Part of a legal document in Arabic mentioning people involved in the medical profession: […] al-Yahūdī al-ʿAṭṭār (the perfumer/the druggist); […] al-Isrāʾīlī al-Ṣaydalānī (the pharmacist).Condition: Badly torn, holes, rubbed, stainedLayout: 9 lines (recto); 11 lines (verso)
Recto: Judaeo-Arabic 11th century commercial letter, mentioning Abū Saʿīd and Abū Yaʿqūb Joseph b. Faraḥ Qābisī, and referring to the trade in coral and silk. Verso: medical prescription in Arabic script.Condition: Torn, stained, slightly rubbedLayout: 15 lines + marginalia (recto), 7 lines (verso)
Ruling board (masṭara), made from layers of paper stuck together, incorporating what is probably a medical work in Arabic. There is Hebrew, probably originally a colophon, on verso.Condition: damagedLayout: various lines
Letter describing two meetings with physicians. The first was a visit to Maimonides, who discussed medical topics with the writer, the second was with another physician who visited the writer, checked his pulse and examined a flask of his urine. Mention is made of a trip to Alexandria. The fragment mentions others and their wealth: Abū Manṣūr, Abū l-Muḥāsin, Rīḍā al-Dawla, Ibn Ḥillel.Condition: Torn, tiny holes, slightly rubbed, slightly stainedLayout: 35 lines (recto); 37 lines (verso) + marginalia
Recto: dowry deed (שטר פרנא) for Ḥaẓiyya bint Nathan (bride) and Manṣūr (groom). Dated c. 1020 CE, in Tyre. The bride agrees to reside with her parents in Tyre for the first year of her marriage, after which she will move with her husband, Manṣūr, to Acre, to reside in a house given to them by her father Nathan. Nathan reserves the right to reside in that same house, should he return to Acre. Witnessed by Joseph ha-Levi b. Manasseh, Mevoraḵ b. Menaḥem, and Samuel b. Moses he-Ḥaver, who also wrote the document. Verso: an unrelated twelve-line text, a medical prescription in Arabic script.Condition: torn, holes, fadedLayout: 30 lines (recto); 12 lines (verso)
Part of an astrological work making connections between the stars, their position in the sky and the incidence of diseases and natural disasters.Condition: Torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 6 lines
Recto: a piyyuṭ with the title Qidduše Yarḥayyā (apparently by Pinḥas). Preserved are the piyyuṭim for Nisan and Iyyar. Verso, top: a medical recipe in Judaeo-Arabic for chest and rib pain. Verso, bottom: an ownership note with the name Šabbetay b. Joseph ha-Mumḥe b. Elʿazar b. ʿAmram the judge, written by this person’s son.Condition: Torn, holes, rubbed, slightly stainedLayout: 25 lines (recto); 13 lines (verso)
Page from an astrological work describing the influence of the different months (here called by their Syriac names) on the incidence of diseases, deaths and natural disasters.Condition: Torn, holes, slightly rubbedLayout: 18 lines (recto); 19 lines (verso)
Leaf from an astrological work, dealing with the connection between the position of the stars in the sky and the development of epidemic and epizootic diseases, the rise of the Nile, the consequent floods and the successful growth of the crops.Condition: Torn, goles, rubbedLayout: 20 lines
Astrological predictions connected with the different houses of the moon, listing the possible diseases caused by astral conditions and favourable moments for beginning new activities and procreating. Storax is recommended as a remedy against cough.Condition: Torn, tiny holes, slightly rubbedLayout: 17 lines (recto); 19 lines (verso)
Letter sent to a court official reporting on a particular course of treatment for eye problems that included inflammations, dimness of vision, expanded pupils. The illness was treated with lamellae, eye drops and with the prescription of a potion to be taken after breakfast. Simples mentioned include anise, rose, lavender, oregano, mastic, liquorice, myrobalan, and aloe. The writer mentions his recent move to the town of Qalyūb.Condition: Torn, tiny holes, slightly rubbed, slightly stainedLayout: 23 lines (recto); 9 lines (verso)
On f. 170v a hand other than that of the main scribe, ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib al-Ḥalabī, probably that of one of the manuscript’s owners, has copied out three prescriptions: (1) a tested remedy for haemorrhoids taken from Ibn al-Ḥadhdhā; (2) ‘hospital dried fruit (al-nuqū‘ al-māristānī)’; and (3) an aphrodisiac paste with three uses.Begins (170v, lines 1-3):للبواسير مجرب عن ابن الحذاءثلثا درهم أفيون ونصف درهم زرنيخ أحمر ونصف درهم زرنيخ أصفر ودرهم هالك يدق ناعمًا وتؤخذ ثلثة درهمحرقة قطن وتحرق ولا يترك يخرج لها دخان...Ends (f. 170v, lines 18-23):معجون السليحة وله ثلثة فوائد الأولى لا تحبل المرأةالثانية يجب الرجل إليها الثالثة لا يضعف البدن بكثرة الجماعخشخاش أبيض إسقنقور كل واحد درحمان نصف مرارة شبوط وبزر سذاب ولؤلؤ وصامرٮو (؟) ما يتسوم وتٮا (؟) الحمار كلواحد درهمان سليحة ومن كل واحد نصف درهم بزر خيار وقثار نعنع وبزر بطيخ كل واحد نصف درهم صعتر فارسي وكافوركل واحد سدس درهم يجمع ويسحق وينحلّ ويعجن بعسل منزوع الرغوة ويرفع ويستعمله ليلًا إن كان الجماع نهارًا أو نهارًا إنكان الجماع ليلًاf. 170vMaterial: PaperDimensions: 200 x 146 mm leaf [141 x 91 mm written]Foliation: British Museum foliation in pencilRuling: Misṭarah; 11 lines per page; vertical spacing 8 lines per 10 cmScript: Very clear, well pointed and vocalised naskh; the scribe was ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib ibn ‘Alī ibn ‘Alī ibn ‘Alī ibn al-Husayn al-ḤalabīInk: Black ink, with rubricated headingsDecoration: Title page (f. 2a), title and author information in cloud bands in box with gold borders, on background of blue with foliate arabesque design partially shaded in red; below and to the left of this is a similar, but less ornate, box containing information relating to the scribeBinding: Ottoman (?) binding in red leather with blind-tolled borders, medallion and pendants; no envelope flapCondition: light waterstains, some foxing, and a notable amount bleed-through of black inkMarginalia: Frequent marginalia by more than one handSeals: See ff. 1r, 2r, 3r, 170r