Fragments of Alchemy from a Cairene Synagogue: Context, Codicology, and Contents of the Alchemical Corpus of the Cairo Genizah

Ambix. 2024 May;71(2):141-171. doi: 10.1080/00026980.2024.2343517. Epub 2024 Apr 25.

Abstract

This article presents the results of a survey and a first assessment of the corpus of alchemical manuscripts retrieved from the Cairo Genizah, a storage room mainly intended for sacred writings that is attached to the Ben Ezra synagogue of Old Cairo. The alchemical manuscripts are described in their codicological and palaeographic features; their content is analysed in the context of the medieval production of alchemical texts in the surrounding Islamic world. The alchemical corpus of the Genizah represents a unique and widely unstudied source for our understanding of the relationship between Jews and alchemy in the medieval Mediterranean World.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Alchemy*
  • Egypt, Ancient
  • History, Medieval
  • Humans
  • Islam / history
  • Jews / history
  • Manuscripts as Topic / history