Letter to His Wife

This badly torn letter, written in Judeo-Arabic and sent from North Africa to Sicily, is notable for its expression of the warm feelings of a traveling businessman toward his wife, whom he had not seen in some time. It was not uncommon for a wife to seek a divorce in cases where her husband’s travels detained him for lengthy periods, and this letter might have sought to prevent such a possibility. Although, as in many similar letters, the husband describes his financial state, he also mentions religious oaths he had made, apparently in order to gain merit for a safe return home. The dating of this text is uncertain. Ellipses indicate lacunae in the manuscript.