The Monasteries of the Fayyūm

In the Moritz Collection, acquired in 1929 by the Oriental Institute, are three Arabic parchment documents of the fourth-century Hijrah (tenth century A.D.), two of which are contracts of sale of property, while the third deeds property as a charitable grant to what seems to be the earliest known and definitely named monastery of the Fayyūm. This study gives an annotated translation of the three documents and a historical sketch of the monasteries of the Fayyūm.