Collection of Legal Documents Signed by the Rabbis and Dayanim of the Sanaa Beit Din - 19th Century

Collection of Legal Documents Signed by the Rabbis and Dayanim of the Sanaa Beit Din - 19th Century
Collection of monetary legal documents, signed by the rabbis and dayanim of the Sanaa Beit Din in the 19th century, 1829-1896.
Remarkable collection comprising dozens of legal documents, with many dozens of signatures of the dayanim and Beit Din heads in Sanaa in the 19th century. The text of the documents is in Judeo-Arabic; the signatures of the dayanim appear at the foot of each document (calligraphic signatures typical of Yemenite rabbis).
The signatories include: R. Yosef son of R. Shalom Alqareh, R. David son of R. Avraham Tzalach, R. Yichye son of R. Shlomo Abyadh, R. Yosef son of R. David Manzeli, R. Suleiman son of R. Yosef Alqareh, R. Yosef son of R. Yichye Iraqi, R. Avraham son of R. Tzalach, R. Yichye son of R. Shalom HaKohen, and others.
Includes a collection of documents and certificates in Arabic, from the same source (presumably the Sanaa Beit Din).
R. Yosef son of R. Shalom Alqareh (1769-1849), leading Yemenite Torah scholar, close disciple of the Maharitz and his successor. In ca. 1809, he was appointed dayan in the Sanaa Beit Din, and in 1812, he became head of the Beit Din and chief rabbi of Yemen. A leading Torah scholar in his times, exceptionally well versed in the Talmud and halachic literature. He disseminated Torah to the public and edified numerous disciples who later became prominent Yemenite rabbis. He instituted various regulations, and perpetuated the ways of his teacher the Maharitz in his leadership of Yemenite Jewry. His book Zivchei Elohim on the laws of ritual slaughter is well-known; he also recorded responsa and halachic rulings. The following dayanim served under him in the Beit Din, and signed alongside him on these documents: R. David son of R. Avraham Tzalach (1769-1839), grandson of the Maharitz; R. Yichye son of R. Shlomo Abyadh (b. 1766; he disappeared in 1836, some say he left Sanaa due to the famine, and others contend that he never returned from his mission in northern Yemen together with the emissary R. Baruch of Pinsk, in quest of the Ten Lost Tribes). Other signatories: R. Yosef son of R. David Manzeli (1804-1899), an elder Sanaa dayan. He served as dayan for over forty years; his signature appears on many rulings. R. Suleiman (Shlomo) Alqareh (1804-1889), son of the head of the Beit Din R. Yosef Alqareh, and his successor as head of Beit Din and chief rabbi of Yemen. R. Avraham son of R. Tzalach (1825 or 1833-1905) - great-grandson of the Maharitz, a preeminent rabbi in his generation, exceptionally pious. He served as dayan for 38 years and instituted various regulations and practices.
27 legal documents in Judeo-Arabic with signatures of dayanim + 25 documents and certificates in Arabic. Size and condition vary, overall good condition.