מכתב: NLI 577.3/2

Translated by Brendan G. Goldman

My letter, my lord and master—may God lengthen your remaining [days] and make permanent your well-being and happiness and turn away evil from you in His mercy—from Egypt, on the thirteenth of Marḥeshvan.

The situation [here] is peaceful and pleasant, though my longing for you is strong—may God quicken our reunion in His generosity and beneficence. [A copy of this] letter was sent to you at Ramla and at Tinnīs, and in it are all [the details about our business affairs that] you need [to know]. Your letter from Ramla arrived, where you say that the boat of the qāḍī [Muslim judge] returned to Tyre, and that you are going to Tyre. May God Almighty make you well and be faithful to you. You said, “Write me in Ramla, and then I will write detailed letters [in response].” Concerning what you wanted to know about the prices in the city [i.e., Fustāt]: Pepper is priced at eighty dinars for a load—the [water level of the] Nile has increased the price over the past two weeks, and the Syrians and Maghribīs are demanding it. I think [the price] will increase further because the Maghribīs are buying it. They are doing so because there is little flax, and it is expensive, and because [pepper] is selling [well] in the Maghrib. Sugar is priced at 6.5 dinars.

Arsenic, Syrian spices, and oriental spices all have a market in the Maghrib too. Lac [a resin] is sold at between 60 and 70 [per unit]. With regard to letters coming from [our partners in] the West: they are seeking [to sell] silver and pearls. This week, I will start piercing your pearls [for sale], God willing. With regard to the bedding of the Ṭabarī type: I asked the Kohen [al-Hārūnī] about it, and he told me that it is worth around two dinars or more. With regard to clothing: the Kohen told me they are priced at ten per ten [units]. Al-Jirādī is sold at 7.5 per ten [units].

In Būṣīr, the price of flax has increased, and now it is sold there for 5 or 4 [per unit], and foreign [cloth] at around 3 [per unit].

At this point, no letter has arrived from Faraḥ, but he is buying you something. I wrote to him and let him know that your letter arrived and that you wanted to ensure that he buys [you something]. I pray God will ensure a good outcome. If you have 

recto, margins

flax on the ship, don’t exchange it because [the price] is rising here since the rains have come.

The city has already become much calmer after what happened; I pray God does not strike us with a catastrophe. I hope that your letter will come for me soon with your news concerning the remaining cotton and whether it was jettisoned from the ship, because news hasn’t reached me [yet]. If anything can be recovered from there, send it to Alexandria. I pray that God will make it happen, and that it will arrive in good condition. About [the goods] on Ibn al-Nūsharī’s ship: the rumor is that he and Ibn al-Janānī and Ibn Mushakrāsh left—may God inform us of their safe arrival. Do not stop writing to me concerning your situation and state. I will attend to your needs. Receive greetings from me for perfect well-being.

My master, the Rav,

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sends wishes for your well-being. I can’t describe to you the situation with [our cloth from] Susa and what might happen with it. Today, I sold from among our goods three pieces [of such cloth] to a stranger, and the revenue was 4.25 dinars. I, my master, cannot stop selling [this cloth] at a loss, so I am keeping it [for a later time]. If you need to sell, let me know, and I will take it out and sell the remainder on the non-Jews’ holiday. And if you don’t desire [to sell it], then it would be better for it to remain [in storage], for it would be a waste [to sell it at] the current prices—[to sell now] would be a frivolous act. I am trying to collect what we are owed at the market. Don’t concern yourself at all with [this matter].

Tell me the price of flax in Tyre. Silver is selling at 17; olive [oil] at 24; Levantine soap at around 3 1/3. At least until now, the Maghribīs are not buying any of it. If you hear anything about ‘Aqbūn, write me about him. R. Abraham ibn al-talmid (“the scholar”) wishes you well and asks you to sell part of the cinnamon, and the profit will be as God wills. Deduct [your commission] from the [amount made in the sale]. He is at the exchange house in a pleasant state, may God keep him well and protect him with sustenance in the face of all enemies and enviers. He intends to go to Damascus. Al-Qāri [the Karaite] already collected a dinar from his brother, and he assures me that he will collect it from him little by little. May God Almighty facilitate this, that I may see the debt settled. R. Maymūn wishes you well. On the ship, he has a bag of indigo. Let us know about his situation and, similarly, news about the flax of the sheikh Abū Iṣḥaq and whether he successfully escaped the accident.

verso, address in Judaeo-Arabic

To my lord and master, Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf ibn ‘Alī ha-Kohen al-Fāsī.

May God lengthen his remaining [days] and make permanent his well-being and happiness.

From Nahray ben Nissim, with thanks to him.

Send to Tyre, God willing

verso, Arabic address

To my lord and master, Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf ibn ‘Alī al-Fāsī.

May God lengthen his remaining [days] and make permanent his well-being and happiness.

From Nahray ibn Nissim, with thanks to him.

[Send to] Tyre, God willing.

Al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥman, Ibrahīm ibn Najā, and his son.