Letter to His Brother-in-Law, Abū Zikrī

This intriguing document paints a colorful picture of the life of Jewish merchants who traveled among Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, and India. The recipient of the letter, Abū Zikrī Judah ben Joseph ha-Kohen, was captured by pirates near Tāna (today, Thana) in northern India, and the writer was a shipowner whose cargo traveled along that trade route. Maḥrūz ben Jacob offers to let Abū Zikrī, his brother-in-law, who was stuck in Broach, India, travel back home to Aden, Yemen on his ship. The dangers of Mediterranean and Arabian trade routes included piracy and ships capsizing, as noted in another incident mentioned in this letter.