Cairo Genizah : Letter; medical

Jacob

Cairo Genizah

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Letter from Iraq sent by Jacob the doctor to his family back in Juma Mazidat (גומה מזידת), reporting on an epidemic disease in Šamṭūniyya, where the writer and his son have travelled. The letter mentions the return from the Hajj of the Sheikh Abū al-Riḍā, the merchant from Baghdad. The writer describes the illness as an epidemic (‘no house was spared’), causing long-lasting fevers (17 days in his case). The son of the writer, called Abū Barakāt, fell ill as well, with strong fevers and shaking. A visit to the house of the sheikh Abū Sa‘d ibn Ḵalaf is mentioned.</p>