Letter from Abraham Maimonides to the judge Nissim in Alexandria, instructing him not to let Abū Manṣūr b. Abū l-Ḵayr, the tax-farmer of Sanhūr, re-marry before he has paid back his previous wife’s delayed bridal gift. In the hand of Solomon b. Elijah (13th century).Condition: holesLayout: 31 lines + marginalia (recto); 6 lines (verso)
Recto: letter to the dignitary Jacob in Alexandria from Abraham b. Isaac Ibn al-Zūlāfī in Palermo. The right margin has continuation of piyyuṭ from verso. Verso: piyyuṭ for Passover with many biblical quotations. Jottings in Arabic script at the top of the page.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 31 lines + marginalia (recto); 26 lines (verso)
Letter from Abraham b. Isaac al-Andalūsī in Jerusalem to Nahray b. Nissim in Fusṭāṭ (c. 1065 CE).Condition: holes, rubbedLayout: 25 lines + marginalia (recto); 3 lines (verso)
Letter concerning the poll tax (ḵarāj), from Abraham b. Saʿadya he-Ḥaver to Abū l-Surūr Peraḥya b. Binyām. Mentions Abū l-Ḥasan and his brother, Moses al-Salām ha-Kohen, Peraḥya, Bayān and the mother of Bayān.Condition: Holes, rubbedLayout: 28 lines (recto); 4 lines (verso)
Recto: letter in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic from Abraham b. Saʿadya he-Ḥebroni, on behalf of refugees from Hebron that are now in Bilbays. Abraham writes to Isaac b. Samuel ha-Sefaradi (active ca. 1090-1130 CE) in Fusṭāṭ, concerning the building of a new synagogue in Bilbays, replacing an old synagogue that had been torn down. The entire community joined forces to dismantle the synagogue and rebuild the new building. The letter lists the donations given by members of the community, and describes in detail the surrounding properties and their owners. A muslim judge initially objected to the construction of the new synagogue, so the community tactically rebranded their construction as a ‘home’, to which the judge had no objection. Verso: jottings of an Arabic philosophical text.Condition: StainedLayout: 52 lines (recto); 40 lines (verso)
Letter from Abraham b. Ḥalfon b. Naḥum in Ashkelon to ʿEli ha-Kohen b. Ḥayyim (c. 1090 CE).Condition: holesLayout: 26 lines + marginalia (recto); 2 lines (verso)
Letter from Abū Manṣūr b. Abū Saʿd to Abraham, sent to the Palestinian synagogue in Fusṭāṭ. Mentions, among others, Joseph b. Abū ʿImrān, Ezekiel the judge and Sitt Rayḥān.Condition: holes, rubbedLayout: 20 lines (recto); 2 lines (verso)
Recto: letter from Abū Maymūn Yaʿqūb in Jerusalem to his son Abū ʿImrān in Fusṭāṭ, describing how he is bedridden after the death of another son and how he wishes to see him before his death. Verso: Arabic address to Abū ʿImrān.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 19 lines (recto); 2 lines (verso)
Letter from Abū Naṣr b. Abraham informing the addressee that Judah ha-Levi set sail on Wednesday, the first day of Šavuʿot (= 1141 CE), after leaving him a letter for the Nagid Samuel b. Ḥananya, which accompanies this letter; dated 12th Sivan. Arabic on verso describes someone who went up to Cairo and met the leader of the community.Condition: torn, slightly rubbed, stainedLayout: 9 lines + marginalia (recto); 3 lines (verso)
Recto: begging letter from Abū Naṣr, ‘son of the doctor’, acknowledging receipt of letters from the addressee and from Abū l-Maʿālī. Verso: jottings in a crude hand in Arabic script.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 22 lines + marginalia (recto); 4 lines (verso)
Recto: note from Abū Riḍā to Abū Zikrī, acknowledging the receipt of the purse of Ibn ʿAlī and promising to send perfume with Ibn ʿAlī. Verso: draft of a Judaeo-Arabic letter and lines in Arabic script.Condition: holes, rubbed, faded, stainedLayout: 11 lines (recto); 8 lines (verso)
Letter from Abū Saʿd al-Maḡribī, possibly in Jerusalem, to Nahray b. Nissim in Fusṭāṭ (c. 1060 CE).Condition: torn, holes, rubbed, faded, stainedLayout: 16 lines + marginalia (recto); 6 lines (verso)
Letter from Abū Saʿīd in Alexandria to his father in Fusṭāṭ, with greetings to Sayyid al-Ahl, Abū l-Faraj, Michael, the teacher Isaac, Sahlān, Mūsā b. Ḥassūn and their relatives.Condition: torn, holesLayout: 16 lines + marginalia (recto); 11 lines (verso)
Letter to Abū l-Barakāt b. Yefet from ‘his brother’ Abū Saʿīd Ibn al-[...], sent via the perfumer’s market and Abū l-Faḵr Ibn al-Maššāṭī (the flax comber). Mentions the death of Abū Naṣr and his sister Zayn (who the writer apparently had hoped to marry), and refers to Alexandria, with greetings to various family members and individuals including Joseph and Abū Y[...] Ibn al-Sabbāk (the caster).Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 19 lines + marginalia (recto); 16 lines + marginalia (verso)
Letter from Abū Saʿīd b. Abū l-Ḥasan al-Abzārī in the Maghreb to his brother Abū l-Barakāt in Fusṭāṭ (c. 1098 CE).Condition: torn, holesLayout: 16 lines (recto); 7 lines + jottings (verso)
Letter from Abū Saʿīd b. [...] in Palermo to Abū l-Barakāt b. [...] (known as Ṭāriq). The letter opens with biblical citations such as 1 Samuel 25:6, Psalms 121:7 and 121:8 (c. 1060 CE). Letter continues on verso where there is a writing exercise in Arabic script.Condition: holes, rubbedLayout: 32 lines (recto); 7 lines (verso)
Begging letter from the teacher Abū Yaʿqūb, asking for money for medication and sugar for his child. Verso: chancery document in Arabic script and Arabic jottings.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 26 lines (recto); various lines (verso)
letter from Abū Zikrī to Abū ʿAlī, detailing ophthalmological health problems, and mentioning Abū l-Ḥasan. Abū Zukrī is suffering from a cataract, which is impairing his vision and make him see ‘like a piece of marble’, and intense eye-pain. Verso: letter of reply to Abū Zikrī written around an Arabic document, which gives advice regarding health, suggesting eye-washes with a bucket of well-water, bloodletting, and that Abū Zikrī avoid consuming dairy products.Condition: Holes, rubbedLayout: 19 lines + marginalia (recto); 26 lines + marginalia (verso)
Recto: copy of a letter and its reply by Abū Zikrī, followed by rhymed piyyuṭ headed פראגעה דאפעזה. Verso: jottings in Arabic script.Condition: torn, holes, rubbedLayout: 33 lines (recto); 5 lines (verso)