Letter to His Brother-in-Law

This Judeo-Arabic letter from Seleucia, Turkey (today called Silifke), is one of only two sources that mention a Jewish community in that town. The unnamed author was a physician who lived during the Byzantine emperor’s attempt to conquer Syria and, accordingly, hoped to acquire some medical books from Syrian cities. He was likely an Egyptian émigré who, after settling in Byzantium, decided to encourage family who remained in Fustāt (Old Cairo) to relocate with him. This letter to his brother-in-law conveys fascinating details of the delivery of medical ingredients and the challenges of Mediterranean commerce. Two points of interest provide a glance into the sociocultural lives of these individuals. The first is the high dowry price, something that appears to be a local practice in Byzantium but not Fustāt. The second is contained in the opening to this letter, which alludes to the fact that the recipient of the letter wishes for a third child, but his wife, the author’s sister, has been unable to bear more children. Ellipses indicate lacunae in the manuscript.