Reconstruction and Dating
This article presents a âreport of deathâ document unearthed in 2003 in Quá¹£ayr al-QadÄ«m on the Red Sea coast of Egypt by David Peacock and his team from the University of Southampton.2 Roughly 1,040 fragments of paper documents in Arabic were collected from Quá¹£ayr al-QadÄ«m between 1999 and 2003,3 some with writing on them, others without. The edition of and commentary on this text appears below in appendix 1.
The document consists of two fragments and has been partially reconstructed (inv. nº PA0386, and PA0381, see text 1, and fig. 2.1 and 2.2). Both were found in 2003 in the same archaeological trench and context (trench 13, context 5500). Both had been rolled up and use the same high-quality paper, thick and smooth.4 Laid lines are not obvious, but cannot be entirely counted out either. Both use the same open and regular script which, considering this was an administrative document (see parts II and III) and therefore probably written by an official, can be taken as a sample of the script of a dÄ«wÄn.5
The same trench and context yielded another fragment bearing a witness formula (inv. PA0388, see text 1, âwitness clauseâ and fig. 2.4). It too had been rolled up, although it has traces of folding along the longer side (ca. 2â¯cm from the bottom edge). The paper has lost its starch. Its length of 11.1â¯cm roughly corresponds to the length of the central part of the report of death (11.3â¯cm, fig. 2.2). The script is different from text 1, suggesting that the three fragments form together an original document, rather than a copy.
Trench 13 is an Islamic rubbish deposit, quite probably from Mamluk times, but consisting mainly of Ayyubid material.6 A, B and C were found in the same context as a paper from the âarchivesâ of the AbÅ« Mufarrij company. These archives have been reconstructed by Li Guo in his study on the Arabic documents from Quá¹£ayr,7 and all the dated evidence in his material is from the first four decades of the seventh/thirteenth century, namely, the period of the reigns of the Ayyubid sultans al-Malik al-Ê¿Ädil (r. 596â615/1200â1218) and his son al-Malik al-KÄmil (r. 615â635/1218â1238). In addition, the formula seems to follow those of the Cairo Geniza papers dating from the seventh/thirteenth century (see appendix 2), which would also place it in this time frame.
Six reports of death of Jewish women from the Geniza collection, published by Geoffrey Khan, were also all written according to the same formula.8 âTheir dates fall within the last three quarters of the seventh/thirteen century, spanning the Ayyubid and early Mamluk periods (from 621â629/1224â1231 to 697/1298).â9 The reports of death from other collections that I have been able to locate were found at Qaá¹£r IbrÄ«m, but are late and have a different purpose.10
The missing part of the document is reconstructed according to the model of the documents found in the Geniza. An idea about the width of the Quá¹£ayr al-QadÄ«m document is given by the piece bearing the basmala (22.5â¯cm), so that we can probably reconstruct the missing part between A and B on side 1 as having contained the name of the dead person and the date of his death.
If my reasoning is correct, the deceased is a Muslim. Every published report from the Geniza specifies the day on which the death occurred. But the date as well as the reasons of the death do not appear in our document. Here the place where the dead person died is mentioned as being sÄḥil al-Quá¹£ayr, i.e. âthe coast of Quá¹£ayr,â referring to âthe anchorage of Quá¹£ayr.â11 It can simply mean that the man died in the anchorage of Quá¹£ayr al-QadÄ«m or close to it, or the death could have happened on a ship. Besides Quá¹£ayr, sÄḥil al-Quá¹£ayr appears frequently in the addresses of the Quá¹£ayr letters.12 It also sometimes appears in the text of the documents.13
The Quá¹£ayrÄ« Report of Death Bearing Mention of Heirs and the DÄ«wÄn al-mawÄrÄ«th al-ḥashriyya
Khan suggests that these reports of death were âpresumably addressed to the dÄ«wÄn al-mawÄrÄ«th al-ḥashriyya,â14 the office of intestate successions, which kept a register of deaths.15 Ibn MammÄtÄ« (d. 606/1209) gives a precise statement about the conditions under which this office was entitled to (a part of) the inheritance: âIf there were no heirs, or the heir or heirs were not entitled to the whole of the inheritance, the whole estate in the first case, or its residue in the second, would go to the bayt al-mÄl. As the sole Fatimid concession to remain in force, the share of the absent heir would be kept in trust in the treasury until his return.â16
From the time of the Ayyubids, the definition of those having a right to the inheritance was, following ShafiÊ¿ite and Malikite doctrine, restricted. The office charged with investigating and determining the succession of those without heirs on behalf of the treasury was precisely the office of intestate successions.17 This system continued under the Mamluks with the dÄ«wÄn being clearly linked to the dÄ«wÄn al-amwÄl within the structure of the dÄ«wÄns.18 Outside Cairo and Fusá¹Äá¹ further dÄ«wÄns were located in the major cities of Egypt.19 Ayyubid reports of death bear the same formula whatever the religious identity of the deceased, as we saw above. And the inheritances for Jews were directly supervised by the same authorities as inheritances for Muslims during our period.20 In conclusion, the dÄ«wÄn was supposed to register only the deaths of those with taxable legacies.21 But in each published report of death in the Geniza, the deceased does have some heirs to his estate, as does the deceased of the Quá¹£ayrÄ« document. The next question then is how the dÄ«wÄn functioned in practice?
Rabie observes that âBaybars [Mamluk Sultan, r. 1260â1277] used to levy a tax on a deceased personâs estate even if there were heirs,â and reaches the conclusion that âit is very probable that the officials of the mawÄrÄ«th had to report each deceased case immediately and separately.â Rabie then refers to one of the Genizaâs report of death documents, dated 682/1284, i.e. during the reign of Sultan QalÄwÅ«n (r. 1279â1290), which was later published by Khan who, in his edition, referred to Rabieâs analysis.22 Generally speaking, for the published Geniza reports of death, which usually concern Jewish women, Khan refers to al-NuwayrÄ«âs (d. 732/1332) NihÄyat al-arab, where it is written that âthe heads of the dhimmÄ«s had to notify the government of every death in their communities.â23 This is confirmed by the works of Ibn TaghrÄ« BirdÄ« (d. 874/1470) and al-QalqashandÄ« (d. 821/1418), who describe the general functioning of the dÄ«wÄn during the Mamluk period.24
As far as the understanding of the Quá¹£ayrÄ« document is concerned, which dates to the first four decades of the seventh/thirteenth century, Rabie does not discuss evolutions in the functioning of the mawÄrÄ«th under the Ayyubid rulers in as much detail as he does those changes under the Mamluks. He has, however, carefully studied taxes and other sources of revenue going to the treasury and discusses the functioning of the MÄl al-mawÄrÄ«th al-ḥashriyya.25
Ibn MammÄtÄ«âs description of the general functioning of the dÄ«wÄn suggests that during the Ayyubid period the mawÄrÄ«th authorities decreed that the burial of the dead could take place only after their officials have been informed, suggesting that at that time each death was registered.26 It seems also that a kind of co-ordination existed between the police and the judiciary, with the police registering the death and then reporting to the qÄá¸Ä« in the quarter where the deceased lived.27 Ibn MammÄtÄ« describes the customary procedure following a personâs death: the undertaker informed the mawÄrÄ«th official who in turn determined the identity of the heirs.28 The Quá¹£ayrÄ« document, if we assume that the witness clause is part of it, looks more like a legal document produced by the office of a qÄá¸Ä«.
Also relevant is an iqrÄr document from the al-Ḥaram al-SharÄ«f collection dating to the second half of the eighth/fourteenth century, i.e. under Mamluk rule.29 In this document a âTurkish woman [called] Yulqaá¹lÅ« declares in writing that her husband is her sole legal heir.â30 While the Ḥaram collection includes both private and public documents, the iqrÄrs belong to the private legal document type. That is to say, they were issued on behalf of private individuals and the judiciary.31 This particular document had been drafted before the death of the Turkish woman. Lutfi underlines the fact that it represents a different use of the iqrÄr, compared to the five other pieces that she published together with it, namely its use as a legal document. It has been written up according to the Sharia, and its formalistic structure is similar to the others. But what makes it a âlegal document,â she explains, is its judicial registration: âBecause the iqrÄr of Yulqaá¹lÅ« involved a unique case of inheritance, the legal document had to be certified by the qÄá¸Ä« so that the husbandâs legal right would not be contested in the future. Thus unlike the other iqrÄrs dealt with in this paper, the present one is a judicial iqrÄr, witnessed and certified in court.â32 Lutfi then discusses the judicial registration marks on its recto and the ishhÄd on its verso, both witnesses to its being part of the judicial proceedings.33 This document belonged to the strategies used by individuals to avoid attempts of all sorts to divert money when it was possible according to the Sharia.34
Meanwhile our document may be considered in another way, that is to say in connection with the abusive practices by or through the office of intestate successions. The mawÄrÄ«th authorities were open to corruption as early as Saladinâs reign (r. 1174â1193), says Rabie, who adds: âThere exists a manshÅ«r written by [qÄá¸Ä«] al-FÄá¸il which reprimands a mushÄrif for his greed, and warns him that the sultan knows of and is worried about the defects of the administration of the mawÄrÄ«th.â35 According to Rabie again, during the Mamluk period abusive practices also prevailed, but at another level. The mawÄrÄ«th became a way for the rulers to collect extra money, which was then conveyed to them through Bayt al-mÄl. Rabie mentions in particular that the Mamluk sultan Quá¹uz (r. 1259â1260), while preparing troops to fight the Mongols, collected money from the estates of the deceased inhabitants for the treasury, without considering the number of heirs or the size of the estate. The absence of the heirs at time of death of a relative was also a pretext for abusive seizures.36 On the other hand, persons without legal heirs, but having daughters for instance, found strategies to avoid the seizure of their property by the dÄ«wÄn al-mawÄrÄ«th after their death, in particular through the waqf institution, as early as the Ayyubid period.37 This shows that people could find different ways to get around the obstructive measures of the dÄ«wÄn al-mawÄrÄ«th. The Quá¹£ayrÄ« report of death could then have been produced because of a dispute, between the administration and individuals, as a witness to the existence of heirs.
A Reused Report of Death
After our document was used as an administrative document, it was re-employed to write a letter (see text 2, and fig. 2.3). Here, the report of death, as well as the witness clause, was written on one side, keeping the other side blank (both A and C are indeed blank on the other side). The paper was rolled up with the written part of the letter on the inside, which confirms that the report of death was the first text to be written. A was also rolled up, surely from left to right and with the text inside, but the way A was rolled up is different from B. The report of death document was probably cut up before it was reused, that is to say cut before the letter was written on the back of B. The upper edge of B does not fit with the edge of A on the lower side. We know from the report of death that part of the document is missing. But it can clearly be observed that fragment A was cut with a sharp tool. In addition, the edges of B are neither clean-cut nor straight and we observe that the letter itself had been cut off at a later stage (see the text missing on the left side). We can then postulate one more step between the original shape of the letter and how it appears now. Moreover, B is not as long as A. The beginning of the letter (B / 2) corresponds roughly to the middle of the formula of the report of death, which is on the other side. And as is usual, the name of the sender appears on the upper left side, close to the left edge.
That administrative reports of death were subsequently used to write something else on the other side has been previously observed. The bulk of reports of death published by Khan for example follow this model. No. 128 has been reused to write Hebrew liturgical poetry on the other side. The back of no. 129 has a business account, mainly in Judaeo-Arabic with âCopticâ numerals (some are written as well at the top and right of the report of death). The other side of no. 130 contains Arabic pen trials. Finally, no. 131, a formulary for reports of death, contains a letter in Arabic on the verso.38 We might remark from an anthropological point of view that writing a letter on a report of death does not seem to bring bad luck! Generally speaking the formulary, even with its witness clauses, covers only one page, leaving the other side blank.39
The practice of recycling the archives of the administration has been studied by Petra Sijpesteijn for Abbasid Egypt,40 by Frédéric Bauden for Mamluk chancery documents41 and by Jonathan Bloom for Yemen in the time of Imam YaḥyÄ in the early twentieth-century.42 If our hypothesis is correct and the fragment bearing the witness clause is part of the report of death (text 1, âwitness clauseâ and fig. 2.4), it should be an original since the administration only kept summaries of documents if at all. Dominique Valérian describes the importance of individuals involved in a case retaining documents, given the authoritiesâ practice of not keeping copies: âDans sa plainte, déposée à Gênes, la victime déclare que les deux malfaiteurs ont brûlé ces documents pour effacer les traces de leur dette et il ajoute quââ¯ils lââ¯ont fait en sachant que les notaires musulmans ne conservent pas les documents quââ¯ils ont.â43
There is one final remark to be made concerning the document. At least the complete document, i.e. the report of death re-used for writing a private letter, both mentioning Quá¹£ayr and found in Quá¹£ayr shows that the one who died in Quá¹£ayr was connected with a family settled in Quá¹£ayr.
Appendix 1
Text 1. Quá¹£ayrâReport of DeathâBeginning of the 7th/13th Century
Arabic Text
[A] (Fig. 2.1)
â®
1 بس٠اÙÙâ٠اÙرØ٠٠اÙرØÙÙ ÙصÙ٠اÙÙâ٠عÙ٠سÙدÙا Ù Ø٠د ÙاÙÙ ÙصØب٠Ù[سÙÙ â¦â¬ââ®
2 â¦] اÙ٠ا٠ÙÙÙÙ Ø´ÙدÙاâ¬ââ®
3 [ÙÙاة ÙÙا٠ب٠ÙÙا٠ÙÙ ÙÙÙ Ùذا ÙÙ Ø´Ùر Ùذا Ù٠سÙØ© Ùذا â¦]â¬â
[B / 1] (Fig. 2.2)
â®
4 ⦠ÙÙ]ÙØ´ÙدÙ٠اÙ٠تÙÙ٠بساØ٠اÙÙصÙر اÙÙ[â¦â¬ââ®
5 ⦠Ùتر٠٠٠اÙÙرثة اÙÙ]Ù٠ستØÙÙÙ ÙÙ Ùراث٠اÙ٠ستÙجبÙÙ Ù٠زÙجت٠سÙÙ[Ù٠ا (Ø Ø³ÙÙ ÙÙ Ø) â¦â¬ââ®
6 â¦]â¬â
Translation
1 [A] In the name of God, the Merciful and CompassionateâGod bless our Lord Muhammad, his family and his companions, and save him!â[â¦
2 â¦] the trustworthy have witnessed
3 [the death of so-and-so, the son of so-and-so, on such-and-such a day of such-and-such a month, in such-and-such a year.]
4 [B / 1] They witness that he died on the coast of Quá¹£ayr [â¦
5 ⦠He left by way of] heirs having right to his inheritance who deserve it, his wife a lo[t (?, or two?), â¦
6 â¦]
Commentary
4. There are only two dots under the first letter; what seems to be a third dot is in fact a hole in the paper. The three dots on the top are on the original. The nūn at the end of the first word, yashhadūna, has a dot, as does the nūn of the following word, annahu.
5. Sahman: a reading, which does not explain the ligature between the hÄʾ and the sÄ«n (compare with â®Ø§ÙÙÙ٠ستØÙÙÙâ¬â and â®Ø§Ù٠ستÙجبÙÙâ¬â). Another possibility, following the Geniza model, is that the name (ism) of the wife follows her mentioning as an heir; but in this case the alif of ism would have been omitted.
Witness Clause [C]
Arabic Text (Fig. 2.4)
â®
1 [اÙ٠أ٠ÙÙ ÙعÙ٠صØØ© Ø°ÙÙ] â¢â¬ââ®
2 ÙÙتب عÙ٠ا٠ر٠ÙØضر٠اب٠عبد اÙغÙار [ب٠عبد اÙÙâÙ (Ø)] â¢â¬ââ®
3 Ù٠تارÙخ٠â¢â¬â
Translation
1 [The trustworthy recognises the validity of this.]
2 Written for him, Ibn Ê¿Abd al-GhaffÄr [ibn Ê¿Abd AllÄh (?)] ordered it and witnessed it
3 on its date.
Commentary
1. The same expression is found in Khan repeatedly; however, a slight change has been made here, in order to be consistent with the beginning of the report of death, which refers to al-maʾmūn, instead of al-mamlūk (compare with P.GenizahCambr. 131).
2. Witness names are usually given with at least one generation of kunya (P.GenizahCambr. 131).
Text 2. Quá¹£ayrâA LetterâBeginning of the 7th/13th Centuryâ[B / 2]
Arabic Text (Fig. 2.3)
â®
1 ÙاÙد٠ا[بÙ]ÙÙ٠اÙÙâ٠اÙاثÙÙÙâ¬ââ®
2 ØسÙ٠ب٠رضÙاÙâ¬ââ®
3 بس٠اÙÙâ٠اÙرØ٠٠اÙرØÙÙ ÙصÙ٠اÙÙâ٠عÙ٠سÙ[ÙÙدÙا Ù Ø٠د]â¬ââ®
4 ÙÙ Ù ÙÙت اشتاÙÙ Ù٠اÙدÙÙ ÙÙÙ٠اÙ٠ا٠ا[ ا٠اÙÙاÙد]â¬ââ®
5 ÙعÙ٠اÙÙÙد اÙعزÙز Ù ØÙ٠اÙÙ[ÙدÙÙ ]â¬â
Right Margin
â®
1 بÙد (Ø) [ ]â¬ââ®
2 باخبارÙ٠عس٠ا٠ÙÙد [ ]â¬ââ®
3 Ùب٠ÙبÙØ·Ù (Ø) ٠٠اÙÙصÙرâ¬â
Translation
1â2 (From) his father Ḥusayn ibn Riá¸wÄnâGod maintain both in life!â
3 In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. God bless [our Lord, the Prophet Muḥammad!]
4 and the one, I was missing being close to, but what [to do]? I â¦[(Your) father]
5 is writing to inform (his) dear son Muḥyī al-[Dīn ]
Right Margin
1 to the care of (?) [so-and-so ⦠]
2 to hear from you all. Let us hope that he gives birth [ ]
3 before I set down (?) coming from Quá¹£ayr.
Commentary
1. The paper has some internal dark spots which appear to be dots, but are not. This is a speculative reading.
3. The two dots at the last end of the line appear on the original as part of the writing. The taṣliya has been shortened as is usual in the Quṣayrī documents; the sender is mentioned at the top of the letter, close to the left edge.
4. The dot under kayfa appears on the original.
Right Margin
The stroke which appears under the three lines of text does not correspond to any writing and seems to be connected with the text on the other side, quoted here as text 1. The reading of lines 1 and 3 is a best guess.
Appendix 2. The Geniza Modelâ7th/13th Century
T-S Ar. 39.277 (After P.GenizahCambr. 131)
Text
â®
1 اÙ٠٠اÙÙÙ ÙÙÙÙا ÙÙاة ÙÙا٠ب٠ÙÙا٠اÙÙÙÙد٠ÙÙ ÙÙ٠اÙÙÙا٠ÙÙ Ø´Ùرâ¬ââ®
2 اÙÙÙا٠Ù٠اÙسÙØ© اÙÙÙاÙØ© Ùتر٠٠٠اÙÙرثة ÙÙد٠اÙ٠س٠ا ÙÙاÙâ¬ââ®
3 ÙابÙت٠اÙ٠س٠اة ÙÙاÙØ© ÙزÙجت٠اÙ٠س٠اة ÙÙاÙØ© بÙت ÙÙا٠Ùاب٠ع٠Ùâ¬ââ®
4 اÙ٠س٠ا ÙÙا٠ب٠ÙÙا٠ÙÙ٠ا تØÙÙÙا Ø°ÙÙ ÙتبÙا خطÙØ·Ù٠بÙâ¬ââ®
5 Ù٠اÙتارÙØ® اÙÙ Ø°ÙÙر ÙاÙØ٠د ÙÙâ٠اÙÙاØد اÙØ٠اÙدائ٠اÙبÙاâ¬â
Witness Clauses
â®
1 اÙÙ Ù ÙÙÙ ÙعÙ٠صØØ© Ø°ÙÙâ¬ââ®
2 ÙÙتب ÙÙا٠ب٠ÙÙا٠اÙÙ Ù ÙÙÙâ¬ââ®
3 اÙÙ Ù ÙÙÙ ÙعÙ٠صØØ© Ø°ÙÙâ¬ââ®
4 ÙÙتب ÙÙا٠ب٠ÙÙاÙâ¬ââ®
5 اÙÙ Ù ÙÙÙ Ù Ùر باثبات خطÙØ· ÙاÙÙا٠اÙØ´ÙÙد Ùا٠ا بس٠â¬ââ®
6 Ùا٠ا بÙرابة عار٠ÙÙتب ÙÙا٠ب٠ÙÙا٠راÙس اÙÙÙÙد ÙÙ٠ئذâ¬â
Figures
Figure 2.1
A INV. PA0386. © University of Southampton, Quṣayr al-Qadīm project
Figure 2.2
B/1 INV. PA0381. © University of Southampton, Quṣayr al-Qadīm project
Figure 2.3
B/2 INV. PA0381. © University of Southampton, Quṣayr al-Qadīm project
Figure 2.4
C INV. PA0388. © University of Southampton, Quṣayr al-Qadīm project
The reports of the excavations are available online at
For an overview of the Southampton collection of the Quá¹£ayrÄ« fragments, see Regourd, Trade. A book is in preparation, which will contain the edition of ca. 50 items. The study of these fragments has been made possible within the framework of the Reconstructing the Quseiri Arabic Documents (RQAD) project, funded by the UKâs Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
I consulted the original documents kept by the Egyptian Antiquities Service at the end of 2004. I wish to thank the Service for giving me the four-week authorisation necessary for this work.
A very closed script for the basmala is displayed in al-QalqashandÄ« (d. 821/1418), á¹¢ubḥ al-aÊ¿shÄ, 3:132, al-ṣūra al-Å«lÄ, assuming the printed text is correct compared to the manuscripts. The section is devoted to the script of the basmala in the dÄ«wÄn al-inshÄʾ.
For trench 13, see Peacock and Blue, Myos Hormos 172â173.
Guo, Commerce.
P.GenizahCambr. 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130. No. 129 is mentioned by Rabie, The financial system 130 and n. 4. No. 130 is mentioned in Goitein, A Mediterranean society 2:321, 473â480.
P.GenizahCambr., p. 473.
Hinds and Ménage, Qaá¹£r IbrÄ«m 68, 32â33, dated 1082/1672; ibid., 75, 48â49, dated 1100/1689. Werner Diem presented a Report of Death in his contribution to the Fourth International Society for Arabic Papyrology Conference, in Vienna, March 26â29, 2009, called, âSome remarkable Arabic documents from the Heidelberg collection.â
Cf. the discussion in Regourd, Arabic. Access to the coast around Quá¹£ayr al-QadÄ«m is difficult because of a barrier of coral, which is, however, discontinuous at the level of Quá¹£ayr al-QadÄ«m (Peacock and Blue Myos Hormos 8, fig. 2.2). The recent excavations have revealed evidence of industrial activity in particular what has been interpreted as the repair and/or construction of boats in the channel from the sea to the south (ibid., 111â115). The ânaturalâ elements that made it a place for the ships to stop are evident.
Guo, Commerce 10, 157; 13, 165; 16, 173; 18, 176; 25, 197; 26, 199; 55, 251; For the documents found in Qusayr between 1999 and 2003, see Regourd, Trade on the Red Sea.
Guo, Commerce 52, 246, recto l. 3, and 54, 249, recto l. 1; and also in 70, 287, recto l. 3, âsÄḥilâ being translated as âthe aforesaid port.â
P.GenizahCambr., 125, 473.
al-Qalqashandī, Ṣubḥ 4:33.
Rabie, The financial system 127â128, who summarises Ibn MammÄtÄ«âs KitÄb QawÄnÄ«n al-dawÄwÄ«n, 319â325. However, an early document, dating to the 1stâ2nd/7thâ8th centuries, which was produced in a time close to when ShafiÊ¿ite law was being shaped, refers to the case of a woman who died without heirs and the legal arrangements that followed from it, namely that in cases without legal heirs, the inheritance (here estate) goes to the highest religious authority (Liebrenz, Eine frühe arabische, commentary to ll. 5â6).
Cf. al-QalqashandÄ«, á¹¢ubḥ, 4:33; Tyan, Histoire de lââ¯organisation 549, in comparison with Fyzee, The Fatimid law 61â69, for the Fatimid law of inheritance.
Cf. Gottschalk, DÄ«wÄn (II.- Egypte) 330.
Dols, The Black Death 171, 181.
Goitein, A Mediterranean society 3, 277â278; Dols, The Black Death 180, 175.
Dols, The Black Death 175.
Rabie, The financial system 130; P.GenizahCambr. 129, 478.
al-NuwayrÄ«, NihÄyat al-arab 242â243. Dols, who used the records of the mawÄrÄ«th to assess urban depopulation after epidemics in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, on the other hand, argued that: âthe dÄ«wÄns [referring to the DÄ«wÄn al-mawÄrÄ«th al-ḥashriyya] of the major cities registered only the deaths of those who died with taxable legacies. Cairo and Fusá¹Äá¹ had separate dÄ«wÄns and included the deaths of Christians and Jews as well as Muslims for both these citiesâ (Dols, The general mortality 397). Dols also takes into account changes of the rules concerning dhÄ«mmÄ«s who had converted to Islam in order to divert money from the legal heirs to the treasury (Dols, The Black Death, 175â¯ff.; Dols, The Black Death 397â¯ff.).
As discussed by Lutfi, who criticised Dolsâs argument especially because he did not define what he meant by âtaxable legaciesâ and did not substantiate other aspects of his argument (Lutfi, Al-Quds 16â17).
Rabie, The financial system 127â¯ff.
Ibn MammÄtÄ«, QawÄnÄ«n al-dawÄwÄ«n 324â325, mentioned by Lutfi (Al-Quds 14) who analyses the reasons.
Lutfi, Al-Quds; Scanlon, Housing 185.
Ibn MammÄtÄ«, QawÄnÄ«n al-dawÄwÄ«n 325, mentioned by Lutfi (Al-Quds 14â15).
Published in Lutfi, Al-Quds. For the general functioning of the dÄ«wÄn al-mawÄrÄ«th al-ḥashriyya in Jerusalem during the Mamluk period through the documents of al-Ḥaram al-SharÄ«f, i.e. the administration of the estate from the inventory of the inheritance and its selling, until the administration of the following income for the dÄ«wÄn, see Müller, QÄá¸Ä«-Gericht und Rechtsadministration 391â¯ff. Some comparisons are made with the situation in Cairo and, especially, the relation between this institution and Bayt al-mÄl. Cf. Lutfi, Al-Quds 18â19.
Lutfi, A study of six; Lutfi, A documentary source 315, 278â287, and plate VII, recto and verso, the quotation itself is taken from page 286.
Lutfi, A documentary source 149.
Lutfi, A documentary source 286.
Lutfi, A documentary source 281â¯ff.
Müller deals in his Chapter V with estates under judicial and public control (Müller, QÄá¸Ä«-Gericht und Rechtsadministration 357â¯ff.). He then studies the iqrÄrs of estate inventories legalised through ishhÄd (witness citation) by a qÄá¸Ä« and in what cases these were valid and useful in front of the administration (ibid., 363â366). Twenty iqrÄrs with ishhÄds are mentioned, containing dispositions of goods belonging to couples (ibid., 363 no. 1501). The procedure authenticating an inheritance by iqrÄr was especially prevalent in the case of a single heir (ibid., 365).
Rabie, The financial system 128, and note 2, quoting RasÄʾil al-QÄá¸Ä« al-FÄá¸il, MS. Add. 25757, fol. 10râv; also Lutfi, Al-Quds 14â15.
Rabie, The financial system 131 and n. 3, and also Tyan, Histoire de lââ¯organisation.
Rabie, The financial system 128â129, n. 1.
P.GenizahCambr. 128, 129, 130, 131.
Cf. the three other reports of death published by Khan in P.GenizahCambr. 125â127.
Sijpesteijn, Coptic and Arabic.
Bauden, The recovery.
Bloom, Paper before print 79â80, after Abbott, The rise 13â14.
Valérian, Bougie, port maghrébin 311â312.
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