מכתב: T-S 10J16.1
מכתב T-S 10J16.1What's in the PGP
- תמונה
- 1 Translation
תיאור
India Book VI, 11. Letter from ʿAllān b. Ḥassūn, in Sindabūr (India), to his uncle and father-in-law ʿArūs b. Yosef, in Fusṭāṭ,. In Judaeo-Arabic. He found a slow market when he arrived in Aden, so he decided to travel onward to Sindābūr ("after seeking God's guidance") with the corals and storax (mayʿa, an aromatic resin obtained from trees in Asia Minor). He complains about his cousin Yosef (another nephew of ʿArūs), who "stays in Lakhba (near Aden) with the whores (Heb.), 'the company,' and a beardless youth, who ser[ves them drinks]." He also reports on previous sales in ports on the west coast of the Red Sea: Dahlak, Bāḍiʿ, and Suwākin. In the address on verso, ʿAllān calls himself ʿAllāl (as some other ʿAllāns did occasionally), a form of endearment, imitating the speech of small children. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's edition and translation.)
תגים
Translator: Goitein, S. D. (in English)
T-S 10J16.1 1r
recto
I am writing to you, my father, who is dear to me and with me, may God prolong his life and make permanent his honoured position, his support and help, his safety and well-being, may he never leave him without full success, and may he be for him and with him in all his undertakings.
What you wish to know: I arrived safely in Aden, but found the markets to be dull. Half of what I had with me was not sold. The modish garments sold for 5 ½ to 5 to 4 ½ mithqals [Egyptian dinars], the maqtas for 2 ½ to 2 ¼ , the saris [futas] for 1 ¾ to 1 ½ . Please take notice. One hundred mithqals and some singles were cashed for these.
Having sought God's guidance, I decided to travel to Sindabur with the corals and storax, for I did not find a market for it [meaning the corals]; all they offered me for it [in Aden] was 18 [dinars] per selling unit.
Do not ask what Joseph did to me. He came to me during the night before my departure and said: ' My paternal uncle [Arus] and Siba told me that you should not travel on the ocean.' He took from me 65 dinars for silver, 25 dinars for 10 maqtas, and 30 maqtas, which he took with him.
As to the balance of the 70 mithqals: for 10 mithqals I sold cloaks in Dahlak to Siraj on condition that I would take the money at my return with the al-Karim flotilla. I sold him [also] cloaks for 40 mithqals; and also in Bade I sold to Ibn Najl cloaks for 4 mithqals, and in Suwakin to Abd al-Raziq cloaks for 20 mithqals. The promissory notes signed by them will be with me until I return safely and receive these sums in full, if God wills.
Joseph stays in Lakhba with the whores, 'the company', and a beardless youth, who ser[ves them drinks].
T-S 10J16.1 1v
address
To my father and lord, Arus, son of Joseph, (may he) r(est in) E(den). May God prolong his life and Make his honoured position permanent.
[from] his scion Allal, son of Hassun
