Medieval Sourcebook:
Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela בִּנְיָמִין מִטּוּדֶלָה: (1130-1173) CE:
The Itinerary, 11th Century CE
[Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=384707 ]
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
I. Islam in the Middle Ages vii
II. The Object of Benjamin's Journey xii
III. Bibliography xiii
THE ITINERARY
Translation of Hebrew Introduction 1
EUROPE.
Saragossa, Barcelona, Narbonne 2
Beziers, Montpellier, Lunel 3
Posquieres, Bourg de St. Gilles, Arles, Marseilles 4
Genoa, Pisa, Lucca 5
Rome 5-7
Naples, Sorrento, Salerno 8
Amalfi, Benevento, Melfi, Ascoli, Trani, Taranto, Brindisi 9
Corfu, Arta, Patras, Lepanto, Crissa, Corinth, Thebes 10
Wallachia, Armylo, Vissena, Salonica, Abydos 11
Constantinople 11-14
Rhaedestus, Gallipoli, Chios, Samos, Rhodes 14
ASIA.
Cyprus, Curicus, Malmistras, Antioch 15
Antioch, Ladikiya, Gebela, the Hashishim 16
Kadmus, Tarabulus (Tripolis), Gubail (Byblus) 17
Beirut, Sidon, the Druses, Tyre 18
Acre, Haifa, Carmel 19
Caesarea, Ludd, Samaria, Nablous 20-21
The Samaritans 22-25
Jerusalem 25-26
Bethlehem, Hebron 26
Beit Jibrin, Shiloh, Ramah 26
Gibeah, Nob, Ramleh, Jaffa 27
Askelon, Jezreel, Sepphoris, Tiberias 28
Meron, Kedesh Naphtali, Banias 29
Damascus 29-30
Galid, Salchah 30
Baalbec, Tadmor, Emesa, Hamath 31
Sheizar, Aleppo, Kalat Jabar, Rakka 32
Harran, Ras-el-Ain, Geziret Ibn Omar 33
Mosul 33-4
Rahbah, Karkisiya, El-Anbar 34
Hadara, Okbara 35
Bagdad 35-42
Gazigan, Babylon 42
Hillah, Tower of Babel, Kaphri 43
Sepulchre of Ezekiel 44
Kotsonath, Kefar Al-Keram, Kufa, Sura 45
Shafjathib, El-Anbar, Hillah 46
Kheibar, Teima, Tilmas and Tanai in Arabia 47-50
Basra, Khuzistan, Shushan 51
Sepulchre of Daniel 52-3
Rudbar, Nihawand, Mulahid 53
Amadia, History of David Alroy 54-6
Hamadan, Tabaristan 57
Ispahan, Shiraz, Ghaznah 58
Samarkand, Tibet, Naisabur 59
Expedition of Sinjar against the Ghuz 60-2
Khuzistan, Island of Kish 62
Katifa, Khulam (Quilon), India 63-4
Ibrig 65-6
China, Sea of Nikpa 66
Al-Gingaleh, Zebid, Aden 67
AFRICA.
Abyssinia and Nubia, Egypt 68
Gana, Desert of Sahara, Fayum, Heluan 69
Cairo 70-4
Alexandria 75-7
Damietta, Sunbat, Mount Sinai, Tur Sinai, Tanis 77-8
EUROPE.
Island of Sicily, Messina, Palermo, Italy 78-9
Germany 79-80
Bohemia, Slavonia 80
Russia, France, Pains 81
INTRODUCTION
I. ISLAM IN THE MIDDLE AGES.
THE Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela throws a flashlight upon one of the most interesting stages in the development
of nations.
The history of the civilized world from the downfall of the Roman Empire to the present day may be summarized
as the struggle between Cross and Crescent. This struggle is characterized. by a persistent ebb and flow. Mohammed
in 622 A. D. transformed, as if by magic, a cluster of Bedouin tribes into a warlike people. An Arabian Empire was
formed, which reached from the Ebro to the Indus. Its further advance was stemmed in the year 732, just a hundred
years after Mohammed's death, by Charles Martel, in the seven days' battle of Tours.
The progress of the culture of the Arabs was as rapid as had been that of their arms. Great cities such as Cairo and
Bagdad were built. Commerce and manufactures flourished. The Jews, who enjoyed protection under the benign rule
of the Caliphs, transmitted to the Arabs the learning and science of the Greeks. Schools and universities arose in all
parts of the Empire. The dark age of Christendom proved to be the golden age of literature for Jew and Arab.
By the eleventh century, however, the Arabs had lost much of their martial spirit. Islam might have lost its
ascendancy in the East had not the warlike Seljuk Turks, coming from the highlands of Central Asia, possessed
themselves of the countries which, in days of old, constituted the Persian Empire under Darius. The Seljuks became
ready converts to Islam, and upheld the failing strength of the Arabs.
It was the ill-treatment by the Seljuks of the Christian
[viii] pilgrims to Palestine which aroused Christian Europe and led to the First Crusade. The feudal .system adopted by
the Seljuks caused endless dissension among their petty sovereigns, called "Atabegs", all of whom were nominally
vassals of the Caliph at Bagdad. Thus it came about that Islamism, divided against itself, offered but a poor resistance
to the advance of the Christians. The Crusaders had little difficulty in making their way to Palestine. They captured
Jerusalem, and established the Latin kingdom there.
By the middle of the twelfth century Mohammedan power had shrunk to smaller dimensions. Not only did the
Franks hold Palestine and all the important posts on the Syrian coast, but, by the capture of Lesser Armenia, Antioch,
and Edessa, they had driven a wedge into Syria, and extended their conquests even beyond the Euphrates.
At length there came a pause in the decline of Islam. Zengi, a powerful Seljuk Atabeg, in 1144 captured Edemas,
the outpost of Christendom, and the Second Crusade, led by the Emperor Conrad of Germany and by King Louis
VII of France, failed to effect the recapture of the fortress. Nureddin, the far-sighted son and successor of Zengi, and
later on Saladin, a Kurd, trained at his court, discovered how to restore the fallen might of Islam and expel the Franks
from Asia. A necessary preliminary step was to put an end to the dissensions of the Atabeg rulers. Nureddin did this
effectually by himself annexing their dominions. His next step was to gain possession of Egypt, and thereby isolate
the Latin Kingdom. Genoa, Pisa, and Venice, the three Italian republics who between them had command of the sea,
were too selfish and too intent upon their commercial interests to interfere with the designs of the Saracens. The
Latin king Amalric had for some years sought to gain a foothold in Egypt. In November, 1168, he led the Christian
army as far as the Nile, and was about to seize Fostat, the old unfortified Arab metropolis of Egypt. The inhabitants,
however, preferred to set fire to the city rather than that it should fall into the hands of the Christians. To this very
day many traces may be seen in the neighbourhood of Cairo of this conflagration. Nureddin's [ix] army, in which Saladin held a subordinate command, by a timely arrival on the scene forced the Franks to
retreat, and the Saracens were acclaimed as deliverers.
The nominal ruler of Egypt at that time was El-Adid, the Fatimite Caliph, and he made Saladin his Vizier, little
thinking that that modest officer would soon supplant him. So efficiently did Saladin administer the country that in
a few months it had regained its prosperity, despite the five years' devastating war which had preceded.
At this juncture the traveller Rabbi Benjamin came to Egypt. Some three years earlier he had left his native place--Tudela, on the Ebro in the north of Spain. After passing through the prosperous towns which lie on the Gulf of
Lyons, he visited Rome and South Italy. From Otranto he crossed over to Corfu, traversed Greece, and then came
to Constantinople, of which he gives an interesting account. Very telling, for example, are the words: "They hire from
amongst all nations warriors called Barbarians to fight with the Sultan of the Seljuks; for the natives are not warlike,
but are as women who have no strength to fight "After visiting the Islands of the Aegean, as well as Rhodes and
Cyprus, he passed on to Antioch, and followed the well-known southern route skirting the Mediterranean, visiting
the important cities along the coast, all of which were then in the hands of the Franks.
Having regard to the strained relations between the Christians and Saracens, and to the fights and forays of the Latin
knights, we can understand that Benjamin had to follow a very circuitous way to enable him to visit all the places
of note in Palestine. From Damascus, which was then the capital of Nureddin's empire, he travelled along with safety
until he reached Bagdad, the city of the Caliph, of whom he has much to tell.
It is unlikely that he went far into Persia, which at that time was in a chaotic state, and where the Jews were much
oppressed. From Basra, at the mouth of the Tigris, he probably visited the island of Kish in the Persian Gulf, which
in the Middle Ages was a great emporium of commerce, and thence proceeded to Egypt by way of Aden and Assuan. [x] Benjamin gives us a vivid sketch of the Egypt of his day. Peace and plenty seemed to prevail in the country. This
happy state of things was entirely due to the wise measures taken by Saladin, who, however, kept himself so
studiously in the background, that not even his name is mentioned in the Itinerary. The deposition of the Fatimite
Caliph on Friday, September 10, 1171, and his subsequent death, caused little stir. Saladin continued to govern Egypt
as Nureddin's lieutenant. In due course he made himself master of Barca and Tripoli; then he conquered Arabia Felix
and the Soudan, and after Nureddin's death he had no difficulty in annexing his old master's dominions. The Christian
nations viewed his rapidly growing power with natural alarm.
About that time news had reached Europe that a powerful Christian king named Prester John, who reigned over
a people coming from Central Asia, had invaded Western Asia and inflicted a crushing defeat upon a Moslem army.
Pope Alexander III conceived the hope that a useful ally could be found in this priest-king, who would support and
uphold the Christian dominion in Asia. He accordingly dispatched his physician Philip on a mission to this mysterious
potentate to secure his help against the Mohammedans. The envoy never returned.
Benjamin is one of the very few writers of the Middle Ages who gives us an account of these subjects of Prester
John. They were no other than the infidels, the sons of Ghuz, or Kofar-al-Turak, the wild flat-nosed Mongol hordes
from the Tartary Steppes, who, in Benjamin's quaint language, "worship the wind and live in the wilderness, who eat
no bread and drink no wine, but feed on uncooked meat. They have no noses--in lieu thereof they have two small
holes through which they breathe."
These were not men likely to help the Christians. On the contrary, as is so fully described in Benjamin's Itinerary,
they broke the power of Sultan Sinjar, the mighty Shah of Persia, who, had he been spared by the men of Ghuz,
would have proved a serious menace to Saladin.
It took Saladin some years to consolidate his empire.
[xi] In 1187 he felt himself in a position to engage the Franks in a decisive conflict. At the battle of Tiberias, Guy, the
Latin king, was defeated and taken prisoner. The Knights-Templars and Hospitalers, of whose doings at Jerusalem
Benjamin gives us particulars, either shared the fate of the king or were slain in action. Jerusalem fell soon afterwards.
Pope Alexander III roused the conscience of Europe, and induced the pick of chivalry to embark upon the Third
Crusade in 1189. But the prowess of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, the gallantry of Richard I of England, the
astuteness of Philip Augustus of France, were of no avail. The Fourth and Fifth Crusades were equally unsuccessful,
and the tide of Islam's success rose high.
After Saladin's death his empire gradually crumbled to pieces, and under Ghenghis Khan an invasion took place of
hordes of Mongols and Tartars, of whom the Ghuz had been merely the precursors. They overran China and Russia,
Persia, and parts of Western Asia. The effete Caliphate at Bagdad was overthrown, but to Islam itself fresh life was
imparted. The rapid decline of the Mongol power at the end of the thirteenth century gave free scope to the rise of
the Ottoman Turks, who had been driven from their haunts east of the Caspian Sea. Like their kinsmen the Seljuks
they settled in Asia Minor, and embraced the Mohammedan faith, an example which many Mongols followed The
converts proved trusty warriors to fight the cause of Islam, which gradually attained the zenith of success. On May
29, 1453, Constantinople was captured by the Turks, and an end was made of the Byzantine Empire. Eastern Europe
was subsequently overrun by them, and it was not until John Sobieski defeated the Turks under the walls of Vienna
in 1683 that their victorious career was checked.
Then at last the tide of Islam turned, and its fortunes have been ebbing ever since. At the present day little territory
remains to them in Europe. India and Egypt are now subject to England; Russia has annexed Central Asia; France
rules Algiers and Tunis. One wonders whether there will be a pause in this steady decline of Islam, and
[xii] whether the prophetic words of Scripture will continue to hold good : "He will be a wild man, his hand will be against
every man, and every man's hand against him, and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
This brief consideration of the struggle between Cross and Crescent may serve to indicate the importance of the
revival of Islam, which took place between the Second and Third Crusades, at the time when Benjamin wrote his
Itinerary.
II. THE OBJECT OF BENJAMIN'S JOURNEY.
We may ask what induced Benjamin to undertake his travels? What object or mission was he carrying out?
It must be explained that the Jew in the Middle Ages was much given to travel. He was the Wandering Jew, who
kept up communications between one country and another. He had a natural aptitude for trade and travel. His people
were scattered to the four corners of the earth. As we can see from Benjamin's Itinerary, there was scarcely a city
of importance where Jews could not be found. In the sacred tongue they possessed a common language, and
wherever they went they could rely upon a hospitable reception from their co-religionists. Travelling was, therefore,
to them comparatively easy, and the bond of common interest always supplied a motive. Like Joseph, the traveller
would be dispatched with the injunction: "I pray thee see whether it be well with thy brethren, and bring me word
again."
If this was the case in times when toleration and protection were extended to the Jews, how much stronger must
have grown the desire for intercommunication at the time of the Crusades. The most prosperous communities in
Germany and the Jewish congregations that lay along the route to Palestine had been exterminated or dispersed, and
even in Spain, where the Jews had enjoyed complete security for centuries, they were being pitilessly persecuted in
the Moorish kingdom of Cordova.
It is not unlikely, therefore, that Benjamin may have
[xiii] undertaken his journey with the object of finding out where his expatriated brethren might find an asylum. It will be
noted that Benjamin seems to use every effort to trace and to afford particulars of independent communities of Jews,
who had chiefs of their own, and owed no allegiance to the foreigner.
He may have had trade and mercantile operations in view. He certainly dwells on matters of commercial interest
with considerable detail. Probably he was actuated by both motives, coupled with the pious wish of making a
pilgrimage to the land of his fathers.
Whatever his intentions may have been, we owe Benjamin no small debt of gratitude for handing to posterity
records that form a unique contribution to our knowledge of geography and ethnology in the Middle Ages.
III. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
"The Itinerary of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela," prepared and published by A. Asher, is the best edition of the diary
of that traveller. The first volume appeared in 1840, and contained a carefully compiled Hebrew text with vowel
points, together with an English translation and a bibliographical account. A second volume appeared in 1841
containing elaborate notes by Asher himself and by such eminent scholars as Zunz and Rapoport, together with a
valuable essay by the former on the Geographical Literature of the Jews and on the Geography of Palestine, also an
Essay by Lebrecht on the Caliphate of Bagdad.
In addition to twenty-three several reprints and translations enumerated by Asher, various others have since
appeared from time to time, but all of them are based upon the two editions of the text from which he compiled his
work. These were the Editio Princeps, printed by Eliezer ben Gershon at Constantinople, 1543 and the Ferrara
Edition of 1556, printed by Abraham Usque, the editor of the famous "Jews" Bible in Spanish.
Asher himself more than once deplores the fact that he had not a single MS. to resort to when confronted by
doubtful or divergent readings in the texts before him.
[xiv] I have, however, been fortunate enough to be able to trace and examine three complete MSS. of Benjamin's Travels,
as well as large fragments belonging to two other MSS., and these I have embodied in my present collation. The
following is a brief description of the MSS. :--
1. BM, a MS. in the British Museum (No. 27,089). It is bound up with some of Maimonides' works, several
Midrashic tracts, a commentary on the Hagadah by Joseph Gikatilia, and an extract from Abarbanel's commentary
on Isaiah; it forms part of the Almanzi collection, which curiously enough was purchased by the British Museum from
Asher & Co. in October, 1865, some twenty years after Asher's death.
Photographs of three pages of this MS. will be found with the Hebrew text. With regard to the date of the MS.,
some competent judges who have seen it assign it to the thirteenth century, and this view has some support from
Professor S. D. Luzzatto, who, in Steinschneider's Hammazkir (vol. V, fo. 105, xvii) makes the following comment
upon it:--
[omitted from WWW version--lack of fonts. Omitted Hebraic text will be indicated by ... throughout the web text.]
This MS. is the groundwork of the text I have adopted.
2. R, or the Roman MS., in the Casanatense library at Rome, and numbered No. 216 in the Catalogue Sacerdote.
This MS. occupies the first twenty-seven leaves of Codex 3097, which contains fifteen other treatises, among them
a text of Eldad Hadani, all written by the same scribe, Isaac of Pisa, in 5189 A. M., which corresponds with 1429-1430 (see Colophon at the end of the Hebrew text, page ...). Under my direction Dr. Grunhut, of Jerusalem,
proceeded to Rome, and made a copy. Subsequently I obtained a collation of it made by the late Dr. Neubauer; both
have been used in preparing the notes to the text. Later on, after the Hebrew text had already been printed, I visited
Rome, and on examining the MS. I found that a few variants had been overlooked. I had facsimiles made of several
pages, which will be found with the Hebrew text.
3. E, a MS. now in the possession of Herr Epstein of [xv] Vienna, who acquired it from Halberstamm's collection. The only reliable clue as to the date of this MS. is the license
of the censor: "visto per me fra Luigi da Bologna Juglio 1599." Herr Epstein considers it to have been written at the
end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century. The MS. is on paper and in "Italian" handwriting. It
contains seventy-four quarto pages of from 19-20 lines each. Speaking generally it is analogous to the edition of
Ferrara, 1556, which was used by Asher as the groundwork of his text (Asher, p. 3), but the spelling of persons and
places in E often differs from that in the text of Asher.
4. O, in the Oppenheim collection of the Bodleian Library (MS. Opp. add. 8 36; ff 58-63; Neubauer 2425), is a
fragment. Its first three leaves are continuous, beginning at p. 61 of Asher's edition and ending at p. 73. After this
there is a lacuna of four leaves, and the fragment, which recommences at p. 98 of Asher's edition, is then continuous
to the end of the book. The volume in which it is bound contains various other treatises written by the same scribe,
and includes a fragment on Maimonides, whose death is mentioned as occurring in 1202, and also part of a controversy of Nachmanides which took place in 1263.
The MS. is in Spanish Rabbinic characters, and would appear to have been written in the fourteenth or fifteenth
century. For the collation of this and the following fragment I am indebted to the kindness of my friend Mr. A.
Cowley, of Oxford. Photographs of pages of both MSS. will be found with the Hebrew text.
5. B, also in the Oppenheim collection of the Bodleian Library (MS. Opp. add. 8, 58 ; fol. 57; Neubauer 2580).
This fragment begins at p. 50 of Asher's edition. The date of this fragment is probably much later than that of O, and
may well be as late as the eighteenth century. It appears to be written in an oriental hand.
In addition to the critical text, I give a translation of the British Museum MS., and add brief notes thereto. I have
purposely confined the latter to small dimensions in view of the fact that Asher's notes, the Jewish Encyclopaedia,
and the works of such writers as Graetz and others, will
[xvi] enable the reader to acquire further information on the various incidents, personages, and places referred to by
Benjamin. I would, however, especially mention a work by Mr. C. Raymond Beazley entitled "The Dawn of Modern
Geography," particularly his second volume, published in 1901. The frank and friendly manner in which the writer
does justice to the merits of the Jewish traveller contrasts favourably with the petty and malignant comments of
certain non-Jewish commentators, of which Asher repeatedly complains.
It is not out of place to mention that soon after the publication in 1841 of the work on Benjamin by A. Asher, there
appeared a review thereof in consecutive numbers of the Jewish periodical Der Orient. The articles bore the signature
Sider, but the author proved to be Dr. Steinschneider. They were among the first literary contributions by which he
became known. Although written sixty-five years ago his review has a freshness and a value which renders it well
worth reading at the present day. The ninetieth birthday of the Nestor of Semitic literature was celebrated on March
30 of last year, and it afforded no little gratification to the writer that Dr. Steinschneider on that occasion accepted
the dedication to him of this the latest contribution to the "Benjamin Literature." The savant passed away on the 23rd
of January last, and I humbly dedicate my modest work to his memory.
I have the pleasure of expressing my thanks to the editors of the Jewish Quarterly Review, who have permitted me
to reprint my articles; also to Dr. Berlin and other friends for their co-operation; and to the Delegates of the Oxford
University Press for allowing me to make use of the map of Western Asia in the twelfth century, which was designed
by Professor S. Lane-Poole.
MARCUS N. ADLER.
May 27, 1907.
THE ITINERARY OF BENJAMIN OF
TUDELA.
HEBREW INTRODUCTION.
THIS is the book of travels, which was compiled by Rabbi Benjamin, the son of Jonah, of the land of Navarre--his
repose be in Paradise.
The said Rabbi Benjamin set forth from Tudela, his native city,
and passed through many remote countries, as is related in his book.
In every place which he entered, he made a record of all that he saw,
or was told of by trustworthy persons--matters not previously heard
of in the land of Sepharad (1). Also he mentions some of the sages and
illustrious men residing in each place. He brought this book with
him on his return to the country of Castile, in the year 4933
(C. E. I 173)(2). The said Rabbi Benjamin is a wise and understanding
man, learned in the Law and the Halacha, and wherever we have tested his statements we have found them
accurate, true to fact and consistent; for he is a trustworthy man.
p. 1 His book commences as follows:--I journeyed first from my native town to the city of Saragossa(3), and thence
by way of the River Ebro to Tortosa. From there I went a journey of two days to the ancient city of Tarragona
with its Cyclopean and Greek buildings(4). The like thereof is not found among any of the buildings in the country
of Sepharad. It is situated by the sea, and two days' journey from the city of Barcelona, where there is a holy
congregation, including sages, wise and illustrious men, such as R. Shesheth(5), R. Shealtiel, R. Solomon, and. R.
Abraham, son of Chisdai. This is a small city and beautiful, lying upon the sea-coast. Merchants come thither from
all quarters
p. 2 with their wares, | from Greece, from Pisa, Genoa, Sicily, Alexandria in Egypt, Palestine, Africa and all its
coasts. Thence it is a day and a half to Gerona, in which there is a small congregation of Jews(6). A three days'
journey takes one to Narbonne, which is a city pre-eminent for learning; thence the Torah (Law) goes forth to
all countries. Sages, and great and illustrious men abide here. At their head is R. Kalonymos, the son of the great
and illustrious R. Todros of the seed of David, whose pedigree is established. He possesses hereditaments and
lands given him by the ruler of the city, of which no man can forcibly dispossess him(7). Prominent in the
community
is R. Abraham(8), head of the Academy: also R. Machir and R. Judah, and many other distinguished scholars. At the
present day 300 Jews are there.
Thence it is four parasangs(9) to the city of Beziers, where there is a congregation of learned men. At their head is R.
Solomon Chalafta, R. Joseph, and R. Nethanel. Thence it is two days to Har Gaash which is called
p. 3 Montpellier. This is a place well situated for commerce. | It is about a parasang from the sea, and men come for
business there from all quarters, from Edom, Ishmael, the land of Algarves(10), Lombardy, the dominion of Rome the
Great, from all the land of Egypt, Palestine, Greece, France, Asia and England. People of all nations are found there
doing business through the medium of the Genoese and Pisans. In the city there are scholars of great eminence, at
their head being R. Reuben, son of Todros, R. Nathan, son of Zechariah, and R. Samuel, their chief rabbi, also R.
Solomon and R. Mordecai. They have among them houses of learning devoted to the study of the Talmud. Among
the community are men both rich and charitable, who lend a helping hand to all that come to them.
From Montpellier it is four parasangs to Lunel, in which there is a congregation of Israelites, who study the Law
day and night. Here lived Rabbenu Meshullam the great rabbi, since deceased, and his five sons, who are wise, great
and wealthy, namely: R. Joseph, R. Isaac, R. Jacob, R. Aaron, and R. Asher, the recluse, who dwells apart from.the
world; he pores over his books day and night, fasts periodically and abstains from all
p. 4. meat(11). | He is a great scholar
of the Talmud. At Lunel live also their brother-in-law R. Moses, the chief rabbi, R. Samuel the elder(12), R.
Ulsarnu, R. Solomon Hacohen, and R. Judah the Physician, the son of Tibbon, the Sephardi. The students that come
from distant lands to learn the Law are taught, boarded, lodged and clothed by the congregation, so long as they
attend the house of study. The community has wise, understanding and saintly men of great benevolence, who lend
a helping hand to all
their brethren both far and near. The congregation consists of about 300 Jews--may the Lord preserve them.
From there it is two parasangs to Posquieres, which is a large place containing about forty Jews, with an
Academy under the auspices of the great Rabbi, R. Abraham, son of David, of blessed memory, an energetic and
wise man, great as a talmudical authority(13) People come to him from a distance to learn the Law at his lips, and
they find rest in his house, and he teaches them. Of those who are
p. 5 without means he | also pays the expenses, for he is very rich. The munificent R. Joseph, son of Menacbem,
also dwells here, and R. Benveniste, R. Benjamin, R. Abraham and R. Isaac, son of R. Meir of blessed memory.
Thence it is four parasangs to the suburb (Ghetto?) Bourg de St. Gilles, in which place there are about a hundred
Jews. Wise men abide there; at their head being R. Isaac, son of Jacob, R. Abraham, son of Judah, R. Eleazar,
R. Jacob, R. Isaac, R. Moses and R. Jacob, son of rabbi Levi of blessed memory. This is a place of pilgrimage
of the Gentiles who come hither from the ends of the earth. It is only three miles from the sea, and is situated
upon the great River Rhone, which flows through the whole land of Provence. Here dwells the illustrious R. Abba
Mari, son of the late R. Isaac; he is the bailiff of Count Raymond (14).
Thence it is three parasangs to the city of Arles, which has about 200 Israelites, at their head being R. Moses,
R. Tobias,
p. 6 R. Isaiah, R. Solomon, the chief rabbi R. Nathan, and R. | Abba Mari, since deceased(15).
From there it is two days' journey to Marseilles(16), which is a city of princely and wise citizens, possessing two
congregations with about 300 Jews. One congregation dwells below on the shore by the sea, the
other is in the castle above. They form a great academy of learned men, amongst them being R. Simeon, R. Solomon,
R. laaac, son of Abba Mari(17), R. Simeon, son of Antoli, and R. Jacob his brother; also R. Libero. These persons are
at the head of the upper academy. At the head of the congregation below are R. Jacob Purpis(18) , a wealthy man, and
R. Abraham, son of R. Meir, his son-in-law, and R. Isaac, son of the late R. Meir. It is a very busy city upon the
sea-coast.
From Marseilles one can take ship and in four days reach Genoa, which is also upon the sea. Here live two Jews,
R. Samuel, son of Salim, and his brother, from the city of Ceuta, both of them good men. The city is surrounded by
a wall, and the inhabitants are not governed by any king, but by judges whom they appoint at their pleasure.
p. 7 Each | householder has a tower to his house, and at times of strife they fight from the tops of the towers with each
other. They have command of the sea. They build ships which they call galleys, and make predatory attacks upon
Edom and Ishmael(19) and the land of Greece as far as Sicily, and they bring back to Genoa spoils from all these places.
They are constantly at war with the men of Pisa. Between them and the Pisans there is a distance of two days'
journey.
Pisa is a very great city, with about 10,000 turreted houses for battle at times of strife. All its inhabitants are mighty
men. They possess neither king nor prince to govern them, but only the judges appointed by themselves. In this city
are about twenty Jews, at their head being R. Moses, R. Chayim, and R. Joseph. The city is not surrounded by a wall.
It is about six miles from the sea; the river which flows through the city provides it with ingress and egress for ships.
From Pisa it is four parasangs to the city of Lucca, which is the
beginning of the frontier of Lombardy. In the city of Lucca are
about forty Jews. It is a large place, and at the head of the Jews are
p. 8 R. David, R. Samuel, and R. | Jacob.
Thence it is six days' journey to the great city of Rome. Rome is the head of the kingdoms of Christendom, and
contains about 200 Jews, who occupy an honourable position and pay no tribute, and amongst them are officials of
the Pope Alexander, the spiritual head of all Christendom. Great scholars reside here, at the head of them being R.
Daniel, the chief rabbi, and R. Jechiel, an
official of the Pope(20). He is a handsome young man of intelligence and wisdom, and he has the entry of the Pope's
palace; for he is the steward of his house and of all that he has. He is a grandson of R. Nathan, who composed
the Aruch(21) and its commentaries. Other scholars are R. Joab, son of the chief rabbi R. Solomon, R. Menachem,
head of the academy, R. Jechiel, who lives in Trastevere, and R. Benjamin, son of R. Shabbethai of blessed
memory. Rome is divided into two parts by the River Tiber. In the one part is the great church which they call
St. Peters of Rome. The great Palace of Julius Caesar was also in Rome(22). There are many wonderful structures in the
p. 9 city, | different from any others in the world. Including both its inhabited and ruined parts, Rome
is about twenty-four miles in circumference. In the midst thereof(23) there are eighty palaces belonging to eighty
kings who lived there, each called Imperator, commencing from King Tarquinius down to Nero and Tiberius, who
lived at the time of Jesus the Nazarene, ending with Pepin, who freed the land of Sepharad from Islam, and was
father of Charlemagne.
There is a palace outside Rome (said to be of Titus). The Consul and his 300 Senators treated him with
disfavour, because he failed to take Jerusalem till after three years, though they had bidden him to capture it
within twos(24).
In Rome is also the palace of Vespasianus, a great and very strong building; also the Colosseum(25), in which
edifice there are 365 sections,
according to the days of the solar year; and the circumference of these palaces is three miles. There were battles
fought here in olden times, and in the palace more than 100,000 men were slain, and there their bones remain piled
up to the present day.
p. 10 The king caused to be engraved | a representation of the battle and of the forces on either
side facing one another, both warriors and horses, all in marble, to exhibit to the world the war of the days of
old.
In Rome there is a cave which runs underground, and catacombs of King Tarmal Galsin and his royal consort who
are to be found there, seated upon their thrones, and with them about a hundred royal personages. They are all
embalmed and preserved to this day. In the church of St. John in the Lateran there are two bronze columns taken
from the Temple, the handiwork of King Solomon, each column being engraved "Solomon the son of David." The
Jews of Rome told me that every year upon the 9th of Ab they found the columns exuding moisture like water. There
also is the cave where Titus the son of Vespasianus stored the Temple vessels which he brought from Jerusalem.
There is also a cave in a hill on one bank of the River Tiber where are the graves of the ten martyrs(26). p. 14 In front of St. John in the Lateran there are statues of | Samson in marble, with a spear in his hand, and of Absalom the son
of King David, and another of Constantinus the Great, who built Constantinople and after whom it was called. The
last-named statue is of bronze, the horse being overlaid with gold(27). Many other edifices are there, and remarkable
sights beyond enumeration.
From Rome it is four days to Capua, the large town which King Capys built. It is a fine city, but its water is bad,
and the country is fever-stricken(28). About 300 Jews live there, among them great scholars and esteemed persons, at
their heads being R. Conso, his brother R. Israel, R. Zaken and the chief rabbi R. David, since deceased. They call
this district the Principality.
From there one goes to Pozzuoli which is called Sorrento the Great, built by Zur, son of Hadadezer, when he
fled in fear of David the king. The sea has risen and covered the city from its two sides, and at the present day
one can still see the markets and towers which stood in the midst of the city(29). A spring issues forth from
beneath
p. 12 the ground containing the oil which is called petroleum. | People collect it from the surface of the water and
use it medicinally. There are also hot-water springs to the number of about twenty, which issue from the ground
and are situated near the sea, and every man who has any disease can go and bathe in them and get cured. All
the afflicted of Lombardy visit it in the summer-time for that purpose.
From this place a man can travel fifteen miles along a road under the mountains, a work executed by King
Romulus who built the city of Rome. He was prompted to this by fear of King David and Joab his general(30). He
built fortifications both upon the mountains and below the mountains reaching as far as the city of Naples. Naples
is a very strong city, lying upon the sea-board, and was founded by the Greeks. About 500 Jews live here,
amongst them R. Hezekiah, R. Shallum, R. Elijah Hacohen and R. Isaac of Har Napus, the chief rabbi of blessed
memory.
Thence one proceeds by sea to the city of Salerno, where the Christians have a school of medicine. About 600
Jews dwell there. Among
p. 13 the scholars are R. Judah, son of R. Isaac, the son of | Melchizedek, the great Rabbi(31), who came from the
city of Siponto; also R. Solomon (the Cohen), R. Elijah the Greek, R. Abraham Narboni, and R. Hamon. It is
a city with walls upon the land side, the other side bordering on
the sea, and there is a very strong castle on the summit of the hill. Thence it is half a day's journey to Amalfi, where
there are about twenty Jews, amongst them R. Hananel, the physician, R. Elisha, and Abu-al-gir, the prince. The
inhabitants of the place are merchants engaged in trade, who do not sow or reap, because they dwell upon high hills
and lofty crags, but buy everything for money. Nevertheless, they have an abundance of fruit, for it is a land of
vineyards and olives, of gardens and plantations, and no one can go to war with them.
Thence it is a day's journey to Benevento, which is a city situated between the sea-coast and a mountain, and
possessing a community of about 200 Jews. At their head are R. Kalonymus, R. Zarach, and R. Abraham. From there
it is two days' journey to Melfi in the country of Apulia,
p. 14 which is the land of Pul(32), where about 200 | Jews
reside, at their head being R. Achimaaz, R. Nathan, and R. Isaac. From Melfi it is about a day's journey to Ascoli,
where there are about forty Jews, at their head being R. Consoli, R. Zemach, his son-in-law, and R. Joseph. From
there it takes two days to Trani on the sea, where all the pilgrims gather to go to Jerusalem; for the port is a
convenient one. A community of about 200 Israelites is there, at their head being R. Elijah, R. Nathan, the expounder,
and R. Jacob. It is a great and beautiful city.
From there it is a day's journey to Colo di Bari, which is the great city which King William of Sicily destroyed(33).
Neither Jews nor Gentiles live there at the present day in consequence of its destruction. Thence it is a day and a half
to Taranto, which is under the government of Calabria, the inhabitants of which are Greek(34). It is a large city, and
contains about 300 Jews, some of them men of learning, and at their head are R. Meir, R. Nathan, and R. Israel.
p. 15
From Taranto it is a day's journey to Brindisi, which is on the sea coast. | About ten Jews, who are dyers, reside
here. It is two days' journey to Otranto, which is on the coast of the Greek sea. Here are about 500 Jews, at
the head of them being R. Menachem, R. Caleb,
R. Meir, and R. Mali. From Otranto it is a voyage of two days to Corfu, where only one Jew of the name of R.
Joseph lives, and here ends the kingdom of Sicily.
Thence it is two days' voyage to the land of Larta (Arta), which is the beginning of the dominions of Emanuel,
Sovereign of the Greeks. It is a place containing about 100 Jews, at their head being R. Shelachiah and R.
Hercules. From there it is two days to Aphilon (Achelous)(35), a place in which reside about thirty Jews, at their
head being R. Sabbattai. From there it takes half a day to Anatolica, which is situated on an arm of the sear(36).
From there it takes a day to Patras, which is the city which Antipater(37), King of the Greeks, built. He was one
of the four successors of King Alexander. In the city there are several large old
p. 16 buildings, and about fifty | Jews live here, at their head being R. Isaac, R. Jacob, and R. Samuel. Half a day's
journey by way of the sea takes one to Kifto (Lepanto)(38), where there are about 100 Jews, who live on the
seacoast; at their head are R. Guri, R. Shallum, and R. Abraham. From there it is a journey of a day and a half
to Crissa, where about 200 Jews live apart. They sow and reap on their own land; at their head are R. Solomon,
R. Chayim, and R. Jedaiah. From there it is three days' journey to the capital city of Corinth; here are about 300
Jews, at their head being R. Leon, R. Jacob, and R. Hezekiah.
Thence it is two days' journey to the great city of Thebes, where there are about 2,000 Jews. They are the most
skilled artificers in silk and purple cloth throughout Greece. They have scholars learned in the Mishnah and the
Talmud, and other prominent men, and at their head are the chief rabbi R. Kuti and his brother R. Moses, as well
as R. Chiyah, R. Elijah Tirutot, and R. Joktan ; and there are none like them in the land of the Greeks, except in the
p. 17 city | of Constantinople. From Thebes it is a day's journey to Egripo(39), which is a large city upon the sea-coast,
where merchants come from every quarter. About 200 Jews live there, at their head being R. Elijah Psalteri, R.
Emanuel, and R. Caleb.
From there it takes a day to Jabustrisa, which is a city upon the sea-coast with about 100 Jews, at their head
being R. Joseph,
R. Elazar, R. Isaac, R. Samuel, and R. Nethaniah. From there it is a day's journey to Rabonica, where there are about
100 Jews, at their head being R. Joseph, R. Elazar, and R. Isaac.
From there it is a day's journey to Sinon Potamo, where there are about fifty Jews, at their head being R. Solomon
and R. Jacob. The city is situated at the foot of the hills of Wallachia. The nation called Wallachians live in those
mountains. They are as swift as hinds, and they sweep down from the mountains to despoil and ravage the land of
Greece. No man can go up and do battle against them, and no king can rule over them. They do not hold fast to the
faith of the Nazarenes,
p. 18 but give themselves Jewish names. | Some people say that they are Jews, and, in fact,
they call the Jews their brethren, and when they meet with them, though they rob them, they refrain from killing them
as they kill the Greeks. They are altogether lawless(40).
From there it is two days' journey to Gardiki, which is in ruins and contains but a few Greeks and Jews. From there
it is two days' journey to Armylo, which is a large city on the sea, inhabited by Venetians, Pisans, Genoese, and all
the merchants who come there; it is an extensive place, and contains about 400 Jews. At their head are the chief rabbi
R. Shiloh Lombardo, R. Joseph, the warden, and R. Solomon, the leading man. Thence it is a day's journey to
Vissena, where there are about 100 Jews, at their head being the chief rabbi R. Sabbattai, R. Solomon, and R. Jacob.
From there it is two days' voyage to the city of Salonica, built by King Seleucus, one of the four successors who
followed after King Alexander. It is a very large city, with about 500 Jews, including the chief rabbi R. Samuel and
p. 19his sons, who are scholars. | He is appointed by the king as head of the Jews. There is also R. Sabbattai, his
son-in-law, R. Elijah, and R. Michael. The Jews are oppressed, and live by silk-weaving.
Thence it is two days' journey to Demetrizi, with about fifty Jews. In this place live R. Isaiah, R. Machir, and R. Alib.
Thence it is two days to Drama, where there are about 140 Jews, at the head of them being R. Michael and R.
Joseph. From there it is one day's journey to Christopoli, where about twenty Jews live.
A three days' voyage brings one to Abydos, which is upon an arm of the sea which flows between the mountains,
and after a five days' journey the great town of Constantinople is reached. It is the capital of the whole land of Javan,
which is called Greece. Here is the residence of the King Emanuel the Emperor. Twelve ministers
are under him, each of whom has a palace in Constantinople and possesses castles and cities; they rule all the
land. At their head is the King Hipparchus, the second in command is the Megas
p. 20 Domesticus, the third Dominus, and the fourth | is Megas Ducas, and the fifth is Oeconomus Megalus; the
others bear names like these(41). The circumference of the city of Constantinople is eighteen miles; half of it is
surrounded by the sea, and half by land, and it is situated upon two arms of the sea, one coming from the sea
of Russia, and one from the sea of Sepharad.
All sorts of merchants come here from the land of Babylon, from the land of Shinar, from Persia, Media, and
all the sovereignty of the land of Egypt, from the land of Canaan, and the empire of Russia(42), from Hungaria,
Patzinakia(43), Khazaria(44), and the land of Lombardy and Sepharad. It is a busy city, and merchants come to it
from every country by sea or land, and there is none like it in the world except Bagdad, the great city of Islam.
In Constantinople is the church of Santa Sophia, and the seat of the Pope of the Greeks, since the Greeks do
not obey the Pope of Rome. There are also churches according to the number of the days of the year. A quantity
of wealth beyond telling is brought hither year by year as tribute from the two islands and the castles and villages
which are there.
p. 21And the like of this wealth is not to be found | in any other church in the world. And in this church there
are pillars of gold and silver, and lamps of silver and gold more than a man can count. Close to the walls of the
palace is also a place of amusement belonging to the king, which is called the Hippodrome, and every year on
the anniversary of the birth of Jesus the king gives a great entertainment there. And in that place men from all
the races of the world come before the king and queen with jugglery and without jugglery,and they introduce lions, leopards, bears, and wild asses, and they engage them in combat with one another; and the
same thing is done with birds. No entertainment like this is to be found in any other land.
This King Emanuel built a great palace for the seat of his government upon the sea-coast, in addition to the palaces
which his fathers built, and he called its name Blachernae(45). He overlaid its columns and walls with gold and silver,
and engraved thereon representations of the battles before his day and of his own combats. He also set up a throne
of gold and of precious stones,
p. 22 and a golden crown was suspended | by a gold chain over the throne, so arranged
that he might sit thereunder(46). It was inlaid with jewels of priceless value, and at night time no lights were
required, for every one could see by the light which the stones gave forth. Countless other buildings are to be met
with in the city. From every part of the empire of Greece tribute is brought here every year, and they fill strongholds
with garments of silk, purple, and gold. Like unto these storehouses and this wealth, there is nothing in the whole
world to be found. It is said that the tribute of the city amounts every year to 20,000 gold pieces, derived both from
the rents of shops and markets, and from the tribute of merchants who enter by sea or land.
The Greek inhabitants are very rich in gold and precious stones, and they go clothed in garments of silk with gold
embroidery, and they ride horses, and look like princes. Indeed, the land is very rich
p. 23 in all cloth stuffs, and in bread,
meat, and wine. |
Wealth like that of Constantinople is not to be found in the whole world. Here also are men learned in all the
books of the Greeks, and they eat and drink every man under his vine and his fig-tree.
They hire from amongst all nations warriors called Loazim (Barbarians) to fight with the Sultan Masud(47), King of
the Togarmim (Seljuks), who are called Turks; for the natives are not warlike, but are as women who have no
strength to fight.
No Jews live in the city, for they have been placed behind an inlet of the sea. An arm of the sea of Marmora
shuts them in on the one side, and they are unable to go out except by way of the sea, when they want to do
business with the inhabitants(48). In the Jewish quarter are about 2,000 Rabbanite Jews and about 500 Karaites,
and a fence divides them. Amongst the scholars are several wise men, at their head being the chief rabbi R.
Abtalion, R. Obadiah, R. Aaron Bechor Shoro, R. Joseph Shir-Guru, and R. Eliakim, the warden. And amongst
them there are artificers in silk and many rich merchants. No Jew
p. 24 there is allowed to ride on horseback. | The one exception is R. Solomon Hamitari, who is the king's physician,
and through whom the Jews enjoy considerable alleviation of their oppression. For their condition is very low,
and there is much hatred against them, which is fostered by the tanners, who throw out their dirty water in the
streets before the doors of the Jewish houses and defile the Jews' quarter (the Ghetto). So the Greeks hate the
Jews, good and bad alike, and subject them to great oppression, and beat them in the streets, and in every way
treat them with rigour. Yet the Jews are rich and good, kindly and charitable, and bear their lot with
cheerfulness. The district inhabited by the Jews is called Pera.
From Constantinople it is two days' voyage to Rhaedestus(49), with a community of Israelites of about 400, at
their head being R. Moses, R. Abijah, and R. Jacob. From there it is two days to Callipolis (Gallipoli), where
there are about 200 Jews, at their bead being R. Elijah Kapur, R. Shabbattai Zutro, and R. Isaac Megas, which
p. 25
means "great" in Greek. And from here it is two days to Kales. | Here there are about fifty Jews, at their head being R. Jacob and R. Judah. From here it is two days' journey
to the island of Mytilene, and there are Jewish congregations in ten localities on the island. Thence it is three
days' voyage to the island of Chios, where there are about 400 Jews, including R. Elijah Heman and R. Shabtha.
Here grow the trees from which mastic is obtained. Two days' voyage takes one to the island of Samos, where
there are 300 Jews, at their head being R. Shemaria, R. Obadiah, and R. Joel. The islands have many
congregations of Jews. From Samos it is three days to Rhodes, where there are about 400 Jews, at their head
being R. Abba, R. Hannanel, and R. Elijah. It is four days' voyage from here to Cyprus, where there are
Rabbanite Jews and Karaites; there are also some heretical Jews called Epikursin, whom the Israelites have excommunicated in all places. They profane
the eve of the sabbath, and observe the first night of the week, which is the termination of the sabbath(50). From Cyprus
it is four days' journey to Curicus (Kurch),
p. 26which is the beginning of the land | called Armenia, and this is the
frontier of the empire of Thoros(51), ruler of the mountains, and king of Armenia, whose dominions extend to the
province of Trunia(52), and to the country of the Togarmim or Turks. From there it is two days' journey to Malmistras,
which is Tarshish, situated by the sea; and thus far extends the kingdom of the Javanim or Greeks(53).
Thence it is two days' journey to Antioch the Great, situated on the river Fur (Orontes), which is the river Jabbok,
that flows from Mount Lebanon and from the land of Hamath(54). This is the
great city which Antiochus the king built. The city lies by a lofty mountain, which is surrounded by the city-wall.
At the top of the mountain is a well, from which a man appointed for that purpose directs the water by means
of twenty subterranean passages to the houses of the great men of the city. The other part of the city is
surrounded by the river. It is a strongly fortified city, and is under the sway of Prince Boemond Poitevin(55),
surnamed le Baube. Ten Jews(56) dwell here, engaged in glass-making, and at their head are R. Mordecai, R.
Chayim, and R. Samuel. From here it is two days'
p. 27
journey to Lega, or Ladikiya, where I there are about 100 Jews, at their head being R. Chayim and R. Joseph.
Thence it is two days' journey to Gebal (Gebela), which is Baal-Gad, at the foot of Lebanon(57). In the
neighbourhood dwells a people called Al-Haahishim(58). They do not believe in the religion of Islam, but follow
one of their own folk, whom they regard as their prophet, and all
that he tells them to do they carry out, whether for death or life.
They call him the Sheik Al Hashishim, and he is known as their
Elder. At his word these mountaineers go out and come in. Their
principal seat is Kadmus, which is Kedemoth in the land of Sihon.
They are faithful to each other, but a source of terror to their neighbours, killing even kings at the cost of their
own lives. The extent of
their land is eight days' journey. And they are at war with the sons
of Edom who are called the Franks, and with the ruler of Tripolis,
which is Tarabulus el Sham(59). At Tripolis in years gone by there was
an earthquake, when many Gentiles and Jews perished, for houses
and walls fell upon them. There was great destruction at that
time | throughout the Land of Israel, and more than 20,000 souls p. 28
perished(60).
Thence it is a day's journey to the other Gebal (Gubail), which borders on the land of the children of Ammon, and
here there are about 150 Jews. The place is under the rule of the Genoese, the name of the governor being Guillelmus
Embriacus(61). Here was found a temple belonging to the children of Ammon in olden times, and an idol of theirs
seated upon a throne or chair, and made of stone overlaid with gold. Two women are represented sitting . one on
the right and one on the left of it, and there is an altar in front before which the Ammonites used to sacrifice and burn
incense(62). There are about 200 Jews there, at their head being
R. Meir, R. Jacob, and R. Simchah. The place is situated on the sea-border of the land of Israel. From there it
is two days' journey to Beirut, or Beeroth, where there are about fifty Jews, at their head being R. Solomon, R.
Obadiah, and R. Joseph. Thence it is one
p. 29 day's journey to Saida, which is Sidon, a large city, | with about twenty Jews. Ten miles therefrom a people
dwell who are at war with the men of Sidon; they are called Druses, and are pagans of a lawless character. They
inhabit the mountains and the clefts of the rocks; they have no king or ruler, but dwell independent in these high
places,and their border extends to Mount Hermon, which is a three days' journey. They are steeped in vice,
brothers marrying their sisters, and fathers their daughters. They have one feast-day in the year, when they all
collect, both men and women, to eat and drink together, and they then interchange their wives(63). They say that
at the time when the soul leaves the body it passes in the case of a good man into the body of a newborn child,
and in the case of a bad man into the body of a dog or an ass. Such are their foolish beliefs. There are no resident
Jews among them, but a certain number of Jewish handicraftsmen and dyers come among them for the sake of
trade, and then return, the people being favourable to the
p. 30 Jews. | They roam over the mountains and hills, and no man can do battle with them.
From Sidon it is half a day's journey to Sarepta (Sarfend), which belongs to Sidon. Thence it is a half-day to
New Tyre (Sur), which is a very fine city, with a harbour in its midst. At night-time those that levy dues throw
iron chains from tower to tower, so that no man can go forth by boat or in any other way to rob the ships by
night. There is no harbour like this in the whole world. Tyre is a beautiful city. It contains about 500 Jews, some
of them scholars of the Talmud, at their head being R. Ephraim of Tyre, the Dayan, R. Meir from Carcassonne,
and R. Abraham, head of the congregation. The Jews own sea-going vessels, and there are glass-makers
amongst them who make that fine Tyrian glass-ware which is prized in all countries.
In the vicinity is found sugar of a high class, for men plant it here, and people come from all lands to buy it(64). A man
can ascend the walls of New Tyre and see ancient Tyre, which the sea has now covered, lying at a stone's throw from
the new city.
p. 31 And should one care to go forth by boat, one can see | the castles, market-places, streets, and
palaces in the bed of the sea. New Tyre is a busy
place of commerce, to which merchants flock from all quarters.
One day's journey brings one to Acre, the Acco of old, which is on the borders of Asher; it is the commencement
of the land of Israel. Situated by the Great Sea, it possesses a large harbour for all the pilgrims who come to
Jerusalem by ship. A stream runs in front of it, called the brook of Kedumim(65). About 200 Jews live there, at their
head being R. Zadok, R. Japheth, and R. Jonah. From there it is three parasangs to Haifa, which is Hahepher(66) on
the seaboard, and on the other side is Mount Carmel(67), at the foot of which there are many Jewish graves. On the
mountain is the cave of Elijah, where the Christians have erected a structure called St. Elias. On the top of the
mountain can be recognized the overthrown altar which Elijah repaired. in the days of Ahab. The site of the altar is
circular, about four cubits remain thereof, and at the foot of the mountain the brook Kishon flows. From here it is
p. 32 four parasangs | to Capernaum, which is the village of Nahum, identical with Maon, the home of Nabal the
Carmelite.
Six parasangs from here is Caesarea, the Gath(68) of the Philistines, and here there are about 200 Jews and 200
Cuthim. These are the Jews of Shomron, who are called Samaritans. The city is fair and beautiful, and lies by
the sea. It was built by Caesar, and called after him Caesarea. Thence it is half a day's journey to Kako(69), the
Keilah of Scripture. There are no Jews here. Thence it is half a day's journey to St. George, which is Ludd(70),
where there lives one Jew, who is a dyer. Thence it is a day's journey to Sebastiya, which is the city of Shomron
(Samaria), and here the ruins of the palace of Ahab the son of Omri may be seen. It was formerly a well-fortified
city by the mountain-side, with streams of water. It is still a land of brooks of water, gardens, orchards,
vineyards, and olive groves, but no Jews dwell here. Thence it is two parasangs to Nablous, which is Shechem
on Mount Ephraim, where there are no Jews; the place is situated in the valley between Mount Gerizim and
Mount Ebal, and contains about 1,000 Cuthim, who observe the written law of Moses alone, and are called
Samaritans. They have
p. 33 priests | of the seed (of Aaron), and they call them Aaronim, who do not intermarry with Cuthim, but wed only
amongst themselves(71). These priests offer sacrifices, and bring burnt-offerings in their place of assembly on
Mount Gerizim, as it is written in their law--"And thou shalt set the blessing on Mount Gerizim." They say that
this is the proper site of the Temple. On Passover and the other festivals they offer up burnt-offerings on the
altar which they have built on Mount Gerizim, as it is written in their law--"Ye shall set up the stones upon
Mount Gerizim, of the stones which Joshua and the
children of Israel set up at the Jordan." They say that they are descended from the tribe of Ephraim. And in the midst
of them is the grave of Joseph, the son of Jacob our father, as it is written "and the bones of Joseph buried they in
Shechem(72)." Their alphabet lacks three letters, namely He, Heth, and Ain(73). The letter He is taken from
Abraham our father, because they have no dignity, the letter Heth from Isaac, because they have no kindliness,
and the letter Ain from Jacob, because they have no humility. In place of these letters they make use of the Aleph,
by which we can tell | that they are not of the seed of Israel, although they know the p. 34 law of Moses with the
exception of these three letters. They guard themselves from the defilement of the dead, of the bones of the slain,
and of graves; and they remove the garments which they have worn before they go to the place of worship, and they
bathe and put on fresh clothes. This is their constant practice. On Mount Gerizim are fountains and gardens and
plantations, but Mount Ebal is rocky and barren; and between them in the valley lies the city of Shechem.
From the latter place it is a distance of four parasangs to Mount Gilboa, which the Christians call Mont Gilboa; it
lies in a very parched district. And from there it is five(74) . . . , a village where there are no Jews. Thence it is two
parasangs to the valley of Ajalon(75), which the Christians call Val-de-Luna. At a distance of
one parasang is Mahomerie-le-Grand, which is Gibeon the Great; it contains no Jews.
From there it is three parasangs to Jerusalem, which is a small city, fortified by three walls. It is full of people
whom the Mohammedans call Jacobites, Syrians, Greeks, Georgians and Franks, and of
p. 35 people of all tongues: It contains a dyeing-house, | for which the Jews pay a small rent annually to the king(76),
on condition that besides the Jews no other dyers be allowed in Jerusalem. There are about 200 Jews who dwell
under the Tower of David in one corner of the city(77). The lower portion of the wall of the Tower of David, to
the extent of about ten cubits, is part of the ancient foundation set up by our ancestors, the remaining portion
having been built by the Mohammedans. There is no structure in the whole city stronger than the Tower of
David. The city also contains two buildings, from one of which--the hospital--there issue forth four hundred
knights; and therein all the sick who come thither are lodged and cared for in life and in death(78). The other
building is called the Temple of Solomon; it is the palace built by Solomon the king of Israel. Three hundred
knights are quartered there, and issue therefrom every day for military exercise, besides those who come from
the land of the Franks and the other parts of Christendom, having taken upon themselves to serve there a year
or two until their vow is fulfilled. In Jerusalem is the great church called the Sepulchre, and here is the
p. 36
burial-place of Jesus, unto which the Christians make pilgrimages. | Jerusalem(79) has four gates-the gate of Abraham, the gate of David, the gate of Zion, and the gate of Gushpat,
which is the gate of Jehoshaphat, facing our ancient Temple, now called Templum Domini. Upon the site of the sanctuary Omar ben al Khataab erected an edifice with a very large and
magnificent cupola, into which the Gentiles do not bring any image or effigy, but they merely come there to pray.
In front of this place is the western wall, which is one of the walls of the Holy of Holies. This is called the Gate of
Mercy, and thither come all the Jews to pray before the wall of the court of the Temple. In Jerusalem, attached to
the palace which belonged to Solomon, are the stables built by him, forming a very substantial structure, composed
of large stones, and the like of it is not to be seen anywhere in the world. There is also visible up to this day the pool
used by the priests before offering their sacrifices, and the Jews coming thither write their names upon the wall. The
gate of Jehoshaphat leads to the valley of Jehoshaphat, which is the gathering-place of nations(80).
p. 37
Here is the pillar | called Absalom's Hand, and the sepulchre of King Uzziah(81).
In the neighbourhood is also a great spring, called the Waters of Siloam, connected with the brook of Kidron. Over
the spring is a large structure dating from the time of our ancestors, but little water is found, and the people of
Jerusalem for the most part drink the rain-water, which they collect in cisterns in their houses. From the valley of
Jehoshaphat one ascends the Mount of Olives; it is the valley only which separates Jerusalem from the Mount of
Olives. From the Mount of Olives one sees the Sea of Sodom, and at a distance of two parasangs from the Sea of
Sodom is the Pillar of Salt into which Lot's wife was turned; the sheep lick it continually, but afterwards it regains
its original shape(82). The whole land of the plain and the valley of Shittim as far as Mount Nebo are visible from here.
In front of Jerusalem is Mount Zion, on which there is no building, except a place of worship belonging to the
Christians. Facing Jerusalem for a distance of three miles are the cemeteries(83) belonging to the Israelites, who
in the days of old buried their dead in caves, and upon each sepulchre is a dated inscription, but the Christians
destroy the sepulchres, employing the stones thereof in building their houses. These sepulchres reach as far as
Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. Around Jerusalem are high mountains.
p. 38
On Mount Zion | are the sepulchres of the House of David, and the sepulchres of the kings that ruled after
him. The exact place cannot be identified, inasmuch as fifteen years ago a wall of the church of Mount Zion fell
in. The Patriarch commanded the overseer to take the stones of the old walls and restore therewith the church.
He did so, and hired workmen at fixed wages; and there were twenty men who brought the stones from the base
of the wall of Zion. Among these men there were two who were sworn friends. On a certain day the one
entertained the other; after their meal they returned to their work, when the overseer said to them, " Why have
you tarried to-day?" They answered, "Why need you complain? When our fellow workmen go to their meal we
will do our work." When the dinner-time arrived, and the other workmen had gone to their meal, they examined
the stones, and raised a certain stone which formed the entrance to a cave. Thereupon one said to the other, "Let
us go in and see if any money is to be found there." They entered the cave, and reached a large chamber resting
upon pillars
p. 39 of marble overlaid with silver and gold. In front | was a table of gold and a sceptre and crown. This was the
sepulchre of King David. On the left thereof in like fashion was the sepulchre of King Solomon; then followed
the sepulchres of all the kings of Judah that were buried there. Closed coffers were also there, the contents of
which no man knows. The two men essayed to enter the chamber, when a fierce wind came forth from the
entrance of the cave and smote them, and they fell to the ground like dead men, and there they lay until evening.
And there came forth a wind like a man's voice, crying out: "Arise and go forth from this place!" So the men
rushed forth in terror, and they came unto the Patriarch, and related these things to him. Thereupon the
Patriarch sent for Rabbi Abraham el Conatantini, the pious recluse, who was one of the mourners of Jerusalem,
and to him he related all these things according to the report
of the two men who had come forth. Then Rabbi Abraham replied, "These are the sepulchres of the House of David;
they belong to the kings of Judah, and on the morrow let us enter, I and you and these men, and find out what is
there." And on the morrow they sent for the two men,
p. 40 and found each of them lying on his bed | in terror, and
the men said: "We will not enter there, for the Lord doth not desire to show it to any man." Then the Patriarch gave
orders that the place should be closed up and hidden from the sight of man unto this day. These things were told me
by the said Rabbi Abraham.
From Jerusalem it is two parasangs to Bethlehem, which is called by the Christians Beth-Leon, and close thereto,
at a distance of about half a mile, at the parting of the way, is the pillar of Rachel's grave, which is made up of eleven
stones, corresponding with the number of the sons of Jacob. Upon it is a cupola resting on four columns, and all the
Jews that pass by carve their names upon the stones of the pillar(84). At Bethlehem there are two Jewish dyers. It is
a land of brooks of water, and contains wells and fountains.
At a distance of six parasangs is St. Abram de Bron, which is Hebron; the old city stood on the mountain, but is now
in ruins; and in the valley by the field of Machpelah lies the present city. Here there is the great church called St.
Abram, and this was a Jewish place of worship
p. 41
at the time of the Mohammedan rule, | but the Gentiles have
erected there six tombs, respectively called those of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. The
custodians tell the pilgrims that these are the tombs of the Patriarchs, for which information the pilgrims give them
money. If a Jew comes, however, and gives a special reward, the custodian of the cave opens unto him a gate of iron,
which was constructed by our forefathers, and then he is able to descend below by means of steps, holding a lighted
candle in his hand. He then reaches a cave, in which nothing is to be found, and a cave beyond, which is likewise
empty, but when he reaches the third cave behold there are six sepulchres, those of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
respectively facing those of Sarah, Rebekah and Leah. And upon the graves are inscriptions cut in stone; upon the
grave of Abraham is engraved "This is the grave of Abraham"; upon that of Isaac, "This is the grave of Isaac, the
son of Abraham our Father"; upon that of Jacob, "This is the grave of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham
our Father"; and upon the others, "This is the grave of Sarah," " This is the grave of Rebekah," and " This is the
grave of Leah." A lamp burns day and night upon the graves in the cave. One finds there many casks filled with the bones of Israelites, as the members of the house of Israel were wont
to bring the bones of their fathers thither
p. 42 and to deposit them there to this day (85).
Beyond the field of Machpelah is the house of Abraham; there is a well in front of the house, but out of
reverence for the Patriarch Abraham no one is allowed to build in the neighbourhood.
From Hebron it is five parasangs to Beit Jibrin, which is Mareshah, where there are but three Jews(86). Three
parasangs further one reaches St. Samuel of Shiloh. This is the Shiloh which is two parasangs from Jerusalem.
When the Christians captured Ramlah, the Ramah of old, from the Mohammedans, they found there the grave
of Samuel the Ramathite close to a Jewish synagogue. The Christians took the remains, conveyed them unto
Shiloh, and erected over them a large church, and called it St. Samuel of Shiloh unto this day(87).
From there it is three parasangs to Mahomerie-le-petit(88), which is Gibeah of Saul, where there are no Jews, and this
is Gibeah of Benjamin. Thence three parasangs to Beit Nuba(89), which is Nob, the city of priests.
p. 43 In the middle | of
the way are the two crags of Jonathan, the name of the one being Bozez, and the name of the
other Seneh'(90) Two Jewish dyers dwell there.
Thence it is three parasangs to Rams, or Ramleh, where there are remains of the walls from the days of our
ancestors, for thus it was found written upon the stones. About 300 Jews dwell there. It was formerly a very great
city; at a distance of two miles there is a large Jewish cemetery(91).
Thence it is five parasangs to Yafa or Jaffa, which is on the seaboard, and one Jewish dyer lives here. From here it
is five parasangs to Ibelin or Jabneh, the seat of the Academy, but there are no Jews there at this day. Thus far
extends the territory of Ephraim.
From there it is five parasangs to Palmid, which is Ashdod of the Philistines, now in ruins; no Jews dwell there.
Thence it is two parasangs to Ashkelonah or New Askelon, which Ezra the priest
built by the sea. It was originally called Bene Berak. The place is four parasangs distant from the ancient ruined
city of Askelon.
p.44New Askelon is a large | and fair place, and merchants come thither from all quarters, for it is situated on the
frontier of Egypt. About 200 Rabbanite Jews dwell here, at their head being R. Zemach, R. Aaron, and R.
Solomon; also about forty Karaites, and about 300 Cuthim. In the midst of the city there is a well, which they
call Bir Abraham; this the Patriarch dug in the days of the Philistines(92).
From there it is a journey of a day to St. George(93) of Ludd: thence it is a day and a half to Zerin or Jezreel,
where there is a large spring. One Jewish dyer lives here. Three parasangs further is Saffuriya or Sepphoris. Here
are the graves of Rabbenu Hakkadosh, of Rabban Gamaliel, and of R. Chiya, who came up from Babylon, also
of Jonah the son of Amittai; they are all buried in the mountain(94).
Many other Jewish graves are here.
Thence it is five parasangs to Tiberias, which is situated upon the Jordan, which is here called the Sea of
Chinnereth. The Jordan at this place flows through a valley between two mountains, and fills the lake, which
is called the Lake of Chinnereth; this is a large and broad piece of water like the sea. The Jordan flows between
two mountains, and over the plain which is the place that is called Ashdoth Hapiagah, and thence continues its
course till it falls into the Sea of Sodom, which is the Salt Sea. In Tiberias there are about fifty Jews,
p.45
at their head being | R. Abraham the astronomer, R. Muchtar, and R. Isaac. There are hot waters here, which
bubble up from the ground, and are called the Hot Waters of Tiberias. Nearby is the Synagogue of Caleb ben
Jephunneh, and Jewish sepulchres. R. Johanan ben Zakkai and R. Jehudah Halevi(95) are buried here. All these places are situated in Lower Galilee.
From here it is two days to Tymin or Timnathah, where
Simon the Just(96) and many Israelites are buried, and thence three
parasangs to Medon or Meron. In the neighbourhood there is a
cave in which are the sepulchres of Hillel and Shammai. Here also are
twenty sepulchres of disciples, including the sepulchres of R. Benjamin
ben Japheth, and of R. Jehudah ben Bethera. From Meron it is
two parasangs to Almah, where there are about fifty Jews. There
is a large Jewish cemetery here, with the sepulchres of R. Eleazar ben
Arak, of R. Eleazar ben Azariah, of Chuni Hamaagal,
p. 46 of Raban
Simeon | ben Gamaliel, and of R. Jose Hagelili(97).
From here it is half a day's journey to Kades, or Kedesh Naphtali, upon the Jordan. Here is the sepulchre of Barak
the son of Abinoam. No Jews dwell here.
Thence it is a day's journey to Banias, which is Dan, where there is a cavern, from which the Jordan issues and flows
for a distance of three miles, when the Arnon, which comes from the borders of Moab, joins it(98). In front of the
cavern may be discerned the site of the altar associated with the graven image of Micah, which the children of Dan
worshiped in ancient days. This is also the site of the altar of Jeroboam, where the golden calf was set up. Thus far
reaches the boundary of the land of Israel towards the uttermost sea(99).
Two days' journey brings one to Damascus, the great city, which is the commencement of the empire of Nur-ed-din,
the king of the Togarmim, called Turks. It is a fair city of large extent, surrounded by walls, with many gardens and
plantations, extending over fifteen miles on each side, and no district richer in fruit can be seen in all the world. From
Mount Hermon descend the rivers Amana and Pharpar; for the city is situated at the foot of Mount Hermon. The
Amana flows through the city, and by means of aqueducts
p. 47
the water is conveyed to the houses | of the great people,
and into the streets and market-places. The Pharpar flows through their gardens
and plantations. It is a place carrying on trade with all countries. Here is a mosque of the Arabs called the Gami
of Damascus; there is no building like it in the whole world, and they say that it was a palace of Ben Hadad.
Here is a wall of crystal glass of magic workmanship, with apertures according to the days of the year, and as
the sun's rays enter each of them in daily succession the hours of the day can be told by a graduated dial. In the
palace are chambers built of gold and glass, and if people walk round the wall they are able to see one another,
although the wall is between them. And there are columns overlaid with gold and silver, and columns of marble
of all colours(100). And in the court there is a gigantic head overlaid with gold and silver, and fashioned like a bowl
with rims of gold and silver. It is as big as a cask, and three men can enter therein at the same time to bathe. In
the palace is suspended the rib of one of the giants, the length being nine cubits, and the width two cubits; and
they say it belonged to the King Anak of the giants of old, whose name was Abramaz(101). For so it was found
inscribed on
p. 48 his grave, where it was also written that he ruled | over the whole world. Three thousand Jews abide in this
city, and amongst them are learned and rich men(102). The head of the Academy of the land of Israel resides
here(103). His name is R. Azariah, and with him are his brother, Sar Shalom, the head of the Beth Din: R. Joseph,
the fifth of the Academy: R. Mazliach, the lecturer, the head of the order: R. Meir, the crown of the scholars:
R. Joseph ben Al Pilath, the pillar of the Academy: R. Heman, the warden: and R. Zedekiah, the physician. One
hundred Karaites dwell here, also 400 Cuthim, and there is peace between them, but they do not intermarry.
It is a day's journey to Galid, which is Gilead, and sixty Israelites are there, at their head being R. Zadok, R.
Isaac, and R. Solomon. It is a place of wide extent, with brooks of water, gardens, and plantations. Thence it
is half a day to Salkat, which is Salchah of old(104).
Thence it is half a day's journey to Baalbec, which is Baalath in the plains of Lebanon, and which Solomon built for
the daughter of Pharaoh. The palace is built of large stones, each stone having a length of twenty cubits and a width
p. 49
of twelve | cubits, and there are no spaces between the stones. It is said that Ashmedai alone could have put
up this building. From the upper part of the city a great spring wells forth and flows into the middle of the city as a
wide stream, and alongside thereof are mills and gardens and plantations in the midst of the city. At Tarmod
(Tadmor) in the wilderness, which Solomon built, there are similar structures of huge stones(105). The city of Tarmod
is surrounded by walls; it is in the desert far away from inhabited places, and is four days' journey from Baalath, just
mentioned. And in Tarmod there are about 2,000 Jews. They are valiant in war and fight with the Christians and with
the Arabs, which latter are under the dominion of Nur-ed-din the king, and they help their neighbours the Ishmaelites.
At their head are R. Isaac Hajvani, R. Nathan, and R. Uziel.
From Baalbec to Karjaten, which is Kirjathim, is a distance of half a day; no Jews live there except one dyer. Thence
it is a day's journey to Emesa, which is a city of the Zemarites, where about twenty Jews dwell(106). Thence it is a day's
journey to Hamah, which is Hamath. It lies on the river Jabbok at the foot of Mount Lebanon(107). Some time ago there
was a great earthquake in the
p. 50
city, and 25,000 souls perished in one day, | and of about 200 Jews
but seventy escaped. At their head are R. Eli Hacohen, and the
Sheik Abu Galib and Mukhtar. Thence it is half a day to Sheizar ,
which is Hazor(108), and from there it is three parasangs to Dimin (Latmin).
Thence it is two days to Haleb (Aleppo) or Aram Zoba, which is
the royal city of Nur-ed-din. In the midst of the city is his palace
surrounded by a very high wall. This is a very large place. There
is no well there nor any stream, but the inhabitants drink rain
water, each one possessing a cistern in his house(109). The city has
5,000 Jewish inhabitants, at their head being R. Moses el Constantini
and R. Seth. Thence it is two days to Balis(110), which is Pethor on
the river Euphrates, and unto this day there stands the turret of
Balaam, which he built to tell the hours of the day. About ten
Jews live here. Thence it is half a day to Kalat Jabar, which is
Selah of the wilderness, that was left unto the Arabs at the time the
p. 51 Togarmim took their land | and caused them to fly into the wilderness. About 2,000 Jews dwell there, at their
head being R. Zedekiah, R. Chiya, and R. Solomon.
Thence it is one day's journey to Rakka(111), or Salchah, which is on the confines of the land of Shinar, and which
divides the land of the Togarmim from that kingdom. In it there are 700 Jews, at their head being R. Zakkai and
R. Nedib, who is blind, and R. Joseph. There is a synagogue here, erected by Ezra when he went forth from
Babylon to Jerusalem. At two days' distance lies ancient Harran, where twenty Jews live(112). Here is another synagogue erected by Ezra, and in this place stood the house of
Terah and Abraham his son. The ground is not covered by any building, and the Mohammedans honour the site and
come thither to pray.
Thence it is a journey of two days to Ras-el-Ain(113), whence proceeds the river El Khabur--the Habor of old--which
flows through the land of Media, and falls into the river Gozan(114). Here there are 200 Jews(115). Thence it is two days
p. 52
to Geziret Ibn Omar, which is surrounded by the river | Hiddekel (Tigris), at the foot of the mountains of Ararat.
It is a distance of four miles to the place where Noah's Ark rested, but Omar ben al Khataab took the ark from the
two mountains and made it into a mosque for the Mohammedans(116). Near the ark is the Synagogue of Ezra to this
day, and on the ninth of Ab the Jews come thither from the city to pray. In the city of Geziret Omar are 4,000 Jews,
at their head being R. Mubchar, R. Joseph and R. Chiya.
Thence it is two days to Mosul, which is Assur the Great, and here dwell about 7,000 Jews, at their head being R.
Zakkai the Nasi of the seed of David, and R. Joseph surnamed Burhan-al-mulk, the astronomer to the King
Sin-ed-din, the brother of Nur-ed-din, King of Damascus(117).
Mosul is the frontier town of the land of Persia.
It is a very large and ancient city, situated on the river Hiddekel (Tigris), and is connected with Nineveh by
means of a bridge. Nineveh is in ruins, but amid the ruins there are villages and hamlets, and the extent of the
city may be determined by the walls, which
p. 53 extend forty parasangs to the city of Irbil(118). | The city of Nineveh is on the river Hiddekel. In the city of Assur
(Mosul) is the synagogue of Obadiah, built by Jonah; also the synagogue of Nahum the Elkoshite(119).
Thence it is a distance of three days to Rahbah, which is on the river Euphrates. Here there are about 2,000
Jews, at their head being R. Hezekiah, R. Tabor and R. Isaac. It is a very fine city, large and fortified, and
surrounded by gardens and plantations.
Thence it is a day's journey to Karkisiya which is Carchemish, on the river Euphrates. Here there are about 500
Jews, at their head being R. Isaac and R. Elhanan. Thence it is two days to El-Anbar which is Pumbedita in
Nehardea(120). Here reside 3,000 Jews, and amongst them are learned men, at their head being the chief rabbi R.
Chen, R. Moses and R. Jehoiakim. Here are the graves of Rab Jehuda and Samuel, and in front of the graves
of each of them are the synagogues which they built in their lifetime. Here is also
the grave of Bostanai the Nasi, the head of the Captivity,
p. 54 and of R. Nathan and Rab Nachman the son of Papa. |
Thence it takes five days to Hadara, where about 15,000 Jews dwell, at their head being R. Zaken, R.
Jehosef and R. Nethanel(121).
Thence it takes two days to Okbara, the city which Jeconiah the King built, where there are about 10,000 Jews, and
at their head are R. Chanan, R. Jabin and R. Ishmael.
Thence it is two days to Bagdad, the great city and the royal residence of the Caliph Emir al Muminin al Abbasi of
the family of Mohammed. He is at the head of the Mohammedan religion, and all the kings of Islam obey him; he
occupies a similar position to that held by the Pope over the Christians(122). He has a palace in Bagdad three miles in
extent, wherein is a great park with all varieties of trees, fruit-bearing and otherwise, and all manner of animals. The
whole is surrounded by a wall, and in the park there is a lake whose waters are fed by the river Hiddekel. Whenever
the king desires to indulge in recreation and to rejoice and feast, his servants catch all manner of birds, game and fish,
and he goes to his palace with his counsellors and princes.
p, 55
There the great king, Al Abbasi the Caliph (Hafiz) | holds
his court, and he is kind unto Israel, and many belonging to the people of Israel are his attendants; he knows
all languages, and is well versed in the law of Israel. He reads and writes the holy language (Hebrew). He will not
partake of anything unless he has
earned it by the work of his own hands. He makes coverlets to which he attaches his seal; his courtiers sell them
in the market, and the great ones of the land purchase them, and the proceeds thereof provide his sustenance.
He is truthful and trusty, speaking peace to all men. The men of Islam see him but once in the year. The pilgrims
that come from distant lands to go unto Mecca which is in the land El-Yemen, are anxious to see his face, and
they assemble before the palace exclaiming "Our Lord, light of Islam and glory of our law, show us the
effulgence of thy countenance," but he pays no regard to their words: Then the princes who minister unto him
say to him, "Our Lord, spread forth thy peace unto the men that have come from distant lands, who crave to
abide under the shadow of thy graciousness," and thereupon he arises and lets down the hem of his
p. 56 robe from the window, | and the pilgrims come and kiss it(123), and a prince says unto them "Go forth in peace,
for our Master the Lord of Islam granteth peace to you." He is regarded by them as Mohammed and they go
to their houses rejoicing at the salutation which the prince has vouchsafed unto them, and glad at heart that they
have kissed his robe.
Each of his brothers and the members of his family has an abode in his palace, but they are all fettered in chains
of iron, and guards are placed over each of their houses so that they may not rise against the great Caliph. For
once it happened to a predecessor that his brothers rose up against him and proclaimed one of themselves as
Caliph; then it was decreed that all the members of his family should be bound, that they might not rise up
against the ruling Caliph. Each one of them resides in his palace in great splendour, and they own villages and
towns, and their stewards bring them the tribute thereof, and they eat and drink and rejoice all the days of their
life(124). Within the domains of the palace of the Caliph there are great buildings of marble and columns of silver
and gold, and
p. 57
carvings | upon rare stones are fixed in the walls. In the Caliph's palace are great riches and towers filled with
gold, silken garments and all precious stones. He does not issue forth from his palace save once in the year, at
the feast which the Mohammedans call El-id-bed Ramazan, and they come from distant lands that day to see
him. He rides on a mule and is attired in the royal robes of gold and silver and fine linen; on his head is a turban
adorned with priceless value, and over the turban is a black shawl as a sign of his modesty, implying that all this
glory will be covered by darkness on the day of death. He is accompanied by all the nobles of Islam dressed in fine
garments and riding on.horses, the princes of Arabia, the princes of Togarma and Daylam (Gilan) and the princes
of Persia, Media and Ghuzz, and the princes of the land of Tibet, which is three months' journey distant, and
westward of which lies the land of Samarkand. He proceeds from his palace to the great mosque of Islam which is
by the Basrah Gate. Along the road the walls are adorned with silk and purple, and the inhabitants receive him with
all kinds of song and exultation, and they dance before the great king who is styled the Caliph.
p. 58 They salute him |
with a loud voice and say."Peace unto thee, our Lord the King and Light of Islam!" He kisses his robe, and
stretching forth the hem thereof he salutes them. Then he proceeds to the court of the mosque, mounts a wooden
pulpit and expounds to them their Law. Then the learned ones of Islam arise and pray for him and extol his greatness
and his graciousness, to which they all respond. Afterwards he gives them his blessing, and they bring before him a
camel which he slays, and this is their passover-sacrifice. He gives thereof unto the princes and they distribute it to
all, so that they may taste of the sacrifice brought by their sacred king; and they all rejoice. Afterwards he leaves the
mosque and returns alone to his palace by way of the river Hiddekel, and the grandees of Islam accompany him in
ships on the river until he enters his palace. He does not return the way he came; and the road which he takes along
the river-side is watched all the year through, so that no man shall tread in his footsteps. He does not leave the palace
p. 59 again for a whole year. He is a benevolent man.
He built, on the other side of the river, on the banks of an arm of the Euphrates which there borders the city,
a hospital consisting of blocks of houses and hospices for the sick poor who come to be healed(125). Here
there are about sixty physicians' stores which are provided from the Caliph's house with drugs and whatever else may
be required. Every sick man who comes is maintained at the Caliph's expense and is medically treated. Here is a
building which is called Dar-al-Maristan, where they keep charge of the demented people who have become insane
in the towns through the great heat in the summer, and they chain each of them in iron chains until their reason
becomes restored to them in the winter-time. Whilst they abide there, they are provided with food from the house
of the Caliph, and when their reason is restored they are dismissed and each one of them goes to his house and his
home. Money is given to those that have stayed in the hospices on their return to their homes. Every month the
officers of the Caliph inquire and investigate whether they have regained their reason, in which case they are
discharged. All this the Caliph does out of charity to those that come to the city of Bagdad, whether they be sick
or insane. The Caliph is a righteous man, and all his actions are for good.
In Bagdad there are about
p. 60 40,000 Jews(126), | and they dwell in security, prosperity and honour under the great
Caliph, and amongst them are great sages, the heads of Academies engaged in the study of the law. In this city there
are ten Academies. At the head of the great Academy is the chief rabbi R. Samuel, the son of Eli. He is the head of
the Academy Gaon Jacob. He is a Levite, and traces his pedigree back to Moses our teacher. The head of the second
Academy is R. Hanania his brother, warden of the Levites; R. Daniel is the head of the third Academy; R. Elazar the
scholar is the head of the fourth Academy; and R. Ela.zar, the son of Zemach, is the head of the order, and his
pedigree reaches to Samuel the prophet, the Korahite. He and his brethren know how to chant the melodies as did
the singers at the time when the Temple was standing. He is head of the fifth Academy. R. Hisdai, the glory of the
scholars, is head of the sixth Academy. R. Haggai is head of the seventh Academy. R. Ezra is the head of the eighth
Academy. R. Abraham, who is called Abu Tahir, is the head of the ninth Academy. R. Zakkai, the son of Bostanai
p. 61
the Nasi, is the head of the Sium(127). | These are the ten Batlanim(128), and they do not engage in any other work
than communal administration; and all the days of the week they judge the Jews their countrymen, except on the
second day of the week, when they all appear before the chief rabbi Samuel, the head of the Yeshiba Gaon (Jacob),
who in conjunction with the other Batlanim judges all those that appear before him. And at the head of them all is
Daniel the son of Hisdai, who is styled "Our Lord the Head of the Captivity of all Israel." He possesses a book of
pedigrees going back ass far as David, King of Israel. The Jews call him "Our Lord, Head of the Captivity," and the
Mohammedans call him "Saidna beg Daoud," and he has been invested with authority over all the congregations of
Israel at the hands of the Emir al Muminin, the Lord of Islam(129).
For thus Mohammed commanded concerning him and his descendants; and he granted him a seal of office over
all the congregations that dwell under his rule, and ordered that every one, whether Mohammedan or Jew, or
belonging to any other nation in his dominion, should rise up before him (the Exilarch) and salute him, and that
p. 62any one who should refuse to rise up should receive one hundred stripes(130). |
And every fifth day when he goes to pay a visit to the great Caliph, horsemen, Gentiles as well as Jews, escort
him, and heralds proclaim in advance, "Make way before our Lord, the son of David, as is due unto him," the
Arabic words being "Amilu tarik la Saidna beg Daud:' He is mounted on a horse, and is attired in robes of silk
and embroidery with a large turban on his head, and from the turban is suspended a long white cloth adorned
with a chain upon which the cipher of Mohammed is engraved. Then he appears before the Caliph and kisses his
hand, and the Caliph rises and places him on a throne which Mohammed had ordered to be made for him, and
all the Mohammedan princes who attend the court of the Caliph rise up before him. And the Head of the
Captivity is seated on his throne opposite to the Caliph, in compliance with the command of Mohammed to give
effect to what is written in the law--"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a law-giver from between his
feet, until he come to Shiloh: and to him shall the gathering of the people be." The authority of the Head of the
Captivity extends over all the communities of Shinar, Persia, Khurasan and Sheba which is El-Yemen, and Diyar
Kalach (Bekr) and the land of Aram Naharaim (Mesopotamia), and over the dwellers in the mountains of Ararat
and the land of the Alans(131), which is a land surrounded by mountains and has no
outlet except by the iron gates which Alexander made, but which were afterwards broken. Here are the people called
Alani. His authority extends also over the land of Siberia, and the communities in the land of the Togarmim unto the
mountains of Asveh and the land of Gurgan, the inhabitants of which are called Gurganim who dwell by the river
Gihon(132), and these are the Girgashites who follow the Christian religion. Further it extends to the gates of
Samarkand, the land of Tibet, and the land of India. In respect of all these countries the Head of the Captivity gives
p. 63the communities power to appoint | Rabbis and Ministers who come unto him to be consecrated and to receive
his authority. They bring him offerings and gifts from the ends of the earth. He owns hospices, gardens and
plantations in Babylon, and much land inherited from his fathers, and no one can take his possessions from him by
force. He has a fixed weekly revenue arising from the hospices of the Jews, the markets and the merchants, apart
from that which is brought to hint from far-off lands. The man is very rich, and wise in the Scriptures as well as in
the Talmud, and many Israelites dine at his table every day.
At his installation, the Head of the Captivity gives much money to the Caliph, to the Princes and the Ministers. On
the day that the Caliph performs the ceremony of investing him with authority, he rides in the second of the royal
equipages, and is escorted from the palace of the Caliph to his own house with timbrels and fifes. The Exilarch
appoints the Chiefs of the Academies by
placing his hand upon their heads, thus installing them in their office(133). The Jews of the city are learned men and
p. 64very rich. |
In Bagdad there are twenty-eight Jewish Synagogues, situated either in the city itself or in Al-Karkh on the
other side of the Tigris; for the river divides the metropolis into two parts. The great synagogue of the Head of
the Captivity has columns of marble of various colours overlaid with silver and gold, and on these columns are
sentences of the Psalms in golden letters. And in front of the ark are about ten steps of marble; on the topmost
step are the seats of the Head of the Captivity and of the Princes of the House of David. The city of Bagdad is
twenty miles in circumference, situated in a land of palms, gardens and plantations, the like of which is not to
be found in the whole land of Shinar. People come thither with merchandise from all lands. Wise men live there,
philosophers who know all manner of wisdom, and magicians expert in all manner of witchcraft.
Thence it is two days to Gazigan which is called Resen. It is a large city containing about 5,000 Jews. In the
midst of it is the Synagogue of Rabbah(134)--a large one. He is buried close to the Synagogue, and beneath his
sepulchre is a cave where twelve of his pupils are buried
p. 65
Thence it is a clay's journey | to Babylon, which is the Babel of old. The ruins thereof are thirty miles in
extent(135). The ruins of the palace of Nebuchadnezzar are still to be seen there, but people are afraid to enter
them on account of the serpents and scorpions. Near at hand, within a distance of a mile, there dwell 3,000
Israelites who pray in the Synagogue of the Pavilion of Daniel, which is ancient
and was erected by Daniel. It is built of hewn stones and bricks. Between the Synagogue and the Palace of
Nebuchadnezzar is the furnace into which were thrown Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and the site of it lies in a
valley' known unto all.
Thence it is five parasangs to Hillah, where there are 10,000 Israelites and four Synagogues: that of R. Meir, who
lies buried before it; the Synagogue of Mar Keshisha, who is buried in front of it; also the Synagogue of Rab Zeiri,
the son of Chama, and the Synagogue of R. Mari; the Jews pray there every day.
Thence it is four miles to the Tower of Babel, which the generation whose language was confounded built of the
bricks called Agur. The length of its foundation is about two miles, the breadth of the tower is about forty cubits,
p. 66and the length thereof | two hundred cubits. At every ten cubits(136) distance there are slopes which go round
the tower by which one can ascend to the top(137). One can see from there a view twenty miles in extent, as the land
is level. There fell fire from heaven into the midst of the tower which split it to its very depths.
Thence it is half a day to Kaphri, where there are about 200 Jews. Here is the Synagogue of R. Isaac Napcha, who
is buried in front of it. Thence it is three parasangs to the Synagogue of Ezekiel, the prophet of blessed memory,
which is by the river Euphrates(138). It
is fronted by sixty turrets, and between each turret there is a minor Synagogue, and in the court of the Synagogue
is the ark, and at the back of the Synagogue is the sepulchre of Ezekiel. It is surmounted by a large cupola, and
it is a very handsome structure. It was built of old by King Jeconiah, king of Judah, and the 35,000 Jews who came
with him, when Evil-merodach brought him forth out of prison. This place is by the river Chebar on the one side,
and by the river Euphrates on the other, and the names of Jeconiah and those that accompanied him are engraved
on the wall: Jeconiah
p. 67
at the top, and Ezekiel | at the bottom. This place is held sacred by Israel as a lesser sanctuary unto this day, and
people come from a distance to pray there from the time of the New Year until the Day of Atonement. The
Israelites have great rejoicings on these occasions. Thither also come the Head of the Captivity, and the Heads of
the Academies from Bagdad. Their camp occupies a space of about two miles, and Arab merchants come there
as well. A great gathering like a fair takes place, which is called Fera, and they bring forth a scroll of the Law
written on parchment by Ezekiel the Prophet, and read from it on the Day of Atonement. A lamp burns day and
night over the sepulchre of Ezekiel; the light thereof has been kept burning from the day that he lighted it himself,
and they continually renew the wick thereof, and replenish the oil unto the present day. A large house belonging
to the sanctuary is filled with books, some of them from the time of the first temple, and some from the time of
the second temple, and he who has no sons consecrates his books to its use. The Jews that come thither to pray
from the land of Persia and Media bring the money which their countrymen have offered to the Synagogue of
Ezekiel the Prophet. The Synagogue owns property, lands and villages, which belonged to King Jeconiah, and
when Mohammed came he confirmed all these rights to the Synagogue of Ezekiel(139). Distinguished Mohammedans
also come hither
p. 68
to pray, | so great is their love for Ezekiel the Prophet; and they call it Bar (Dar) Melicha (the Dwelling of
Beauty). All the Arabs come there to pray(140).
At a distance of about half a mile from the Synagogue are the sepulchres of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and
upon their sepulchres are large cupolas; and even at times of disturbance no man would dare touch the Mohammedan
or Jewish servants who attend at the sepulchre of Ezekiel.
Thence it is three miles to the city of Kotsonath, where there are 300 Jews. Here are the sepulchres of Rab Papa,
Rab Huna, Joseph Sinai, and Rab Joseph ben Hama; and before each of them is a Synagogue where the Israelites pray
every day. Thence it is three parasangs to Ain Siptha, where there is the sepulchre of the prophet Nahum the
Elkoshite. Thence it is a day's journey to Kefar Al-Keram, where are the sepulchres of Rab Chisdai, R. Azariah, R.
Akiba, and R. Dosa. Thence it is a half-day's journey to a village in the desert, where there are buried R. David and
R. Jehuda and Abaji, R. Kurdiah, Rab Sechora, and Rab Ada. Thence it is a day's journey to the
p. 69river Raga, where | there is the sepulchre of King Zedekiah. Upon it is a large cupola. Thence it is a day's journey to the city of
Kufa, where there is the sepulchre of King Jeconiah. Over it is a big structure, and in front thereof is a Synagogue.
There are about 7,000 Jews here. At this place is the large mosque of the Mohammedans, for here is buried Ali ben
Abu Talib, the son-in-law of Mohammed, and the Mohammedans come hither . . . .
Thence it is a day and a half to Sura, which is Mata Mehasya, where the Heads of the Captivity and the Heads of
the Academies dwelt at first(141). Here is the sepulchre of R. Sherira, and of R. Hai his son of blessed memory, also
of R. Saadiah Al-Fiumi, and of Rab Samuel the son of Hofni Hacohen, and of Zephaniah the
son of Cushi the son of Gedaliah, the prophet, and of the Princes of the House of David, and of the Heads of
the Academies who lived there before the destruction of the town(142).
Thence it is two days to Shafjathib. Here is a Synagogue which the Israelites built from the earth of Jerusalem
and its stones, and they called it Shafjathib, which is by Nehardea(143).
Thence it is a day and a half's journey to El-Anbar, which was
Pumbedita in Nehardea(144). About 3,000 Jews dwell there. The city
lies on the river Euphrates. Here is the Synagogue of Rab and
Samuel, and their house of study, and in front of it are their graves.
Thence it is five days to Hillah. From this place it is a journey of twenty-one days by way of the deserts to the
land of Saba, which is
p. 70called the land | El-Yemen, lying at the side of the land of Shinar which is towards the North(145).
Here dwell the Jews called Kheibar, the men of Teima. And Teima
is their seat of government where R. Hanan the Nasi rules over them.
It is a great city, and the extent of their land is sixteen days' journey.
It is surrounded by mountains--the mountains of the north. The
Jews own many large fortified cities. The yoke of the Gentiles is
not upon them. They go forth to pillage and to capture booty from
distant lands in conjunction with the Arabs, their neighbours and
allies. These Arabs dwell in tents, and they make the desert their home. They own no houses, and they go forth
to pillage and to capture booty in the land of Shinar and El-Yemen. All the neighbours of these Jews go in fear
of them. Among them are husbandmen and owners of cattle; their land is extensive, and they have in their midst
learned and wise men. They give the tithe of all they possess unto the scholars who sit in the house of learning,
also to poor Israrlites and to the recluses, who are the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem, and who do not eat meat
nor taste wine, and sit clad in
p. 71garments | of black. They dwell in caves or underground houses, and fast each day with the exception of the
Sabbaths and Festivals, and implore mercy of the Holy One, blessed be He, on account of the exile of Israel,
praying that he may take pity upon them, and upon all the Jews, the men of Teima. for the sake of His great
Name, also upon Tilmas the great city, in which there are about 100.000 Jews(146). At this place lives Salmon the
Nasi, the brother of Hanan the Nasi; and the land belongs to the two brother, who are of the seed of David. for
they have their pedigree in writing. They address many questions unto the Head of the Captivity--their kinsman
in Bagdad--and they fast forty days in the year for the Jews that dwell in exile.
There are here about forty large towns and 200 hamlets and villages. The principal city is Tanai, and in all the
districts together there are about. 300,000 Jews. The city of Tanai is well fortified, and in the midst thereof the
people sow and reap. It is fifteen miles in extent. Here is the palace of the Nasi called Salmon. And in Teima
dwells Hanan the Nasi, his brother. It is a beautiful city,
p. 72and contains gardens | and plantations. And Tilmas is likewise a great city; it contains about 100,000 Jews.
It is well fortified, and is situated between two high mountains. There are wise, discreet, and rich men amongst
the inhabitants. From Tilinas to Kheibar it is three days' journey. People say that the men of Kheibar belong to
the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, whom Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. led hither into captivity. They
have built strongly fortified cities, and make war upon all other kingdoms. No man can readily reach their
territory, because it is a march of eighteen days' journey through the desert, which is altogether uninhabited, so
that no one can enter the land.
Kheibar is a very large city with 50,000 Jews(147). In it are
learned men, and great warriors, who wage war with the men of Shinar and of the land of the north, as well as with
the bordering
tribes of the land of El-Yemen near them, which latter country is on the confines of India(148). Returning from their
land, it is a journey of twenty-five days to the river Virae, which is in the land of El-Yemen,
p. 73 where about 3,000 Jews dwell(149), | and amongst them are many a Rabbi and Dayan.
Thence it takes five days to Basra (Bassorah) which lies on the river Tigris. Here there are 10,000 Jews, and among
them are scholars and many rich men. Thence it is two days to the river Samara, which is the commencement of the
land of Persia. 1,500 Jews live near the sepulchre of Ezra, the priest, who went forth from Jerusalem to King
Artaxerxes and died here. In front of his sepulchre is a large synagogue. And at the side thereof the Mohammedans
erected a house of prayer out of their great love and veneration for him, and they like the Jews on that account. And
the Mohammedans come hither to pray(150). Thence it is four days to Khuzistan, which is Elam. This province is not
inhabited in its entirety, for part of it lies waste. In the midst of its ruins is Shushan (Suss), the capital, the site of the
palace of King Ahasuerus. Here are the remains of a large structure of great antiquity. The city contains about 7,000 Jews and fourteen synagogues.
In front of one of the synagogues is the sepulchre of Daniel of blessed memory. The river Tigris divides the city, and
the bridge connects the two parts. On the one side where the Jews dwell is the sepulchre of Daniel. Here the
market-places used to be, containing great stores of merchandise, by which the Jews became enriched. On the other
side of the bridge they were poor, because they had no market-places nor merchants there, only gardens and
plantations. And they became jealous, and said "All this prosperity enjoyed by those on the other side is due to the
merits of Daniel the prophet who lies buried there." Then the poor people asked those who dwelt on the other side
to place the sepulchre of Daniel in their midst, but the others would not comply. So war prevailed between them for
many days, and no one went forth or came in on account of the great strife between them. At length both parties
growing tired of this state of things took a wise view of the matter, and made a compact, namely, that the coffin of
Daniel should be taken for one year to the one side and for another year to the other side. This they did, and both
sides became rich. In the course of time Sinjar Shah-ben-Shah, who ruled over the kingdom of Persia and had
p.75forty-five kings subject to his authority, came to this place. |
He is called Sultan-al-Fars-al-Khabir in Arabic (the mighty Sovereign of Persia), and it is he who ruled from the river
Samara, unto the city of Samarkand, and unto the river Gozan and the cities of Media and the mountains of
Chafton(151). He ruled also over Tibet, in the forests whereof one finds the animals from which the musk is obtained(152).
The extent of his Empire is a journey of four months. When this great Emperor Sinjar, king of Persia, saw that they
took the coffin of Daniel from one side of the river to the other, and that a great multitude of Jews, Mohammedans
and Gentiles, and many people from the country were crossing the bridge, he asked the meaning of this proceeding,
and they told him these things. He said, "It is not meet to do this ignominy unto Daniel the prophet, but I command
you to measure the bridge from both sides, and to take the coffin of Daniel and place it inside another coffin of
crystal, so that the wooden coffin be within that of crystal, and to suspend this from the middle of the bridge by a
chain of iron; at this spot you must
build a synagogue for all comers, so that whoever wishes to pray there, be he Jew or Gentile, may do so." And to
p. 76this very day the coffin is suspended from the bridge. | And the king commanded that out of respect for Daniel
no fisherman should catch fish within
a mile above or a mile below(153).
Thence it takes three days to Rudbar where there are about 20,000 Israelites, and among them are learned and rich
men. But the Jews live there under great oppression. Thence it is two days to Nihawand, where there are 4,000
Israelites. Thence it is four days to the land of Mulahid. Here live a people who do not profess the Mohammedan
religion, but live on high mountains, and worship the
Old Man of the land of the Hashishim(154). And among them there are four communities of Israel who go forth
with them in war-time. They are not under the rule of the king of Persia, but reside in the high mountains, and
descend from these mountains to pillage and to capture booty, and then return to the mountains, and none can
overcome them. There are learned men amongst the Jews of their land. These Jews are under the authority of
the Head of the
p. 77
Captivity in Babylon. Thence it is five days to Amadia | where there are about 25,000 Israelites(155). This is the
first of those communities that dwell in the mountains of Chafton, where there are more than 100 Jewish
communities. Here is the commencement of the land of Media. These Jews belong to the first captivity which
King Shalmanezar led away; and they speak the language in which the Targum is written. Amongst them are
learned men. The communities reach from the province of Amadia unto the province of Gilan, twenty-five days
distant, on the border of the kingdom of Persia. They are under the authority of the king of Persia, and he raises
a tribute from them through the hands of his officer, and the tribute which they pay every year by way of poll-tax
is one gold amir, which is equivalent to one and one-third maravedi. [This tax has to be paid by all males in the
land of Islam who are over the age of fifteen.] At this place (Amadia), there arose this day ten years ago, a man
named David Alroy of the city of Amadia(156). He studied under Chisdai the Head of the Captivity, and under the
Head of the Academy Gaon Jacob, in the city of Bagdad, and he was well versed in the Law of Israel, in the
Halachah, as well as in the Talmud, and in all the wisdom of the Mohammedans, also in secular literature and
in the
p. 78
writings of magicians and soothsayers. | He conceived the idea of rebelling against the king of Persia, and of
collecting the Jews who live in the mountains of Chafton to go forth and to fight against all the nations, and to march
and capture Jerusalem. He showed signs by pretended miracles to the Jews, and said, "The Holy One, blessed be He,
sent me to capture Jerusalem and to free you from the yoke of the Gentiles." And the Jews believed in him and called
him their Messiah. When the king of Persia heard of it he sent for him to come and speak with him. Alroy went to
him without fear, and when he had audience of the king, the latter asked him, "Art thou the king of the Jews?" He
answered, "I am." Then the king was wrath, and commanded that he should be seized and placed in the prison of
the king, the place where the king's prisoners were bound unto the day of their death, in the city of Tabaristan which
is on the large river Gozan. At the end of three days, whilst the king was sitting deliberating with his princes
concerning the Jews who had rebelled, David suddenly stood before them. He had escaped from the prison without
the knowledge of any man. | And when the king
p. 79
saw him, he said to him, "Who brought thee hither, and who
has released thee?" "My own wisdom and skill," answered the other; "for I am not afraid of thee, nor of any of thy
servants." The king forthwith loudly bade his servants to seize him, but they answered, "We cannot see any man,
although our ears hear him." Then the king and all his princes marvelled at his subtlety; but he said to the king "I will
go my way"; so he went forth. And the king went after him; and the princes and servants followed their king until
they came to the river-side. Then Alroy took off his mantle and spread it on the face of the water to cross thereon.
When the servants of the king saw that be crossed the water on his mantle, they pursued him in small boats, wishing
to bring him back, but they were unable, and they said, "There is no wizard like this in the whole world." That
self-same day he went a journey of ten days to the city of Amadia by the strength of the ineffable Name, and he told
the Jews all that had befallen him, and they were astonished at his wisdom.
After that the king of Persia sent word to the Emir Al-Muminin, the Caliph of the Mohammedans at Bagdad, |
urging him to warn the
p. 80
Head of the Exile, and the Head of the Academy Gaon Jacob, to restrain David Alroy
from executing his designs. And he threatened that he would otherwise slay all the Jews in his Empire. Then all the
congregations of the land of Persia were in great trouble. And the Head of the Captivity, and the Head of the
Academy Gaon Jacob, sent to Alroy, saying, "The time of redemption is not yet arrived; we have not yet seen the
signs thereof; for by strength shall no man
prevail. Now our mandate is, that thou cease from these designs, or thou shalt surely be excommunicated from all
Israel." And they sent unto Zakkai the Nasi in the land of Assur (Mosul) and unto R. Joseph Burhan-al-mulk the
astronomer there, bidding them to send on the letter to Alroy, and furthermore they themselves wrote to him to
p. 81warn him, | but he would not accept the warning. Then there arose a king of the name of Sin-ed-din, the king
of the Togarmim, and a vassal of the king of Persia, who sent to the .father-in-law of David Alroy, and gave him
a bribe of 10,000 gold pieces to slay Alroy in secret(157). So he went to Alroy's house, and slew him whilst he was
asleep on his bed. Thus were his plans frustrated. Then the king of Persia went forth against the Jews that lived
in the mountain; and they sent to the Head of the Captivity to come to their assistance and to appease the king.
He was eventually appeased by a gift of 100 talents of gold, which they gave him, and the land was at peace
thereafter(158).
From this mountain it is a journey of twenty days to Hamadan, which is the great city of Media, where there are>
30,000 Israelites. In front of a certain synagogue, there are buried Mordecai and Esther(159). |
p. 82
From thence (Hamadan(160)) it takes four days to Tabaristan, which
is situated on the river Gozan. Some [four] thousand Jews live there(161). Thence it is seven days to Ispahan the greet
city and the royal residence. It is twelve miles in circumference, and about 15,000 Israelites reside there(162). The Chief
Rabbi is Sar Shalom, who has been appointed by the Head of the Captivity to have jurisdiction over all the Rabbis
that are in the kingdom of Persia. Four days onward is Shiraz, which is the city of Fars, and 10,000 Jews live there(163).
Thence it is seven days to Ghaznah the great city on the river Gozan, where there are about 80,000 Israelites(164). It
is a city of commercial importance; people of all countries and tongues come thither with their wares. The land is extensive.
Thence it is five days to Samarkand, which is the great city on the confines of Persia. In it live some 50,000
Israelites, and R. Obadiah the Nasi is their appointed head. Among them are wise and very rich men.
Thence it is four days' journey to Tibet,
p. 83 the country in whose forests the musk is found. |
Thence it takes twenty-eight days to the mountains of Naisabur by the river Gozan. And there are men of Israel
in the land of Persia who say that in the mountains of Naisabur four of the tribes of Israel dwell, namely, the tribe
of Dan, the tribe of Zebulun, the tribe of Asher, and the tribe of Naphtali, who were included in the first captivity of
Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, as it is written (2 Kings xviii.11): "And he put them in Halah and in Habor by the river
of Gozan and,in the cities of the Medes(165)."
The extent of their land is twenty days' journey, and they have cities and large villages in the mountains; the river
Gozan forms the boundary on the one side. They are not under the rule of the Gentiles, but they have a prince of their
own, whose name is R. Joseph Amarkala the Levite. There are scholars among them. And they sow and reap and
go forth to war as far as the land of Cush by way of the desert(166).
They are in league with the Kofar-al-Turak, who worship the wind and live in the wilderness, and who do not
eat bread, nor drink wine,
p. 84but live on raw uncooked meat. | They have no noses, and in lieu thereof they have two small holes, through
which they breathe. They eat animals both clean and unclean, and they are very friendly towards the Israelites.
Fifteen years ago they overran the country of Persia with a large army and took the city of Rayy(167); they smote
it with the edge of the sword, took all the spoil thereof, and returned by way of the wilderness. Such an invasion
had not been known in the land of Persia for many years. When the king of Persia heard thereof his anger was
kindled against them, and he said, "Not in my days nor in the days of my fathers did an army sally forth from this
wilderness. Now I will go and cut off their name from the earth." A proclamation was made throughout his
Empire, and he assembled all his armies ; and he sought a guide who might show him the way to their encampment. And a certain man said that he would show him the way, as he was one of them. And the king
promised that he would enrich him if he did so. And the king asked him as to what provisions
p. 85they would require for the march through the wilderness. | And he replied, "Take with you bread and wine
for fifteen days, for you will find no sustenance by the way, till you have reached their land." And they did so,
and marched through the wilderness for fifteen days, but they found nothing at all. And their food began to give
out, so that man and beast were dying of hunger and thirst. Then the king called the guide, and said to him,
"Where is your promise to us that you would find our adversaries?" To which the other replied, " I have
mistaken the way." And the king was wroth, and commanded that his head should be struck off. And the king
further gave orders throughout the camp that every man who had any food should divide it with his neighbour.
And they consumed everything they had including their beasts. And after a further thirteen days' march they
reached the mountains of Naisabur, where Jews lived. They came there on the Sabbath, and encamped in the
gardens and plantations and by the springs of water which are by the side of the river Gozan. Now it was the
time of the ripening of the fruit, and they ate and consumed everything. No man came forth to them, but on the
mountains they saw cities and many towers.
p. 86
Then the king commanded two of his servants to go | and inquire of
the people who lived in the mountains, and to cross the river either in boats or by swimming. So they searched and
found a large bridge, on which there were three towers, but the gate of the bridge was locked. And on the other side
of the bridge was a great city. Then they shouted in front of the bridge till a man came forth and asked them what
they wanted and who they were. But they did not understand him till an interpreter came who understood their
language. And when he asked them, they said, "We are the servants of the king of Persia, and we have come to ask
who you are, and whom you serve." To which the other replied: "We are Jews; we have no king and no Gentile
prince, but a Jewish prince rules over us." They then questioned him with regard to the infidels, the sons of Ghuz of
the Kofar-al-Turak, and he answered: "Truly they are in league with us, and he who seeks to do them harm seeks
our harm." Then they went their way, and told the king of Persia, who was much alarmed. And on a certain day the
Jews asked him to join combat with them, but he answered: "I am not come to fight you, but the Kofar-al-Turak,
my enemy, and if you fight against me I will be avenged on you by killing all the Jews in my Empire; I know that you
p. 87are stronger than I am in this place, | and my army has come out of this great wilderness starving and athirst.
Deal kindly with me and do not fight against me, but leave me to engage with the Kofar-al-Turak, my enemy, and
sell me also the provisions which I require for myself and my army." The Jews then took counsel together, and
resolved to propitiate the king on account of the Jews who were in exile in his Empire. Then the king entered their
land with his army, and stayed there fifteen days. And they showed him much honour, and also sent a dispatch to the
Kofar-al-Turak their allies, reporting the matter to them. Thereupon the latter occupied the mountain passes in force
with a large army composed of all those who dwelt in that desert, and when the king of Persia went forth to fight
with them, they placed themselves in battle array against him. The Kofar-al-Turak army was victorious and slew
many of the Persian host, and the king of Persia fled with only a few followers to his own country(168).
p. 88
Now a horseman, one of the servants of the king of Persia, enticed | a Jew, whose name was R. Moses, to
come with him, and when he came to the land of Persia this horseman made the Jew his slave. One day the archers
came before the king to give a display of their skill and no one among them could be found to draw the bow like this
R. Moses. Then the king inquired of him by means of an interpreter who knew his language, and he related all that
the horseman had done to him. Thereupon the king at once granted him his liberty, had him clad in robes of silk, gave
him gifts, and said to him, "If thou wilt embrace our religion, I will make thee a rich man and steward of my house,"
but he answered, "My lord, I cannot do this thing." Then the king took him and placed him in the house of the Chief
Rabbi of the Ispahan community, Sar Shalom, who gave him his daughter to wife. This same R. Moses told me all
these things.
Thence one returns to the land of Khuzistan which is by the river Tigris, and one goes down the river which falls
into the Indian Ocean
p. 89unto an island called Kish(169). | It is a six days' journey to reach this island. The inhabitants neither sow nor
reap. They possess only one well, and there is no stream in the whole island, but they drink rain-water. The
merchants who come from India and the islands encamp there with their wares. Moreover, men from Shinar,
El-Yemen and Persia bring thither all sorts of silk, purple and flax, cotton, hemp, worked wool, wheat, barley,
millet, rye, and all sorts of food, and lentils of every description, and they trade with one another, whilst the men
from India bring great quantities
of spices thither. The islanders act as middlemen, and earn their livelihood thereby. There are about 500 Jews there.
Thence it is ten days' journey by sea to Katifa, where there are about 5,000 Jews. Here the bdellium is to be found(170).
On the twenty-fourth of Nisan rain falls upon the water, upon the surface of which certain small sea-animals float
which drink in the rain and then shut themselves up, and sink to the bottom. And about the middle of Tishri men
p. 90descend to the bed of the sea by ropes, and collect these shell-fish, | then split them open and extract the pearls. This pearl-fishery belongs to the King of the country, but is controlled
by a Jewish official.
Thence it is seven days' journey to Khulam which is the beginning of the country of the Sun-worshippers(171). These
are the sons of Cush,
who read the stars, and are all black in colour. They are honest in commerce. When merchants come to them
from distant lands and enter the harbour, three of the King's secretaries go down to them and record their names,
and then bring them before the King, whereupon the King makes himself responsible even for their property
which they leave in the open, unprotected. There is an official who sits in his office, and the owner of any lost
property has only to describe it to him when he hands it back. This custom prevails in all that country. From
Passover to New Year, that is all during the summer, no man can go out of his house because of the sun, for
the heat in that country is intense, and from the third hour of the day onward, everybody remains in his house
till the evening. Then they go forth and kindle lights in all the market places and all the streets, and then do their
work and business at
p. 91night-time. | For they have to turn night into day in consequence of the great heat of the sun. Pepper is found
there. They plant the trees thereof in the fields, and each man of the city knows his own plantation. The trees
are small, and the pepper is as white as snow. And when they have collected it, they place it in saucepans and
pour boiling water over it, so that it may become strong. They then take it out of the water and dry it in the sun,
and it turns black. Calamus and ginger and many other kinds of spice are found in this land.
The people of this country do not bury their dead, but embalm them by means of various spices, after which they
place them on chairs and cover them with fine linen. And each family has a house where it preserves the
embalmed remains of its ancestors and relations. The flesh hardens on the bones, and the embalmed bodies look
like living beings, so that every man can recognize his parents, and the members of his family for many years.
They worship the sun, and they have high places everywhere outside the city at a distance of
p. 92
about half a mile. And every morning they run forth | to greet the sun, for on every high place a solar disc is
made of cunning workmanship, and as the sun rises the disc rotates with thundering noise, and all, both men and women, offer incense to the
sun with censers in their hands. Such are their superstitious practices. And throughout the island, including ail the
towns there, live several thousand Israelites. The inhabitants are all black, and the Jews also. The latter are good and
benevolent. They know the law of Moses and the prophets, and to a small extent the Talmud and Halscha.
Thence it is twenty-three days by sea to Ibrig(172), and the inhabitants are fire-worshippers, and are called Duchbin.
Among them are about 3,000 Jews, and these Duchbin have priests in their several temples who are great wizards
in all manner of witchcraft, and there are none like them in all the earth. In front of the high place of their temple
there is a deep trench, where they keep a great fire alight all the year, and they call it Elahutha. And they cause their
p. 93sons and daughters to pass through the fire, and even their dead | they throw into it. Some of the great men
of the country make a vow to die by fire. In such cases the man communicates his intention to the members of his
household and his relations, and says:--"I have vowed to throw myself in the fire whilst I am yet alive," then they
answer, saying: "Happy art thou." And when the day of the performance of his vow arrives, they prepare for him a
grand banquet, and if he is rich he rides on horseback, if poor he goes on foot to the border of the trench and throws
himself into the fire. And all the members of his family shout to the accompaniment of timbrels and dancing until the
body is entirely consumed. At the end of three days two of their high priests come to his house and to his children
and say unto them: "Arrange the house, for this day your father will come to give his last directions as to what ye
shall do." And they bring witnesses from the city. Then Satan is made to appear in the likeness of the deceased, and
when his widow and children ask him how he fares in the other world he answers: "I went to my companions, but
they would not receive me until I had discharged
p. 94
my obligations to the members of my house and to my neighbours." | Then he makes his will and divides his property among his children, and gives directions that all his creditors
should be paid and that his debts should be collected. Then the witnesses write out the will, and he goes his way
and is seen no more. And by means of this trickery and witchcraft which these priests practise, the people are
confirmed in their errors and assert that there is none in all the land like their priests.
Thence to cross over to the land of Zin (China) is a voyage of forty days. Zin is in the uttermost East, and some
say that there is the Sea of Nikpa (Ning-po?),where the star Orion predominates and stormy winds prevail(173).
At times the helmsman cannot govern his ship, as a fierce wind drives her into this Sea of Nikpa, where she
cannot move from her place ; and the crew have to remain where they are till their stores of food are exhausted
and then they die. In this way many a ship has been lost, but men eventually discovered a device by which to
escape from this evil place. The crew provide themselves with hides
p. 95
of oxen. | And when this evil wind blows which drives them into the Sea of Nikpa, they wrap themselves up
in the skins, which they make waterproof, and, armed with knives, plunge into the sea. A great bird called the
griffin spies them out, and in the belief that the sailor is an animal, the griffin seizes hold of him, brings him to
dry land, and puts him down on a mountain or in a hollow in order to devour him. The man then quickly thrusts
at the bird with a knife and slays him. Then the man issues forth from the skin and walks till he comes to an
inhabited place. And in this manner many a man escapes(174).
Thence to Al-Gingaleh is a voyage of fifteen days, and about 1,000 Israelites dwell there. Thence by sea to Chulan
is seven days; but no Jews live there. From there it is twelve days to Zebid, where there are a few Jews. From there
it is eight days' journey to India which is on the mainland, called the land of Aden, and this is the Eden which is in
Thelasar(175). The country is mountainous. There are many Israelites here, and they are not under the yoke of the
Gentiles, but possess cities and castles on the summits of the mountains, from which they make descents into the
p. 96
plain-country called Lybia, which is a Christian Empire. | These are the Lybians of the land of Lybia, with
whom the Jews are at war. The Jews take spoil and booty and retreat to the mountains, and no man can prevail
against them. Many of these Jews of the land of Aden come to Persia and Egypt(176).
Thence to the land of Assuan is a journey of twenty day's through the desert. This is Seba on the river Pishon
(Nile) which descends from the land of Cush(177). And some of these sons of Cush have a king whom they call the
Sultan Al-Habash. There is a people among them who, like animals, eat of the herbs that grow on the banks of
the Nile and in the fields. They go about naked and have not the intelligence of ordinary men. They cohabit with
their sisters and any one they find. The climate is very hot. When the men of Assuan make a raid into their land,
they take with them bread and wheat, dry grapes and figs, and throw the food to these people, who run after
it. Thus they bring many of them back prisoners, and sell
p. 97them | in the land of Egypt and in the surrounding countries. And these are the black slaves, the sons of Ham.
From Assuan it is a distance of twelve days to Heluan where there are about 300 Jews. Thence people travel
in caravans a journey of fifty days through the great desert called Sahara, to the land of Zawilah, which is
Havilah in the land of Gana(178). In this desert these are
mountains of sand, and when the wind rises, it covers the caravans with the sand, and many die from suffocation.
Those that escape bring back with them copper, wheat, fruit, all manner of lentils, and salt. And from thence they
bring gold, and all kinds of jewels. This is in the land of Cush which is called Al-Habash on the western confines(179).
From Heluam it is thirteen days' journey to Kutz which is Kus, and this is the commencement of the land of Egypt.
At Kutz there are 300 Jews(180). Thence it is 300 miles to Fayum, which is Pithom, where there are 200 Jews; and unto
this very day one can see ruins of the buildings which our forefathers erected there(181).
p. 98 Thence to Mizraim is a journey of four days. |
This Mizraim is the great city situated on the banks of the Nile, which is Pison or Al-Nil(182). The number of
Jewish inhabitants is about
7,000. Two large synagogues are there, one belonging to the men of the land of Israel and one belonging to the men
of the land of Babylon. The synagogue of the men of the land of Israel is called Kenisat-al-Schamiyyin, and the
synagogue of the men of Babylon is called Kenisat-al-Irakiyyin. Their usage with regard to the portions and sections
of the Law is not alike; for the men of Babylon are accustomed to read a portion every week, as is done in Spain,
and is our custom, and to finish the Law each year; whilst the men of Palestine do not do so, but divide each portion
into three sections and finish the Law at the end of three years. The two communities, however, have an established
custom to unite and pray together on the day of the Rejoicing of the Law, and on the day of the Giving of the Law(183).
Among the Jews is Nethanel the Prince of
Princes and the head of the Academy, who is the head of all the congregations in Egypt(184); he appoints Rabbis and
officials, and is attached to the court of the great King, who lives in his palace of Zoan el-Medina, which is the royal
p. 99city for the Arabs. Here resides the Emir al Muminin, | a descendant of Abu Talib. All his subjects are called
"Alawiyyim(185)," because they rose up against the Emir al Muminin al Abbasi (the Abbaside Caliph) who resides at
Bagdad. And between the two parties there is a lasting feud, for the former have set up a rival throne in Zoan
(Egypt).
Twice in the year the Egyptian monarch goes forth, once on the occasion of the great festival, and again when the
river Nile rises. Zoan is surrounded by a wall, but Mizraim has no wall, for the river encompasses it on one side. It
is a great city, and it has marketplaces as well as inns in great number. The Jews that dwell there are very rich. No
rain falls, neither is ice or snow ever seen. The climate is very hot.
The river Nile rises once a year in the month of Elul; it covers all the land, and irrigates it to a distance of fifteen
days' journey. The waters remain upon the surface of the land during the months of Elul and Tishri, and irrigate and
fertilize it.
The inhabitants have a pillar of marble, erected with much skill, in order to ascertain the extent of the rise of the Nile.
It stands in the front of an island in the midst of the water, and is twelve cubits high(186).
p. 109
When the Nile rises and covers
the column, | they know that
the river has risen and has covered the land for a distance of fifteen days' journey to its full extent. If only half
the column is covered, the water only covers half the extent of the land. And day by day an officer takes a
measurement on the column and makes proclamation thereof in Zoan and in the city of Mizraim, proclaiming:
"Give praise unto the Creator, for the river this day has risen to such and such a height"; each day he takes the
measurement and makes his proclamation. If the water covers the entire column, there will be abundance
throughout Egypt. The river continues to rise gradually till it covers the land to the extent of fifteen days'
journey. He who owns a field hires workmen, who dig deep trenches in his field, and fish come with the rise of
the water and enter the trenches. Then, when the waters have receded, the fish remain behind in the trenches,
and the owners of the fields take them and either eat them or sell them to the fishmongers, who salt them and
deal in them in every place. These fish are exceedingly fat and large, and the oil obtained from them is used in
this land for lamp-oil. Though a man eat a great quantity of these fish, if he but
p. 101but drink | Nile water afterwards they will not hurt him, for the waters have medicinal properties.
People ask, what causes the Nile to rise? The Egyptians say that up the river, in the land of Al-Habash
(Abyssinia), which is the land of Havilah, much rain descends at the time of the rising of the river, and that this
abundance of rain causes the river to rise and to cover the surface of the land(187). If the river does not rise, there
is no
sowing, and famine is sore in the land. Sowing is done in the month of Marheshwan, after the river has gone back
to its ordinary channel. In the month of Adar is the barley-harvest, and in the month of Nisan the wheat-harvest.
In the month of Nisan they have cherries, pears, cucumbers, and gourds in plenty, also beans, peas, chickpeas, and
many kinds of vegetables, such as purslane, asparagus, pulse, lettuce, coriander, endive, cabbage, leek, and cardoon.
The land is full of all good things, and the gardens and plantations are watered from the various reservoirs and by
the river-water.
The river Nile, after flowing past (the city of) Mizraim, divides into four heads: one channel proceeds in the direction
of Damietta, which is Caphtor(188), where it falls into the sea.
p. 102 The second channel flows to the city of Reshid (Rosetta),
| which is near Alexandria, and there falls into the sea; the third channel goes by way of Ashmun, where it falls into the sea; and the fourth channel goes as far as the frontier of Egypt(189). Along both banks of these four
river-heads are cities, towns and villages, and people visit these places either by ship or by land. There is no such
thickly-populated land as this elsewhere. It is extensive too and abundant in all good things.
From New Mizraim unto Old Mizraim is a distance of two parasangs. The latter is in ruins, and the place where
walls and houses stood can be seen to the present day. The store-houses also of Joseph of blessed memory are to
be found in great numbers in many places. They are built of lime and stone, and are exceedingly strong(190). A pillar
is there of marvellous workmanship, the like of which cannot be seen throughout the world.
Outside the city is the ancient synagogue of Moses our master, of blessed memory, and the overseer and clerk
of this place of worship is a venerable old man; he is a man of learning, and they call him A1 Sheik Abu
al-Nazr(191). The extent of Mizraim, which is in ruins, is three miles.
p. 103 Thence to the land of Goshen is eight parasangs; here is Bilbais(192). | There are about 300 Jews in the city, which is a large one. Thence it is half a day's journey to Ain-al-Shams
or Ramses, which is in ruins. Traces are there to be seen of the buildings which our forefathers raised, namely,
towers built of bricks. From here it is a day's journey to A Bubizig, where there are about 200 Jews. Thence
it is half a day to Benha, where there are about 6o Jews. Thence it takes half a day to Muneh Sifte, where there
are 500 Jews(193). From there it is half a day's journey to Samnu, where there are about 200 Jews. Thence it is
four parasangs to Damira, where there are about 700 Jews. From there it is five days to Lammanah, where there
are about 500 Jews(194). Two days' journey takes one to Alexandria of Egypt, which is Ammon of No; but when
Alexander of Macedon built the city, be called it after his own name, and made it exceedingly strong and
beautiful(195). The houses, the palaces, and the walls
are of excellent architecture. Outside the town is the academy of Aristotle, the teacher of Alexander. This is a large
building, standing between other academies to the number of twenty, with a column of marble between each. People
from the whole world were wont to come hither in order to study the wisdom of Aristotle the philosopher. The city
p. 104is built over a hollow | by means of arches. Alexander built it with great understanding. The streets are wide
and straight, so that a man can look along them for a mile from gate to gate, from the gate of Reshid to the gate by
the sea.
Alexander also built for the harbour of Alexandria a pier, a king's highway running into the midst of the sea. And
there he erected a large tower, a lighthouse, called Manar al Iskandriyyah in Arabic. On the top of the tower there
is a glass mirror. Any ships that attempted to attack or molest the city, coming from Greece or from the Western
lands, could be seen by means of this mirror of glass at a distance of twenty days' journey, and the inhabitants could
thereupon put themselves on their guard. It happened once, many years after the death of Alexander, that a ship came
from the land of Greece, and the name of the captain was Theodoros, a Greek of great cleverness. The Greeks at
that time were under the yoke of Egypt. The captain brought great gifts in silver and gold and garments of silk to
the King of Egypt, and he moored his ship in front of the lighthouse, as was the
p. 105custom of all merchants. |
Every day the guardian of the lighthouse and his servants had their meals with him, until the captain came
to be on such friendly terms with the keeper that he could go in and out at all times. And one day he gave a banquet,
and caused the keeper and all his servants to drink a great deal of wine. When they were all asleep, the captain and
his servants arose and broke the mirror and departed that very night. From that day onward the Christians began to
come thither with boats and large ships, and eventually captured the large island called Crete and also Cyprus, which
are under the dominion of the Greeks. (The other MSS. add here: Ever since then, the men of the King of Egypt have
been unable to prevail over the Greeks.) To this day the lighthouse is a landmark to all seafarers who come to
Alexandria; for one can see it at a distance of 100 miles by day, and at night the keeper lights a torch which the
mariners can see from a distance, and thus sail towards it(196).
Alexandria is a commercial market for all nations. Merchants come thither from all the Christian kingdoms:
on the one side,
p. 106 from | the land of Venetia and Lombardy, Tuscany, Apulia, Amalfi, Sicilia, Calabria, Romagna, Khazaria,
Patzinakia, Hungaria, Bulgaria, Rakuvia (Ragusa?), Croatia, Slavonia, Russia, Alamannia (Germany), Saxony,
Danemark, Kurland? Ireland? Norway (Norge?), Frisia, Scotia, Angleterre, Wales, Flanders, Hainault ?
Normandy, France, Poitiers, Anjou, Burgundy, Maurienne, Provence, Genoa, Pisa, Gascony, Aragon, and
Navarra(197), and towards the west under the sway of the Mohammedans, Andalusia, Algarve, Africa and the land
of the Arabs: and on the other side India, Zawilah, Abyssinia, Lybia, El-Yemen, Shinar, Esh-Sham (Syria); also
Javan, whose people are called the Greeks, and the Turks. And merchants of India bring thither all kinds of
spices, and the merchants of Edom buy of them. And the city is a busy one and full of traffic. Each nation has
an inn of its own.
By the sea-coast there is a sepulchre of marble on which are engraved all manner of beasts and birds; an effigy
is in the midst thereof, and all the writing is in ancient characters, which no one
knows now. Men suppose that it is the sepulchre of a king who lived
p. 107in early times | before the Deluge. The length
of the sepulchre is fifteen spans, and its breadth is six spans. There are about 3,000 Jews in Alexandria.
Thence it is two days' journey to Damietta which is Caphtor, where there are about 200 Jews, and it lies upon the
sea. Thence it is one day's journey to Simasim; it contains about 100 Jews. From there it is half a day to Sunbat; the
inhabitants sow flax and weave linen, which they export to all parts of the world(198). Thence it is four days to Ailam,
which is Elim(199). It belongs to the Arabs who dwell in the wilderness. Thence it is two days' journey to Rephidim
where the Arabs dwell, but there are no Jews there(200). A day's journey from thence takes one to Mount Sinai. On the
top of the mountain is a large convent belonging to the great monks called Syrians(201). At the foot of the mountain
is a large town called Tur Sinai; the inhabitants speak the language of the Targum (Syriac). It is close to a small
mountain, five days distant from Egypt. The inhabitants are
under Egyptian rule. At a day's journey from Mount Sinai is [(202) the Red Sea, which is an arm of the Indian Ocean.
We return to Damietta. From there it is a day's journey to] Tanis, which is Hanes, where there are about 40 Jews
p. 108
It is an island in the midst of the sea(203). Thus far | extends the empire of Egypt.
Thence it takes twenty days by sea to Messina, which is the commencement of Sicily and is situated on the arm
of the sea that is called Lipar(204), which divides it from Calabria. Here about 200 Jews dwell. It is a land full of
everything good, with gardens and plantations. Here most of the pilgrims assemble to cross over to Jerusalem,
as this is the best crossing. Thence it is about two days' journey to Palermo, which is a large city. Here is the
palace of King William. Palermo contains about 1,500 Jews and a large number of Christians and
Mohammedans(205). It is in a district abounding in springs and brooks of water, a land of wheat and barley,
likewise of gardens and plantations, and there is not the like thereof in the whole island of Sicily. Here is the
domain and garden of the king, which is called Al Harbina (Al Hacina)(206), containing all sorts of fruit-trees. And
in it is a large
fountain. The garden is encompassed by a wall. And a reservoir has been made there which is called A1 Buheira(207),
and in it are many sorts of fish. Ships overlaid with silver and gold are there,
p. 109belonging to the king, | who takes
pleasure-trips in them with his women(208). In the park there is also a great palace, the walls of which are
painted, and overlaid with gold and silver; the paving of the floors is of marble, picked out in gold and silver in all
manner of designs. There is no building like this anywhere. And this island, the commencement of which is Messina,
contains all the pleasant things of this world. It embraces Syracuse, Marsala, Catania, Petralia, and Trapani, the
circumference of the island being six days' journey. In Trapani coral is found, which is called Al Murgan(209).
Thence people pass to the city of Rome in ten days. And from Rome they proceed by land to Lucca, which is a five
days' journey. Thence they cross the mountain of Jean de Maurienne, and the passes of Italy. It is twenty days'
journey to Verdun, which is the commencement of Alamannia, a land of mountains and hills. All the congregations
of Alamannia are situated on the great river Rhine, from the city of Cologne, which is the principal town of the
Empire, to the city of Regensburg, a distance of fifteen days' journey at the other extremity of Alamannia, otherwise
called Ashkenaz. And
p. 110
the following | are the cities in the land of Alamannia. which have Hebrew congregations: Metz, Treves on
the river Moselle, Coblenz, Andernacb, Bonn, Cologne, Bingen, Munster, Worms, (210)[All Israel is dispersed
in every land, and he who does not further the gathering of Israel will not meet with happiness nor live with
Israel. When the Lord will remember us in our exile, and raise the horn of his anointed, then every one will say,
"I will lead the Jews and I will gather them." As for the towns which have been mentioned, they contain
scholars and communities that love their brethren, and speak peace to those that are near and afar, and when
a wayfarer comes they rejoice, and make a feast for him, and say, "Rejoice, brethren, for the help of the Lord
comes in the twinkling of an eye." If we were not afraid that the appointed time has not yet arrived nor been
reached, we would have gathered together, but we dare not do so until the time for song has arrived, and the
voice of the turtle-dove (is heard in the land), when the messengers will
p. 111come and say continually, "The Lord be exalted." | Meanwhile they send missives one to the other, saying,
"Be ye strong in the law of Moses, and do ye mourners for Zion and ye mourners for Jerusalem entreat the
Lord, and may the supplication of those that wear the garments of mourning be received through their merits."
In addition to the several cities which we have mentioned there are besides] Strassburg, Wurzburg, Mantern,
Bamberg, Freising, and Regensburg at the extremity of the Empire(211). In these cities there are many Israelites,
wise men and rich.
Thence extends the land of Bohemia, called Prague(212). This is the commencement of the land of Slavonia, and
the Jews who dwell there call it Canaan, because the men of that land (the Slavs) sell their sons and their
daughters to the other nations. These are the men of Russia,
which is a great empire stretching from the gate of Prague to the gates of Kieff, the large city which is at the
extremity of that empire(213). It is a land of mountains and forests, where there are to be found the animals called
vair(214), ermine, and sable. No one issues
p. 112
forth from his house | in winter-time on account of the cold. People are
to be found there who have lost the tips of their noses by reason of the frost. Thus far reaches the empire
of Russia.
The kingdom of France, which is Zarfath, extends from the town
of Auxerre(215) unto Paris, the great city--a journey of six days. The
city belongs to King Louis. It is situated on the river Seine.
Scholars are there, unequalled in the whole world, who study the
Law day and night. They are charitable and hospitable to all
travellers, and are as brothers and friends unto all their brethren
the Jews. May God, the Blessed One, have mercy upon us and
upon them!
Finished and completed.
Notes
1 Tudela was called in Benjamin's time Tuteila. Sepharad is Spain.
2 There is a considerable difference of opinion as to the exact dates at
which Benjamin began and completed his journey. In my opinion,
the period can be placed within a very narrow compass. Early in his
journey he visited Rome, where he found R. Jechiel to be the steward
of the household of Pope Alexander. This can be no other than Pope
Alexander III, who played so important a part in the struggle between
King Henry II and Thomas a Becket. The German Emperor, Frederick
Barbarossa, supported the anti-Pope Victor IV, and in consequence
Alexander had to leave Rome soon after his election in 1159 and before
his consecration. He did not return to settle down permanently in Rome
until November 23, 1165, but was forced to leave again in 1167. Consequently Benjamin must have been in
Rome between the end of 1165
and 1167. Benjamin terminated his travels by passing from Egypt to
Sicily and Italy, then crossing the Alps and visiting Germany. In Cairo
he found that the Fatimite Caliph was the acknowledged ruler. The
Caliph here referred to must have been El-'Adid, who died on Monday,
September 13, 1171--being the last of the Fatimite line. A short time
before his death, Saladin had become the virtual ruler of Egypt, and
had ordered the Khotba to be read in the name of the Abbaside Caliph
el-Mostadi of Bagdad. (See the Life of Saladin, by Bohadin: Palestine
Pilgrims' Text Society, p. 61.) It is clear, therefore, that Benjamin's
absence from Europe must be placed between the years 1166 and 1171.
Benjamin on his return journey passed through Sicily when the island
was no longer governed by a viceroy. King William II (the Good)
attained his majority in 1169, and Benjamin's visit took place subsequently. It will be found in the course of
the narrative that not
a single statement by Benjamin is inconsistent with this determination
of date; see p. 3, n. 4; p.9, n.2; p. 15, n. 4; p.61, n. 1; and p. 79, n. 2. [Note: In the web edition, the page numbers are correct, but the note numbers will be different,]
3 Saragossa was called in Benjamin's time Sarakosta (= Caesar-Augusta). Charisi, in Tachkemoni, 46, refers to
some of the Rabbis.
4 The imposing ruins at Tarragona comprise prehistoric walls of enormous unhewn blocks of stone, as well as the
remains of Roman aqueducts, tombs, amphitheatres, &c. Here and generally in this narrative the letter R is used
as an abbreviation for Rabbi.
5 See Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, vol. VI, pp. 230 et seq.; also notes 1 and 10 at the end of vol. VI.
6 The ancient name of Gerona was Gerunda.
7 See Geiger's Judische Zeitschrift fur Wissenschaft and Leber, p. 281. The Records of Narbonne bear evidence
of sales of lands standing in the name of R. Kalonymos (Archives Israelites, 1861, p. 449). His ancestor, R.
Machir, came to Europe in the time of Charlemagne.
8 R. Abraham ben Isaac (Rabad II) was author of the Rabbinic code Ha-Eshkol, and was one of the
intermediaries between the Talmudists of France and the Scholars of Spain. He died 1178.
9 A parasang is about 3 2/5 English miles, and the distance from Narbonne to Beziers is correctly given. 10 parasangs make a day's journey.
10 The King of Portugal is even now styled King of the Algarves.
11 Cf. Graetz, VI, p. 240, also Joseph Jacob's Angevin Jews, p.111. R. Asher was one of a group of pious Rabbis
known as Perushim-who might be styled Jewish monks. His father, Rabbenu Meshullam, died 1170.
12 He is referred to in Tosafoth Tenurah, fol. 12 a and b.
13 This eminent Talmudist, known as the Rabad, was son-in-law of the R. Abraham of Narbonne before referred
to. See Graetz, VI, 243.
14 The Abbey of St. Aegidius was much resorted to in the Middle Ages. The Jews of Beaucaire, and the
neighbourhood, enjoyed the patronage of Raymond V, Count of Toulouse, called by the Troubadour poets "the
good Duke." See Graetz, VI, note i, p. 401. It is impossible to enlarge in these notes upon the several Jewish
scholars referred to by Benjamin. An interesting article by Professor Israel Levi on the "Jews in Mediaeval
France," and other articles, in the Jewish Enyclopaedia, also Gross, Gallia Judaica, might be consulted with
advantage.
15 The BM. MS. calls R. Abba Mari dead, which statement, unless qualified, as in a few other instances, by the
insertion of the word "since," would be unintelligible.
16 Asher's Text and Epstein's MS. give the distance between Arles and Marseilles as three days' journey. The
actual distance is about fifty-three English miles. Probably the Roman roads were still in use.
17 R. Isaac, son of Abba Mari, is the celebrated author of "Baal Haittur"; he wrote this work at Marseilles, 1179.
It is doubtful whether he was the son of Count Raymond's bailiff.
18 His full name is R. Jacob Perpignano. See Graetz, VI, note I, p. 399.
19 The meaning of course is that the Genoese pillage Christian and Mohammedan places alike.
20 See Dr. H. Berliners work Die Geschichte der Juden in Rom. His derivation of the Hebrew word used for
Pope, . . . from Peter, is questionable. It is the Greek . . . . See Talmud, Aboda Zarah,11 a.
21 The great work alluded to is the Talmudical Dictionary, completed in 1101. See Graetz, VI, p. 281.
22 The palace of the Caesars on the Palatine Hill is no doubt here referred to.
23 . . . quoted by E and Asher, is a corrupt reading for . . .
24 This is Josippon's story. Benjamin occasionally embodies in his work fantastic legends told him, or recorded by
his predecessors. His authorities lived in the darkest period of the Middle Ages. Josippon, Book I, Chap. iv,
speaks of 320 senators. I have followed Breithaupt, and rendered . . . "consul."
25 Having regard to the various readings, it is possible that the Thermae of Diocletian or more probably the Flavian
amphitheatre, which early in the Middle Ages began to be called the Colosseum, is here referred to. It had four
stories, each floor composed of arcades containing eighty separate compartments, making 320 in all. Our author in
the course of his narrative speaks more than once of buildings erected on a uniform plan corresponding with the days
of the year.
26 Heilprin, the author of Seder Hadoroth (Warsaw, 1897 edition, p. 157) as well as Zunz, appear to have here
fallen into error, assuming as they do that Benjamin refers to the ten teachers of the Mishna, R Gamaliel, R.
Akiba and the other sages who suffered martyrdom in Palestine at the hands of the Roman Emperors. The ten
martyrs here alluded to are those referred to in the Preface to Hakemoni, published by Geiger in . . . Berlin, 1840,
. . . . Rome, as so many other cities, had its own martyrs.
27 This is the statue of Marcus Aurelius now before the Capitol.
28 Even in Benjamin's time the Campagna was noted for malaria.
29 Professor Ray Lankester, in a lecture given on Dec. 29, 1903, at the Royal Institution, illustrated changes in the
disposition of land and water by pointing to the identical ruined Temple referred to by Benjamin. It now stands
high above the sea, and did so in the second and third centuries of the present era, but in the eighth and ninth
centuries was so low, owing to the sinking of the land, that the lower parts of its marble pillars stood in the sea,
and sea-shells grew in the crevices.
30 Josippon gives these legends in Book I, chaps. iii and iv, when speaking of Zur, whom he associates with
Sorrento. Benjamin had few other sources of information. In the immediate neighbourhood of Pozzuoli is
Solfatara, where sulphur is found. A destructive eruption from the crater took place in 1198. Hot springs
abound, and the baths at Bagnoli are much frequented to the present day. The underground road is the Pledi
grotta of Posilipo, constructed by Augustus.
31 R. Isaac, the father of R. Judah, must be the "Greek Locust" against whom Ibn Ezra directed his satire when
visiting Salerno some twenty years before R. Benjamin. See Graetz, VI, p. 441.
32 Cf. Isaiah lxvi. 19.
33 This city was destroyed by William the Bad in 1156. It was ordered to be restored by William the Good in
1168, so that Benjamin must have visited Bari before that date. See p. 79, note 2. We have here another clue as
to the date of Benjamin's travels.
34 See H. M. Adler's article on Jews in Southern Italy, J.Q.R., XIV, p. 111. Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire, chap. lvi, describing the reconquest of the southern provinces of Italy by the Byzantine Emperor Manuel,
1155, says: "The natives of Calabria were still attached to the Greek language and worship."
35 The river Achelous falls into the Ionian Sea opposite to Ithaca.
36 Anatolica is now known as Aetolicum.
37 Patras, the ancient Patrae, was founded long before the time of Antipater. Josippon, II, chap. xxiii, is again the
questionable authority on which Benjamin relied.
38 Lepanto in the early Middle Ages was called Naupactus or Epacto, and to reach it from Patras the Gulf of
Corinth had to be crossed
39 Chalcis, the capital of Euboea or Negroponte, is even now called Egripo. It is situated on the Straits of Euripus.
40 Some twenty years later the Wallachians were in open revolt and became independent of the Byzantine Empire.
Gibbon, chap. lx.
41 See Gibbon, chap. liii. He often quotes Benjamin.
42 The Grand Duchy of Kieff was called Russia. See page 81.
43 The Petchinegs, as well as the Khazars, Bulgarians, Hungarians, and Turks, are called by Josippon, 1, chap. i,
descendants of Togarma. Patzinakia was the country from the Danube to the Dnieper, and corresponds with
Dacia of classical times.
44 The readings of E and A are corrupt. R has . . . , and BM. has . . . . The southern provinces of Russia were spoken
of as the land of the Khazars, especially by Jewish writers, long after the Russian conquest about the year 1000, and
the Crimea was known to European travellers as Gazaria. It took Rabbi Pethachia eight days to pass through the land
of the Khazars. See Dr. A. Benisch, Translation of Petachia's Travels. In note 3, p. 70, he gives a short sketch of
their history. The ruling dynasty and moat of the inhabitants embraced the Jewish religion.
45 Procopius, vol. I (Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society), gives a full description of Constantinople.
46 The commentator, wrongly supposed to be Rashi, gives an interesting note upon the passage in i Chron. xx.2
where it is mentioned that David took the crown of the king of the children of Ammon, and found it to weigh a
talent of gold, and it was set upon David's head. Rashi states that the meaning of the passage must be that this
crown was hung above David's throne, and adds that he heard in Narbonne that this practice was still kept up by
the kings in the East.
47 See for a full account of these powerful Seljuk Sultans F. Lebrecht's Essay on the Caliphate of Bagdad during
the latter half of the twelfth century. Vol. II of A. Asher's Itinerary of Rabbi Bmjamin.
48 Ibn Verga, Shevet Jehuda, XXV, states that a predecessor of the Emperor Manuel Comnenus issued an edict
prohibiting the Jews from residing elsewhere than in Pera, and restricting their occupation to tanning and
shipbuilding.
49 This place is mentioned by Procopius, p. 119, as having been fortified by Justinian. It is now known as
Rodosto.
50 Ibn Ezra visited Cyprus before his arrival in London in 1158, when he wrote the Sabbath Epistle. It is not
unlikely that the heterodox practices of the sect of whom Benjamin here speaks had been put forward in certain
books to which Ibn Ezra alludes, and induced him to compose the pamphlet in defence of the traditional mode of
observance of the Sabbath day. This supposition is not inconsistent with Graetz's theory, vol. VI, p. 447. See also
Dr. Friedlander, Ibn Ezra in England, J. Q. R., VIII, p. 140, and Joseph Jacobs, The Jews of Angerin England,
p. 35.
51 See Gibbon, chaps. lviii and lix; Charles Mills, History of the Crusades, I, p. 159; C. R. Conder, Latin
Kingdom of Jerusalem, p. 39.
52 The several MSS. give different readings. The kingdom reached to the Taurus mountains and the Sultanate of
Rum or Iconium.
53 Beazley remarks that Benjamin must have passed along this coast before 1167, when Thoros died at peace and
on terms of vassalage to the Emperor Manuel Comnenus. Malmistras is forty-five miles from Tarsus. Both had
been recaptured by Manuel in 1155. Josippon, I, chap.i, identifies Tarshish with Tarsus.
54 No doubt the river Fer, otherwise Orontes, is here referred to. Ancient Antioch lies on the slope of Mount Silpius,
and the city-wall erected by Justinian extended from the river up to the hill-plateau. Abulfeda says: "The river of
Hamah is also called Al Urunt or the Nahr al Maklub (the Overturned) on account of its course from south to north;
or, again, it is called Al' Isi (the Rebel), for the reason that though most rivers water the lands on their borders
without the aid of water-wheels, the river of Hamah will not irrigate the lands except by the aid of machines for
raising its waters." (Guy le Strange, Palestine under the Moslems, p. 59.) It is strange that R. Benjamin should call
the Orontes the river Jabbok, but he always takes care to add that it rises in the Lebanon, to avoid any misconception
that the Jabbok which falls into the Jordan is meant.
55 Boemond III, surnamed le Baube (the Stammerer), succeeded his mother in 1163. We owe the doubtless
correct rendering of this passage to the ingenuity of the late Joseph Zedner. Benjamin visited Antioch before
1170, when a fearful earthquake destroyed a great part of the city.
56 It must be inferred from the context here, as well as from other passages, that when Benjamin mentions the
number of Jews residing at a particular place he refers to the heads of families.
57 Gebal is the Gabala of ancient geographers. See Schechter, Saadyana, p. 25. Many travellers, among them
Robinson, identify Baal-Gad with Banias, others suppose it to be Hasbeya.
58. 58 Hashishim--hemp-smokers--hence is derived the word ''assassin." See Socin, Palestine and Syria, pp. 68 and 99.
Ibn Batuta and other Arabic writers have much to say about the Assassins or Mulahids, as they call them. They are
again referred to by Benjamin on p. 54, where he states that in Persia they haunted the mountainous district of
Mulahid, under the sway of the Old Man of the Mountain. The manner in which the Sheik acquired influence over
his followers is amusingly described by Marco Polo (The Book of Ser Marco Polo: translated and edited by Colonel
Sir Henry Yule; third edition, London, John Murray, 1903) : "In a fertile and sequestered valley he placed every
conceivable thing pleasant to man--luxurious palaces, delightful gardens, fair damsels skilled in music, dancing, and
song, in short, a veritable paradise! When desirous of sending any of his band on some hazardous enterprise the Old
Man would drug them and place them while unconscious in this glorious valley. But it was not for many days that
they were allowed to revel in the joys of paradise. Another potion was given to them, and when the young men
awoke they found themselves in the presence of the Old Man of the Mountain. In the hope of again possessing the
joys of paradise they were ready to embark upon any desperate errand commanded by the Old Man. "Marco Polo
mentions that the Old Man found crafty deputies, who with their followers settled in parts of Syria and. Kurdistan.
He adds that, in the year 1252, Alau, lord of the Tartars of the Levant, made war against the Old Man, and
slaughtered him with many of his followers. Yule gives a long list of murders or attempts at murder ascribed to the
Assassins. Saladin's life was attempted in 1174-6. Prince Edward of England was slain at Acre in 1172. The sect is
not quite extinct. They have spread to Bombay and Zanzibar, and number in Western India over 50,000. The mention
of the Old Man of the Mountain will recall to the reader the story of Sinbad the Sailor in The Arabian Nights.
59 See Parchi, Caphtor wa-pherach, an exhaustive work on Palestine written 1322, especially chap. xi. The author
spent over seven years in exploring the country.
60 Socin, the author of Baedeker's Handbook to Palestine and Syria, p. 557, gives the year of the earthquake
1157. It is referred to again p. 31. There was a very severe earthquake in this district also in 1170, and the fact
that Benjamin does not refer to it furnishes us with another terminus ad quem.
61 See the narrative of William of Tyre.
62 Gubail, the ancient Gebal, was noted for its artificers and stonecutters. Cf. I Kings v. 32; Ezek. xxvii.9. The
Greeks named the place Byblos, the birthplace of Philo. The coins of Byblos have a representation of the Temple
of Astarte. All along the coast we find remains of the worship of Baal Kronos and Baaltis, of Osiris and Isis, and
it is probable that the worship of Adonis and Jupiter-Ammon led Benjamin to associate therewith the
Ammonites. The reference to the children of Ammon is based on a misunderstanding, arising perhaps out of Ps.
lxxxiii. 8.
63 7he Quarterly Statements of the Palestine Exploration Fund for 1886 and 1889 give a good deal of
information concerning the religion of the Druses. Their morality is there described as having been much
maligned.
64 Tyre was noted for its glass-ware and sugar factories up to 1291, when it was abandoned by the Crusaders, and
destroyed by the Moslems.
65 This name is applied to the Kishon, mentioned further on, celebrated in Deborah's song (Judg. v. 21), but it is
about five miles south of Acre, the river nearest to the town being the Belus, noted for its fine sand suitable for
glass-making. It is not unlikely that R. Benjamin alludes to the celebrated ox-spring of which Arab writers have
much to say. Mukkadasi writes in 985: "Outside the eastern city gate is a spring. This they call Ain al Bakar,
relating how it was Adam--peace be upon him!--who discovered this spring, and gave his oxen water therefrom,
whence its name."
66 Gath-Hepher, the birthplace of Jonah, near Kefr Kenna, in the territory of Zebulon (Joshua xix.13, is not here
referred to, but the land of Hepher, I Kings iv.10 is probably meant.
67 In Benjamin's time hermits, who eventually founded the Carmelite order of monks, occupied grottoes on
Mount Carmel.
68 In the time of the Crusaders Gath was supposed to be near Jamnia, but nothing definite is known as to its site.
(Baedeker, Handbook to Palestine and Syria, 1876, p. 317.)
69 It lies between Caesarea and Lydda. See Conder's Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Munk's Palestine might also
be consulted with advantage.
70 The tomb of St. George is still shown in the Greek church at Lydda.
71 Mr. A. Cowley in an article on the Samaritan Liturgy in J. Q. R., VII, 125, states that the "House of Aaron" died
out in 1624. The office then went to another branch, the priest being called . . . , the Levite Cohen. Cf. Adler and
Seligsohn's Une nouvelle chronique Samaritaine. (Paris: Durlacher, 1903.)
72 The small square building known as Joseph's tomb lies a short distance north of Jacob's well, at the eastern
entrance to the vale of Nablous.
73 Cf. Guy Le Strange, Palestine, 381, and Rapoport's Note 166, Asher's Benjamin, vol. II, p. 87.
74 The MSS, are defective here; starting from Shechem, Mount Gilboa, which to this day presents a bare
appearance, is in a different direction to Ajalon. It is doubtful whether Benjamin personally visited all the places
mentioned in his Itinerary. His visit took place not long after the second great Crusade, when Palestine under the
kings of Jerusalem was disturbed by internal dissensions and the onslaughts of the Saracens under Nur-ed-din of
Damascus and his generals. Benjamin could at best visit the places of note only when the opportunity offered.
75 This and most of the other places mentioned by Benjamin are more or less identified in the very important work
published by the Palestine Exploration Fund, The Survey of Western Palestine. Our author's statements are carefully
examined, and Colonel Conder, after expatiating upon the extraordinary mistakes made by writers in the time of the
Crusaders, some of whom actually confounded the sea of Galilee with the Mediterranean, says: "The mediaeval
Jewish pilgrims appear as a rule to have had a much more accurate knowledge both of the country and of the Bible.
Their assertions are borne out by existing remains, and are of the greatest value."
76 King Baldwin III died in 1162, and was succeeded by his brother Almaric
77 The reading of the Roman MS. that there were but four Jewish inhabitants at Jerusalem is in conformity with
R. Pethachia, who passed through Palestine some ten or twenty years after R. Benjamin, and found but one Jew
there. The meaning four would easily be misread for meaning 200.
78 The Knights of the Hospital of St. John and the Templars are here referred to. See Gibbon, Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire; Charles Mills, History of the Crusades, 4th edition, vol. I, p. 342, and Besant and Palmer's
Jerusalem, chap. ix.
79 Cf. the writings of Mukaddasi the Hierosolomite, one of the publications of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text
Society. See also Edrisi's and Ali of Herat's works. Chap. iii of Guy Le Strange's Palestine gives full extracts of
Edrisi's account written in 1154 and Ali's in 1173. See also five plans of Jerusalem designed between 1160 and
1180, vol. XV, Zeitschrifl des Deutschen Palestina-Vereins.
80 Ezek. xx. 35. The idea that the Gorge of Jehoshaphat will be the scene of the last judgment is based upon Joel
iv.2. Cf. M. N. Adler, Temple at Jerusalem and Sir Charles Warren's Comments.
81 In memory of Absalom's disobedience to his father, it is customary with the Jews to pelt this monument with
stones to the present day. The adjoining tomb is traditionally known as that of Zechariah, 2 Chron. xxiv. 20. King
Uzziah, otherwise Azariah, was buried on Mount Zion, close to the other kings of Judah, 2 Kings xv. 7. Cf. P. E.
F., Jerusalem, as to identification of sites. Sir Charles Wilson, Picturesque Palestine, gives excellent illustrations
of the holy places, and his work might be consulted with advantage.
82 Pillars of salt are to be met with elsewhere, for instance at Hammam Meskutim in Algeria. They are caused by
spouts of water, in which so great a quantity of salt is contained as at times to stop up the aperture of the spring. The
latter, however, is again unsealed through cattle licking off the salt near the aperture, and the same process of filling
up and unstopping goes on continually. Cf. Talmud Berachot, 54 a.
83 See Baedeker's Palestine and Syria, pp. 233, 236; also Schwartz, Palestine, 1852, p. 230 and Dr.
Robinson's Palestine, I, p. 516.
84 Edrisi in 1154 writes: "The tomb is covered by twelve stones, and above it is a dome vaulted over with stones."
85 Compare R. Pethachia's account of his visit (Travels of Rabbi Petachia translated by Dr. A. Benisch ; London,
Triibner & Co., 1856, p. 63). See papers by Professors Goldziher and Guthe (Zeitschrift des Deutachen
Palestina-Vereins, XVII, pp. 115 and 238) for an account of the opening of the tombs at Hebron in 1119, as
given in a presumably contemporaneous MS. found by Count Riant. Fifteen earthenware vessels filled with
bones, perhaps those referred to by Benjamin, were found. It is doubtful whether the actual tombs of the
Patriarchs were disturbed, but it is stated that the Abbot of St. Gallen paid in 1180 ten marks of gold (equal to
about £5,240 sterling) for relics taken from the altar of the church at Hebron. The MS. of Count Riant further
mentions that before the occupation of Hebron by the Arabs, the Greeks had blocked up and concealed the
entrance to the caves. The Jews subsequently disclosed the place of the entrance to the Moslems, receiving as
recompense permission to build a synagogue close by. This was no doubt the Jewish place of worship referred to
by Benjamin. Shortly after Benjamin's visit in 1167 the Crusaders established a bishopric and erected a church in
the southern part of the Haram. See also Conder's account of the visit of His Majesty the King, when Prince of
Wales, to the Haram at Hebron. (Palestine Exploration Fund's Quarterly Statement, 1882.)
86 Beit Jibrin was fortified by King Fulk in 1134. See Baedeker's Palestine and Syria, p. 309; Rapoport's Erech
Milin, p. 54; also a preliminary notice on the Necropolis of Maresha in P. E. F. Q. S., Oct., 1902, p. 393. The
text has . . . , but it should be . . .. Inscriptions on tombs near Beit Jibrin show that the town, to which those buried
belonged, was called Mariseh. The passage in A and all printed editions as to Shunem and Toren de Los
Caballeros is corrupt. Shunem was a small place in Galilee, and is not likely to have had 300 Jews at the time of
the Crusaders, still less so Toron the present Latrun.
87 Shiloh, at the time of the Crusaders, was considered to occupy the site of Mizpeh, the highest mountain near
Jerusalem, where the national assemblies were held at the time of the Judges. The present mosque is dilapidated,
but the substructure, which dates from the Frank period, is beautifully jointed. The apse is raised. The reputed
tomb of Samuel is on the western side of the church. It is still called Nebi Samwil, venerated alike by Jew and
Moslem.
88 This and Mahomerie-le-grand, already mentioned, are Crusaders' churches. See Rey, Les Colonies franques de
Syrie aux X1I et X111 siecles, p. 387 ; also Conder, The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
89 Beit-Nuba near Ramleh has been identified without proof with Nob. Richard Coeur-de-Lion encamped here
some twenty-five years after Benjamin's visit. He with the army of the Crusaders passed through Ibelin on his
way to Askelon. Cf. Vinsauf's Itinerarium Regis Ricardi.
90 See an interesting Paper, "Der Pass von Michmas," by Prof. D. G. Dalman, Z.D.P.V., 1904, vol. XXVII, p.
161.
91 Asher renders Ramleh, for which there is some justification. Ramleh did not exist in Bible times--it was founded
in 716. It prospered to such an extent that it became as large as Jerusalem. It was a good deal damaged by an
earthquake in 1033. Ramleh had a large Moslem population, and the Jews there remained comparatively unmolested
by the Crusaders. This latter fact accounts for the somewhat large number of Jews residing there. Asher's reading,
and that of all the printed editions, is "about three Jews dwell there." This is obviously wrong. Probably the copyist
is to blame in taking... to be an abbreviation for .... The reports of contemporary Arabic authors will be found in
Guy Le Strange's Palestine, pp. 303-8.
92 Ali of Herat, Benjamin's contemporary, writes: "Askelon is a fine and beautiful city. There is near here the well
of Abraham, which they say he dug with his own hand." Bohadin, in his Life of Saladin, gives a detailed account
of the demolition of the city in 1192, after the conclusion of peace between King Richard I and Saladin. Ibn
Batutah in 1355 found the town in ruins, but gives a detailed account of the well. (Guy Le Strange, pp. 402-3; cf.
Dr. H. Hildesheimer, Beitrage zur Geographic Palastinas.)
93 The cathedral at Lydda with the tomb of St. George was destroyed when Saladin captured the place in 1191. It
was rebuilt by a King of England in the seventeenth century.
94 A. M. Luncz in his Year-book for 1881, pp. 71-165, gives a complete list of the reputed Jewish tombs in Palestine.
There are many records of the graves of Jewish worthies in our literature, but it is not easy to reconcile the different
versions. See Jacob ben Nethanel's Itinerary given in Lunez's Jerusalon, 1906, VII, p. 87.
95 Both BM. and R have , whilst E and A have the faulty reading . The Seder Hadoroth has the same reading
as E and A. Jehuda Halevi died about thirty years before Benjamin's visit, and the question of the burial-place of
our great national poet is thus finally settled.
96 The common belief is that Simon the Just was buried near Jerusalem, on the road to Nablous, about a mile
from the Damascus Gate.
97 Cf. Schechter's Saadyana, p. 89.
98 The passage referring to the Arnon is evidently out of place.
99 See Deut. xi. 24.
100 For a description of the city and its great mosque, see Baedeker, also Guy Le Strange, Palestine under the
Moslems, chap. vi. The most eastern dome of the mosque is to this day called Kubbet-es-Sas, the Dome of
Hours. Mukaddasi gives an elaborate description of the mosaics and other features of this mosque.
101 Cf. Midrash Raba, chap. xiv: . . . ; also Josephus, Ant I, vii.2 who quotes Nicolaus of Damascus in the words
"In Damasco regnarit Abramus."
102 Pethachia estimates the Jewish population at 19,000. This confirms the opinion already given (p. 26) that
Benjamin refers to heads of families.
103 Dr. W. Bacher with justice observes that, at the time of the Crusades, the traditions of the Palestinian Gaonate
seem to have survived at Damascus. See J. Q. R., XV, pp. 19-96.
104 Galid as a city cannot be identified. Salchah is in the Eastern Hauran, half a day's journey from Bosra, and is
spoken of in Scripture as a frontier city of Bashan. (Deut. iii.10; Joshua xii.5.) It lies a long way to the south of
Damascus, whilst Baalbec lies to the north.
105 Tarmod is Tadmor or Palmyra.
106 The important city Emesa, now called Homs, is here probably indicated. In scripture, Gen. X. 18, the Zemarite
and the Hamathite are grouped together among the Canaanite families. In this district is the intermittent spring of
Fuwar ed-Der, the Sabbatio River of antiquity, which Titus visited after the destruction of Jerusalem. Josephus
(Wars of the Jews, Book VII, sec. 5) describes it as follows: "Its current is strong and has plenty of water; after
which its springs fail for six days together and leave its channels dry, as any one may see; after which days it runs
on the seventh day as it did before, and as though it had undergone no change at all: it has also been observed to
keep this order perpetually and exactly." The intermittent action is readily accounted for by the stream having
hollowed out an underground duct, which acts as a syphon.
107 Hamath is often mentioned in Scripture, situated at no great distance from the Orontes. In the troublous time
after the first crusade it was taken by the Ismailians or Assassins. The earthquake of 1157 caused great damage.
Twenty years later the place was captured by Saladin.
108 Robinson and Conder identify Hazor with a site near Kedesh Naftali, but Sheiza is doubtless Sheizar, the
ancient Larissa. Having regard to the readings of the other MSS., there is no doubt that Latmin, the next stage on
the way to Aleppo, is the correct name of the place. See M. Hartmann's articles, "Beitrage zur Kenntuis der
Syrischen Steppe," Z.D.P.V., vols. XXII and XXIII, 1900-1. Cf. the article on the Boundaries of Palestine and
Syria by M. Friedmann, Luncz's Jerusalem, vol. II.
109 Edrisi writes that there was abundance of water at Aleppo, but there is no discrepancy between Benjamin's and
Edrisi's statements, as Asher supposes. The old waterworks were restored by Malek about the year 1200, some
thirty years after Benjamin's visit.
110 Edrisi and Abulfeda speak of Balis and Kalat Jabar. See Guy Le Strange, p. 417. Zengy the Atabeg was slain
at Kalat Jabar.
111 Rakka is on the left bank of the Euphrates. It was an important city of Upper Mesopotamia, commanding the
Syrian frontier. Salchah is in the Hauran. See p. 30, note 5. On the right bank of the Euphrates, nearly opposite to
Rakka, was Thapsacus. Here Cyrus forded the river, and here Alexander crossed in pursuit of Darius.
112 Harran, the city of Nahor, is twenty-four miles SSE. of Edessa on the Balikh. Mustawfi tells us of Abraham's
Shrine.
113 Ras-el-Ain, probably Rhesaina. The river Khabur--the Araxes of Xenophon--flows from the Kurdistan
mountains southwards, and runs into the Euphrates.
114 The Gozan river cannot be, as tacitly assumed by Asher, the Kizil-Uzun (also known as the Araxes). The Kizil
Uzun is on the right of the watershed of the mountains of Kurdistan, and falls into the Caspian Sea. The Khabur
above referred to flows through Mesopotamia, not through Media. The misconception arises probably from the
author being too mindful of the passage occurring repeatedly in Scripture, e. g. 2 Kings xvii. 6: ". . . and placed
them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes."
115 All the MSS. except BM. have here: "Thence it is two days to the city of Nisibis (Nasibin). This is a great city
with rivulets of water, and contains about 1,000 Jews."
116 Josephus (Antiquities, I, 3) mentions that Noah's Ark still existed in his day. Rabbi Pethachia, who travelled
through Armenia within twenty years after Benjamin, speaks of four mountain peaks, between which the Ark
became fixed and from which it could not get free. Arab writers tell us that Jabal Judi (Koran, ch. xi, ver. 46)
with the Mosque of Noah on the summit, could be seen from Geziret. See also Marco Polo, Bk. I. ch. 3.
117 See Lebrecht's Essay " On the State of the Caliphate at Bagdad." Sin-ed-din, otherwise known as Seif-ed-din,
died 1149, some twenty years before Benjamin's visit, and Graetz (vol. VI, note 10) suggests that the
appointment of Astronomer Royal must have been made by Nur-ed-din's nephew. None of the MSS. have this
reading, nor is such a correction needed. R. Joseph may have been appointed by Nur-ed-din's brother, and would
naturally retain the office during the reign of his successor.
118 Irbil, or Arbela, is two clays' journey from Mosul. See Saadyana, J. Q. R., vol. XIV, p. 503, and W. Bacher's
note, p. 741.
119 For a full account of Mosul and other places here referred to. see Mr. Guy Le Strange's The Lands of the
Eastern Caliphate, 1905, also Layard's Nineveh and its Remains and Nineveh and Babylon. Layard carefully
examined Nebbi Junus, which is held in great veneration by the Mussulmans, and came to the conclusion that the
tradition which places Jonah's tomb on this spot is a mere fable (p. 596). It will be seen that Benjamin speaks of
the Shrine as a Synagogue. At Alkush near Mosul the tomb of Nahum is pointed out, and the Arabs say that after
Jonah had fulfilled his mission to the people of Nineveh they relapsed into idolatry. Then Nahum denounced the
city and was slain by the populace, who proclaimed him and Jonah to be false prophets, since the doom the latter
foretold had not come to pass. See Schwarz, Das Heilige Land, 1852, p. 259, identifying Kefar Tanchum near
Tiberias with Nahum's burial-place.
120 As to Jewish seats of learning in Babylon refer to Dr. Krauss's Article "Babylonia" in the Jewish
Encyclopaedia; see also Guy Le Strange, p. 74, who suggests that Pumbedita means "mouth of the Badat canal."
Cf. J. Q. R., XVII, p. 756.
121 Hadara goes under the name Alhathr or Hatra. There must exist great doubt as to whether Benjamin had
personally satisfied himself as to the Jewish population he gives for this and the other places he tells of, till he
comes to Egypt. Up to this point the Traveller has always appeared to under-estimate the Jewish population.
Henceforth it will be found that he gives apparently exaggerated figures, and this lends colour to the view that
Benjamin did not proceed beyond Ispahan, but found his way thence direct to Egypt. The statements concerning
the intervening places must therefore be taken to have been based upon hearsay information. Pethachia's remarks
are significant: "In the land of Cush and Babel are more than sixty myriads of Jews; as many are in the land of
Persia. But in Persia the Jews are subject to hard bondage and suffering. Therefore Rabbi Pethachia visited only
one city in Persia." (Dr. Beniseh's edition, p. 19.)
122 The Caliphs of the Abbaside Dynasty traced their descent from Mohammed. Benjamin here refers .to the
Caliph El Mostanshed. The Caliph is aptly compared to the Pope. In addition to his temporal authority at
Bagdad, he exercised as Leader of the Faithful-Emir al-Muminin---religious authority over all Mohammedans
from Spain to India. At a later time the vizier arrogated all authority to himself, and the Caliph spent his time
either in the mosque or in the seraglio.
123 Lebrecht, p. 391, states that this was a scarf of black velvet, generally a portion of the hangings of the mosque
of Mecca, which was suspended from a balcony of the Palace and was called the Sleeve of the Caliph.
124 The statements here made are strangely contradictory; see a suggestive article by Dr. Goldzilier in Z. D. P. Y.,
1905, p. 151.
125 A valuable work, Bagdad during the Abbaside Caliphate, from Contemporary Arabic arnd Persian Sources,
appeared in 1900, written by Mr. Guy Le Strange, which helps to explain Benjamin's account of the Moslem
metropolis. The Caliph Mansur in 762 selected it as the Capital of the Empire. Numerous references in the Talmud
prove that a Jewish settlement was there long before. Mansur built a double-walled Round City two miles in diameter
on the western side of the Tigris. It formed the nucleus of suburbs, which spread over both banks of the Tigris. A
very fair idea of the metropolis may be obtained if we imagine the Round City as situated on the Surrey side of the
Thames, having the "Elephant and Castle" for its centre. At this spot stood the great Mosque of Mansur, where the
Friday services were held, and where the Caliph took a prominent part in the service on the Bairam, at the close of
the Ramazan fast. The Round City being subject to periodical inundations, the government buildings were gradually
transferred to the eastern side of the river. The Royal Palaces, in the grounds called the Harim, which were fully three
miles in extent, occupied the site similar to that from Westminster to the City. At one time there were as many as
twenty-three palaces within the royal precincts. The Caliph, when visiting the Mosque in state, left the palace
grounds, and proceeded over the main bridge, corresponding to Westminster Bridge, along a road which in
Benjamin's time led to the Basrah Gate quarter. At the close of the ceremony in the Mosque, the Caliph returned,
crossing the bridge of boats, and proceeded to his palace by a road corresponding to the Thames Embankment. The
members of his court and the nobles entered barges and escorted him alongside the river.
The Arab writers mention that certain palaces were used as state prisons, in which the Caliphs kept their nearer
relations in honourable confinement. They were duly attended by numerous servants, and amply supplied with every
luxury, but forbidden under pain of death to go beyond the walls. Lebrecht, p. 381, explains the circumstances under
which the Caliph Moktafi imprisoned his brother and several of his kinsmen. There were large hospitals in Bagdad:
the one to which Benjamin alludes is the Birmaristan of the Mustansiriyuh, in Western Bagdad, which for three
centuries was a great school of medical science. Its ruins, close to the present bridge of boats, are still to be seen.
The reader must bear in mind that at the time when Benjamin visited Bagdad, the Seljuk Sultans had been defeated,
and the Caliphs stood higher than ever in power. They, however, took little interest in political affairs, which were
left entirely in the hands of their viziers.
126 Asher and the other printed editions give the Jewish population at 1,000. Pethachia makes the same estimate,
which, however, is inconsistent with his statement, that the Head of the Academy had 2,000 disciples at one time,
and that more than 500 surrounded him. The British Museum and Casanatense MSS. solve the difficulty; they
have the reading forty thousand. It would be wearisome to specify in these notes all the places where a superior
reading is presented by these MSS.; the student will, however, find that not a few anomalies which confronted
Asher are now removed.
127 The last or tenth Academy.
128 This appellation is applied in the Talmud to scholars who uninterruptedly apply themselves to communal work.
129 The first line of Exilarchs, which ended with Hezekiah in the year 1040, traced their descent from David through
Zerubbabel. Hisdai's pedigree was through Hillel, who sprang from a female branch of the Royal line (see Graetz,
vol. VI, note 10). Pethachia writes (p. 17) that a year before his arrival at Bagdad Daniel died. A nephew, David,
became Exilarch jointly with R. Samuel, the Head of the great Academy, whose authority over all the communities
in Asia became paramount. Samuel had an only daughter, who was learned in the Scriptures and the Talmud. She
gave instruction through a window, remaining in the house, whilst the disciples were below, unable to see her.
130 The office of Exilarch had but recently been revived, and the Mohammed here referred to may have been
Mohammed El Moktafi, the Caliph Mostanshed's predecessor.
131 The Alans throughout the Middle Ages occupied Georgia and the regions of the Caucasus. As to the Iron Gates
which Alexander made, Yule in commenting on Marco Polo's text (Travels of Ser Marco Polo: edited by Sir Henry
Yule, 3rd edition, London, John Murray, chap. iii) says that Benjamin was the first European traveller to mention
this pass. Benjamin and Marco Polo both record the general belief current at the time that the Pass of Derbend was
traversed by Alexander. It is still called in Turkish "Demis-Kapi" or the Iron Gate, and the Persians designate it
"Sadd-i-Iskandar"--the Rampart of Alexander. Lord Curzon, however, in his valuable work Persia and the Persians,
vol. I, p. 293, proves conclusively that the pass through which Alexander's army marched when pursuing Darius after
the battle of Arbela could not have been at Derbend. Arrian, the historian of Alexander's expeditions, writes that the
pass was one day's journey from Rages (the noted city mentioned in the Book of Tobit) for a man marching at the
pace of Alexander's army. But Derbend is fully 500 miles from Rages. In Lord Curzon's opinion, confirmed by
Spiegel, Droysen and Schindler, the Sirdara Pass, some forty miles from Teheran on the way to Meshed, must have
been the defile which Alexander's army forced. I think it will be found that Marco Polo's geography is less reliable
than that of Benjamin. In the third chapter referred to above, Marco Polo speaks of the Euphrates falling into the
Caspian Sea.
132 Probably the Oxus, called by the Arabs "Gaihun." Rabad I, a contemporary of Benjamin, speaks of the land of
Gurgan in his Sefer Hakabalah. The Nestorian Christians are probably here referred to.
133 It is interesting to compare this account with that of the Installation of the Egyptian Nagid (J. Q. R., IX, p.
717).
134 This is a well-known sage, whose name often occurs in the Talmud.
135 The Babel of Bible times was captured by Sennacherib; after stopping up a dam of the Euphrates, the country was
placed under water and the city destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar restored the city; he also erected a magnificent palace
for himself--the Kasr--also the Temple of Bel. Herodotus, Book I, chaps. 178-89, fully describes these edifices, and
dwells upon the huge extent of the metropolis, which was estimated to have a circuit of fifty miles. Xerxes destroyed
the city. Alexander the Great contemplated the restoration of Bel's Temple, but as it would have taken two months
for 10,000 men merely to remove the rubbish, he abandoned the attempt. The ruins have been recently explored by
Germans. The embankments which regulated the flow of the Euphrates and Tigris have given way, and at the present
time the whole region round Babylon is marshy and malarious. In the words of Jeremiah, li. 43, "Her cities are a
desolation, a sterile land, and a wilderness, a place wherein no man dwelleth."
136 The Valley of Dura mentioned in Daniel iii.1 is here referred to. See Dr. Berliner's Beitrage zur Geographie
und Ethnographie Babyloniens; also Layard's Nineveh and Babylon, p. 469. Cf. Berachot, 57 b.
137 Bereshith Rabba, chap. xxxviii, says the tower was at Borsippa, and the ruins here spoken of are probably
those of the Birs Nimroud, fully described by Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, chap. xxii, p. 496. He says: "The
mound rises abruptly to the height of 198 feet, and has on its summit a compact mass of brickwork 37 feet high
by 28 broad .. .. On one side of it, beneath the crowning masonry, lie huge fragments torn from the pile itself.
The calcined and vitreous surface of the bricks, fused into rock-like masses, show that their fall may have been
caused by lightning. The ruin is rent almost from top to bottom. No traces whatever now remain of the spiral
passage spoken of by the Jewish traveller." Cf. Professor T. K. Cheyne's article, " The Tower of Babel," in the
new Biblical Cyclopaedla. Nebuchadnezzar, in his Borsippa inscription, records that the tower, which had never
originally been completed, had fallen into decay, and that the kiln-bricks had split. These are the Agur bricks
mentioned by Benjamin; cf. Isaiah xxvii. 9. Al-ajur is the word still used by the Arabs for kiln-burnt bricks.
138 Niebuhr, vol. II, 216, gives a full account of his visit to the tomb. Layard, speaking of Birs Nimroud, says: "To
the south-west in the extreme distance rise the palm-trees of Kifil, casting their scanty shade over a small dome, the
tomb of Ezekiel. To this spot occasionally flock in crowds, as their forefathers have done for centuries, the Jews of
Bagdad, Hillah, and other cities of Chaldea .. . . It is now but a plain building, despoiled of the ornaments and MSS.
which it once appears to have contained" (Nineveh and Babylon, p. 500). Alcharizi composed a beautiful ode when
visiting this tomb (chap. xxxv, also chap. L).
139 This Mohammed, as in the case referred to p. 40, must have been a predecessor of the reigning Caliph, as the
Prophet was never in Babylonia, and in no case would he have granted favours to the Jews. It should be noted
that the British Museum MS. on which our text is based, as well as the Casanatense MS., generally styles the
Prophet . The MS., on which the Constantinople editio princeps is based, had probably all passages where this
epithet or other objectionable remarks were used excised by the censor, and it will be seen that the passage before
us, with reference to the grant of land by Mohammed, as well as that further on, referring to Ali, the son-in-law
of Mohammed, do not appear in any of the printed editions. Dr. Hirschfeld is of opinion that, on the one hand,
the epithet is the translation of the Arabic majnun, a term against which Mohammed protested several times in
the Koran, because it means he was possessed by a jinn, like a soothsayer. On the other hand, the word was
chosen having regard to Hosea ix. 7. This was done long before Benjamin's time, by Jafeth and others.
140 See picture of the traditional tomb of Ezekiel in the Jewish Bncyclopaedia, vol. V, p. 315.
141 The Talmud (Sabbath, ii a) speaks of the destruction of Mata Mehasya. Sura took its place as a centre of learning.
142 See Berliner, pp. 45, 47, 54, and 57, for particulars derived from the Talmud and Midrash as to the several
centres of Jewish learning in Babylonia.
143 This synagogue is repeatedly mentioned in the Talmud. Zunz (Note 255) omits mentioning Aboda Zarah, 43 b,
where Rashi explains that Shafjathib was a place in the district of Nehardea, and that Jeconiah and his followers
brought the holy earth thither, giving effect to the words of the Psalmist: " For thy servants take pleasure in her
stones, and favour the dust thereof" (Ps. cii. 14).
144 Benjamin visited the various seats of learning in the neighbourhood, and thus came again to Nehardea, which
has been already mentioned on p. 34. Rab Jehuda, not Rab, is there associated with Samuel.
145 Asher, at this stage of Benjamin's narrative, has the following note
"For the illustration of that portion of our text which treats of Arabia, we refer the reader to the Rev. S. L.
Rapoport's paper, 'Independent Jews of Arabia,' which will be found at the end of these notes." No such account
appeared in the work, but in the Bikkure Haittim for the year 1824, p. 51, there appears an interesting essay in
Hebrew on the subject by Rapoport, to which the reader is referred. It is a matter of history that the powerful
independent Jewish communities which were settled at Yathrib, afterwards called Medina, and in the volcanic
highlands of Kheibar and Teima called the Harrah, were crushed by Mohammed. Dr. Hirschfeld, in the Jewish
Quarterly Review, vol. XV, p. 170, gives us the translation of a letter found in the Cairo Genizah, addressed by
Mohammed to the people of Kheibar and Maqna, granting them certain privileges from which the Jews, who
were allowed to remain in their homes, benefited. Omar, the second Caliph, broke the compact, but allowed them
to settle at Kufa on the Euphrates. Although pilgrims pass annually up and down the caravan tracks to Mecca,
the information respecting the old Jewish sites in the Harrah is most meagre. Edrisi and Abulfeda throw no light
on Benjamin's account. In the year 1904 an able work by Mr. D. G. Hogarth appeared under the title of
The Penetration of Arabia, being a record of the development of Western
knowledge concerning the Arabian Peninsula. He gives a full account
of the European travellers who have described the country. Niebuhr,
who visited Yemen in 1762, repeated the statement made by the Italian
traveller Varthema that there were still wild Jews in Kheibar. The
missionary Joseph Woolf visited Arabia in 1836, and he gives us an
account of an interview he had with some of the Rechabites. No weight,
however, can be attached to his fantastic stories. W. G. Palgrave, who
resided for some years in Syria as a Jesuit, where he called himself
Father Michael (Cohen), was entrusted in 1862 with a mission to Arabia
by Napoleon III in connexion with the projected Suez Canal; he was one
of the few visitors to the Harrah, but he makes no special reference to
the Jews. Joseph Halevi made many valuable discoveries of inscriptions
in South Arabia, which he traversed in 1869. He visited the oppressed
Jewish community at Sanaa in Yemen; he further discovered traces of
the ancient Minaean kingdom, and found that the Jews in the Nejran
were treated with singular tolerance and even favour; but he was not
able to tell us anything respecting the Jews of the Harrah.
C. M. Doughty was, however, more successful when visiting this district
in 1875. Of Kheibar he says "that it is now a poor village whose
inhabitants are a terrible kindred, Moslems outwardly, but, in secret,
cruel Jews that will suffer no stranger to enter among them." See
C. M. Doughty's Arabia Deserta, vol. II, p. 129. "Teima is a Nejd colony of
Shammar; their fathers came to settle there not above 200 years past.
Old Teima of the Jews, according to their tradition, had been (twice)
destroyed by flood. From those times there remain some great rude
stone buildings. It is now a prosperous open place" (vol. I, p. 286).
The only writer that casts any doubt upon Benjamin's record as to
independent Jewish tribes in Arabia is R. Jacob Safir, who visited
Yemen and other Arabian ports in the Red Sea in the year 1864. See
chaps. xv and xliii of Iben Sqfir, Lyck, 1866. Dr. L. Grunhut, in his
introduction, Die Reisebeschreibungen des R. Benjamin Von Tudela, Jerusalem,
1903, p. 116, refutes Safir's statements.
In Hogarth's work, p. 282, is shown a print of the Teima stone, with
its Aramaic inscription, considered to belong to the fourth or fifth
century B. C., and on p. 285 will be found Doughty's interesting sketch of
Kheibar.
146 It is clear that, when speaking of the population of some of those places, the whole oasis or district is intended,
and not a particular town.
147 In reading through the foregoing account of the Jews in Arabia, it is quite clear that Benjamin never visited the
country, nor did lie pretend
to have done so. In the words of Mr. C. R. Beazley (The Dawn of Modern Geography, p. 252), "It is no longer, for
the most part, a record of personal travel; it is rather an attempt to supplement the first part 'of things seen,' by a
second 'of things heard.' " But Beazley is wrong when he characterizes as "wild" the account of the Jews of Southern
Arabia "who were Rechabites." Does Benjamin say so? There is no such reading in the MS. of the British Museum.
The student, it is thought, will by this time have come to the conclusion that it is the oldest and most trustworthy of
our available authorities. The whole misconception has arisen from the fact that the unreliable MS. E and all the
printed editions have transposed the letters of . . . and made . . . of it. Rapoport, in the article already referred to, seems
to suspect the faulty reading: to justify it, he connects the men of Kheibar with the Rechabites and the sons of Heber
the Kenite, basing his argument upon Jer. xxxv, Judges i.16, I Sam. xxvii.10, and I Chron. ii. 55.
Neither Zunz nor Asher makes any comments upon this chapter of the
itinerary. Graetz gives an abstract of Benjamin's account; he, as well as
all other writers, is unable to identify Tilmas, but is of opinion that
Tanai must be Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, which, however, is twenty-five days' journey beyond Kheibar. It is
well known that Yemen has,
since Bible times, harboured a Jewish population, who--notwithstanding
all oppression, intensified under Turkish rule--inhabit many of its towns
and villages to the present day. It is comparatively accessible, owing
to its proximity to the sea. We must cherish the hope that Great
Britain, now that it claims the Hinterland of Aden, will extend its
protection to the Jews.
The volcanic highlands (Harrah) of Kheibar were always inaccessible, owing to their being surrounded by waterless
deserts and fanatic Bedouin tribes.
R. Abraham Farissol, who flourished at the beginning of the sixteenth century, writes that there was a large number
of Jews in the district, who lived in tents and in wooden houses or huts. His contemporary, David Reubeni, who
crossed from Arabia to Abyssinia and came to Europe in 1524, pretended to be brother of Joseph, king of the tribes
of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh in the desert of Chabor (Kheibar). Benjamin takes care to qualify his statement
as to the origin of the Jews of Kheibar by adding--. . . --"people say they belong to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the
half-tribe of Manasseh, whom Salmanesser, King of Assyria, led hither into captivity."
I would here mention an interesting work of Dr. R. Dozy, Professor of History and Oriental Languages at Leyden,
Die Israeliten in Mecca, 1864. By a series of ingenious inferences from Bible texts (I Sam. xxx, I Chron. iv.24-43,
&c.) he essays to establish that the tribe of Simeon, after David had dispersed the Amalekites who had already been
weakened by Saul, entered Arabia and settled all along in the land of the Minaeans and at Mecca, where they
established the worship at the Kaaba and introduced practices which have not been altogether abandoned up to the
present day. Dr. Dozy further contends that after Hezekiah's reign numerous Jewish exiles came to Arabia.
Hommel, in two articles in Ersch and Gruber's Encyclopaedia, under "Bedouins" and "Anzah," gives full particulars
respecting the Anizeh, otherwiseAnaessi, tribe--that they were in the habit of joining the Wahabees and other
Bedouin tribes in attacking caravans and levying blackmail. The Turkish Pasha at Damascus had to pay annually
passage-money to ensure the safety of the pilgrims to Mecca. On one occasion two of the Bedouin sheiks were
decoyed by the Turks and killed; but the Anaessi, aided by other tribes to the number of 8o,ooo, took ample revenge
by
pillaging the Mecca caravan on its return. They seized a quantity of pearls, and the women were said to have
attempted boiling them with the rice. Seetzen (Journey through Syria, &c., I, ch. i, p. 356) says, " In Kheibar are no
Jews now, only Anaessi." Layard and other modern writers often refer to the Anizeh Bedouins. Travellers go in
dread of them in the Syrian desert and all along the Euphrates. Doughty mentions that they, more than any other
tribe, resemble the Jews both in appearance and disposition.
Ritter (Geographie, vol. XII), in quoting Niebuhr, makes mention of the widespread Anizeh tribe of Bedouins who
were anciently known to be Jews. He further states that the Jews of Damascus and Aleppo shun them as they are
non-observant Jews, considered by some to be Karaites. Does all this give ground for any presumption that they are
or were crypto-Jews, the descendants of the former Kheibar Jews, possibly also of those whom Omar allowed to
settle at Kufa?
This lengthy note may be closed fitly with the following mysterious remark in Doughty's usual quaint style (vol. I,
p. 127), in connexion with the murder of a Bagdad Jew who tried to reach Kheibar: "But let none anymore jeopardy
his life for Kheibar! I would that these leaves might save the blood of some: and God give me this reward of my
labour! for who will, he may read in them all the tale of Kheibar."
148 It will be seen further on (p. 67) that Benjamin speaks of Aden as being in India, "which is on the mainland." It
is well known that Abyssinia and Arabia were in the Middle Ages spoken of as "Middle India" It has been
ascertained that in ancient times the Arabs extensively colonized the western sea-coast of the East Indies. Cf. the
article "Arabia," in the ninth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Supplement.
149 The Casanatense MS. here interpolates : "Thence it takes seven days to Lusis, where there are 2,000
Israelites." Asher substitutes for Lusis Wasit, a place near the Tigris. I am unable to identify the river Virae, and
the words "which is in the land of Al Yemen " are evidently out of place.
150 See Dr. Hartwig Hirschfeld's account of a Fragment of a Work by Judah Al-harizi, being a description of a
pilgrimage through Mesopotamia with a view to visit Ezra's grave. The Arab geographer Yakut locates the grave
in the village Maisan on the river Samara near the place where the Euphrates and Tigris unite (J. Q. R., vol. XV,
683). Layard writes as follows:--"We stopped at the so-called tomb of the prophet Ezra, about twenty-five miles
from the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates, at Korna. The building, which is of a comparatively modern date,
consisted of two chambers, an outer one which was empty, and an inner one containing the tomb built of bricks,
covered with white stucco and enclosed in a wooden case, over which was thrown a large blue cloth fringed with
yellow tassels with the name of the donor embroidered on it in Hebrew characters. No trace of either the large
synagogue or of the mosque mentioned by Benjamin now exists, and it may be doubted whether the present
building covers the tomb which was seen by the Hebrew traveller. We could find no ancient remains near it, as
the Tigris is constantly changing its course, and was still eating away the bank of alluvial soil, upon the edge of
which the building stood. It is highly probable that the tomb seen by Benjamin of Tudela had long before been
carried away by the river." Layard's Early Adventures in Persia, Susiana, and Babylonia, vol. 11, p. 214. See
also an elaborate note of Dr. Benisch, p. 91 of his edition of Pethachia's Travels, and I. J. Benjamin II, Eight
Years in Asia and Africa, p. 167.
151 As for the river Gozan see p. 33, n. 3, and p. 58, n. 4. The mountains of Chafton, referred to also in pp. 54,
55, would seem to include not only the Zagros range, but also the highlands of Kurdistan.
152 Marco Polo, book II, chap. xiv, says of Tibet: " In this country there are many of the animals that produce
musk. The Tartars have great numbers of large and fine dogs which are of great service in catching the
musk.beasts, and so they procure a great abundance of musk."
153 The reputed sepulchre of Daniel is situated between Schuster arid Dizful in Persia, close by the river Shaour, an
affluent of the Karun river, which is supposed to be the Ulai of the Bible, Dan. viii.2. It is within sight of the vast
mound which denotes the site of Susa, the ancient Shushan. Here Mme. Dieulafoy in 1881 made extensive
excavations of the palace of the Persian kings, many relics of which are now on view at the Louvre in Paris.
The tomb of Daniel has been fully described by Layard--see Early Adventures, vol. II, p. 295. It is of comparatively
recent date, not unlike the shrines of Mussulman saints, and is surmounted by a high conical dome of irregular
brickwork, somewhat resembling in shape a pine cone. The reader is referred to the beautiful pictorial illustrations
of Daniel's reputed tomb, of the ruins of Susa, and of Schuster and its bridges in Mme. Dieulafoy's La Perse, la
Chaldee et la Susiane, Paris, 1887.
There is nothing to connect the building on the banks of the Shaour with the tomb of Daniel save the Mussulman
tradition. There are many legends connected with the reputed sepulchre, one of which is to the effect that the men
of Susa diverted the river in order to bury Daniel's coffin in its bed. See Guy Le Strange, p. 240.
E. N. Adler, in his recent work Jews in many Lands, Jewish Historical Society of England, p. 224, in describing
Samarkand, writes as follows: "Tradition has it that Tamerlane had seen the tomb at Susa in Persia, with a
warning inscribed thereon, that none should open its door; and so he broke it open from behind, and found it
written that Nebi Daniel was there buried. The impetuous conqueror had the sarcophagus removed with all
reverence, and carried it with him to his own capital to be its palladium. The sarcophagus is over twenty yards
long as beseems a prophet's stature. It has been recently covered by a brick chapel with three cupolas, but
photographs of the ancient structure can be had in Samarkand. It is grandly placed at the edge of a cliff
overhanging the rapid river Seop. The local Jews do not believe the story, nor do they quite disbelieve it, for I
went with two who prayed there at the grave of the righteous."
154 The reader will recollect that reference to this sect has already been made on page 16. See Guy Le Strange, p.
220 and p. 354.
155 Amadia (Imadiyah) is a city in Kurdistan in a mountainous district, north of Mosul. Ben Virga and R. Joseph
Hacohen, the author of Emek Habacha, state that 1,000 Jewish families lived in the city at that time. It is strange
that in all the MSS., including Asher's text, this city is called Amaria instead of Amadia. The mistake doubtless
arose from the fact that the copyists mistook the . . . for . . . . The scribe of the British Museum MS. had made
other errom of this kind, writing. . . for . . . , . . . for . . ., &c. See Guy Le Strange, p. 92.
156 The author of Emek Habacha gives the date of the Alroy tragedy as 1163. It should, however, be antedated by
a few years. Benjamin must have passed through Egypt on his return journey some time before Sept., 1171. See note
2, p. 1. He here tells us that the Alroy catastrophe took place just ten years before his visit to Bagdad and the
neighbourhood. It is clear therefore that 1160 is the latest date when this event could have taken place.
157 This Turkoman may have been the Prince of Arbela who in 1167 joined Saladin in his successful invasion of
Egypt. He was remarkable for his great strength and courage (see Bohadin's Life of Saladin; Palestine Pilgrims'
Text Society, p, 51).
158 The accounts given by Ben Virga in Sheret Jehudah, and by Joseph Hacohen in Emek Habacha, are evidently
based upon Benjamin's record, and throw no fresh light on this Messianic movement. Asher, vol. II, note 300,
promises but fails to give the contents of an Arabic document written by a contemporary, the renegade Samuel
Ibn Abbas, which the savant S. Munk had discovered in the Paris library; a German translation of this document
appears in Dr. Wiener's Emek Habacha, 1858, p. 169. The name of the pseudo-Messiah is given as Menahem,
surnamed Al-Ruhi, but Munk satisfactorily proves that he is identical with our David Alroy. Being a young man
of engaging appearance and great accomplishments, he gained considerable influence with the governor of
Amadia, and had a considerable following among the Jews of Persia. With the intention of occupying the castle,
he introduced a number of his armed adherents into the town, who were careful, however, to conceal their
weapons. The governor detected the conspiracy, and put Alroy to death. The excitement among the Jews lasted
for a considerable time. Two impostors, with letters purporting to emanate from Alroy, came to Bagdad, and
worked upon the credulity of the community. Men and women parted with their money and jewellery, having
been brought to believe that on a certain night they would be able to fly on angels' wings from the roofs of their
houses to Jerusalem. The only thing which made the women feel unhappy was the fear that their little ones might
not be able to keep pace with them in the aerial flight. At daybreak the fraud was discovered, but the impostors
had meanwhile decamped with their treasure.
The chronicler adds that the year in which this occurred was called The Year of Flight.
De Sacy, in his Chrestomathie Arabe, I, p. 363, gives a similar story, the authorship of which lie ascribes to
Schahristani.
159 Asher, vol. II, p. 167, n. 304, gives expression to a keen desire for further particulars as to this tomb. Dr. J. E.
Polak, formerly Physician to the late Shah of Persia, gives the desired information, on p. 26, in an interesting
work on Persia. He writes as follows: "The only national monument which the Jews in Persia possess is the tomb
of Esther at Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana, whither they have made pilgrimages from time immemorial. In the
centre of the Jewish quarter there is to be seen a low building with a cupola, on the top of which a stork has built
its nest. The entrance is walled up for the greater part; there only remains below a small aperture which can be
closed by a movable flat stone serving the purpose of a door and affording some protection from attacks, which
are not uncommon. In the entrance hall, which has but a low ceiling, are recorded the names of pilgrims; also the
year when the building was restored. Thence one gains access into a small four-cornered chamber in which there
are two high sarcophagi made of oak, which are the monuments of Esther and Mordecai. On both of them are
inscribed in Hebrew the words of the last chapter of the Book of Esther, as well as the names of three Physicians
at whose expense the tomb was repaired." Dr. Polak states that in the Middle Ages the Jewish population of
Persia was very large, especially in the southern provinces. In recent years it has greatly diminished in
consequence of dire persecution. He was assured that not more than 2,000 Jewish families remained in the
country. Eighty years ago the entire community at Meshed were forcibly converted to Islam. Cf. E. N. Adler,
Jews in Many Lands, p. 214.
160 Referring to Benjamin's statement that Mordecai and Esther are buried at Hamadan, an interesting article by Mr.
Israel Abrahams upon the subject, with an illustration of the traditional tomb, as well as a picture of ancient Susa,
will be found in the Jewish Chronicle of March 19, 1897. In the issue of March 4, 1898, Mr. Morris Cohen, of
Bagdad, furnished a full copy of the inscriptions in the Mausoleum, but they possess no historical value. The reputed
Prayer of Esther seen there by former travellers is no longer extant.
The statement of R. Jehiel Heilprin, in the Seder Hadoroth, that Mordecai and Esther are buried at Shomron is
devoid of foundation, and may have arisen through reading here . . . for . . . . For information derived from the
works of mediaeval Arab writers respecting Persia and the adjacent countries the reader should consult Mr. Guy
Le Strange's book, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate. The maps will be found most useful.
161 The British Museum version omits this passage. An inspection of the map will show that Tabaristan lies a long
distance to the north of the trade route which leads from Hamadan to Ispahan.
162 The great extent of Ispahan is accounted for by the fact that it consisted of two towns; the one called Jay,
measured half a league across; the other, Al Yahudiyah, the "Jew Town" two miles to the westward, was double
the size of Jay. Mukadassi states that the city had been originally founded by the Jews in the time of
Nebuchadnezzar, because its climate resembled that of Jerusalem. Le Strange, p. 203.
163 Lord Curzon, in his work on Persia, devotes chap. xix in vol. II to a description of the City of Ispahan, and of
his journey there. Chap. xx contains an account of his journey from Ispahan to Shiraz. The distance between the
two cities is 81 parasangs, equivalent to 312 miles. It will be seen that here, as well as in the cases of Ghaznah,
Samarkand, and Tibet, Benjamin altogether under-estimates the true distances.
164 Asher, following the printed editions, quotes the Jewish population of this place as 8,ooo, and assumes, without
any justification, that Khiva is here referred to. He also substitutes Oxus for Gozan. In the Middle Ages the Oxus
was known under the name of Jayhun or Gilion (Gen. ii.13). The name of the city according to our text is Ghaznah,
which eight hundred years ago was the capital of Afghanistan. Ibn Batuta says it was ten stages from Kandahar on
the way to Herat. Le Strange (P. 348) writes as follows: "Ghaznah became famous in history at the beginning of the
eleventh century as the capital of the great Mahmud of Ghaznah, who at one time was master both of India on the
east and Bagdad on the west." Istakhri says: "No city of this countryside was richer in merchants and merchandise,
for it was as the port of India." The river Gozan, on which we are told Ghaznah lies, must appear to the reader to
be ubiquitous. On p. 33 we find the Habor of Kurdistan is its affluent; on p. 55 it is at Dabaristan; on p. 59 in
Khorasan. There is a simple solution of the difficulty. In each of the localities Benjamin was told that the river was
called Gozan; for in the Mongolian language "Usun" is the name for water or river. Thus "Kisil-Usun" means "Red
River." The addition of a "g" before a "u" or "w" is quite a common feature in language; it occurs, for instance, in
the Romance and Keltic languages.
165 The British Museum text has: "And he put them in Halah and in Habor and the mountains of Gozan and the
mountains of the Medes." Having regard to the passages 2 Kings xix.12 and Isaiah xxxvii.12, Noldeke maintains that
there was a tract of land watered by the river Gozan, known as Gozanitis, which Scripture refers to. See J. Q. R.,
vol. I, p. 186.
Naisabur is a city near Meshed, and close to high mountains which are a continuation of the Elburz mountain range.
We draw attention to the cautious manner in which Benjamin speaks here and elsewhere when alluding to the
whereabouts of any of the ten tribes. The tradition is widespread that independent Jewish tribes were to be found
in Khorasan until recent times. Mr. E. N. Adler was told that in an Armenian monastery near Kutais, ancient
records are preserved which conclusively prove that the Jews, were paramount in certain districts three or four
centuries ago; Jews in many Lands, p. 178. Cf. Wo waren die zehn Stamme Israels zu suchen? Dr. M. Lewin,
Frankfort, 1901.
166 It should he remembered that Cush in ancient Jewish literature does not always signify Ethiopia, but also
denotes parts of Arabia, especially those nearest to Abyssinia. The name Cush is also applied to countries east of
the Tigris, see p. 63.
167 Rayy is the ancient city of Rages, spoken of in the Book of Tobit i.14. The ruins are in the neighbourhood of
Teheran.
168 The incidents here related are fully gone into by Dr. Neubauer in the third of his valuable articles "Where are the
ten tribes?" (J. Q. R.., vol. I, p. 185). There can be little doubt that the Kofar-al-Turak, a people belonging to the
Tartar stock, are identical with the so-called subjects of Prester John, of whom so much was heard in the Middle
Ages. They defeated Sinjar in the year 1141; this was, however, more than fifteen years prior to Benjamin's visit. To
judge from the above passage, where the allies of the Jews are described as "infidels, the sons of Ghuz of the
Kofar-al-Turak," Benjamin seems to confound the Ghuzes with the Tartar hordes. Now the Ghuzes belonged to the
Seldjuk clans who had become Mohammedans more than 100 years before, and, as such, Benjamin would never have
styled them infidels. These Ghuzes waged war with Sinjar in 1153, when he was signally defeated, and eventually
made prisoner. It is to this battle that Benjamin must have made reference, when he writes that it took place fifteen
years ago. See Dr. A. Miller's Islam, also Dr. G. Oppert's Presbyter Johannes in Sage and Geschichte, 1864.
169 It will be noted that Benjamin uses here the terms , , evidently implying that he himself did not go to sea.
In the Middle Ages the island of Kish or Kis was an important station on the trade route from India to
Europe. Le Strange writes, p. 257, that in the course of the twelfth century it became the trade centre of the
Persian Gulf. A great walled city was built in the island, where water-tanks had been constructed, and on the
neighbouring seabanks was the famous pearl-fishery. Ships from India and Arabia crowded the port. Kish was
afterwards supplanted by Ormuz and Bandar-Abbas; England held possession of the island from 1820 to 1879,
and it has recently been visited officially by Lord Curzon. For a description of the island see The Times, Jan. 18,
1904.
170 Katifa or El-Katif lies on the Persian Gulf, on the East coast of Arabia, near Bahrein. Bochart is of opinion that
this part of Arabia is the land of Havilah, where, according to Gen. ii.11 and 12, there is gold, bdellium, and the
onyx stone. Jewish authorities are divided in opinion as to whether is a jewel, or the fragrant gum exuded by a
species of balsam-tree. Benjamin follows Saadia Gaon, who in his Arabic translation of the Bible renders it . . . ,
the very word used by our author here for pearls. Masudi is one of the earliest Arabic writers who gives us a
description of the pearl-fisheries in the Persian Gulf, and it very much accords with Benjamin's account. See
Sprenger's translation of Masudi s Meadows of Gold, p. 344. At the present time more than 5,000 boats are
engaged in this industry along this coast, and it yields an annual income of £1,000,000. See P. M. Sykes, Ten
Thousand Miles in Persia, 1902.
171 Khulam, now called Quilon, was a much frequented seaport in the early Middle Ages where Chinese shippers met
the Arab traders. It afterwards declined in importance, being supplanted by Calicut, Goa, and eventually by Bombay.
It was situated at the southern end of the coast of Malabar. Renaudot in a translation of De Travels of Two
Mohammedan Traders, who wrote as far back as 851 and 915 respectively, has given us some account of this place;
Ibn Batuta and Marco Polo give us interesting details. Ritter, in the fifth volume of his Geography, dilates on the
cultivation of the pepper-plant, which is of indigenous growth. In Benjamin's time it was thought that white pepper
was a distinct species, but Ritter explains that it was prepared from the black pepper, which, after lying from eight
to ten days in running water, would admit of being stripped of its black outer covering. Ritter devotes a chapter to
the fire-worship of the Guebers, who, as Parsees, form an important element at the present day in the population of
the Bombay Presidency. Another chapter is devoted to the Jewish settlement to which Benjamin refers. See Die
judischen Colonien in Indien, Dr. Gustav Oppert; also Semitic Studies (Berlin, 1890, pp. 396-419.
Under the heading "Cochin," the Jewish Encyclopaedia gives an account of the White and Black Jews of
Malabar. By way of supplementing the Article, it maybe well to refer to a MS., No. 4238 of the Morzbacher
Library formerly at Munich. It is a document drawn up in reply to eleven questions addressed by Tobias Boas
on the 12 Ellul 5527 (= 1767) to R. Jeches Kel Rachbi of Malabar. From this MS. it appears that 10,000 exiled
Jews reached Malabar A. C. 68 (i. e. about the time of the destruction of the Second Temple) and settled at
Cranganor, Dschalor, Madri and Plota. An extract of this MS. is given in Winter and Wiinsche's Judische
Literatur, vol III, p. 459. Cf. article on the Boni-Israel of India by Samuel B. Samuel, The Jewish Literary
Annual, 1905.
172 The British Museum text has Ibrig, and the Casanatense has Ibriag; neither can be identified. The printed
editions have . . . the islands of Candig, which Asher thinks may be taken to refer to Ceylon, having regard to the
name of the capital, Kandy. It was not the capital in Benjamin's time. The difficulty still remains that it does not
take twenty-three days, but about four days, to reach Ceylon from Quilon. Renaudot states that in the tenth
century a multitude of Jews resided in the island, and that they took part in the municipal government as well as
other sects, as the King granted the utmost religious liberty. See Pinkerton's Travels, vol. VII, p. 217. A full
description is also given of the ceremonial when any notability proceeds to immolate himself by committing
himself to the flames.
173 Benjamin's statements as to India and China are of course very vague, but we must remember he was the first
European who as much as mentions China. Having regard to the full descriptions of other countries of the old
World by Arabic writers of the Middle Ages, and to the fact that the trade route then was principally by sea on
the route indicated by Benjamin, it is surprising that we have comparatively little information about India and
China from Arabic sources. In none of their records is the Sea of Nikpa named, and it is not improbable that
Benjamin coined this name himself from the root . . . which occurs in the Bible four times; in the Song of Moses . . .
(Exod. xv. 8): "The depths were curdled in the heart of the sea" (not "congealed" as the Version has it), Job x.
10: . . . "curdled me like cheese"; and in Zeph. i.12 and Zech. xiv. 6. The term "the curdling sea" would be very
expressive of the tempestuous nature of the China Sea and of some of its straits at certain seasons of the year.
174 Marco Polo has much to say about the bird "gryphon" when speaking of the sea-currents which drive ships from
Malabar to Madagascar. He says, vol. II, book III, chap. 33: "It is for all the world like an eagle, but one indeed of
enormous size. It is so strong that it will seize an elephant in its talons and carry him high into the air and drop him
so that he is smashed to pieces; having so killed him, the gryphon swoops down on him and eats him at leisure. The
people of those isles call the bird "Rukh." Yule has an interesting note (vol. II, p. 348) showing how old and
widespread the fable of the Rukh was, and is of opinion that the reason that the legend was localized in the direction
of Madagascar was perhaps that some remains of the great fossil Aepyornis and its colossal eggs were found in that
island. Professor Sayce states that the Rukh figures much--not only in Chinese folk-lore--but also in the old
Babylonian literature. The bird is of course familiar to readers of The Arabian Nights.
175 Neither Al-Gingaleh nor Chulan can be satisfactorily identified. Benjamin has already made it clear that to get
from India to China takes sixty-three days, that is to say twenty-three days from Khulam to Ibrig, and thence
forty days to the sea of Nikpa. The return journey, not merely to India but to Zebid, which Abulfeda and
Alberuni call the principal port of Yemen, seems to take but thirty-four days. With regard to Aden, the port long
in England's possession, and the so-called first outpost of the Indian Empire, it has already been explained (p. 50)
that this part of Arabia as well as Abyssinia on the other side of the Red Sea were considered part of Middle
India. Ibn Batuta says about Aden: "It is situated on the sea-shore and is a large city, but without either seed,
water, or tree. They have reservoirs in which they collect the rain for drinking. Some rich merchants reside here,
and vessels from India occasionally arrive." A Jewish community has been there from time immemorial. The men
until recent times used to go about all day in their Tephillin. Jacob Saphir devotes vol. II, chaps. i-x of his Eben
Saphir, to a full account of the Jews of Aden.
176 We must take Benjamin's statements here to mean that the independent Jews who lived in the mountainous
country in the rear of Aden crossed the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb and made war against the inhabitants of the
Plains of Abyssinia. J. Lelewel, in a series of letters addressed to E. Carmoly, entitled Examen geographique des
Voyages de Benjamin de Tudele (Bruxelles, 1852), takes great pains to locate the land of Hommatum , in lieu
of which our text reads , the land of the Plains; but he quite fails in this and in many other attempts at
identification. The Jews coming from Aden had to encounter the forces of the Christian sovereign of Abysinia,
and sought safety in the mountainous regions of that country. Here they were heard of later under the name of
Falasha Jews. Cf. Marco Polo, vol. III, chap. xxxv. The reader is referred to Colonel Yule's valuable notes to this
chapter. He quotes Bruce's Abstract of Abyssinian Chronicles with regard to a Jewish dynasty which superseded
the royal line in the tenth century. See also Dr. Charles Singer's interesting communication in J. Q. R., XVII, p.
142, and J. Halevy's Travels in Abyssinia (Miscellany of Hebrew Literature : 2nd Series, p. 175).
177 Assuan, according to Makrizi, was a most flourishing town prior to 1403, when more than 20,000 of its
inhabitants perished. Seba cannot be identified. No doubt our author alludes to Seba, a name repeatedly coupled
in Scripture with Egypt, Cush and and Havilah.
178 Heluan is the present Helwan, fourteen miles from Cairo, which was greatly appreciated by the early Caliphs
for its thermal sulphur springs. Stanley Lane Poole, in The Story of Cairo, p. 61, tells us of its edifices, and adds:
"It is curious to consider how nearly this modern health-resort became the capital of Egypt." Heluan is situated
on the right bank of the Nile. One would have thought that the caravans proceeding to the interior of Africa
through the Sahara Desert would have started from the left bank of the Nile; but we must remember that ancient.
Memphis, which stood on the left bank and faced Heluan, had been abandoned long before Benjamin's time.
Edrisi and Abulfeda confirm Benjamin's statement respecting Zawila or Zaouyla, which was the capital of Gana--the modern Fezzan--a large oasis in the Sahara Desert, south of Tripoli.
179 This sentence is out of place, and should follow the sentence in the preceding paragraph which speaks of the
Sultan Al-Habash.
180 Kutz, the present Kus, is halfway between Keneh and Luxor. The old town, now entirely vanished, was second
in size to Fostat, and was the chief centre of the Arabian trade. The distance of Kus from Fayum is about 300
miles. The letter . . . denotes 300, not 3.
181 In the Middle Ages the Fayum was wrongly called Pithom. E. Naville has identified the ruins of Tell-el-Maskhuta
near Ismailieh with Pithom, the treasure city mentioned in Exodus i.11. Among the buildings, grain-stores have been
discovered in the form of deep rectangular chambers without doors, into which the corn was poured from above.
These are supposed to date from the time of Rameses II. See TheStore City of Pithom and the Route of the Exodus:
A Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund. E. Naville, 1885. The Fayum, or Marsh-district, owes its extraordinary
fertility to the Bahr Yussuf (Joseph's Canal).
The Arab story is that when Joseph was getting old the courtiers tried to bring about his disgrace by inducing
Pharaoh to set him what appeared to be an impossible task, viz. to double the revenues of the province within a
few years. Joseph accomplished the task by artificially adapting a natural branch of the Nile so as to give the
district the benefit of the yearly overflow. The canal thus formed, which is 207 miles in length, was called after
Joseph. The storehouses of Joseph are repeatedly mentioned by Arabic writers. Cf. Koran xii. 55, Jacut, IV, 933
and Makrizi, I, 241.
182 Mr. Israel Abrahams, in J. Q. R., XVII, 427 sqq., and Mr. E. J. Worman, vol. XVIII, 1, give us very interesting
information respecting Fostat and Cairo, as derived from Geniza documents, but to comprehend fully Benjamin's
account, we must remember that at the time of his visit the metropolis was passing through a crisis. Since March,
1169, Saladin had virtually become the ruler of Egypt, although nominally he acted as Vizier to the Caliph El-Adid,
who was the last of the Fatimite line, and who died Sept. 13, 1171, three days after his deposition. The student is
referred to the biography of Saladin by Mr. Stanley Lane Poole, 1878. Chap. viii gives a full account of Cairo as at
1170 and is accompanied by a map. The well-known citadel of Cairo, standing on the spurs of the Mukattam Hills,
was erected by Saladin seen years later. The Cairo of 1170, which was styled El Medina, and was called by Benjamin . . . , was founded in 969, and consisted of an immense palace for the Caliph and his large household. It was
surrounded by quarters for a large army, and edifices for the ministers and government offices. The whole was
protected by massive walls and imposing Norman-like gates. The civil population--more particularly the Jews--dwelt
in the old Kasr-esh-Shama quarter round the so-called Castle of Babylon, also in the city of Fostat, founded in 641,
and in the El-Askar quarter, which was built in 751. These suburbs went under the name of Misr or Masr, but are
called by Benjamin "Mizraim." Fostat was set on fire on Nov. 12, 1168, by the order of the Vizier Shawar, in order
that it might not give shelter to the Franks who had invaded Egypt, but was soon rebuilt in part. It now goes under
the name Masr-el-Atika, and is noted at the present day for its immense rubbish heaps. See Stanley Lane Poole's
Cairo, p. 34.
183 Cf. two elaborate papers by Dr. A. Bilchler, "The Reading of the Law and Prophets in a Triennial Cycle," J. Q
R., V, 420, VI, i, and E. N. Adler, ib. VIlI, 529. For details as to synagogues, see J. Q. R., XVIII, 1; Letter I of R.
Obadja da Bertinoro; Miscellany of Hebrew Literature, p. 133; Joseph Sambari's Chronicle in Dr. Neubauer's
Anecdota Oxoniensia, p. 118. Sambari must have had Benjamin's Itinerary before him, as has been pointed out by
Mr. I. Abrahams, J. Q. R., II, 107.
184 Zunz was the first to put forward the supposition that R. Nethanel is identical with Hibet Allah ibu al Jami,
who later on became Saladin's physician (Asher, vol. II, p. 253). Graetz, vol. VI, p. 307, inclines to the same
view. Dr. Steinschneider, Die arabische Literatur der Juden, 1902, p. 178, confirms this opinion, and gives a
detailed account of Hibet Allah's medical and philosophical works. Dr. Neubauer, in an article, J. Q. R., VIII,
541, draws attention to a Geniza fragment which contains a marriage contract dated 1160, wherein R. Nethanel
is called a Levite. Benjamin does not style him so here. The same article contains the so-called Suttah Megillah,
on which Professor Kaufmann comments, J. Q. R., X, p. 171. It would appear that R. Nethanel never attained
the dignity of Nagid. During Benjamin's visit to Egypt Sutta, in his capacity of Chief Collector of Taxes, filled
nominally that office. Later on, after Sutta's fall, the dignity of Nagid was offered to Moses Maimonides, but was
not accepted by him.
185 This term (which is not given in the printed editions) means that the people were followers of Ali, the
son-in-law of Mohammed, founder of the Shiite sect.
186 This same Nilometer is readily shown to the visitor at the south end of the Island of Roda, which is accessible by
means of a ferry-boat from the Kasr-esh Shama, not far from the Kenisat Eliyahu, where the Geniza manuscripts were
found. See E. N. Adler's Jews in Many Lands, p. 28, also J. Q. R., X, 669. The Nilometer is in a square well 16 feet
in diameter, having in the centre a graduated octagonal column with Cufic inscriptions, and is 17 cubits in height,
the cubit being 21 1/3 inches. The water of the Nile, when at its lowest, covers 7 cubits of the Nilometer, and when
it reaches a height of 15 2/3 cubits the Sheikh of the Nile proclaims the Wefa, i. e., that the height of the water
necessary for irrigating every part of the Nile valley has been attained. The signal is then given for the cutting of the
embankment. We know that the column of the Nilometer has been frequently repaired, which fact explains the
apparent discrepancy between the height of the gauge as given in Benjamin's narrative and the figures just mentioned.
187 It has only been established quite recently that the periodical inundations of the Nile are not caused by the
increased outflow from the lakes in Central Africa, inasmuch as this outflow is quite lost in the marshy land south
of Fashoda. Moreover, the river is absolutely blocked by the accumulation of the Papyrus weed, known as Sudd, the
of Scripture, Exod. ii. 3-5. The inundations are brought about purely by the excessive rains in the highlands of
Abyssinia, which cause the flooding of the Blue Nile and the Atbara in June and July and of the lower Nile in August
and September.
188 In a Geniza fragment C quoted by Dr. Neubauer in J. Q. B., IX, p. 36, this city is called . . . . Probably the first
two letters denote that it is an island. Compare the passage in Schechter's Saadyana, pp. 90,91 . . . .
189 Ashmun is described by Abulfeda as a large city. We read in a Geniza fragment that David ben Daniel, a
descendant of the Exilarch, passed through this place on the way to Fostat, J. Q. R., XV, 87. The fourth channel
is the Tanitic branch. See p. 78, n. 2.
190 See Koran xii. 55. Sambari, who being a native of Egypt knew Cairo well, explains very fully, p. 119, that
Masr-el-Atika is not here referred to, but ancient Memphis, the seat of royalty in Joseph's time. He explains that it
was situated on the left side of the Nile, two parasangs distant from Cairo. See Reinaud's Abulfeda, vol. II, p. 140.
191 See Makrizi, vol. II, 464, and J. Q. R.., XV, p. 75 ; also XIX, 502.
192 E. Naville in his Essay on the Land of Goshen, being the fifth Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 1887,
comes to the conclusion that the land of Goshen comprised the triangle formed by Bilbais, Zakazig, and Tel-el-Kebir. He is of opinion that the land of Ramses included the land of Goshen, and is that part of the Delta which
lies to the eastward of the Tanitic branch of the Nile. The capital of the province--the Egyptian nome of Arabia--was the Phakusa of the Greeks. A small railway station is now on the spot, which bears the name Ramses. Cf.
Gen. xlvii.11.
193 Ain-al-Shams was situated three parasangs from Fostat, according to Jacut (III, 762), who records that in his
day the place showed many traces of buildings from Pharaoh's time. Benha is now a somewhat important railway
station about thirty miles north of Cairo. Muneh Sifte is a station on the Damietta arm of the Nile.
194 Samnu is perhaps Samnat, Dukmak, V, 20. On Damira see Schechter, Saadyana, p. 82; Worman, J. Q. R.,
XVIII, 10. The zoologist Damiri was born here. Lammanah in the other versions is Mahallat or
Mehallet-el-Kebir, mentioned by Abulfeda as a large city with many monuments, and is now a railway station
between Tantai and Mansura. Sambari (119, 10) mentions a synagogue there, to which Jews even now make
pilgrimages (Goldziher, Z. D. P. G., vol. XXVIII, p. 153).
195 In the Middle Ages certain biblical names were without valid reason applied to noted places. No-Ammon
mentioned in Scripture (Jer. xlvi. 25 and Nahum iii. 8), also in cuneiform inscriptions, was doubtless ancient Thebes.
See Robinson, Biblical Researches, vol. I, p. 542. Another notable example is the application of the name of Zoan
to Cairo. Ancient Tanis (p. 78) was probably Zoan, and we are told (Num. xiii.22 that Zoan was built seven years
after Hebron. It can be traced as far back as the sixth dynasty--over 2,000 years before Cairo was founded.
196 Josephus, who had the opportunity of seeing the Pharos before it was destroyed, must likewise have
exaggerated when he said that the lighthouse threw its rays a distance of 300 stadia. Strabo describes the
Pharos of Alexandria, which was considered one of the wonders of the world. As the coast was low and there
were no landmarks, it proved of great service to the city. It was built of white marble, and on the top there
blazed a huge beacon of logs saturated with pitch. Abulfeda alludes to the large mirror which enabled the
lighthouse keepers to detect from a great distance the approach of the enemy. He further mentions that the
trick by which the mirror was destroyed took place in the first century of Islamism, under the Caliph Valyd, the
son of Abd-almalek.
197 It will be seen that the list of names given in our text is much more complete than that given by Asher, who
enumerates but twenty-eight Christian states in lieu of forty given in the British Museum MS. In some cases the
readings of R and 0, which appear to have been written by careful scribes, and are of an older date than E and the
printed editions, have been adopted. In our text, through the ignorance of the scribe, who had no gazetteer or map
to turn to, some palpable errors have crept in. For instance, in naming Amalfi, already mentioned on p. 9, the error
in spelling it . . . has been repeated. Patzinakia (referred to on p. 12, as trading with Constantinople) is there spelt . . .
not . . . . . . . may be read . . .; I have rendered it Hainault in accordance with Deguigne's Memoir, referred to by Asher.
Maurienne (mentioned p. 79) embraced Savoy and the Maritime Alps. It was named after the Moors who settled
there.
198 Simasin or Timasin is doubtless near Lake Timsah. Sunbat is spoken of by Arabic writers as noted for its linen
manufactures and trade.
199 Elim has been identified with Wadi Gharandel. It is reached in two hours from the bitter spring in the Wadi
Hawara, believed to be the Marah of the Bible. Burckhardt conjectures that the juice of the berry of the gharkad,
a shrub growing in the neighbourhood, may have the property, like the juice of the pomegranate, of improving
brackish water; see p. 475, Baedecker's Egypt, 1879 edition. Professor Lepsius was responsible for the chapter
on the Sinai routes.
200 A journey of two days would bring the traveller to the luxuriant oasis of Firan, which ancient tradition and
modern explorers agree in identifying as Rephidim. From Firan it is held, by Professor Sayce and others, that the
main body of the Israelites with their flocks and herds probably passed the Wadi esh-Shekh, while Moses and the
elders went by Wadi Selaf and Nakb el-Hawa. The final camping-ground, at which took place the giving of the
Law, is supposed to be the Raba plain at the foot of the peak of Jebel Musa. It may be mentioned that some
explorers are of opinion that Mount Serbal was the mountain of revelation. There are authorities who maintain
that Horeb was the name of the whole mountain range, Sinai being the individual mountain; others think that
Horeb designated the northern range and Sinai the southern range. See Dr. Robinson's Biblical Researches, vol.
I, section iii; also articles Sinai in Cheyne's Encyclopaedia Biblica and Dean Stanley's Sinai and Palestine.
201 The monastery of St. Catherine was erected 2,000 feet below the summit of Jebel Musa. It was founded by
Justinian to give shelter to the numerous Syrian hermits who inhabited the peninsula. The monastery was
presided over by an Archbishop.
202 The passage in square brackets is inserted from the Oxford MS. The city of Tur, which Benjamin calls
Tur-Sinai, is situated on the eastern side of the Gulf of Suez, and affords good anchorage, the harbour being
protected by coral reefs. It can be reached from the monastery in little more than a day. The small mountain
referred to by Benjamin is the Jebel Hammam Sidna Musa, the mountain of the bath of our lord Moses.
203 Tanis, now called San, was probably the Zoan of Scripture, but in the Middle Ages it was held to be Hanes,
mentioned in Isa. xxx. 4. It was situated on the eastern bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile, about thirty miles
south-west of the ancient Pelusium. The excavations which have been made by M. Mariette and Mr. Flinders
Petrie prove that it was one of the largest and most important cities of the Delta. It forms the subject of the
Second Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 1885. The place must not be confounded with the seaport town
Tennis, as has been done by Asher. In the sixth century the waters of the Lake Menzaleh invaded a large portion
of the fertile Tanis territory. Hence Benjamin calls it an island in the midst of the sea. In a Geniza document dated
1106, quoted by Dr. Schechter, Saadyana, p. 91, occurs the Passage "In the city of the isle Hanes, which is in
the midst of the sea and of the tongue of the river of Egypt called Nile."
204 The straits of Messina were named Faro. Lipar has reference, no doubt, to the Liparian Islands, which are in
the neighbourhood.
205 Cf. Bertinoro's interesting description of the synagogue at Palermo, which he said had not its equal,
Miscellany of Hebrew Literature, vol.1, p. 114.
206 Hacina is the Arabic for a fortified or enclosed place.
207 Buheira is the Arabic word for a lake. The unrivalled hunting grounds of William II are well worth visiting,
being situated between the little town called Parco and the magnificent cathedral of Monreale, which the king
erected later on.
208 King William II, surnamed "the Good," was sixteen years old when Benjamin visited Sicily in 1170. During the
king's minority the Archbishop was the vice-regent. He was expelled in 1169 on account of his unpopularity.
Asher asserts that Benjamin's visit must have taken place prior to this date, because he reads . . . This is the domain of
the viceroy. The Oxford MS. agrees with our text and reads . . . This is the domain of the king's garden.
Chroniclers tell that when the young king was freed from the control of the viceroy he gave himself up to
pleasure and dissipation. Asher is clearly wrong, because a mere boy could not have indulged in those frolics.
The point is of importance, as it absolutely fixes the date of Benjamin's visit to the island. It was in the year 1177
that William married the daughter of our English king, Henry II.
209 Edribi, who wrote his Geography in Sicily in 1154 at the request of King Roger II, calls the island a pearl, and
cannot find words sufficient in praise of its climate, beauty, and fertility. He is especially enthusiastic concerning
Palermo. Petralia is described by him as being a fortified place, and an excellent place of refuge, the surrounding
country being under a high state of cultivation and very productive. Asher has no justification for reading Pantaleoni
instead of Petralia.
210 The passage in square brackets is to be found in most of the printed editions, as well as in the Epstein (E) MS.,
which is so much akin to them, and is comparatively modern. The style will at once show that the passage is a
late interpolation, and the genuine MSS. now forthcoming omit it altogether.
211 See Aronius, Regester, p. 131. This writer, as a matter of course, had only the printed editions before him. His
supposition that . . . is Mayence is more than doubtful, but his and Lelewel's identification of . . . with Mantern
and . . . with Freising has been accepted. Aronius casts doubts as to whether Benjamin actually visited Germany,
in the face of his loose statements as to its rivers. It will now be seen that he is remarkably correct in this respect.
212 The Jews of Prague are often spoken of in contemporary records. Rabbi Pethachia started on his travels from
Ratisbon, passing through Prague on his way to Poland and Kief.
213 Benjamin does not tell us whether Jews resided in Kieff: Mr. A. Epstein has obligingly furnished the following
references: In . . ., Graetz, Monatsschrift, 39, 5 11, we read: . . . . In . . . , Monatsschrift, 40, 134, . . . . This Rabbi
Moses is also mentioned in Resp. of R. Meir of Rothenburg, ed. Berlin, p. 64. Later records give the name . . . .
214 The vair (vaiverge or wieworka in Polish) is a species of marten, often referred to in mediaeval works.
Menu-vair is the well-known fur miniver.
215 Lelewel, having the reading before him, thought Sedan was here designated. H. Gross suspected that the
city of Auxerre, situated on the borders of the province of the Isle de France, the old patrimony of the French
kings, must have been intended, and the reading of our text proves him to be right. The Roman name
Antiossiodorum became converted into Alciodorum, then Alcore, and finally into Auxerre. The place is often
cited in our mediaeval literature, as it was a noted seat of learning. The great men of Auxerre joined the
Synod convened by Rashbam and Rabenu Tam. See Gallia Judaica, p. 60, also Graetz, vol. VI, 395 (10).
Source. THE ITINERARY OF BENJAMIN OF TUDELA CRITICAL TEXT, TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARYby MARCUS NATHAN ADLER. FIRST EDITION: LONDON 1907 .
An earlier edition is online THE ITINERARY OF RABBI BENJAMIN OF TUDELA. Translated and edited by Adolf Asher. Vol.I.
TEXT, BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND TRANSLATION. New York:Hakesheth, 1900. The full volume also contains the Hebrew text and is online at Internet Archive http://www.archive.org/details/itineraryofrabb01benj. Volume II: Notes and Essays is also online at https://archive.org/details/itineraryofrabb02benj/page/n5
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