Letter to Abū ’l-Faraj Joseph Ibn ‘Awkal

Faraj, a merchant who had once been enslaved, sent this letter to a leading member of his former owner’s family, Abū ’l-Faraj Joseph Ibn ‘Awkal, about the pearl trade at the time of the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. His letter, written in Judeo-Arabic, illustrates the range of products available to Jewish businessmen in Cairo. At that time, pearls were harvested from the Arabian Sea and were incredibly lucrative merchandise. This letter also underscores the far-flung trade routes of medieval Jewish mercantilism, as Faraj—writing from Qayrawān— mentions textiles that he received from al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). Ellipses indicate lacunae in the manuscript.