IN THE COURTS OF THE NATIONS - DataSpace - Princeton ...

that they had successfully done so. In March, 1890, a Makhzan official named Ibn al-Shalīḥ
reported that Ya‘aqov’s representative (nā’ib) had come to his region to collect the debts owed to
Ya‘aqov and “had been paid in full by the debtors,” after which he “went on his way
cheerfully.” 2 Nearly two years later, another official named al-Takānī wrote to say that
Ya‘aqov’s representative had collected what Ya‘aqov was owed according to the legal
documents he had brought. 3 In one case, a Makhzan official reported that he had summoned the
debtor and was waiting for Ya‘aqov to send a representative with the bill of debt so that he could
settle the claim. 4 Yet another Makhzan official wrote to say that he had imprisoned one of
Ya‘aqov’s debtors—a common method to convince recalcitrant debtors to pay. 5 Clearly, much
of the time writing to the Makhzan was enough to ensure that Ya‘aqov’s debts were paid, or at
least that steps were taken towards this end.
Naturally, things were not always so simple; often, various complications arose in
Makhzan officials’ attempts to make Ya‘aqov’s debtors pay. In a letter from March 20, 1890,
the Makhzan official al-Zarārī reported that he had found one of Ya‘aqov’s debtors trying to
escape—presumably to avoid paying his debts—and that the other one had died. 6 Two years
later, the official al-Dalīmī wrote to say that two of Ya‘aqov’s debtors had successfully fled
while the other two had passed away. 7 It was not uncommon for debtors to try and flee to avoid
having to pay their creditors; we can imagine that when this happened, Ya‘aqov—being unable
to find his debtor, much less bring him to a sharī‘a court—would have asked the Makhzan to
intervene in the hope that local Makhzan officials would be able to locate the escapees (as al-
2
BH, K 171, p. 16, 28 Rajab 1307 (istawfā min al-ghuramā’i…wa-tawajjahu li-ḥālihi ‘an ṭayyibi nafsihi).
3
BH, K 181, p. 92, 12 Jumādā II 1309. See also BH, K 181, p. 134, 17 Sha‘bān 1309 and BH, K 181, p. 347, 12
Sha‘bān 1310.
4
BH, K 181, p. 343, 2 Sha‘bān 1310. See also BH, K 181, p. 343, 2 Sha‘bān 1310.
5
BH, K 181, p. 108, 5 Rajab 1309. On imprisonment see Chapter Five.
6
BH, K 171, p. 16, 28 Rajab 1307.
7
BH, K 181, p. 123, 29 Rajab 1309.
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