goitein s d- from aden to india

8/2/2019 Goitein S D- From Aden to India

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From Aden to India: Specimens of the Correspondence of India Traders of the Twelfth

CenturyAuthor(s): S. D. GoiteinReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 23, No. 1/2 (Apr.,1980), pp. 43-66Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3632233 .

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Journalof the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. XXIII, Parts I and II

FROMADEN TO INDIASpecimensf theCorrespondencef India Traders f theTwelfthCentury

BYS. D. GOITEIN

Sincethe appearance f my article,"From the MediterraneanoIndia:Documents n theTrade o India,SouthArabia, ndEastAfricafrom heEleventhandTwelfthCenturies,"n Speculum,XIX (i954),18A-197,t was expected hat a corpusof such documentswouldbepublishedoon.Fortunately,hefulfillmentof thishopeis now in theoffing.However,anexplanation hya quarter f a centuryhadto passbefore hisexpectationouldbe realizeds in order.The documentsconcernedwere preserved n the so-calledCairoGeniza,a treasure-trovef Judeo-Arabicmanuscripts,mostly frag-mentaryand completelydisconnectedwith one another.Moreovertheyaredispersedoday nmanyibraries,nEngland, ut also nFrance,U.S.A.,Russia,Austria,Hungary,and other countries ). In ordertofind out which of them belongedto the topic "Indiatrade" n thewidestsenseof the word one hadto visit all the libraries oncernedandto readall the documentaryGenizamaterialhey possessed.By1958a very considerable art of the "IndiaBook," as the plannedcorpuswasshortly eferredo, hadbeenwritten.Bythat ime,however,it also had become evident that the Indiatrade,as reflected n theGeniza,was only a branchof thatgreatexchangeof goods betweenthe Islamicand Christianworlds of the Mediterranean hichwas infull bloom as from the eleventhcentury.A studyof the societyforwhich heimportof Oriental roductswasonlyone of manyactivities,appearedo be imperative). Naturally,my occupationwith Mediter-

I) For a first orientationon the natureof these manuscriptssee the article GeniZain theEncyclopaediafIslam2, I, 987-989.Morein the books quoted in the subsequentnotes.z) S. D. Goitein, A Mediterraneanociety TheJewishCommunitiesof theArab Worldas Portrayedn the Documentsof the Cairo Genira, University of CaliforniaPress,


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44 S. D. GOITEINraneansociety delayedthe work on the "IndiaBook." It had,however,the advantagethat about 15o new items were added to the originalstock of 250o r so, which were in hand when I sat down to write thefirstversion of the corpus dedicatedto the India trade3).In the following, two letters, pieced together from seven Genizafragments, are presented in translation and in Arabic transcript4).All the seven happento be found in the Taylor-SchechterCollectionofthe University LibraryCambridge, England, but, as the manuscriptmarks indicate, are preservedin six differentsections, some betweenglasses, others in bound volumes, and againothers in variousseriesofboxes. Since these two letters emanated from the office of a wakiltujadr, representativeof merchants,who was also superintendentof aport, and are addressedto a merchantstationaryin India, they are,despitetheirshortness,particularlywelcome. But experiencehas taughtme that even a small scrapof papermay sometimescontaina valuablebit of informationfor socioeconomichistory5).Berkeleyand Los Angeles, vol. I. Economic Foundations, 1967;II. The Community,1971; III. The Family, 1978. The fourth and concluding volume, dealing with theindividual, his physical environment and spiritual world, is well progressed, butmust wait for the completion of the IndiaBook, since the relevant mattersfound inthe latter mustbe worked into vol. IV, especially ts last chapter,"The MediterraneanMind."

3) Shaul Shaked, A TentativeBibliographyf GenizaDocuments, aris-TheHague,1964, who had, while preparinghis volume, the list of Geniza documents includedin my "India Book," as it stood in 1963, notes, if I am not mistaken, 308 items.At the writing of these lines it comprisesabout 400, see below.4) Sixteen other letters from the "India Book" are translated in S. D. Goitein,LettersofMedievalJewishraders,TranslatedfromheArabic,Princeton, 1973,PP. 62-71,175-229, 299-304, 335-338.The letters arewritten in Hebrewcharactersandcontain also a few Hebrewwords,especiallyat the beginning and end, in titles and blessings, and, naturally, n refer-ences to Jewishmatters,such asholidays.As farasnecessary, hese wordsarerenderedin Arabic translation.In the English translation,words translated rom Hebrew areitalicized.They areoften written in abbreviatedform, which is indicated in the English text by paren-theses encompassing parts of the words alluded to in the original only by theirinitials.5) I use this opportunity to express again my appreciationand gratitude to theformerandpresentdirectors(librarians) ndstaffof the UniversityLibraryCambridgefor the unfailing support given to my work throughout the years,


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 45The commentaries accompanying the translations are essentiallyphilological, that is, they are intended to establishthe exact meaning

of the text and to explain any detail with which the readermight not beexpectedto be familiar,or of whose significancehe might be unaware.Thegeneralhistorical and socioeconomic evaluationof the documentstranslated,naturally,is done in the introductorypart of the corpus.The addresseeof these letters was Abraham b. Pera1hyden Yijii 6),a learnedTunisian Jew, whose mercantileand industrial activitiesonthe Malabarcoast of India can be tracedduringthe years 11 32 throughI1149.He might have visited India before. He operateda brassfactory,in which also local Jews and others were employed. As his letter ofSeptember I1, 1149, written in Aden on his way home shows, hereturned o his nativeambiance n orderto marryhis daughter nto hisown family,as was customary n those days, and probablyalso to givehis little son the opportunityfor a better education7). He is representedin the Geniza with a greatnumber of itemswrittenby, or addressed o,him.The sender of our letters was Madmin b. Hasanb. Bunddir,epresen-tative of the merchantsand superintendentof the port of Aden, and"Nagidof the Landof Yemen,"thatis, headof the Jewish communitiesof that country. He was also a shipowner and, like his father, themiddlemanbetween the Jews of the Mediterraneanarea and thoseactive in India 8).

My collection of papers from the CairoGeniza connected with thetrade on the India route comprisesabout 400 items to date, of which245 deal with the tradeproper,while the balanceare letters and docu-ments illustratingthe personal, communal,and other activities of thepersonsinvolved in that trade.The two letters translatedbelow give a good idea of the economic

6) Ben Yijifwas his family name, derived from that of a Berber tribe, probablyone under whose protection the family once had lived. Under the form Benichouthis name is still common among North African Jews. Paul Benichou, the authorof Moralesdu GrandeSitcle (6th edition, I948), made the name known in France.7) Translated n Letters(see n. 4, above), pp. z2o-2o6.8) About him see Letters, pp. 181-185.


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46 S. D. GOITEINconcernsof a Mediterraneanmerchant ojourning n India. He exportediron, a commodity not handled by Jews in the Mediterranean,buttaking pride of place in the India trade; spices, such as pepper andginger, and betelnuts, and, of course,the productsof his brassfactory.Copper and lead were sent to him from the West. India had famouscoppermines, and lead was found also east of India, but obviously thesupplywas not sufficient for a flourishingbrassindustry.Besidesthis,the West sent gold coins of variouscurrenciesand all those dailycom-moditieswhich Westernersout in Indianeededor desired:SpanishandEgyptian textiles, writing paper not to be had in India at all, sugar,raisins,and dates,and householdgoods of differentdescriptions.This article wishes to give the reader an inkling of the problemsof research.The type, color, size, and stateof preservation f thepaper, as well as the style and quality of the scriptare not negligibledetails,but factors which mustbe takeninto account when we go aboutto piece together the disparatefragments found in the Geniza. Thelinguistic, technical, financial, and social aspects demand our carefulattention. The reader,of course, will linger at those parts which, forone reasonor another,will interesthim most.

I23.TS6 J 4, fol. 14

24. TS 18 J 2, fol. 7Lr4. +4?k1 ' 4-j" L>.

r 0J3\ (:rz)~;II:flU9 ~, (5%. V


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 47

. s a L o . ; ? i ~ J U j C u ~j Jo 9d 1A

; , .1 E i

j ~ z ~ - C C -0 la u

4 1 3~kCJU 3yu v-'PCjJoj.~ ~

-.. .JJat LjA -J '?FvII

27a. TS NS J,fol.~$ cL lt , V;r pl 7

;LJ"J d Jlq c~Jj 2L gbtqai~ '


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48 S. D. GOITEIN27a, verso, address

.;e;6


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 49- L*bJ~ .)3 4N

aYTAJ - T A

SCL olAjtiJvU J52 I V

. . t A

C I A : ? . J u t o i

verso2A11A9I1 0.0

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JO S. D. GOITEIN

L$:jUSU ji1 J- ,..J 'tVi

Twocopiesof a letterby Maadmun, den,to AbrahamBen Yfiy,Malabar Coast, India23. TS_ )6J4fol.31424. TS I8 J 2 fol. 725. TS eS.416Numbers 23 and 24 together form one complete letter. Line35 of number 23 isidenticalwith the first line of number 24, but the paperwas torn in such a way thatthe firstfive words of line five are in number 24, while the last word in the line is onthe lower left hand corner of number 23. The length of the page is 7.8 + 36 cm. =43.8 cm., its width 10.3 cm. The paper is light gray and of medium thickness. It iswell preserved, except that the ink on the opposite side can be seen through thepaperin places.Number 2z is written on paper of exactlythe sametype and dimensions. Only the

lower half of this copy has been preserved, approximately zz cm., correspondingto number 24, recto, 11.18-37, and verso, 11.i-i8 (to the word kt'by, "my letter," i.e.,nly two words are missing here).Number 23 and number 24 recto were written by the clerk who also wrote number25, i.e., he made at least two copies of this letter.This same scribe also wrote numbers26, 3, 6 and 99, and wroteheirst line of numbepostscriptsn the margins of number 32. However,the postscripton the verso of number24 was writtenby anotherhand, the samehandwhich wrote that to number 99 innd very cursivestyle. It standsohe word kt, "myreason,herefore,w h i c h w r o t e t h a t n u m b e r 1 9 9 v e r y c u r s i v e s t y l e . s t a n d s r e a s o n , t h e r e f o r e ,9) TS = Taylor-Schechter Collection in the University Library, Cambridge,England. The numbers 23, 24, etc., are the numbers given to the relevant Genizatexts in my book Documentsrom theCairoGeniZa n theIndiaTrade f theHigh MiddleAges, the "India Book" (in preparation).


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 5I

that this was the hand of the sender, Madmian,himself. The same handwritingisto be found in numbers 27, 29, 32, and 33-34.The recto of numbers 23-24 is written in a very ornatestyle in such a way that thesheet is filled exactly. It is thus clear that it was copied from an original whichMadmanhimself had written. The question then arises, why Madmainadded thepostscripton the verso of this scribe'scopy, and not on the originalitself. The answeris that the calligraphiccopy servedas the official text of the letter,while the draftwassentin another boat as a replacement n the case that the officialtext was lost.It is surprisingthat the receiver of the letter kept two copies of it during all theyearshe lived in India and did not dispose of them until he came to Cairo. It is evenmore strangewhen we see that number 25 has no more room for furtherwriting.Fromthis we mayconcludethat he kept the paper,if not for reference, or uses otherthan writing, for example, "to wrap over the mouth of a small flask" (Mishna,Sabbath, , 2, in referenceto 'erasedpaper'), or "to stop up the mouth of his flask"(BabaMetZia13a,in referenceto a cancelledlegal document).Contentsfthe etter

A. Acknowledgmentf BenYijfi's etterandshipmentnumber 3,11.1-5, number24, 11.I-10).B. List of gifts sent to Ben Yijii with 'Abd al-Masih,the deacon(number24, 11.10-23).C. Acknowledgmentof a shipmentsentby Ben Yijfito the merchantAbu 'l-Khairand business dealingsof the latter(ibid.,11.23-29).D. The marketfor iron in Aden (ibid.,29-25).E. Greetings ibid.,35-37).

PostscriptArabic extnot provided):F. Request o askthreeIndianacquaintances,wo HindusandoneMuslimor Jew, to sendpepperandironfromMangalore, ndcoconutsetc. fromDiu (ibid., erso,1. -12).G. AnnouncementhatMadmfinwaspreparedo fit out a shiptosail from Aden in partnershipwith the aforementioned(ibid.,11.13-18).

TranslationA. No. 23. (I) Yourandssic) hall ehigh boveouradversaries,ndallyour enemieshall be cut off. (2) To ourworthym(aster)and t(eacher)Abraham,m(ay God rememberim)f(avorably), he son of o(ur honored),


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52 S. D. GOITEIN

g(reat)andh(oly)m(aster) ndt(eacher)3) Y?jim(ayherest n the)g(ardenof) E(den)(from)your riendMadmin,thesonofH.

asan, m(ayhe rest inthe)g(arden f) E(den).(4) The letter of my lord, the most illustriouselder, arrived;I read(24, 1. i) and understood it, and I was happy to learn that you werewell (23, 1. 5) and your affairs 24, 1. 2) in order, for whichI thankedGod very much, andaskedHim to give you more of everygood thing.May God unite (4) us under the most joyful circumstances,and in thebestof(5) spirits, orhecontrolsthisand sableto effectit, if (6) God will.

From what you mentioned, (7) my lord, I learnedthat you sent thetwo locks and the two thousand(8) white and red betel nuts. I havealready 9) received this andI thankyou for attending(io) to it.B. I have sent you a bundle of (12) Berberamats, six in number,(1i ) with 'Abd al-Masih,the deacon. (i3) We wrappedthem in canvasand your name is written (14) on it in Arabic and Hebrew. With him,I have also sentyou (a gift) from me: (i6) a new, first-rate,unbleachedDabiqi scarf,(I7) which has a prettyband on each side, (18) and is fitto be worn by prominentmen. (I) also (sent)with him (19) two sets offine, large paper-(2o) government paper, the like of which (21) noone has. In addition, (I sent) with him two rubd'iyydtof (z2) sugarand raisins. See thatyou receive all this from him.C. (23) Everything you sent to Abu 'l-Khairarrived, (24) and hehas takendeliveryof all of it. (25) He bought Egyptianlinen and wentup into the (26) Highlands. He requestedme to ask you to look afterhis interests(27) and send his remaining(28) iron and cardamon,andthe entirebalanceto his credit. (29) Send him all this on the first boat(30) which sails from India.D. As for iron, this (31) year it sold (well) in Aden-all (32) kindsof iron--and in the coming year (33) therewill also be a good market,because(34) there is none at all left in the city. (35) Pleasetake noticeof this.E. Pleaseaccept for yourself the best of (36) wishes, and for yourson Suriir, and for Bamah, (37) the most bountiful well-being. AndPeace.


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 53VersoinMadmfin's and).F. (i) Pleasegive S~isSiti andKinbdti andIshl..] (2) andIshlq

theBinyin mybestregards, ndtell them(3)of mylongingforthem.Informhem n myname hatasforpepper, n (4) thiscomingyear tsvalue, that s) thepriceperbahdr,will be (5) thirtydinars, ndmore,andas for refurbishedron, (6) a bahdrwill be (worth)not less thantwentydinars, 7) and that the raqs shining,glittering ron),whichwas in the city, is completelyexhausted. 8) (Tell them also) todispatch shipfromMangalore,f theycan,(9) andto sendin it anyavailableepper, ron,(io) cubeb,andginger; t shouldset out at thefirstopportunityor (11) al-Dyyb Diu], takingsome coir (coconutfiber), inealoeswood, (i 2z)mango(?),andcoconuts,becauseallthesearesellingwell.G. (13)If they areequippinga ship in Aden, andthey want me(14)to takepart,I will share(in it) with them. If therewere (i ) aship sailing romMangalorehis year,I would send them(i6) gold,sugar,raisinsand (other)goods. Be sureto informthem(17) of allthis,and do not be remiss,for you take the placeof (18) a letterofmine o them.AndPeace.

Addressn Arabicscript,written n the samedirectionas the post-scriptbelow:(i) Themostillustrious lder, His servantIbrdhim . Ishii,theIsraelite, Madmiin .mayGodpreservehis high al-Ha[san]position.Addressn Hebrew cript,writtenon number 4verso on the reverseside,opposite hebeginningof theletter:(i) Toourworthym(aster)nd YourriendMadm~Zin,t(eacher)braham,2) m(ay) the onofIHasan,m(ay)Godrememberim(avorably), herest nthe) (ardenthe onofo(urmaster)nd of) E(den).t(eacher)Yzyj,m(ayhe restin the)g(arden f) E(den).


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54 S. D. GOITEINCommentary

No. 23I Yourhands hall be high, etc.--Micah 5:8; where "your hand(inthe singular) ..." This biblical verse and similar ones, are foundat the beginning of other letters from that period. This replacesArabic wa-kabata 'ddhu,"may He crush your enemies," usuallysaidat the beginning of letters.z The abbreviationZ"lis generallyknown as a blessingfor the dead.In Yemenite usage, however, these letters stand for Z(dkhir)1(e.tov[a])and areused as a blessing for the living.3 Your friend-spelled 'hbk,both here and in the Hebrew address,without the waw,as often in the Bible, for example,I Kings 5: 5,Isaiah 41:8, Proverbs 18:"24,Esther 5:10, 14.Hasan-in the Arabicaddresswith the article.

No. 247 Locks-see number 26, verso, 1. 28, below.8 Betel nuts-a common Indianexport commodity.See numbersz6,

verso, 11.23-27, below.I1 'Abd al-Masihthe deacon-shammds.Just as Jewish rabbis andMuslim qadis dabbledin trade,so did ecclesiasticalofficers of theChristianChurch-here probably of the Syrian Churchof India.While travelingfrom Aden to India,he acted as an agent for twoJews.

1z Mats which were brought to Aden from the African port ofBerbera.The same gift was also sent in letter 29, 1.46.14 "In Arabic and Hebrew"-as the two addresses in this letterdemonstrate, he terms "Arabic"and "Hebrew"refer not only tothe script,but to the languageas well.

17 Band-Ar., silsilah.This word, which usuallymeans 'chain,' alsohas the sense of 'collar,'and it seems that it here refers to somekind of decoratedfringes.

19 Sets-Ar. dast,which designatesa numberof objects of the samedescription.The word is once specifiedin these papers (34, 1. 6,


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 55in connectionwith Chinesecups)as a set of six, andonce (54, 1.24,referring o paper)as a set of twelve. Paperwas also sent in singlesheets, as in number 55, 1. 15, where fifteen sheets of large Talhipaper are mentioned. In contemporaryEgyptian and YemeniteArabicdasta s "a dozen," which in Yemen, when connectedto afollowing word, is shortened to dast, e.g. dastshama',"a dozencandles."The same word in ModernEgyptiandesignates"a quireof paper,"cf. Spiro, Arabic-EnglishDictionaryf Egypt,Cairo,1923,p. I73a,andDozy, Supplimentl, . 44Ia;according o A. Barth6lemyDict. Ar.-Franc., Dialectes de Syrie, p. 239, dast is "a set of 400leaves of paper," which does not, of course, apply here. Thesendingof paperas gifts or merchandise o India is mentionedveryfrequentlyin our documents.

21 Rubd'iyyat-According to A. Grohmann, Siidarabienls Wirt-schaftsgebiet,I, 98, who relies on E. Glaserand other 19th centurytravelers n South Arabia,the rub!'i hasfour Tumdniof 2.387kg.which would make9.448 kg. In San'a',the capitalof Yemen, I aminformed, the rubi'i is I/8 of a Qada.h.The YemeniteQadah(cf.al-Wdsi'i, Ta'rikh al-Yemen,Cairo, 1346/1927-8, page 200, 1. 4) isthe equivalent of two modern oil tins. This too would give therubd'ia weight of about io kg.

24 Abu 'l-Khair-This name occurs frequentlyin these documents.He is perhapsto be identifiedwith Abu 'l-Khairal-Barqi 199, 1.6;32, 11.63-64).26 To the highlandsof centralYemen.

32 All kinds of iron-Five differenttypes of iron are mentioned inthese documents.36 Surair-This Arabicname, which means'Joy,' correspondsto theHebrewnamePerahyd,which means"Joy in the Lord,"accordingto the meaning of the Arabic root frh. Peraihyiwas the name of

this Surtir'sgrandfather.Bamah-the slave and house-stewardofBen Yiji.


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36 S. D. GOITEINVerso1-2 SdisSiti etc.-The first two namesare Indian.Ishiq can be thename of a Jew or a Muslim.Binyanis the usualdesignationoran Indianmerchant.Ii Diu, an island south of the Saurashtraeninsulaof Gujaritonthe northwesternndof the Gulfof Cambaynorthof Bombay),wasa greatemporium f trade n the LateMiddleAges, see Enc.

s1.2 p. 322. Thenamehas the articlebecause t simplymeans"island"dipa), meaning ertainly nownto theArabic peakingMiddleEasterners.12 Finealoeswood, krbh, learly pelled husin bothcopies,hasnotbeen found by me elsewhere. take it as Persianagarbib,seeF. Steingass,Persian-Englishictionary, . 90, as derivedfromSanskritaguru modern agar,informationby ProfessorA. L.Basham).The item nw'shk lso has not been traced hus far. Professor

Basham uggestednavdmuaka,hichmightbe pronouncedome-thing ikenkadshuk,compound f nava, ew,andatmiuka,inecloth,muslin.I doubt, however,whether extileswould be mentionedbetweencoirandcoconutsandwonderwhethernw'shk ouldnotstandfor nagZak,mango,see 0. Spies,IbnFadlallah l-Omari'sBerichtiberndia,Leipzig,1943,p. 33. Mangowouldbe tradedaspicklesor as a preserve.13 Equipping--Ar.jahdZ,f. 1.8, i.e., buyingor buildinga shipandfitting t out.16 Gold-the reference,t seems, s to goldcoins.Sugarandraisins-generally ppearn smallquantitiesent asgiftsfor children.Heretheyareexportcommodities.Other)goods-i.e., goodsorderedbyIndianmerchants.

TheArabicAddressthesameaddress,withslightvariations,sin 27):z Ish-i-The nameYiji was also pronouncedandwrittenas Yishi, seenumber 27 in the Hebrew address, and 62, 1. I, or as Ishi.


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 57Fragmentsf twocopies f a letterfromMadmfinoBenY/ij

26 TS 24.6627a TS NS J, fol. 527b TS 13 J 7, fol. 1327c TS Box K 25, frgt. z252zNo. z6 is a copy, written by the clerk who wrote numbers z3-z4, of the original,numbers27a-c,which is written by Madmoin.The fifth line of numberz27amatchesthefirst ine of number 26. Number z7b begins with the last word in line 5 of numberz6. It concludes with the second word of line 35 of number 26. The addresshasbeenpreservedonly in numberz27a,ince the custom was to write the addresson thereverseside of the sheet, opposite the beginning, and the beginning, usuallycon-tainingonly polite phrases, was often torn away as not needed, while paperalwayswas in demandfor all kinds of purposes, see above.The clerk worked with great exactitude.There is no deviation from the original.He did, however, use many more diacriticalmarksthan his master,albeit withoutanyconsistency.The originalwas written by Madmancarefullyand in a more pleasanthand thanis usual for him. Deletions, involving the beginning of words, are found in twoplaces only. The writer undoubtedly had accounts before him, from which hecopied.We mayassumethat these accountswere entered n Madmiin's edger,whichis mentionedseveraltimes in these documents.No. 26 is written on the same grayish paper as numbers 23-25, but it differs inwidth (11.3 cm.). This would seem to imply that they cut their paper to differentsizes,and that it was not bought alreadycut in sheets suitablefor writing purposes.

52 cm. of the length of the sheet are preserved.The paper is differentin number z7a-c. It appearsmore brownish, lighter, andsmootherthan the paper of the other fragments originatingfrom Madmiin'sofficewhich have been identified up till now. Its width is io cm. at the top and 9.5 cm.at the bottom. Its length is 11 cm. plus 25.5 cm. plus 29.5 cm., a total of 66 cm.A spaceof 12 cm. was left blank on the verso of 27c. Thus Madmin was not forcedto cut short, as he sometimes did for lack of space.On the lower edge of the verso of 26 the receiverof the letter, Abrahamb. Yijfi,wrote, in his own hand, a calendarfor the year 1458of the Era of the Documents,i.e., 1146/7 A.D., for the year 1459, i.e., 1147/8 A.D., and for another year which isdifficultto read; most probably it is for the year 1460, i.e., 1148/9 A.D. The sameman wrote a calendar for 1461, i.e., 1149/5o A.D., on the edge of number 5i, and wepossess others from his hand.Contentsfthe etter:

Aa. Acknowledgmentof a letterand a shipmentof pepperfrom BenYijfi,through heagencyof theshipownerRimisht,anddetailed


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58 S. D. GOITEIN

accounting of what was received for the goods sold, after thededuction of expenses (number 27a, 1. I-number 26, 1. 15).Ab. Acknowledgment of a shipmentof iron through the agency ofthe shipowner Ibn Abu 'l-Kati'ib, and detailed accounting ofwhat was receivedfor the goods sold, afterthe transferof partofthe shipmentto whomever designated,and afterthe deductionof expenses (number 26, 11,16-39).Ac. The balancein favor of Ben Yija.Ba. The purchaseof copper for Ben Yiji, the price and the freight

charges in three differentships (11. 0-50).Bb. Details of various expenditureson behalf of Ben Yijii, and ofpurchasesof copper, lead, and other commodities(11.5o-verso17).Bc. The completionof Ben Yiji's account(verso, 11.18-19).C. Acknowledgment of various shipments, and, finally, of giftsfromBenYija.D. Theshipment f gifts,and best wishes.In orderto lightenthe reader'sburden,all the accountscontainedin thisletterhavebeen reduced o a table.Thedetailswillbe explainedin the commentary.t should be kept in mindthata bahdr ontains300rotl, or pounds,and thatthe dinar,or goldpiece,is divisible nto24 qirits, whicharecombinedo an eight,sixth,fourth,third,or half

of a dinar,as the circumstancesequire.The dinarsare,naturally,heones usedin trade n Adenin thisperiod,namely,Malikidinars,whichhad the worthof somewhatmorethan one thirdof the Fatimiddinar,as is evident rom variousreferencesn the Indiapapers,buthadherea highervalue.A. The aleofthe oodsentbyBenYjfiand heprices

obtained,fter hedeductionfexpensesI. Pepper-2 bahar,from which 45 rotl were removed,leavingii bahir, 255 rotl. The price:per bahar-34 dinars,per rotl-34/300 dinar.


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 59Total: 374 dinars + (34 x z55/300) -28 9/1o, rounded out to

28 5/6 = 402 5/6 dinars(Malik.)The expenditureson this shipment:"Tithes"(i.e., customs) 82 1/4 dinarsExpensesin receiving the goods 4 1/6 dinarsBasketsand porters i/6 + I I/4 dinars87 5/6dinars 87 /6Balance n favor of Ben Yijai rom thepepper hipment 315 dinars

II. Iron-20 bahr, 120 rotlAmountgivento the merchant oseph 3 bahar, 89rot1Amountgivento the merchantKhalaf 2 bahdr, 75rot1Total: 5 bahdr, 55 rotlAmount eft for sale:14bahdr,165rotlPrice:perbahdr-17dinarsperrotl 17/300ooinarsTotalreceived:238+-(i65 x 17/300= 9.35roundedout to 9 1/4)247 1/4 dinarsVarious xpendituresn this shipment z7 1/4dinarsBalancen favor of BenYijairomtheironshipment 220 dinarsTotalbalancen favorof BenYijii=

220 + 315 dinars= 53 dinarsB. Shipmentsfgoods ndrequestedtemsoBenYij/ or theaforementionedumI. 5 bahdr f copper,andexpendituresnthem 415 dinars Malik.)Hidesforpacking hem,and thecost

of packing i I/2 dinarsExit tolls in Aden 4 i/8 dinarsII. Otherpurchases ndexpenses:Freightcharges or thecopper 4 I/2 dinars


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6o S. D. GOITEINRegistrationfee to the captainfor theshipmentsof iron and pepper 2 dinarsCopperbars 8 dinarsDates 2 i/2 + i/4 dinarsAn Abyssinianhide 2 dinarsMats i dinarA carpet 5 dinarsVariousitems of clothing 6 dinarsLead 28 I/2 + 1/12 dinarsFreight chargesfor the lead I dinar20o Egyptian Mithqil, which equal 47 dinars7 Malikidinars 7 dinars

I/4 + i/8 + 1/12 = 11/24, 535 11/24, rounded out to535 1/3 dinars(iMlaliki)However, the 1/3 dinar is not consideredby Majdmn, who statesthat with these shipmentshis account with Ben Yijiofor that yearis settled.Translation

Aa. (27a,1. i) The letter of my lord, the most illustriouselder, hasarrived;may God makepermanent(2) your well-being, may he guardyour life andhumblethose who envy you. It was (3) a most gladdeningletter and a most delightful message. I was happy to learn of yourwell-being(4) andyour prosperouscircumstances, nd I have entreatedGod (to grantyou) moreof everygood thing, (5) (26, 1. I) in his mercy.I noted from what you mentioned(26, 1.2) in your esteemedletter (6)thatyou sent (26, 1. 3) some pepper n the ship of the NikhodS (7)Rimisht (26, 1.4)-twelve bahir of small measure.(8) This has arrived(26, 1. 5)andyour servant went to pick it up.From this is to be deducted (26, 6)-as you mention in your letter-forty (7)-five rotl, leaving you eleven (8) bahir and two hundredandfifty-five rotl, the price being (8) thirty-threedinars(per bahir). The(full) value is, (thus), four (io) hundredand three dinars,minus one-sixth.


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 6I

(Ii) From this (sum) is to be deductedthe "tithe"(i.e. the custom'sduty), eighty-two (i2) and one quarterdinars, the cost of obtainingthe goods, four and one-sixth dinars, ( 3) the cost of baskets and aporter,one and one-quarterand one-sixthdinars,(14) a total of eighty-eight dinars minus one-sixth, (I5) leaving three hundredand fifteendinars(in your favor).Ab. (16) You mentionedthatyou sent some refurbished ron in theshipof the Ndkhodd(17)Abu 'l-Hasanb. Abu 'l-Katd'ib(x18)--twenty-one bahdr-but (i9) the Nikhodi AbTi Abd Allah, his son, only gaveme (20) seventeen bahdr of large measure; he stated that (2i) theBdnydn the Indian merchant)whom you asked to take chargeof theiron (22) delivered no more than this to him, saying that the rest of(23) the iron was in the highlandsand had not yet arrived.In reply,I held him to be underobligation (24), if this were not true, (25) to paythe price (of it), accordingto the sale value in Aden. (26) He is to paymy lord this in India.

(27) The iron I received fromyou in Aden is abouttwenty (28)bah.rnd one hundred and twenty rotl of small measure.(29) From this isto be deducted: for the elder Joseph b. (30o)Abraham,threebahdrandone hundred and eight (31) rotl; for Khalafb. Ishiq, two bahdr(32)andone-quarter-a total of five baharand two hundred(33) and fifty-five rotl, leaving you four-(34)teenbahdrand one hundred and sixty-fiverotl, (35) the price being seventeendinars(per bahdr).Total value:two hundred(36) and forty-sevenand one-quarterdinars.From this is to be deducted (37) the "tithes,"the expenses,and the(cost of) the porter,twenty-(38)sevendinars, eaving two hundred(39)andtwenty dinars.Ac. Therefore,the sum total coming to you is approximately ivehundred(40) and thirty-fivedinars.Ba. Your servantbought you (41) three bags of copper(?sufr),weighing (42) five bahdr,at a cost of eighty-three (dinarsper bahdr).(43) (Total)value: four hundred andfifteendinars.(44) The number ofpieces in each bag is twenty-three. (45) The cost of hides and packing,one and one-half dinars. Exit tolls (46) from the port (of Aden), four


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62 S. D. GOITEINand one-eighth dinars.I sent you (47) this in the ship of the NdkhoddRdmisht-(48) one bag-in the ship of al-Muqaddam-one bag-andin the ship of (49) Nambiyar(ani?)-one bag-a total of three bags.Freight chargesfor ( o) this (were)four and one-halfdinars.Bb. (Also) chargedto you, the registration ee with the (5 ) boat'scaptainfor the pepperand the iron, two dinars.No 26, verso

(I) Also, there arecharged o you twenty-five otl of copperbars,(2) twenty-eight ieces n number, 3) wortheightdinars;a basketofdates,(4) 115 rotl, worth two and one-halfand one-quarter inars;(5) two dinars, he cost of anAbyssinian ide;one dinar, hepriceoften (6) Berberamats which arein a package 7) whichis markednHebrewandArabic;(8) a zodiaccarpet,worth five dinars,a maqta'cloth,(9)andtwo Mandri erchiefs,worthsixdinars-(io) all this withAbfi Ghdlib, he ship'scaptain. i i) He alsohas with him a pieceoflead, weighing(12) two hundredand forty-fiverotl, worthtwenty-(I3)eightandone-halfdinarsandtwo qirdt, heprice(perbahdr) eing35 dinars;(I4) freight charges or the pieceof lead,one dinar.AbdiGhdlib,heship'scaptain,has withhimalsoa purse n whichtherearetwentyEgyptianMithqil(i6) worthforty-sevendinars Maliki). 17)Thatpursecontains also)sevenMalikidinars.Bc. (i8) Thetotalsum:five hundred ndthirty-five inars 19)andone third.This settlesmylord'saccount. zo)C. Therealsoarrivedhe"eggs"whichyou sentin theshipof (21)Ibn Abu 'l-Katd'ib,and this was receivedby the eldersJoseph(22)andKhalaf,alongthe lines of the division whichyou indicated23)in yourletter.The betel nuts also arrived,which (24) you sent to your servant,andthis is on the balance f (2 ) myaccountwithyourexcellencyromlast year.(26) But the betelnuts wereextremelymediocre,both thewhite (27) andthe red ones. Therealso arrivedwhatyou werekindenough(to send),namely our(28)locksandtwo bowls.D. Your servant has sent you (20) with Abai Ghalib, the ship's


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 63captain,two large brazilwood boxes with (30) sugar, and two brazil-wood boxes with raisins,and a packagewith (3i) three sets of EgyptianTalhipaper of the best obtainablequality.Please accept this, my lord,(33) and may you think well of me in your secretthoughts. If you haveany (34) need or service (to be done) I would be happyto take care ofthem. (35) May you have abundantwell-being. And Peace.27aThe Hebrew Address:

(i) The illustriouselder,mylord Abraham Your servantMa~dman(2) Ben Yishai-May God preserveyour b. al-HJasan. Bunddrwell-being.

The Arabicaddress,writtenin the directionof the message,containsexactlythe same words with the additionof "theIsraelite,"andin placeof "Yisha" in 1.2: Ishu.CommentaryNo. 26

3 Nakhod-- ship-owner(Persian).Rdmisht--The ships of this great merchant are frequentlymen-tioned in thesepapers.Two inscriptionsof thisRdmishthavebeenpreserved at Mecca, one, dated 5z29/1135, relating the foundationof a hospice, cf. Ripertoire hronologique'epigraphierabe,Number3075 (vol. VIII, pp. 196-7), and the second,his epitaph, romSha'bdn, 534/April 1140, cf. Riepertoire,Number 3099 (vol. VIII,pp. 2I8-9);seealso theArabhistorianbnal-Athir, ubanno532(ed. Tornberg,Vol. XI, p. 43, 11.5-9).Oneof his agentsbroughtbackfromCantonn a singlevoyagemerchandisef thefabulousvalue of 00oo,ooo inars.In 532/1138, he provided for the coveringof the Ka'ba with Chinese silk, Gaston Wiet, "Les marchandsd'dpicesetc.," Cahiersd'histoire gyptienne,airo I955, p. 85;S. M. Stern, "Rdmisht of Sirdf, a MerchantMillionaire of theTwelfth Century," ournalof theRoyalAsiatic Society,April, 1967,pp. Io-14.


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64 S. D. GOITEIN4 Of smallmeasure--therelationshipbetweenthe smalland the largemeasure is clarified by this document, both here and in 11.20, 27-28.

According to these references, 17 bahir (5,ioo rotl), of largemeasure = 20zoahir and i20 rotl (= 6,20zorotl) of small measure.The ratio is about 1.z:1; also in Number 28, 1. 17, and Number58, 1. 23.5-7 Thereis no explanation or the deductionof 45 rotl from I2 bahdr,or any indicationas to who receivedthem. It seems,however, thatthis is a polite way of referringto the fee of the Representativeof

the Merchants,namely,Madm-in.This payment,about .330%, snot muchdifferentromthat mentioned n 4, 1.io, whereMadmiin'sfather received one qirdtout of every two dinarsof the price ofeach piece, that is 1/4810).12 Cost of obtaining the goods-4 1/6 dinars for goods worth 402 5/6dinars, that is, approximatelyone percent: apparentlya govern-ment tax.13 The baskets are mentioned elsewhere, for example in 20, verso,1. 17 and z8, 1. 18. It seems that pepper and similarcommoditieswere in need of ventilation, and were transferred rom the con-tainersin which they had been broughtfrom Indiato the baskets.23 The Highlands, of course, of India, and not, as above, 24, 1. z6,of Yemen.29 JosephB. Abraham,acousinof Madmuin,ndprominentmerchant.3' Khalaf b. Ish1q, another cousin of Madmuin,a philanthropicnotable.46 Port of Aden: al-furdah, he customs house of Aden, cf. L6fgren,Aden in Mittelalter, Uppsala 1950, p. 50.47 Rimisht-See 1.3 above. Either the ship which broughtmerchan-dise fromIndia took merchandiseon the returntrip, or in another

ship of the same merchant, 11.17-19, above.

io) This refersto the voyage to Indiaof Joseph Lebdiof Tripoli,Libya,in 1095/6,his dealings with Hasan b. Bundir, of Aden, and his subsequentlawsuits in Fustat,1097/8,see S. D. Goitein, StudiesnIslamicHistoryandInstitutions, eiden1968,p. 336.


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FROM ADEN TO INDIA 6548 Muqaddam-a generaltermdesignatinga person wielding power;it was the officialtitle of the headsof the EasternJewishcommuni-

ties, see S. D. Goitein, A Mediterraneanociety, I, pp. 68-75. It isnot impossible that the reference here is to a Jewish shipowner,but since the owners of the othertwo boats bearIndiannames,theword Muqaddammay referto the holder of an Indian office. Theships of Ibn al-Muqaddam are mentioned also in 56, 1. 17.So Registrationcharges-satmi. All merchandisecarried n a ship wasregistered,and after the arrivalof the ship the captainreceived aset fee for this list. The term designatedboth the list and the fee.From the fact that the value of the pepperand the iron together,before the various deductions,was approximately8o00dinars,wesee that the registrationfee was about I/2% of the value of themerchandise.

26, verso3 Basket--qawsarah, word found in Aden to this day, see E. V.Stace,English-ArabicVocabularyAden Colloquial),London, 1893,

p. 17 s.v. "basket for dates." Also heard by me.6 Berbera mats-see 24, 1. 12, above.8 The zodiac,Ar. burfij, common ornamenton the floors of churchesand synagogues in Byzantinetimes, decoratedthis costly carpet.9 Mandri-Mandrahis the name of a locality in south-west MuslimSpain, near the city of Sidiinah (Yiqfit, Geographicalictionary,p. 648). These woven goods were namedafter that districtor wereperhapsbroughtfrom there.A city nearSaragossa,Spain,alsobears hisname,Ydqat, bid.A kerchief f the same ypewas sentfrom Aden to India according to 67, 11.9, 18-19.io Abii Gh~lib,the ship'scaptain-v. infra.1. 5, 29. It is not specifiedwhether this captaincommandedone of the threeships mentionedabove, recto, 11.47-49, or anothership.i i Lead-needed in the manufactureof copper vessels with whichBen Yiji dealt.

5


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66 S. D. GOITEIN15 The Egyptian Mithqil (or dinar) is here worth only 2.35 Malikidinars,just as z8, 1. 32, below.i9 One third-Madmin discounts this one third, see recto, 11.39-40.As was shown, however, in the analysisof the accountabove, herounded off small amounts also to the disadvantageof Ben Yijii.zo "Eggs"-either a type of cardamon,or a form in which iron was

shipped,66, 1.6; 67, 1. 29.Arrived-the merchandisewas delivered to the Representativeofthe Merchantswho distributed t to those by whom they had beenordered.

29 Brazilwoodboxes, i.e., made from baqqam, r sappanwood. Thiswood was one of the maindyeingstuffs,but, aswe see here,servedalso as material or implements.31 Talhi paper-named after Talhka . Tihir, ruler of Kharasin innorth-east Persia, who died in 828, see Enc. Isl.2, IV, 419, s.v."Kighad." It is interestingthat the nameof a commodityremainedconstantfor over threehundredyears.

P.S. In the finalpublicationof the Geniza materialon the India tradeit is plannedto edit the Arabic texts in a separatevolume and toprint the comments beneaththe translations.