Documents

Document date

Wednesday, 23 Iyyar 1368 Seleucid (30 April 1057 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Abū Kathīr had died while some assets of his were still with two brothers of Abū Manṣūr, Daniel and Eli, and the brothers had also meanwhile died, leaving Abū Manṣūr as their heir. Abū Yūsuf is appointed to examine the accounts of all three dead men, so that Abū Kathīr’s heirs can receive what is due to them.

Related Places

1

Related Documents

1

Tags

• account
• estate
• inheritance
• proxy
• will

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

The writer, whose identity is unknown, wrote some words in Arabic script amidst the Hebrew script; it seems that he wrote everything in a hurry, and it is not always clear whether a certain letter is written in Hebrew letters or in Arabic letters. Because of these difficulties and the poor state of preservation of the letter, the decipherment and translation are difficult in several places. The writer also sent blessings in the name of his father. The formula حضرة المرتبة حرست (ח̇צר̈ה אלמרתב̈ה חרסת, in translation: "his majesty, may God preserve it') has not yet been found in other documents.

Tags

• ib-untranslated-eng
• ib4
• india book

2 Transcriptions 1 Translation

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Refers to the addressee's pilgrimage the preceding year; Qayrawān; how the sender's wife died in giving birth to a son, while he himself was away in Byzantium; how her mother and family sent to recover her dowry (raḥl), valued at 200 quarter-dinars; how he subsequently married a minor girl (ṣabiyya saghīra) who is now pregnant (wa-hiya minnī [fī ḥāl]). (The phrase "...qām al-ḍawʾ" also appears here—the full first word and the meaning are unclear.)

Related Places

2

Tags

• byzantium
• childbirth
• death
• minor marriage
• pilgrims
• (+ 2 more)

1 Transcription

Inferred date

1205–1237 CE

Primary languages

Arabic, Judaeo-Arabic

Abū l-Majd is to give the bearer [...] al-Ṭawwāf a sum of money. There's a word that looks like ḥammām, but this might be a cipher for 5 dirhams. […] T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218.

Related People

1

Related Documents

1

Tags

• account
• heqdesh
• qodesh
• tax
• waqf

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Inferred date

1205–1237 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Mysteriously, there is a נע (indicating that Abū l-Faraj is dead) over the שצ (indicating that he is alive). T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218 CE.

Related People

1

Related Documents

1

Tags

• account
• heqdesh
• qodesh
• waqf

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Document date

Monday, 4 Shaʿbān 438 Hijrī (3 February 1047 CE)

Primary language

Arabic

Ḥabāsa, son of the amīr Murād al-Dawla, acknowledges the receipt of the remainder (12 dinars) of the first installment of a due payment from Abū Ghālib ʿAbdallāh b. Manṣūr, the cashier in the land-tax office (al-jahbadh bi-dīwān al-kharāj). Recto and verso were reused for Hebrew poetry.

Related People

3

1 Transcription 1 Translation

Inferred date

1100–1138 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

There is an itemized list, mentioning goods from Syria (al-Shām), but spelled "אלשם"(!). Underneath the names of probably family members (recipients of some of the money): Rashīda bt. Ḥalfon, Abū ʿAlī b. Ḥalfon, al-Ṭarābulsī b. Abū l-Khayr. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Related People

1

Related Places

1

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

ʿAbdallāh, namely that his wife has taken their son out of the school (kuttāb) and allowed him to play all day. "She behaves like an idiot (ablah), inflicting unhealable wounds." […] The boy should not be allowed to play hooky. He sends a jūkāniyya (a garment) for the boy.

Related Places

1

Tags

• cyprus
• divorce
• education
• marital dispute
• to edit

1 Discussion

Inferred date

1100–1138 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Concerning half of a well-known house in al-Qālūs. This is probably the upper part of BL OR 12299.12 + T-S 8.123 (but it is not a continuous join). […] Yefet/Ḥasan ha-Kohen, his wife Sitthum aka Sitt al-Jamīʿ bt. ʿOvadya, and a druggist named Abū Naṣr Ibn Zubbaybāt. There may be someone named Salmān al-Muḥaddith, but more likely this is referring to the name of a new (muḥdath) house, [Dār] Salmān.

Related People

1

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Inferred date

1100–1138 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

He mentions people who traveled with somebody; someone who was with him in the shop; his isolation and abandonment; "Muslims and Jews"; al-Qāḍī al-Muwaffaq; how he can no longer sit in his shop because of [...]. Regards to Sitt Naʿīm. Join: Alan Elbaum.

Related People

2

Related Places

1

Tags

• bonesetter
• halfon b. menashshe
• illness
• illness letter 969-1517
• yefet b. menashshe

No Scholarship Records

Inferred date

24 September 1188–26 December 1193 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

On verso there are the remnants of a halakhic treatise or responsum in the same hand, in addition to jottings in a much larger hand and the mention of "our teacher and rabbi Sar Shalom ha-Levi [...] al-Jālūt" written in a third hand. Join: Alan Elbaum. (Information from Amir Ashur and Alan Elbaum.)

Related People

2

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

He asks his family members to go to the warehouse in Fustat and retrieve many goods for him. He also asks for several liturgical poems, including one specifically from his cousin (ibn khāl) Abū l-Khayr and some from Abū l-Munā the cantor. […] He wants his brother (probably Yedutun) to obtain a fatwā (responsum) on his behalf. The amir Sajjāʿ al-Dīn sends his regards. There may be references to illness at the end, but the text is difficult to decipher.

Related Places

1

Tags

• moshe b. levi

1 Transcription

Primary language

Arabic

Reused for accounts or sums in Greek/Coptic numerals, written in a column with three horizontal dividers at 90 degrees to the main text. Also reused for Hebrew piyyuṭ on recto. Appears to be cut and bound for the latter use.

Tags

• dimme

No Scholarship Records

Document date

Av 1[3]82 Seleucid (1071 CE)

Primary language

Aramaic

No dowry. The payment 12.5 is also mentioned, indicating that this is not her first marriage.

Related Places

1

1 Discussion

Primary languages

Aramaic, Hebrew, Judaeo-Arabic

The sender reports that Avraham was grateful for the favor of the addressee and the favor of al-Nadiv. Avraham has sent a letter enclosed with this one, and the addressee is asked to take a look and respond to all of Avraham's needs.

No Scholarship Records

Document date

1 Elul 5092 Anno Mundi (23 August 1332 CE)

Primary language

Hebrew

ENA 2433.8 and ENA 2433.10 have similar dimensions and overall appearance, but the ink is different and the handwriting also looks different (e.g. the אל ligature). (Information in part from Lieberman Catalog and Tani Robinson for CMP initiative.)

Related Places

1

Tags

• colophon

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Letter from a woman (possibly the wife of al-Ramlī named on verso) to Rabbenu [...] b. Shelomo ha-Kohen he-Hasid. […] She thanks him for the items he has sent and gives detailed instructions regarding further items to obtain and/or send. Mentions Abū ʿAlī the partner of Ibn Ghulayb and Fuḍayl b. Nāqid.

Tags

• women's letters

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

He reports that their letter and the chebulic myrobalan and the opium all arrived. He fears that he has been a burden on them. The recipient is to give some money to Maḥfūẓ and Ibn al-Nuʿmān and receive confirmation of how much Moshe still owes them.

Related Documents

1

Tags

• moshe b. levi

1 Transcription

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

It seems the pepper was processed in Fustat (expenses are listed for gharbala/sieving and packing in khaysh/canvas), then sent to Rashīd and thence to Alexandria for export. Traders mentioned include Ibn ʿImmanuel and Maymūn.

Tags

• list
• pepper

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Hebrew

He tells Ḥananel to compare this letter to Shemuel's other letters to the judge Menaḥem and to 'the Sar' (Avraham Maimonides) so that they can all know all the details.

Related People

3

1 Discussion

Inferred date

1200–1550 CE

Primary languages

Arabic, Greek/Coptic Numerals, Judaeo-Arabic

The entries include personal names (Suwayd, Zayn al-Dīn, Zayn al-Naqīb 'the headman') and professional names (rasūl = messenger, ʿassāl = honey maker or seller).

Tags

• coptic numerals
• list

No Scholarship Records

Document date

4849 Anno Mundi (19 September 1088–7 September 1089 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Legal deed. Location: Alexandria. Dated: 4849 AM = 1088/89 CE. In which a woman, whose identity is established in court by ʿEli ha-Kohen, appoints an agent (wakīl) to demand support from her husband, for her children were without food and clothing.

Related Places

1

1 Discussion

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

It seems the addressee is urged to come help. The sender also inquires about whether the addressee's cousin (ibn ʿamma) will come.

Related Documents

1

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Hebrew

NB: this description applies to a different fragment, probably also in the ENA NS folder. ENA NS 79.137 is a small literary fragment.

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Arabic

The postscript in ll. 11–13 refers to another commodity, possibly al-ṭarz al-anṭākī (embroidery of Antioch). YU/ASE

Tags

• dimme

1 Transcription

Inferred date

1007–1055 CE

A letter from Eliyyahu al-Qustantini b. Shelomo, writing to Efrayim he-Haver b. […] He seeks the assistance of the head of the community, as all the money he had was a loan from non-Jews. (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Related People

1

1 Discussion

Inferred date

1100–1138 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Regarding business in foods and drugs (e.g., pepper, wormwood) and mentioning Abū l-Surūr, a faqīh, and Ibn Qaṭṭūs. On verso there is also a list of names (in Ḥalfon's hand?), including [...] b.

Related People

2

Related Documents

4

No Scholarship Records

Document date

1439 Seleucid (1127–1128 CE)

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

The surviving text of the letter suggests that it is a letter of condolence, possibly upon the death of a woman (הגבירה). Mentions a cantor (al-ḥazzan al-sh[...]) and another cantor the son of Avraham ha-Kohen.

No Scholarship Records

Location: Jubayl (probably Byblos in Lebanon, but there is also a Jubayl in Yemen). Witnesses include: Ḥalfon b.

Related Places

1

No Scholarship Records

Like its join, where an Ottoman Ağa, this fragment might also be mentioning status-based titles such as Muḥammad Çelebi[?]

Related Documents

2

Tags

• 17th or 18th c

No Scholarship Records

Inferred date

1700–1900 CE

Some of the entries mention transactions with specific people, such as "money transfer with Ḥabīb Levi" and "ḥūjjat Ḥasan ʿUrsī" (possibly costs related to a transaction before a qadi court). The bifolio also features a wide array of mathematical calculations.

Tags

• 18th or 19th c
• numismatic dating

No Scholarship Records

Document date

Shaʿbān 1223 Hijrī (22 September 1808–20 October 1808 CE)

Primary language

Arabic

The logo of the sender's company is derived from ع ك — it appears in the address and also in line 4 on recto. Mentions Damietta and two traders named Mūsā Naqūla(?)

Related Places

1

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Hebrew

Binyamin Ashkenazi, probably in Fustat/Cairo, to Avraham Castro, probably in Alexandria or Jerusalem. Dating: 16th century. The sender describes how "from the other week we have been shut in, because the epidemic began (כי החל הנגף).

Tags

• 16th c
• castro
• epidemic

1 Transcription 1 Discussion

Primary languages

Arabic, Judaeo-Arabic

Letter fragment from Salāma b. Yūsuf al-Gazal, in al-Mahdiyya or Qayrawan, to Yosef b.

Related Places

2

Tags

• ibn awkal

1 Transcription 1 Translation 1 Discussion

Inferred date

1100–1138 CE

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Involves a Nubian female slave named ʿAlam, but it is not a deed of sale (or at least not a straightforward one). […] Yosef; Abū l-Waḥsh Sibāʿ al-Arjawānī; [...] b. Efrayim; a woman and her husband; and confirmation of receipt of a sum of money.

Related People

2

Tags

• bill of sale
• slave

1 Transcription

Primary languages

Hebrew, Judaeo-Arabic

Verso: a list of Hebrew month: Av, Elul, Tishrei, Marḥeshvan, followed by "the beginning of the Arabic year is Kislev, which in Arabic is al-Muḥarram." At the bottom: "two dinars." The date might be identifiable based on the years in which Kislev coincided with al-Muḥarram.

No Scholarship Records

Primary language

Judaeo-Arabic

Harun, maybe from Mazar, to Aaish b. Sedaka, Alexandria. Around 1045. The writer asks Aaish to take care of two shipments that he shipped to Egypt so they will not be left on the seashore.

Tags

• 11th c

1 Transcription 1 Translation 1 Discussion