רשומה קשורה ל-מכתב: MIAC 23973.5

Recto

1. [In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate.]
2. The slave of the lofty, most glorious and munificent presence—
3. may God establish the foundations of his glory, consolidate his good fortune, and destroy his enemy and opponent—kisses the ground
4. before him and reports to him, may God protect his exalted position, that what he wishes him to know is that your letter has arrived and I have read it
5. and I have understood what is in it. You mentioned in it that you have sent to the commander a letter and also sent to the executive officer a letter in order that my requests be carried out.
6. As for the commander, I visited him one day and he saidto me, “We shall carry out your requests,” but I have notseen him again
7. since and they do not allow me to visit him. I have stayed in the district morning and evening and my request has not been carried out.
8. The most he (the executive officer?) says to me is, “Come up with me to the house of the commander,” and I go with him, but just as I go up, I come down again
9. without any request of mine being carried out. He (the commander) said to me, “When the letter comes from the Master of the Horses, I shall carry out your requests.” He wore me out
10. and replied to us only with delay. Yūsū talked to him in all kinds of ways, but we can only reply to him, “Yes,
11. yes.” He says concerning the secretary who wrote the letter for the commander, “I do not know what he is writing.There is no instruction in it concerning the slave (al-raqīq),
12. nor payment, only the mention of the commander and nothing else. So far no payment has been made for anything.” Write your letter
13. to the commander that this slave belongs to the king and that he should bring him (the slave) down (the river) so that the needs of the king be carried through him out of respect.
14. Cold will be upon me (soon) and I shall not be able (to carry out my business) and the Marīsī wind will not allow me to arrive. So, tell them to hurry up to carry out my requests
15. and deliver the slave to me. If you would (kindly) send my messenger to them from your place, then please do so, for time has run out for me.

Recto, right margin

[ ] let them send to me in this final hour of mine these nineteen dīnārs and eight dirhams, at the rate of five for every dīnār.

Verso

1. I have made inquiries about the exchange rate on my sideand I found it to be seven, but I traded eventually them(at the better rate)
2. of six and a half. If I do not go ahead with this transaction, the exchange will be more, and you will lose due to a higher
3. exchange rate. I have acquired gold dīnārs. I have sent atthe time (of the transaction) a mail relating to it
4. with Yūsū as payment of the amount in coin. But there isnothing that would suit you. If there were anything goodat all, here or elsewhere, I would have sent it to you.
5. However, cash is something that we cannot control (i.e.,we have not been able to acquire it or we have no controlof its value) and we have not found an executive officer.Reply to me quickly. But what would I have for the execu-tive officer (in the way of payment)?
6. You know that going downriver is easy and going upriver is difficult. This is what I have to say to your honour.
7. The slave girl was inspected and the price paid for herwas ten dīnārs, but they found that she was crippled andthey returned her. I had offered her for sale
8. to a woman for twelve dīnārs and seven dirhams in a private transaction (literally: outside of the cornice) and I resolved the issue of the clothing and took it back
9. from her (the slave girl). I do not need to order you (i.e., remind you) to write a letter to the commander regarding what concerns us and also the executive officer,
10. for I have suffered harm and I need to make a large expenditure every day. As for this letter, I have written this because
11. Yūsū is travelling to you. When my needs have been fufilled, I shall inform you what the situation is. As for the two slaves who are with them, they paid
12. to me for them thirty-two dīnārs, for an equivalent exchange of thirty-six, each dīnār (having this exchange value). They have also paid more, at a rate of a dīnār, two and three.
13. They have not, however, given me control over them. I told them he has instructed that I should only sell them in Egypt. So, send two letters concerning them, one letter to the commander and one letter
14. to the executive officer. In the end, I accepted for them one dīnār and a half, in total twenty dīnārs and a half and a quarter, at a rate of thirty-five.
15. Praise be to God alone and His blessings be upon our lord Muḥammad, His prophet, and his family and His peace. Our sufficiency is God. [What a fine keeper is He!] By God, by God, be quick, be quick, be quick!