History of the Jews in Kairouan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The

Halakhic scholarship[1]
: 29  for at least three generations.

Early history

The first Jews arrived in Kairouan with its founders from the

Sura, and with Jewish communities in western Spain
.

In 880,

Tosafists
were not similarly sympathetic.

At the beginning of the 10th century, a Jew named

Seder Olam Zuta.[3]
: 18–19 

During the 11th century, the most prominent Jew in Kairouan was Abraham ben Nathan (Abu Ishāq Ibrahim ibn 'Ata),

Badis ibn Mansur, Mu'izz's father.[2][3]
: 19 

One contemporary of Abraham ben Nathan, Judah ben Joseph, was the most prominent trader of the city, controlling trade routes across the Mediterranean and on to India. During war, when all other ships were barred from sailing, his merchandise was taken on royal warships belonging to the Sayyida, the Zirid Queen Regent.

Hai Gaon titled him Rosh Kallah, Rosh HaSeder and Salier (possibly derived from a Persian term for dignitary).[3]
: 20 

Both Abraham ben Nathan and Judah ben Joseph died in the same year, sometime in the 1030s.[3]: 67 

Kairouan yeshiva

Throughout this period, Kairouan was known as a center of

Shmuel Hanaggid. At the peak of the yeshiva's prestige, Egyptian communities would turn to the scholars of Kairouan, even though they were subject to the Rashut of the Land of Israel.[5]: 26  Rabbi Yaakov ben Nissim led the Kairouan yeshiva the end of the 10th century. During his tenure, Rabbi Chushiel arrived in Kairouan from Italy,[1]: 22  and upon Rabbi Yaakov ben Nissim's death, in 1006, succeeded him. Upon the death of Rabbi Hushiel, Rabbenu Nissim ben Jacob,[1]: 57  son of Rabbi Yaakov ben Nissim, assumed the leadership of the yeshiva, and mentored Rabbenu Chananel ben Chushiel.[1]: 57–58  During that same period, Rabbi Isaac Alfasi also studied in Kairouan, before moving to Fez, Morocco. Rabbenu Nissim died in 1062,[3]: 19  and by the middle of the 11th century, the Kairouan yeshiva had lost its stature as a world center of Torah
study.

Decline and expulsion

During the eleventh century, the

Almoravid
people invaded from southern Morocco. The nomadic group sacked the city of Qayrawan, destroying the first wave of Arab influence over the empire of Kairouan. The conquest of the city of Qayrawan caused a mass migration of the Jewish population from the area of Kairouan while creating an Arab stronghold over the land. Although this conquest destroyed the interior of the area, the coastal cities prevailed as cities such as Tunisia was still an important location for North African culture producing textiles, ceramics, glass, oil, soap, and other manufacturing goods. Another devastating outcome from the conquest was the destruction of irrigation systems within North Africa, leading to desertfication and nomadization of the area until European powers colonized North Africa for the resources.

The devastating Banu Hilal conquest of Kairouan in 1057 so utterly destroyed the city that it never regained its former cultural appropriation as the area became a blend of Arab and Berber cultures, and the size of the Jewish community declined significantly. The result of the conquest officially made Arabic the official language of North Africa at the time. The community disbanded in 1270 when the

Hafsids
forbade non-Muslims from living in the city; the remaining Jews were forced to convert to Islam or to leave." After the invasion, the area, once flushed with cultural excellence, became an impoverished land currently occupied by Tunisia and now Libya. The Jewish population that was previously living in migrated to areas such as Egypt and Sicily.

After Tunisia was established as a French protectorate in 1881, some Jews returned to the city.[6][dead link] There were a number of Jewish shopkeepers and two synagogues were opened.[6] When Germany occupied Tunisia during World War II, many of these Jews fled.[6] Although some returned after the war, by the 1960s the Jews of the community had either moved elsewhere in Tunisia or migrated out of the country.[6] Today there is no Jewish community. This emigration took place from 1946-1960 until the Jewish community was all but nothing in the place that was the cultural center for Jews 900 years earlier.

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-89906-452-9
    .
  2. ^ a b c d "ABRAHAM BEN NATHAN". Encyclopedia Judaica. Vol. 2. 2007.
  3. ^
    LCCN 2003270832
    . Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  4. ^ Brener (2003), p.20, at note 33: Goiten, "Medieval Tunisia" p.324 suggests this was Umm al 'aziz (976-996) the sister of sultan Muizz, but Ben-Sasson calls her the mother of Muizz
  5. ISBN 9004104046
    . The scholars of Kairouan were even consulted by Egyptian communities who were officially under the rashut of Land of Israel; see S. Abramson, R Nissim Gaon: Libelli Quinque (Hebrew) (Jerusalem, 1965), 25-26, 43-46
  6. ^ a b c d "The Jewish Community of Kairouan". The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot.
  • Ben-Sasson, Menahem (1983). The Jewish Community of Medieval North Africa - Society and Leadership: Qayrawan 800-1057 (Ph.D. diss.) (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University.
מנחם בן-ששון, "צמיחת הקהילה היהודית בארצות האסלאם: קירואן, 1057-800", ירושלים, הוצאת ספרים ע"ש י"ל מאגנס, האוניברסיטה העברית, תשנ"ז
  • Stillman, Norman. "The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Sourcebook (Philadelphia, JPS, 1979) p42-46
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