Documents

Document date

1219–20 Hijrī (1804–1806 CE)

Primary language

Arabic

the ground rent (ḥikr) of a certain qāʿa located in ḥārat al-yahūd located on darb al-qaraʾiyyīn for a period of two years, 1219–20 AH (=1804–06 CE) by the Hijri calendar, for a yearly rate of 615 (medins?)[…] Signed by the Ḥājj Aḥmad Luṭfī al-ʿAṭṭār in the right margin.

Tags

• hikr
• rent

1 Transcription

Letter from Natan b. Nahray, from Alexandria, to Musa b. Abi al-Hayy, Fustat. Around the spring of 1080.

Related People

2

Related Places

1

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation

Document date

1529 Seleucid (1217–1218 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Dated: 1529 Seleucid, which is 1217/18 CE, under the reshut of Avraham Maimonides. In which Abū al-Barakāt/Berakhot al-Sukkarī releases his maternal aunt Sitt al-Khibāʾ bt.

Related People

1

Tags

• avraham maimonides

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter asking for charity in which the writer describes how “exacting” the upcoming holiday of Passover is in terms of expenses, noting that his "prayer shawl" for Sabbath is torn and although it’s patched, he’s embarrassed to been seen it. He also mentions the purchase (not yet carried out) of new bowls and cups for Passover.

Tags

• petition
• poverty
• private

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter from Abū l-Faraj al-Kohen known as Ibn Qasāsa to Abū ʿAlī Yeḥezqel b. […] Concerning business matters; mentions commodities such as a kerchief (‘mandīl’), cushions (‘makhādd’), and cotton; mentions people such as al-Bayrūtī.On verso there is a postscript or draft of a letter in a different hand as well as one line in Arabic script.

Tags

• business
• trade

1 Transcription

Primary language

Hebrew

רויה) to a ḥaver who was the leader of the Fustat community, currently in Alexandria.The sender asks him to force a "cut-off" man named Yosef to repay a loan of 2.5 dinars. The sender wanted to travel to Malij to find Yosef because the latter intended to leave for Tyre and Jerusalem, but the parnas ʿAllūn and the wife of the ḥaver held him back with force.

Related Places

4

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Document date

Tishrei 1483 Seleucid (1171 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Dated: Tishrei 1483 Seleucid, which is 1171 CE, under the authority (reshut) of Maimonides. Sitt al-Ḥusn bt. Moshe, the widow of Abū l-Khayr wishes to marry Abū ʿAlī b. Abū l-Ḥasan al-Kohen and asks her elder son Abū Naṣr to release her.

1 Discussion

Document date

19 Shevat 1329 Seleucid (7 February 1018 CE)

The Gaon writes after he has been asked to write to Fustat on behalf of one of the community members in Baghdad, Ali b. Bishr, whose brother, Yosef b. Bishr, is in Fustat and needs help. The writer also informs Elhanan that the Sura Gaon Dosa b. Seadya passed away.

Related Places

1

Tags

• babylonian geonim
• communal

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Inferred date

966–966 CE

Primary language

Hebrew

Confirmation of a former deed of sale in which Yosef and Maymūn sons of Yaʿaqov al-Ghallāq (? אלגלאק) are interested. The document in question was drawn up in 966 CE before the Beth Din in Qaṣr al-Shamʿ (inferred dating: 966 CE or later). Of the five original witnesses, only ʿAli b. Shelomo is still living, and he confirmed that his own signature was valid, and others were brought to confirm the remaining signatures.

Related Places

2

No Scholarship Records

Document date

4980 Anno Mundi (12 September 1219–30 August 1220 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Legal document. Location: Alexandria. Dated: 4980 AM, which is 1219/20 CE, under the authority of Avraham Maimonides. Involving Yefet ha-Rofe and his wife Sitt al-[..]Mʿ, and the right of living in an upper floor.

Related Places

1

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

In another part it mentions the Christian eating an animal (or a sacrifice) that had been forbidden to the Jew and Muslim. Also mentions Muslim jurisprudents (fuqahāʾ), Baghdād, and al-Shāfiʿī.

Related Places

1

Related Documents

1

1 Discussion

Document date

589 Hijrī (7 January 1193–26 December 1193 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Names include: Bū l-Manṣūr, Bū Saʿīd, Bū Naṣr al-Ṣaffūrī, Bū l-Ḥasan al-Segulat, Bū l-Maʿānī the cantor (al-Ḥazzān), Baqāʾ b.

1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Informal note addressed to Abū l-ʿAlāʾ. In Judaeo-Arabic. Andalusi hand. Asking him to "give the bearer everything that is mentioned in this letter." […] who encountered a Bedouin in the streets who had a cow worth 100 dirhams and who may have tried to sell it for 8 dinars. This story is also crossed out.

Tags

• glyph

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Arabic

(Bottom) Charity letter from a woman, in Arabic script. addressed to a dignitary (al-rayyis al-jalīl). After a long, rhymed introduction, the sender complains of poverty and nakedness. […] T-S K11.57 is probably the end of the letter. Joins: Alan Elbaum. The top of the document is another Arabic script document, probably an official account or receipt, glued together to form a substrate for Hebrew biblical verses (the secondary use).

Related Documents

2

Tags

• dimme
• petition

1 Transcription

Primary language

Arabic

Tells him not to listen to Abū l-ʿAlā, who said that he would follow ʿImrān and agreed to go to Damietta on the writer's behalf, but he never fulfills his word. […] for a time, until somebody else can be found to monitor the writer's affairs. Also mentions Ashmūm and the son of Abū Sahl.

Related Places

1

Tags

• arabic script

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary languages

Hebrew, Judaeo-Arabic

Letter of appeal for charity from Avraham b. Yitro of Damascus (al-Dimashqī). He opens with lengthy Hebrew blessings, then describes his sufferings (poverty, dependents, capitation tax) and asks for assistance. […] There are a few lines still missing between the two fragments of the join. See also T-S 13J35.7 (PGPID 4572), a similar letter from the same man addressed to Mevorakh b.

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

The sender asks how the capitation tax (al-jāliya) promises to be this coming year. The sender seems to be worried about traveling to the addressee's location (apparently Jerusalem) before he knows. He asks what travelers have been saying about conditions on the return journey to Jerusalem, and also how things are in Jerusalem. Verso: accounts in different handwriting, in Judaeo-Arabic and Greek/Coptic numerals.

Related Places

1

Tags

• account
• tax

No Scholarship Records

Primary languages

Arabic, Greek/Coptic Numerals

Concludes at the bottom: "owed by Karīm the wonder worker (ṣāniʿ al-ʿajāʾib)." There is also a writing exercise of a biblical verse (Numbers 30:2) in Hebrew.

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Arabic

Letter from ʿAbd al-Wahhāb b. Sulaymān to Abū l-Fakhr b. Ibrāhīm al-Amshāṭī al-ʿAṭṭar, in the perfumers' market, in Fustat.

Related People

1

Related Places

1

Tags

• ib-addenda

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Arabic

Letter in Arabic script, giving instructions about paying sums of money. Also mentions a jūkaniyya (a type of garment). On verso in Judaeo-Arabic: "al-dayyān."

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Contains a number of explanatory marginal glosses, one of which quotes al-Rayyis al-Qāsim. One folio carries one line of a different text in Judaeo-Arabic, mentioning Aḥmad and ʿAbd al-Hādī and some numbers.

No Scholarship Records

Primary languages

Arabic, Judaeo-Arabic

Perhaps containing detailed orders of payment--consists almost entirely of sums of money and begins with the word "yaṣil." […] Asking him to speak to various people on behalf of the writer, including Ḥasan and ʿAqbān. All those people are to pay what they owe (? mā rusima bihi) (referring to recto?) to Abū ʿAlī who will deliver the money to the writer.

Tags

• arabic script
• informal note
• ruq'a

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Various reports are given. Mentions al-Fuqqāʿī, al-ghilmān, Abū l-Maʿānī. Greetings to the sender's mother-in-law. […] There is an address, but it is almost completely rubbed out.

No Scholarship Records

Inferred date

1100–1138 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

On recto is mentioned Tuvya he-Haver, 'our lord may he live forever', Abū al-Riḍa, a will, a wife, and 500 dinars. On verso is mentioned Abū al-Makārim, Abū al-Riḍa, [X] ha-Kohen b.

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

It reads, "They sent (or: send) the little paper for al-Shaykh al-Asʿad al-Levi the cantor, the son of R.

No Scholarship Records

Inferred date

1100–1138 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

On recto, the court certifies the receipt of something which was due to Sitt al-Ḥusn bt. Abū Manṣūr Sahl/Shela ha-Kohen probably from Abū l-Faraj Shemuel ha-Zaqen Rosh ha-Qehillot (appears also in Moss.

Related People

1

No Scholarship Records

Document date

8 Elul 5466 Anno Mundi (18 August 1706 CE)

Primary language

Ladino

Ladino letter reclaiming a debt signed Ḥayyim Abraham Boṭon s[iman] ṭ[ov]; Boṭon had lent the money in Argel (Algiers/Algeria); he owes money which he borrowed in Jerusalem. […] Information from http://www.investigacion.cchs.csic.es/judeo-arabe/sites/investigacion.cchs.csic.es.judeo-arabe/files/Genizah-Al-Andalus.pdf. The document is dated 1706 CE (8 Elul 5466 AM).

Related Places

2

Tags

• 18th c
• algeria
• boton
• jerusalem
• ladino

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Begins, "Thus claimed Abū l-Faraj Amīn al-Dawla against Abū ʿAlīal-Levi: he heard from his maternal uncle that Abū l-Karam said to him that he sold the codex. . . for 15 dinars. . . ."

Related Documents

1

Tags

• codex

1 Discussion

Primary language

Hebrew

The main currency is ducats (peraḥim); also mentions the grosso (גרושו). Mentioning various types of garments. […] Several names are mentioned, e.g. Ḥayyim al-Dayyan, Yehuda Zohar, Yosef. Several debts "to the Yeshiva" are mentioned.

No Scholarship Records

Document date

Tishrei 1453 Seleucid (4 September 1141–3 October 1141 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Yosef ha-Kohen on the recto, and by Ṣedaqa alone on (the faṣl?) on verso. (Information from CUDL; see also Goitein's index card.)

1 Discussion

Document date

1122–1153 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

A one-year partnership in an apothecary between Sayyid al-Ahl and his partner Faraḥ b. Abū al-‘Alā. The relationship may have been an apprenticeship; both parties are entitled to 1.5 dirhams a day, but profits from the sale of some commodities within the shop will accrue only to Sayyid al-Ahl, who seems to be the primary partner. […] This document lacks most of the formulae seen in partnership agreements (including stock qinyan phrases, which effect the contract) – it may have been simply the personal outline of a scribe who would later add in the framework from a formulary, as it also lacks signatures. Goitein identifies the handwriting as that of Natan b.

Related People

1

Tags

• drug store
• formulary
• island
• natan b. shemuel
• partnership
• (+ 1 more)

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Hebrew

Saʿadya's elevation by the Vizier al-Afḍal is described, and the very high regard in which he was held at court. […] My father used to serve the government in the city of Alexandria. He was (appointed) over the Sea Gate (Shaʿar ha-Yam = Bāb al-Baḥr) about 15 years, and all the traders coming from the land of Edom (Byzantium) and the East and the West. . . ." […] Join (possibly indirect): Alan Elbaum

Related People

1

Related Places

4

Tags

• al-malik al-afdal (1094-1121)
• arrest
• byzantium
• constantinople
• greek
• (+ 3 more)

2 Transcriptions

Document date

1085 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Apparently the dying man kept an account book; while some assets were held jointly between the dying man, his brother Abū ‘Alī, and one Abū al-Khayr, other assets (including a claim against someone named Yāqūt for 11.5 dinars) were held only between the dying man and Abū al-Khayr. Although Abū al-Khayr may not have been the sole active partner, the document declares trustworthy concerning profit and loss, a phrase often applied to the active partner in a long-distance partnership. […] His death is recorded on lines 9-10. Although the death of a partner is a sufficient condition for termination of a partnership in Jewish and Islamic law, the typical termination clauses are absent.

Related People

1

Tags

• deathbed will
• illness: death
• lead
• partnership

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation 1 Discussion

Document date

19 Ḥeshvan 1498 Seleucid (3 November 1186 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

The betrothal of the orphan girl Sitt al-Muʿazzaza bat Šela b. Obadiah to the Aleppan Abū l-Fatḥ Petaḥya b. […] In addition, the groom did not pay all of the required marriage expenses. The matter was brought before the court and a new marriage date was agreed upon – in two months time. […] (Information from CUDL and Amir Ashur's 2006 dissertation; see also Goitein's attached summary and transcription.)

Related Places

1

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation 2 Discussions

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Mentions: 'my lord the qāḍī'; various instructions about transactions and letters; and "the boy ʿAṭiyya is weaned, and he wants to eat sugar every hour" (אלולד עטיה יל מפטום ויריד אלתנקל אלסוכר סאעה סאעה). Also mentions Ibn Abū Jābir "who is from אלקתם" and how he should send a letter to his son Abū l-Yusr "to אלקתם" concerning the daughter of Manṣūr al-Sofer in the presence of Sulaymān b. […] On verso there is a reference to the sufferings due to Ibn al-Qudrī (? אלקודרי). Haste is urged several times (סרעה סרעה סרעה). […] Again repeats that he is safely weaned and that he wants sweets (yurīd al-tanaqqul) "for he is used to being pampered" (wa-huwa muʿawwad bi-dalāl).

Tags

• children
• late ja
• sugar

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Arabic

Letter from Abū l-Ḥusayn b. al-Rayyis b. Nāḥūm, in the Rīf, to his brother Abū Thābit, in Fustat. […] In recent years, this person had paid his capitation tax in al-Maḥalla. It seems that this year he is registered as a newcomer in Fustat (and therefore exempt), but the authorities in al-Maḥalla refuse to recognize his documents. […] If Abū l-Majd is unable to help, the recipient is to go to Abū l-Faraj b. al-Kohen. If it weren't for all the sender's work in the Rif, he would have come along himself to help this person.

Related Places

3

Tags

• aodeh
• tax

2 Transcriptions 1 Discussion

Document date

20 July 1885 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter from Shelomo Mizraḥi or a female family member, in Alexandria, to Ibrāhīm/Brahim Aghion, in Cairo (Miṣr). […] The relationship with the addressee is also confusing, because the sender refers to her "wālida" (mother) and "umm" (mother) as if they are different people. […] (There may be a rebuke here for the addressee, who failed to write and inquire about his health.) There may also be a couple lines of poetry (the part with long hyphens), but this needs examination.

Related Places

2

Tags

• aghion
• illness

No Scholarship Records

Document date

1126–1129 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Containing a statement about Salāma and Ibn Siman Ṭov, Jewish aides/accomplices to the rapacious Coptic finance minister known as "the monk" (al-rāhib), Abū Najāḥ ibn Qannāʾ. The background is summarized by Mark Cohen as follows: "In October 1125, the vizier al-Maʾmun, implicated in a plot against the caliph al-Āmir, was deposed and imprisoned along with five brothers, and later executed (in 1128). […] Unfortunately, however, he entrusted financial affairs to a rapacious Coptic bureaucrat, Abū Najāḥ ibn Qannāʾ, known as "the Monk" (al-rāhib), who, from the autumn of 1126 until his execution in 1129, managed to terrorize all segments of the populace, including the Jews, with his promiscuous confiscations and arrogant demeanor" (Cohen, Jewish Self-Government, p. 284).

Related People

1

Tags

• copt
• copts
• fisc
• mazalim
• officials
• (+ 1 more)

1 Transcription 1 Discussion