Cambridge University Library Fragment of the Month: August 2009 Syria’s links with the Jews of Cairo in the 15th and 16th centuries Dotan Arad, Hebrew University The Jewish communities in Syria had strong relations with the Jewish community in Cairo in the Mamluk period. The ‘Nagid’ (the head of the Jews in the Mamluk state) in Cairo was involved in the inner life of the Syrian communities, and commercial and familial relations linked the two regions. Although the government centre moved from Cairo to Istanbul in 1517, and the position of the ‘Nagid’ in Cairo was abolished, the close connection remained intact. In the Genizah we find traces of the correspondence between the two centres in the 15th and 16th centuries, e.g. letters from Aleppo to the Nagid in Cairo (BM Or. 5545.4; T-S NS 342.44), and a letter from Damascus to Cairo, possibly written in 1517 (T-S NS J332). The frequent occurrence of Syrian names in Egypt at that time is proof of a considerable movement of visitors and immigrants from Syria to Egypt. In letters, deeds and accounts from the Genizah from the 15–16th centuries a large number of individuals bearing names of Syrian origin (e.g., חלבי חמוי/חאמי, and others) are mentioned as residents in Egypt. During my visit to Cambridge (July 2008), I succeeded in finding, inter alia, two fragments of a letter written in Hebrew that was sent from Aleppo, probably at the end of the 15th century or the first half of the 16th century. The letter was given to a poor person from Aleppo, called here by the biblical nickname צובה, who intended to travel to Cairo principally to raise money. Before leaving Aleppo he obtained a letter of recommendation from the leadership of the community. The authors of the letter described his good virtues and asked the addressees (whose names are not preserved, but who were clearly leading citizens) to help him generously. The names of the signatories are difficult to decipher in the letter’s current state, but it is possible to discern the typical Judaeo-Spanish name Siman Tov ( טובסימן), which strengthens our dating of the document to the 15th century or later. Other names appear to be Musta‘rib, i.e., a Jew of native Arabic-speaking origin. It seems, therefore, that the letter was signed by leaders of the two elements of the Jewish community of Aleppo – natives and immigrants. brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by Apollo