Cairo Genizah : Legal document; letter

Cairo Genizah

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Recto: bill of release written by Hillel b. ʿEli (1066-1108 CE) in Damascus. Names mentioned include: Abraham b. Yešuʿa, Judah b. Moses the Damascene cantor, Manasseh ha-Kohen b. Yefet, Solomon b. Moses, ʿUlla ha-Levi b. Joseph, Ḥalfon b. Isaac, Levi ha-Talmid b. Nathaniel the cantor, David ha-Nasi b. Daniel ha-Nasi b. Azariah, Judah b. Joseph ha-Kohen, Isaiah b. Manasseh, Judah b. Moses the cantor, Solomon b. Mevoraḵ he-Ḥaver, Mevoraḵ ha-Kohen b. Nathan ha-Kohen, Abraham b. Shemaiah he-Ḥaver, Manasseh b. Sabāʿ ha-Levi, Wahb b. Yešuʿa, Aaron b. Moses, and Mešullam b. ʿEli ha-Kohen. At the bottom of the document Solomon ha-Kohen b. Joseph signs ‘Solomon ha-Kohen son of a Gaʾon … grandson of Solomon Gaʾon, descendant of Aaron’, although his usual signature - Solomon b. Joseph Av - was apparently meant to placate the son of his father’s rival to the gaonate, David b. Daniel, in whose court he participated. In this instance, however, Solomon decided against his customary diplomatic signature and emphasised his father’s credentials. Verso: letter in Arabic script.</p>