. The beginnings of four lines are preserved. Refers to the beginning of the ebbing of the Nile. The rest …

Related People

1

Related Documents

1

No Scholarship Records

Inferred date

1007–1055 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Referring to a speech made by Abū Isḥāq (Avraham b. Sahlān), a member of the Babylonian yeshiva, concerning the eclipse of the exclusive juridical authority of the Palestinian yeshiva (i.e. the authority of Efrayim b.

Related People

1

Related Documents

1

Tags

• 11th c
• efrayim b. shemarya
• yeshiva

1 Transcription 1 Translation 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

On verso is the continuation of the letter and a (draft of a) letter in a different hand and ink, mentioning Abū Zechariah b. Menashshe and expressing the hope that [...] b.

Related People

1

Related Places

2

Tags

• 11th c
• nahray b. nissim
• trade

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter from Farah b. Yusuf sending condolences for the death of a relative of the addressee and also discussing business. (Information from Gil)

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter addressed to R. Yiṣḥaq by way of Binyamin ha-Zaqen. In Judaeo-Arabic. Repeating a request that a cantor leave the capital for the writer's village …

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Beginning and address of a letter from Tahor b. Avraham to the judge Eliyyahu b. Zechariah. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Tags

• communal

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter fragment from an unidentified sender, in Damsīs, to Abū l-Faraj Yosef b. Yaʿaqov Ibn ʿAwkal, likely in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: first half of …

Related Documents

1

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation 1 Discussion

Primary language

Arabic

Account referring to rent for a house and listing amounts and names. Written on the back of a letter (see separate entry).

Related Documents

1

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

The clothes got wet during the sailing. Also mentions pearls. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, vol. 4, pp. 274-276, #687).

Related Places

2

Tags

• trade

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter fragment in the hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. Mentions: papers (awrāq), riqāʿ, the judge Menaḥem and the son of the judge (Ibn al-Dayyan); dodder (aftīmūn); Ibn Abū l-Zakkār; business transactions; R.

Tags

• shelomo b. eliyyahu

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Dating: 11th or 12th century. mentioning the recipient's deliverance from some disaster.

1 Transcription

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Business letter from Rahamim b. 'Imran in Tinnis to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat. Dated ca. 1055.

Related People

2

Related Places

1

Tags

• nahray b. nissim
• trade

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation 1 Discussion

Primary languages

Hebrew, Judaeo-Arabic

The addressee may be the judge Abū l-Bayān Moshe (the sender swears by his name on verso, בחיאה מולאי אלדיין אבו אלביאן ר משה), whom Goitein tentatively identifies as Moshe b. Mevorakh. The sender fears that he himself will not succeed if he approaches the government about some affair; so he wants the addressee or another dignitary to act on his behalf in this (r4). He explains that the request "is the interests of your congregation and nation, it is not for me myself, I have no needs at all myself" (v3).

Tags

• appeal
• illness letter 969-1517
• illness: injury
• to edit

1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Concerning business matters such as the sale of gum mastic, and mentioning people including Tamīm Ibn al-Zayyāt, Munajjā b.

1 Discussion

Details about payments and supplies that the writer sends to Musa’s family in Alexandria. MentionsMevorakh b. Se’adya the Nagid, about helping orphans.

Related People

2

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

The sender had previously sent a letter to Abū Isḥāq with the warning that the capitation tax collectors would arrest the addressee because of his family members. However God has provided and they have been able to pay the tax.

Related Places

3

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Inferred date

1355–1367 CE

Primary languages

Hebrew, Judaeo-Arabic

Letter from the wife of Baṣīr (or rather Nuṣayr) the bell-maker (al-jalājilī) to the Nagid David II Maimonides, asking him to help return her husband, who was living in a Sufi community, to his family and to the Jewish faith. She also asks for medicine for her child. "Our Lord has promised the little one a medicine for the ear, for he suffers from it. There is no harm in trying it out, seeing that even the barber is playing with it without experience. May God have mercy!" Goitein suggests that the last line in Arabic script may be a notation from the addressee reading ليلتها ("this very night"), however this is unlikely; what is expected after ורחמה is the phrase الله وبركاته, which also fits the rasm better [ASE].

Related People

1

Tags

• david ii maimonides
• distant husband
• illness
• illness letter 969-1517
• illness: barber
• (+ 4 more)

1 Transcription 1 Translation

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

(Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 294, 588)

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Document date

1464-07-19 Seleucid (17 March 1153 CE)

The divorce is between Menashshe ha-Get (the proselyte) and [. . .] bt. Shela. The witnesses are Saʿadya b. Mevorakh and Mevorakh b. Natan. The verso contains the acceptance of the bill of divorce by the wife, signed also by Saʿadya b. Mevorakh and Mevorakh b. Natan. (Information from Goitein's index card) Edition from Yagur's dissertation, #4

Related Places

1

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter by Avraham b. Natan ('ata) concerning the disorder in Tunis and concerning the burial of his father in Jerusalem, 1st quarter of the 11th …

Tags

• 11th c
• avraham b. natan
• tunis
• unrest
• war

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation 1 Discussion

Primary languages

Hebrew, Judaeo-Arabic

Notice from Eli 'Keton ha-Ḥaverim' to Josiah ha-Nasi b. Shelomo ha-Nasi. Informing Josiah ha-Nasi that his opponent Abu al-'Ala had not appeared in the synagogue. …

Tags

• mosul nasis

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Contains multiple references to jahbadh fees, as well as mention of a rūznāma (variant of rūznāmaj).

Related People

2

Related Places

4

Tags

• 11th c
• barhun b. musa
• busir
• jahbadh
• nahray b. nissim
• (+ 2 more)

3 Transcriptions 1 Translation 1 Discussion