Letter to Abū ’l-Faraj Joseph Ibn ‘Awkal (I)

This Judeo-Arabic letter, sent from Qayrawān to Fustāt (Old Cairo), was written by brothers Joseph and Nissim to the merchant Abū ’l-Faraj Joseph Ibn ‘Awkal. As described in the letter itself, the two sent their missive along with a caravan of travelers, a common practice in this period. This text, which illustrates the complexities of arranging the transfer of letters and money between the talmudic academies in Baghdad and Jewish communities in the diaspora, is the first to mention the appointment in Tunisia of a nagid, an office of local leadership that appeared in a number of areas of the Islamic world during the eleventh century. The recipient of this letter, Abū ’l-Faraj, was a prominent merchant in eleventh-century Egypt whose network of associates and agents was spread throughout the Mediterranean basin. Ellipses indicate lacunae in the manuscript.