History of the Jews in Baghdad

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Not to be confused with Baghdadi Jews.
Great Synagogue of Baghdad

Under the Abbasid Caliphs

According to

Jewish spiritual life, Sura and Pumbedita. As the Caliph was anxious to see the population of his new residence increase, he offered no resistance to Jews settling there and forming a community. They became so numerous that one of the bridges over the Karkhâyâ in the western suburb was called Qanṭara al-Yahūd "Jews' Bridge" (Guy Le Strange, "Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate," p. 150),[3] and Yaqut al-Hamawi
mentions that the Jewish quarter, the Dar al-Yahūd, was in the neighborhood (iv. 1045).

The Jews were occasionally troubled by revivals of the restrictions on non-Moslems. These regulations were first renewed by

Al-Mutadid (892-902).[4]

As the seat of the caliphate, Baghdad quickly gained prominence. It was a home for

resh galuta or exilarch.[8][9]).[4]

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the Jews of Baghdad were affected by the

Rabbinical Judaism. He was answered in the same way by Jacob ben Samuel,[10][11] Abu Imran al-Za'farani [he] the founder of a new sect, was born in Baghdad in the ninth century.[12][13]).[4]

At the time of the Caliph al-Mutadid, the Jews of Baghdad fared well on account of the kind treatment accorded to them by the

exegete and traveler Abraham ibn Ezra visited Baghdad between the years 1138 and 1140 (see his commentary to Exodus 25:18). Ibn Ezra's son Isaac, who probably came with him, and was baptized, wrote in Baghdad (1143) a poem in honor of another convert, Nathaniel Hibat Allah ("Kokbe Yiẓḥaḳ," 1858, p. 23; Graetz, "History of the Jews," Hebr. transl., iv., Appendix, p. 47[18]).[4]

In the twelfth century

During the twelfth century, the Jews of Baghdad attained again some measure of self-government. The calif

tapestries like that of the king."[4]

The most prominent heads of the yeshibot were at that time

E. N. Adler), who lived before the middle of the thirteenth century, traveled as far as Baghdad, where he met the head of the yeshiva ("Jewish Quarterly Review," xii. 115,[7] 202).[4]

In the thirteenth century

The Jews of Baghdad diminished largely in numbers and influence, not only because of the general movement of the Jews toward Europe and because of the Crusades, but also through the storming of the town by the Mongols. Arghun (1284–91), however, had a Jewish physician in Baghdad, Sa'ad al-Daulah, who was consulted in all financial matters by the sultan; but upon the death of Arghun, the position which the Jews had gained through Sa'ad al-Daulah was quickly lost, and the streets of the city flowed with Jewish blood (see "Revue Etudes Juives," xxxvi. 254).[4]

In the fifteenth century

With the fall of the Abbasid power the eastern caliphate went to ruin. Very little is known concerning the Jews of Baghdad during the following period, and we can only find a few notes here and there in the works of travelers who have passed through the place. In 1400 the city was besieged by

Tamerlane, and many Jews who had taken refuge here from other villages perished (Jost, "Israelitische Annalen," 1839, p. 197[29]).[4]

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

Pedro Teixeira, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, found in Baghdad 20,000 to 30,000 houses, of which 200 to 300 were inhabited by Jews. He says that they lived in a certain part of the town in which their "kanis" (synagogue) was situated.[4] It was in the early Seventeenth Century, that the axis of Mesopotamian Jewry began to shift back towards Baghdad.

In the nineteenth century

Jewish students at the Midrash Talmud Torah (1832-1951) in Baghdad, Iraq (date unknown)

At the beginning of the nineteenth century,

Asia Minor (Franco, "L'Histoire des Israélites de l'Empire Ottoman," p. 132[30]).[4]

The traveler

Abdullah ben Abraham Seumech
.

Though the Jews inhabited a certain quarter of the city, to live in that quarter was not compulsory upon them. Of the nine synagogues which J. J. Benjamin mentions, eight were situated in one court; while the ninth was a large building, resting on sixteen columns, called "Bet ha-Keneset Sheik Isaac Gaon," in a side room of which building the body of that saint was interred.[4] Baghdad was a cultural center of Jewish learning with, in the early nineteenth century, the largest library of the city being in the hands of the astronomer, poet and communal leader Solomon Ma'tuk.[31]

The trade of Baghdad with

Canton. This is corroborated by the evidence of the Rev. Henry A. Stern ("Dawnings of Light in the East," p. 46, London, 1854),[32] who says:[4]

"Jews ... are the governing element of the place. They have their stored booths in every bazaar, occupy all the principal caravansaries ..., and entirely control the business of bankerage and monopolies."[32]

In the mid-nineteenth century, the reign of Dawud Pasha of Baghdad saw the leading Jewish families of the city persecuted by the Ottoman governor.[33] This led to many of the leading families, such as the Sassoon family as the Judah family, descended from Solomon Ma'tuk, to leave the city for the booming port cities British India.[34] This was the origin of the trading network and diaspora of Middle Eastern Jews in Asia known as the Baghdadi Jews.[34] David Sassoon would come to be seen as the leader of the Baghdadi Jewish trading diaspora and his friend and relative Ezekiel Judah

in Calcutta would establish synagogues.

Stern estimated the Jewish population in his day at 16,000, as against 1,500 Christians and 40,000 Moslems. The Jews were at that time divided into

India silk. The trade in Babylonian and Assyrian antiquities is largely in the hands of the Jews of Baghdad (Delitzsch, "Babylon," 2d edition, 1901, p. 5).[4]

David Sassoon of Baghdad (seated) and his sons

Of the history of the Jews during the second half of the nineteenth century, very little is known. In 1876 and 1877, the city was attacked by a plague, and the Jews suffered terrible hardships in consequence. For a time, they were compelled to leave the city and to camp in the wilderness ("

industrial lines. The study of English has been encouraged by a foundation made by Silas Sassoon, a member of the Sassoon family which has its origin in Baghdad, David Sassoon, the founder of the family, having been born there, 1793.[4]
Obadiah Halevi (b.1810) was Hakham Bashi Of Baghdad during the mid 19th century.

During the last years of the nineteenth century, a few Hebrew books have been printed in Baghdad, especially by Solomon Behor Ḥuṣain [he]; e.g., ספר פתרון חלומות (the second part of Solomon Almoli's work), 1892; מרפא לעצם of Isaac Farḥi;[42] the story of Esther (קצת אסתר), told in Arabic by Joseph al-Shamsani; תהלה לדויד of Sasshon Mordecai Moses;[43] and מעשה נסים on the wonders which happened in Palestine, taken from the שערי ירושלם.[44] Of earlier works may be mentioned ספר קרנות צדיק of David Saliḥ Ya'ḳob, published by Raḥamim Reuben Mordecai & Co., 1867,[45] and ספר משלי שועלים, printed by Judah Moses Joshua, 1874.[4][46]

In the twentieth century

Haham Abraham Hillel of Baghdad
Haham Yosef Hayyim of Baghdad
Simon Aghassi
of Baghdad and his son, approximately 1910

In 1912, S. N. Gottlieb lists Baghdad's rabbis:

Antiquities of Jewish interest

Baghdad and its vicinity possess a certain number of antiquities of Jewish interest. A large mosque, containing a tomb, is consecrated to the memory of a holy

Bassorah), venerated equally by Jews and Arabs. It is covered with inscriptions now illegible.[4]

Another tomb visited by the Jews of Baghdad is that of Daniel, near Hillah.[4]

References

  1. ^ Ketubot 7b. כתובות ז ב  (in Hebrew) – via Wikisource.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Zebahim 9a. זבחים ט א  (in Hebrew) – via Wikisource.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Strange, Guy Le (1900). Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate. p. 150. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gottheil, Richard; Franco, M. (1901–1906). "BAGDAD". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
    Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography:
  5. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1896). הערות ומלואים לחלק החמישי [Appendix to volume 5] (in Hebrew). Warsaw. p. 46. Retrieved May 19, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ Steinschneider, Moritz (1877). Polemische und Apologetische Literatur in Arabischer Sprache zwischen Muslimen, Christen und Juden (in German). Leipzig. p. 293. Retrieved May 19, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^
    JSTOR 1450575
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  8. ^ Geiger, Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift," v. 398; Grätz, "Geschichte der Juden," v. 479
  9. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1860). Geschichte der Juden [History of the Jews] (in German). Vol. 5. Magdeburg. p. 479. Retrieved May 19, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ (Graetz, "History of the Jews," Hebrew transl., iii. 311)
  11. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1893). דברי ימי ישראל [History of the Jews] (in Hebrew). Vol. 3. Warsaw. p. 311. Retrieved May 20, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^ (Graetz, ib. iii. 508
  13. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1893). דברי ימי ישראל [History of the Jews] (in Hebrew). Vol. 3. Warsaw. p. 508. Retrieved May 20, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1893). דברי ימי ישראל [History of the Jews] (in Hebrew). Vol. 3. Warsaw. p. 274. Retrieved May 22, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1893). דברי ימי ישראל [History of the Jews] (in Hebrew). Vol. 3. Warsaw. p. 306. Retrieved May 22, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1893). דברי ימי ישראל [History of the Jews] (in Hebrew). Vol. 3. Warsaw. p. 308. Retrieved May 22, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  17. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1893). דברי ימי ישראל [History of the Jews] (in Hebrew). Vol. 3. Warsaw. p. 166. Retrieved May 22, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  18. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1895–96). הערות ומלואים לחלק הרביעי [Appendix to volume 4] (in Hebrew). Warsaw. p. 47. Retrieved June 8, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  19. ^ (Ha-Kohen), Joseph (1858). Emek haBacha (in German). Leipzig. p. 27. Retrieved May 25, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  20. ^ (Ha-Kohen), Joseph (1858). Emek haBacha (in German). Leipzig. p. 167. Retrieved Jun 1, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  21. ^ Ibn Verga, Solomon (1855). Wiener, Meïr (ed.). Shebeṭ Yehudah שבט יהודה (in Hebrew). Hanover. p. 50. Retrieved Jun 6, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  22. Clarendon Press
    . p. 123. Retrieved Jun 8, 2016.
  23. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1894). דברי ימי ישראל [History of the Jews] (in Hebrew). Vol. 4. Warsaw. p. 308. Retrieved June 8, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  24. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1895–96). חדשים גם ישנים (in Hebrew). Vol. 4. Warsaw. p. 44. Retrieved June 10, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  25. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1861). Geschichte der Juden [History of the Jews] (in German). Vol. 6. Leipzig. p. 362. Retrieved June 16, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  26. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1861). Geschichte der Juden [History of the Jews] (in German). Vol. 6. Leipzig. p. 460. Retrieved June 17, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  27. ^ Graetz, Heinrich (1894). דברי ימי ישראל [History of the Jews] (in Hebrew). Vol. 4. Warsaw. p. 459. Retrieved June 21, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  28. ^ "He-Ḥaluẓ" החלוץ (in Hebrew). 3. Lviv. 1856–57: 150. Retrieved June 21, 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  29. ^ Israelitische Annalen (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Johann David Sauerländer. 1839. p. 197. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  30. ^ Franco, M. (1897). L'Histoire des Israélites de l'Empire Ottoman (in French). Paris: A. Durlacher. p. 132. Retrieved Jul 5, 2016. riche banquier de Bagdad.
  31. ISBN 9780028659411
    .
  32. ^ a b Stern, Henry A. (1854). Dawnings of Light in the East. London. p. 46. Retrieved Jul 12, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  33. ISBN 9781412837484
    .
  34. ^ a b Ben-Jacob, Abraham (1965). A history of the Jews in Iraq (in Hebrew). Ben-Zvi Institute of the Hebrew University, Kiriat Sepher.
  35. ^ Cuinet, Vital (1894). La Turquie d'Asie (in French). Vol. 3. Paris. p. 66. Retrieved Jul 11, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  36. ^ Cuinet, Vital (1894). La Turquie d'Asie (in French). Vol. 3. Paris. p. 97. Retrieved Jul 11, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  37. ^ Cuinet, Vital (1894). La Turquie d'Asie (in French). Vol. 3. Paris. p. 104. Retrieved Jul 11, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  38. ^ Slonimski, Hayyim Selig, ed. (Jul 12, 1876). "Ha-Ẓefirah" הצפירה (in Hebrew). 3 (26). Warsaw: 202. Retrieved Jul 15, 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  39. ^ Slonimski, Hayyim Selig, ed. (May 30, 1877). "Ha-Ẓefirah" הצפירה (in Hebrew). 4 (20). Warsaw: 157. Retrieved Jul 15, 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  40. ^ Slonimski, Hayyim Selig, ed. (Jun 27, 1877). "Ha-Ẓefirah" הצפירה (in Hebrew). 4 (24). Warsaw: 188. Retrieved Jul 15, 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  41. ^ Slonimski, Hayyim Selig, ed. (Jul 25, 1877). "Ha-Ẓefirah" הצפירה (in Hebrew). 4 (28). Warsaw: 221. Retrieved Jul 15, 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  42. ^ Farḥi, Isaac (1892). מרפא לעצם (in Hebrew). Baghdad: Solomon Behor Ḥuṣain. Retrieved Jul 19, 2016.
  43. ^ Sasshon Mordecai Moses (1892). תהלה לדוד (in Hebrew). Baghdad. Retrieved Jul 19, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  44. ^ Ḥuṣain, Solomon Behor. מעשה נסים (in Hebrew). Retrieved Jul 19, 2016.
  45. ^ David Saliḥ Ya'ḳob (1867). ספר קרנות צדיק (in Hebrew). Baghdad: Raḥamim Reuben Mordecai & Co. Retrieved Jul 19, 2016.
  46. ^ Berechiah ha-Nakdan (1874). ספר משלי שועלים (in Hebrew). Baghdad: Judah Moses Joshua. Retrieved Jul 19, 2016.
  47. ^ Gottlieb, Sch. N. (1912). Ohole-Schem אהלי שם. Pinsk. p. 479. Retrieved June 23, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  48. ^ a b c d Gottlieb, Sch. N. (1912). Ohole-Schem אהלי שם. Pinsk. p. 480. Retrieved June 23, 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

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