מכתב: T-S 8.69

תיאור

India Book VI,22. Letter from Makhlūf b. Mūsā to an unknown recipient (the address is cut off). Deals with the Indian Ocean trade. Includes commercial queries and reports on the one hand, and muttered complaints against his adversaries on the other. Mentions Ibn Yijū and Maḥrūz. Among the commercial matters on Makhlūf’s mind is how oil is selling where the addressee is. He promises to send him whatever is suitable for purchase, even if it is expensive. He discusses a khazz (high-quality silk) robe, two fūṭas made in the Fayyumī town of Būsh, a small sack of cowries, a long, embroidered textile that he had commissioned for his son and a payment or delivery to Zikrī b. Sar Shalom, likely Abū Zikrī b. al-Shāmī b. Sar Shalom, an India trader and nākhudā who eventually died in a shipwreck between Aden and India. Makhlūf also mentions an ivory trader residing in one of his houses who possesses mother-of-pearl that Makhlūf intends to use for wooden clogs (either as inlay or to sell and spend the proceeds).