The long-awaited “India Book” is in print, and the wait has not been in vain. In many of the books and articles published by the eminent Geniza scholar Shlomo Dov Goitein, the reader encounters numerous references to this forthcoming publication. As explained in the preface to this book, in 1947, Goitein began to unearth material that revealed a previously unknown world of Jewish traders traveling between Fustat, Aden, and India in the late eleventh and twelfth centuries. Although he was almost continuously collecting, transcribing, translating, and sorting relevant information, the majority of his attention was directed toward the Mediterranean rather than the Indian Ocean. In 1985, when Goitein realized that he might not complete the task, he wisely passed the scepter to his erudite colleague and former student, Mordechai Akiva Friedman.
Anyone who is familiar with A Mediterranean Society has gained insight into the depth and breadth of this type of research: reconstructing medieval Jewish lives from these documents, which are often cut off (having been used for scrap paper), discolored, fragmented, or damaged, is an art that requires patience, imagination, industriousness, and a phenomenal memory. This book, unlike Goitein's magnum opus, consists mainly of translated letters and legal documents or references to them; however, three valuable introductory chapters appear as well. The book refers to 459 documents that are, on the whole, dated between the years 1080 and 1160. Friedman systematically presents Goitein's findings—which include introductions, transcriptions, and translations—and places each in the context of the latest Geniza research, carefully giving credit where credit is due. His efforts gracefully complement the work of the master as he painstakingly fills in as many blanks as possible, correcting errors and enriching the collection to the utmost. For example, the dates of documents are often calculated by referring to the contents of letters and references appearing in them. The footnotes alone are rich in linguistic, economic, halakhic, and historical elucidation; neither scholar left a stone unturned. As a result, this work reveals yet another important facet of the medieval Jewish world.
Goitein organized the material according to the identity of the trader who wrote or received the letter or document. The book begins with a preview of the India trade material and quickly moves on to “Dramatis Personae.” This chapter revolves around various eminent individuals such as Madmun b. Hasan-Japheth (appointed nagid in Yemen) and the Adenese shipowner Mahruz b. Jacob, along with families such as Lebdi (originally of Tripoli, Libya), Ibn al-Amshati of Fustat (a Friedman addition) and (Abraham) Ben Yiju (=Benichou) of Tunisian origin. To complete the first section, Friedman added a chapter on shipping and travel. In the second section with the documents, the majority is presented in full, and a subchapter on shipwrecked merchants is included. As the scholars ploughed their way through this material, they consulted with a vast array of experts who aided them to decipher and comprehend not only the language, but also the mentality of the merchants. In the process of noting handwriting and penmanship, the authors successfully identified unsigned documents.
While the contribution of the Jewish India traders was relatively modest and ceased by the mid-1200s, these merchants were extremely active for an entire century. They chose this dangerous but lucrative path because Italians dominated Mediterranean trade at the time. The documents reveal an extensive trade system, with Cairo serving as the processing center for goods and commodities that were then sent either to the East or the West. Traders reported to their partners, colleagues, representatives, and agents in various ports, listing the contents of particular shipments, giving instructions on whom to sell to or buy from, and suggesting desirable or appropriate selling prices. Luxury items appear on lists of gifts sent to friends and family.
India offered the market various spices and herbs (camphor, pepper, cardamom), plants (betel or areca nuts sent in quantities of 1,000), civet perfume, lac (a skin cosmetic and dye for wool and silk), copperware, Chinese porcelain, and iron and steel (raw materials). Textiles, clothing (futa robes), vessels, raisins, sugar, copper bars, chemicals, soap, and paper were shipped to India via traders based in Fustat, Aden, and elsewhere. The merchants liked to have their comforts when possible, so, for example, instead of writing on cloth, they ordered paper.
While a number of these merchants were wealthy, not many attained the status of shipowner or nakhuda. As Friedman points out, only the very wealthy and well-connected politically could afford the numerous expenses involved. There was the cost of the ship and its maintenance, including fuel (wood), and salaries for the crew. Because of the frequency of shipwrecks, the owners needed to be able to absorb serious losses as well (135). Interestingly, the pirates who roamed the Indian Ocean did not seem to have been interested in taking captives for ransom, although pirates frequently attacked and plundered cargo. Consequently, soldiers were hired to guard ships, which would not set forth alone but rather were launched with a smaller boat or two in which a portion of the cargo was placed; the aim was to avoid devastating losses in case of piracy or shipwreck.
The merchant had to calculate numerous expenses related to the ports; among these were the cost of porters, palm leaf baskets, tithes (customs), hides for packing, exit tolls, registration fees, freight charges, fees paid to the merchants' port representatives, and commissions for purchases by proxy (331). As is well known, merchants would prepare two or three copies of letters and documents, for they never knew which, if any, of the ships carrying their letters would actually reach its destination. Other letters reveal the complexity of dealing with the death of a merchant, whether as a result of murder on board or in a hostile port, or because of illness. Additional considerations and complications include the fate of investments, covering debts that may have been incurred, and providing for a deceased's family.
Lebdi, for example, was probably a pioneer in the trade; his documents reveal the “informal commercial collaboration” (32) that existed in place of formal contracts. The remarkable footnotes in this section explain a great deal about the nature of the goods on his lists. Madmun was the head of customs who owned a ship; by 1140, he was referred to as the “prince” of the Jewish community of Aden. He had extensive ties with Egypt, intervened for his brethren when necessary, and displayed a penchant for “risk management.” His documents reveal information about internal Yemenite affairs, including an attack on Aden that also affected the Jews. Mahruz b. Jacob, who was related to Madmun, usually employed scribes; Friedman comments that this was fortunate, as his handwriting was atrocious (488).
There are eighty documents dealing with Ben Yiju of al-Mahdiyya, who traveled extensively between India, Aden, and Fustat, suffering two shipwrecks. He owned a copper and bronze factory and lived for eighteen years on the Malabar coast; it seems that he purchased a slave girl whom he later converted and married. There is a lovely footnote here describing how melted butter (ghee/samne) was transported from Yemen to India without spoiling (651). These documents also include details of the fate of his children, his family who fled from Tunisia to Sicily, accounts, and suppliers; they reveal a businessman, poet, halakhic expert, and “an accomplished gentleman according to the conceptions of his time” (710). At this time, however, one may conclude that it is fortuitous that these two accomplished gentlemen scholars, Goitein and Friedman, have graced us with the “India Book.”
[There are scarcely any typographical errors; the few that appear are almost quaint: “quote exceptional” instead of quite (265); “corned” vs. cornered (565) and “resposnum” instead of responsum (789).]
