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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela
+by Benjamin of Tudela
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela
+
+Author: Benjamin of Tudela
+
+Release Date: February 8, 2005 [EBook #14981]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ITINERARY OF BENJAMIN OF TUDELA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Ted Garvin and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  THE ITINERARY
+        OF
+  BENJAMIN OF TUDELA
+
+
+
+
+
+  CRITICAL TEXT, TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY
+                    BY
+          MARCUS NATHAN ADLER, M.A.
+
+
+
+
+  PHILIPP FELDHEIM, INC
+  THE HOUSE OF THE JEWISH BOOK
+  NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+  FIRST EDITION: LONDON 1907
+
+  _published by_
+  PHILIPP FELDHEIM, Inc.
+  96 East Broadway
+  New York, N.Y.10002
+
+
+
+  PRINTED IN JERUSALEM ISRAEL BY S. MONSON
+
+
+
+
+  DEDICATED
+  TO THE MEMORY OF
+  MORITZ STEINSCHNEIDER
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+  Map showing Benjamin's route ... to face title page
+
+  INTRODUCTION
+
+  I. Islam in the Middle Ages
+
+  II. The Object of Benjamin's Journey
+
+  III. Bibliography ... xiii
+
+  THE ITINERARY
+
+  Translation of Hebrew Introduction
+
+  _EUROPE_.
+
+  Saragossa, Barcelona, Narbonne
+
+  Beziers, Montpellier, Lunel
+
+  Posquières, Bourg de St. Gilles, Arles, Marseilles
+
+  Genoa, Pisa, Lucca
+
+  Rome.
+
+  Naples, Sorrento, Salerno
+
+  Amalfi, Benevento, Melfi, Ascoli, Trani, Taranto, Brindisi
+
+  Corfu, Arta, Patras, Lepanto, Crissa, Corinth, Thebes
+
+  Wallachia, Armylo, Vissena, Salonica, Abydos.
+
+  Constantinople
+
+  Rhaedestus, Gallipoli, Chios, Samos, Rhodes
+
+  _ASIA_.
+
+  Cyprus, Curicus, Malmistras, Antioch
+
+  Antioch, Ladikiya, Gebela, the Hashishim
+
+  Kadmus, Tarabulus (Tripolis), Gubail (Byblus)
+
+  Beirut, Sidon, the Druses, Tyre
+
+  Acre, Haifa, Carmel.
+
+  Caesarea, Ludd, Samaria, Nablous.
+
+  The Samaritans
+
+  Jerusalem
+
+  Bethlehem, Hebron
+
+  Beit Jibrin, Shiloh, Ramah
+
+  Gibeah, Nob, Ramleh, Jaffa
+
+  Askelon, Jezreel, Sepphoris, Tiberias
+
+  Meron, Kedesh Naphtali, Banias
+
+  Damascus
+
+  Galid, Salchah
+
+  Baalbec, Tadmor, Emesa, Hatnath
+
+  Sheizar, Aleppo, Kalat Jabar, Rakka
+
+  Harr[=a]n, Ras-el-Ain, Geziret Ibn Omar
+
+  Mosul
+
+  Rahbah, Karkisiya, El-Anbar
+
+  Hadara, Okbara
+
+  Bagdad
+
+  Gazigan, Babylon
+
+  Hillah, Tower of Babel, Kaphri
+
+  Sepulchre of Ezekiel
+
+  Kotsonath, Kefar Al-Keram, Kufa, Sura
+
+  Shafjathib, El-Anbar, Hillah
+
+  Kheibar, Teima, Tilmas and Tanai in Arabia
+
+  Basra, Khuzistan, Shushan
+
+  Sepulchre of Daniel
+
+  Rudbar, Nihawand, Mulahid
+
+  Amadia, History of David Alroy
+
+  Hamadan, Tabaristan
+
+  Ispahan, Shiraz, Ghaznah
+
+  Samarkand, Tibet, Naisabur
+
+  Expedition of Sinjar against the Ghuz
+
+  Khuzistan, Island of Kish
+
+  Katifa, Khulam (Quilon), India
+
+  Ibrig
+
+  China, Sea of Nikpa
+
+  Al-Gingaleh, Zebid, Aden
+
+  _AFRICA_.
+
+  Abyssinia and Nubia, Egypt
+
+  Gana, Desert of Sahara, Fayum, Heluan
+
+  Cairo
+
+  Alexandria
+
+  Damietta, Sunbat, Mount Sinai, Tur Sinai, Tanis
+
+  _EUROPE_.
+
+  Island of Sicily, Messina, Palermo, Italy
+
+  Germany
+
+  Bohemia, Slavonia
+
+  Russia, France, Paris
+
+  ENGLISH INDEX
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  HEBREW TEXT, with prefatory note ....... [Hebrew]
+      List of emendations of Text ........ [Hebrew]
+  HEBREW INDEX ........................... [Hebrew]
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+
+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 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 Edessa, 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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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
+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 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.
+
+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.:--
+
+I. 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:--
+
+[HEBREW: Masaot R. Binyamin y''g dafim k'tivah ashkenazit k'domah
+yoter:]
+
+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 [HEBREW: ayn-nun]).
+Under my direction Dr. Grünhut, 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 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
+Ashor 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 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.
+1173)[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.
+
+[p.2]
+
+Merchants come thither from all quarters 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 Montpellier. This is a place well situated for commerce.
+
+[p.3]
+
+It is about a parasang from the sea, and men come for business there
+from all quarters, from Edom, Ishmael, the land of Algarve[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 meat[11].
+
+[p.4]
+
+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 Posquières, 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 without means he also
+pays the expenses, for he is very rich.
+
+[p.5]
+
+The munificent R. Joseph, son of Menachem, 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].
+
+[p.6]
+
+Thence it is three parasangs to the city of Arles, which has about 200
+Israelites, at their head being R. Moses, R. Tobias, 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. Isaac, 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.
+
+[p.7]
+
+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. 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 R.
+David, R. Samuel, and R. Jacob.
+
+[p.8]
+
+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. Peter's of Rome.
+The great Palace of Julius Caesar was also in Rome[22].
+
+[p.9]
+
+There are many wonderful structures in the 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 two[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.11]
+
+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].
+
+[p.12]
+
+A spring issues forth from beneath 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.
+
+[p.13]
+
+Among 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, which is the land of Pul[32], where about 200 Jews reside, at
+their head being R. Achimaaz, R. Nathan, and R. Isaac.
+
+[p.14]
+
+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.
+
+From Taranto it is a day's journey to Brindisi, which is on the sea
+coast.
+
+[p.15]
+
+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 sea[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.
+
+[p.16]
+
+In the city there are several large old 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
+sea-coast; 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 city of Constantinople.
+
+[p.17]
+
+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, but give themselves Jewish names.
+
+[p.18]
+
+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 his sons, who are scholars.
+
+[p.19]
+
+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 Domesticus, the third Dominus, and the
+fourth is Megaa Ducas, and the fifth is Oeconomus Megalus; the others
+bear names like these[41].
+
+[p.20]
+
+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.21]
+
+And 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, and a golden crown was
+suspended by a gold chain over the throne, so arranged that he might
+sit thereunder[46].
+
+[p.22]
+
+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 in
+all cloth stuffs, and in bread, meat, and wine.
+
+[p.23]
+
+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 Karaïtes, 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 there is
+allowed to ride on horseback.
+
+[p.24]
+
+The one exception is R. Solomon Hamitsri, 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 head being R.
+Elijah Kapur, R. Shabbattai Zutro, and R. Isaac Megas, which means
+"great" in Greek. And from here it is two days to Kales.
+
+[p.25]
+
+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 Karaïtes; 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].
+
+[p.26]
+
+From Cyprus it is four days' journey to Curicus (Kurch), which 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.
+
+[p.27]
+
+From here it is two days' journey to Lega, or Ladikiya, where 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-Hashishim[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
+perished[60].
+
+[p.28]
+
+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 day's journey to Saida, which is Sidon, a large city,
+with about twenty Jews.
+
+[p.29]
+
+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 Jews.
+
+[p.30]
+
+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 (S[=u]r), 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.
+
+[p.32]
+
+From here it is four parasangs to Capernaum, which is the village of
+Nahum, identical with Maon, the home of Nabal the Carmelite[68].
+
+Six parasangs from here is Caesarea, the Gath[69] 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[70], the Keilah of
+Scripture. There are no Jews here. Thence it is half a day's journey
+to St. George, which is Ludd[71], 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.
+
+[p.33]
+
+They have priests of the seed (of Aaron), and they call them Aaronim,
+who do not intermarry with Cuthim, but wed only amongst
+themselves[72]. 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[73]."
+Their alphabet lacks three letters, namely [Hebrew:] He, [Hebrew:]
+Heth, and [Hebrew:] Ain[74]. The letter [Hebrew:] He is taken from
+Abraham our father, because they have no dignity, the letter [Hebrew:]
+Heth from Isaac, because they have no kindliness, and the letter
+[Hebrew: Ain] from Jacob, because they have no humility.
+
+[p.34]
+
+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
+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[75] ..., a village where
+there are no Jews. Thence it is two parasangs to the valley of
+Ajalon[76], 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 people
+of all tongues.
+
+[p.35]
+
+It contains a dyeing-house, for which the Jews pay a small rent
+annually to the king[77], 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[78]. 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[79]. 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 burial-place of Jesus, unto which the
+Christians make pilgrimages.
+
+[p.36]
+
+Jerusalem[80] 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[81].
+Here is the pillar called Absalom's Hand, and the sepulchre of King
+Uzziah[82].
+
+[p.37]
+
+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[83]. 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[84]
+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 of marble overlaid with silver and gold.
+
+[p.39]
+
+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
+Constantini, 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."
+
+[p.40]
+
+And on the morrow they sent for the two men, 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[85]. 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.
+
+[p.41]
+
+Here there is the great church called St. Abram, and this was a Jewish
+place of worship 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 and to deposit them there to this day[86].
+
+[p.42]
+
+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[87]. 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[88].
+
+From there it is three parasangs to Mahomerie-le-petit[89], which is
+Gibeah of Saul, where there are no Jews, and this is Gibeah of
+Benjamin. Thence three parasangs to Beit Nuba[90], 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[91]. 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[92].
+
+Thence it is five parasangs to Y[=a]fa 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.
+
+[p.44]
+
+It was originally called Bene Berak. The place is four parasangs
+distant from the ancient ruined city of Askelon. New 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 Karaïtes, 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[93].
+
+From there it is a journey of a day to St. George[94] 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[95].
+Many other Jewish graves are here.
+
+[p.45]
+
+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 Hapisgah, 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, 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. Near by is the
+Synagogue of Caleb ben Jephunneh, and Jewish sepulchres. R. Johanan
+ben Zakkai and R. Jehudah Halevi[96] 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[97] 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, of Raban Simeon ben Gamaliel, and of R. Jose
+Hagelili[98].
+
+[p.46]
+
+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[99]. 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
+worshipped 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[100].
+
+[p.47]
+
+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 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[101]. 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[102].
+
+[p.48]
+
+For so it was found inscribed on 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[103]. The head of the
+Academy of the land of Israel resides here[104]. 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 Karaïtes 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[105].
+
+[p.49]
+
+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 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.[106] 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 Karjat[=e]n, which 1s 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[107]. Thence it is a day's journey to Hamah, which is
+Hamath. It lies on the river Jabbok at the foot of Mount Lebanon[108].
+
+[p.50]
+
+Some time ago there was a great earthquake in the 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[109], and from
+there it is three parasangs to Dimin (Latmin).
+
+[p.51]
+
+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 rainwater,
+each one possessing a cistern in his house[110]. 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[111], 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 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[112], 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 Harr[=a]n, where twenty
+Jews live[113]. 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[114], whence proceeds
+the river El Khabur--the Habor of old--which flows through the land of
+Media, and falls into the river Gozan[115]. Here there are 200
+Jews[116]. Thence it is two days to Geziret Ibn Omar, which is
+surrounded by the river Hiddekel (Tigris), at the foot of the
+mountains of Ararat.
+
+[p.52]
+
+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[117]. 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[118]. Mosul is the frontier town of the land of Persia.
+
+[p.53]
+
+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 extend
+forty parasangs to the city of Irbil[119]. 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[120].
+
+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. Tahor 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[121]. 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, and of R. Nathan and Rab Nachman the son of
+Papa.
+
+[p.54]
+
+Thence it takes five days to Hadara, where about 15,000 Jews dwell, at
+their head being R. Zaken, R. Jehosef and R. Nethanel[122].
+
+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[123]. 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.
+
+[p.56]
+
+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 robe from the window, and the
+pilgrims come and kiss it[124], 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[125]. Within the
+domains of the palace of the Caliph there are great buildings of
+marble and columns of silver and gold, and carvings upon rare stones
+are fixed in the walls.
+
+[p.57]
+
+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
+precious stones of 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 (Gil[=a]n) 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.
+
+[p.58]
+
+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. 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 again for a whole year. He is
+a benevolent man.
+
+[p.59]
+
+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[126]. 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.
+
+[p.60]
+
+In Bagdad there are about 40,000 Jews[127], 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. Elazar, 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 the Nasi, is the
+head of the Sium[128].
+
+[p.61]
+
+These are the ten Batlanim[129], 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
+as far as David, King of Israel. The Jews call him "Our Lord, Head of
+the Captivity," and the Mohammedans call him "Saidna ben 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[130].
+
+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 any one who should
+refuse to rise up should receive one hundred stripes[131].
+
+[p.62]
+
+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 ben 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[132], 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[133], 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 the
+communities power to appoint Rabbis and Ministers who come unto him to
+be consecrated and to receive his authority.
+
+[p.63]
+
+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 him 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[134]. The Jews of the city are learned
+men and very rich.
+
+[p.64]
+
+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[135]--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 day's journey to Babylon, which is the Babel of old.
+The ruins thereof are thirty miles in extent[136]. 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[137] 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.
+
+[p.66]
+
+The length of its foundation is about two miles, the breadth of the
+tower is about forty cubits, and the length thereof two hundred
+cubits. At every ten cubits' distance there are slopes which go round
+the tower by which one can ascend to the top[138]. 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[139]. 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 at the top, and Ezekiel at the bottom.
+
+[p.67]
+
+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[140].
+
+[p.68]
+
+Distinguished Mohammedans also come hither 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[141].
+
+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.
+
+[p.69]
+
+Thence it is a day's journey to the river 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[142]. 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.[143]
+
+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.[144]
+
+Thence it is a day and a half's journey to El-Anbar, which was
+Pumbedita in Nehardea.[145] 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.
+
+[p.70]
+
+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
+called the land El-Yemen, lying at the side of the land of Shinar
+which is towards the North.[146]
+
+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
+hnot 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 Israelites 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 garments of black.
+
+[p.71]
+
+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[147]. At this place lives Salmon the
+Nasi, the brother of Hanan the Nasi; and the land belongs to the two
+brothers, 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, and
+contains gardens and plantations.
+
+[p.72]
+
+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
+Tilmas 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[148]. 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[149]. Returning from their land, it is a journey of twenty-five
+days to the river Virae, which is in the land of El-Yemen, where about
+3,000 Jews dwell[150], and amongst them are many a Rabbi and Dayan.
+
+[p.73]
+
+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[151]. 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 (Susa), 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.
+
+[p.74]
+
+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 forty-five kings subject to his authority, came to this
+place.
+
+[p.75]
+
+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[152]. He ruled also over Tibet, in the forests
+whereof one finds the animals from which the musk is obtained[153].
+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 this 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.[154]
+
+[p.76]
+
+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[155]. 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.
+
+[p.77]
+
+These Jews are under the authority of the Head of the Captivity in
+Babylon. Thence it is five days to Amadia where there are about 25,000
+Israelites[156]. 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[157]. 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 writings of magicians and soothsayers.
+
+[p.78]
+
+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.
+
+[p.79]
+
+And when the king 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 he 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.
+
+[p.80]
+
+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 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 warn him, but he would not
+accept the warning.
+
+[p.81]
+
+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[158]. 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[159].
+
+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 an Esther[160].
+
+[p.82]
+
+From thence (Hamadan[161]) it takes four days to Tabaristan, which is
+situated on the river Gozan. Some [four] thousand Jews live
+there[162]. Thence it is seven days to Ispahan the great city and the
+royal residence. It is twelve miles in circumference, and about 15,000
+Israelites reside there[163]. 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[164].
+Thence it is seven days to Ghaznah the great city on the river Gozan,
+where there are about 80,000 Israelites[165]. 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.
+
+[p.83]
+
+Thence it is four days' journey to Tibet, 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[166]."
+
+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[167].
+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, but
+live on raw uncooked meat.
+
+[p.84]
+
+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[168]; 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
+they would require for the march through the wilderness.
+
+[p.85]
+
+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 are 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."
+
+[p.87]
+
+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[169].
+
+[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
+unto an island called Kish[170]. It is a six days' journey to reach
+this island.
+
+[p.89]
+
+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[171]. 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.
+
+[p.90]
+
+And about the middle of Tishri men descend 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[172]. 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 night-time.
+
+[p.91]
+
+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.
+
+[p.92]
+
+They worship the sun, and they have high places everywhere outside the
+city at a distance of 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 all 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
+Halacha.
+
+Thence it is twenty-three days by sea to Ibrig[173], 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.
+
+[p.93]
+
+And they cause their sons 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 my obligations to the
+members of my house and to my neighbours."
+
+[p.94]
+
+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[174]. 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 of
+oxen.
+
+[p.95]
+
+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[175].
+
+[p.96]
+
+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[176]. 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 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[177].
+
+Thence to the land of Assuan is a journey of twenty days through the
+desert. This is Seba on the river Pishon (Nile) which descends from
+the land of Cush[178]. 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.
+
+[p.97]
+
+Thus they bring many of them back prisoners, and sell them 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[179]. In this desert there 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[180]. From Heluan it is thirteen days' journey to Kutz which
+is K[=u]s, and this is the commencement of the land of Egypt. At Kutz
+there are 300 Jews[181]. 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[182].
+
+Thence to Mizraim is a journey of four days.
+
+[p.98]
+
+This Mizraim is the great city situated on the banks of the Nile,
+which is Pison or Al-Nil[183]. 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[184]. 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[185]; 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 city for the Arabs.
+
+[p.99]
+
+Here resides the Emir al Muminin, a descendant of Abu Talib. All his
+subjects are called "Alawiyyim[186]," 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
+market-places 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[187].
+
+[p.100]
+
+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 drink Nile water afterwards they will not hurt him,
+for the waters have medicinal properties.
+
+[p.101]
+
+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[188]. 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[189], 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[190]. 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[191]. 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 Al
+Sheik Abu al-Nazr[192]. 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[193].
+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 fore-fathers
+raised, namely, towers built of bricks. From here it is a day's
+journey to Al Bubizig, where there are about 200 Jews. Thence it is
+half a day to Benha, where there are about 60 Jews. Thence it takes
+half a day to Muneh Sifte, where there are 500 Jews[194]. 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[195]. Two days' journey takes one to Alexandria of Egypt, which
+is Ammon of No; but when Alexander of Macedon built the city, he
+called it after his own name, and made it exceedingly strong and
+beautiful[196]. 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.
+
+[p.104]
+
+The city is 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
+custom of all merchants.
+
+[p.105]
+
+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[197].
+
+[p.106]
+
+Alexandria is a commercial market for all nations. Merchants come
+thither from all the Christian kingdoms: on the one side, 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[198], 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.
+
+[p.107]
+
+Men suppose that it is the sepulchre of a king who lived in 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[199]. Thence it is four days to
+Ailam, which is Elim[200]. 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[201]. 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[202]. 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 [[203]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. It is an island in the midst of the sea[204].
+
+[p.108]
+
+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[205], 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[206]. 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)[207], 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 Al
+Buheira[208], and in it are many sorts of fish. Ships overlaid with
+silver and gold are there, belonging to the king, who takes
+pleasure-trips in them with his women[209].
+
+[p.109]
+
+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[210].
+
+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.
+
+[p.110]
+
+And the following are the cities in the land of Alamannia, which have
+Hebrew congregations: Metz, Treves on the river Moselle, Coblenz,
+Andernach, Bonn, Cologne, Bingen, Münster, Worms,[211] [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 come and say continually, "The Lord be exalted."
+
+[p.111]
+
+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, Würzburg, Mantern, Bamberg, Freising, and
+Regensburg at the extremity of the Empire[212]. In these cities there
+are many Israelites, wise men and rich.
+
+Thence extends the land of Bohemia, called Prague[213]. 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[214]. It is a land of mountains and forests, where there are to
+be found the animals called vair[215], ermine, and sable.
+
+[p.112]
+
+No one issues 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[216] 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.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+The references in this Index are made to the pages of _Asher's
+Edition_, which are marked in the margin of the foregoing English
+translation.
+
+
+
+
+     FOOTNOTES:
+
+     [Footnote 1: Tudela was called in Benjamin's time _Tuteila_.
+     Sepharad is Spain.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 3: Saragossa was called in Benjamin's time
+     _Sarakosta_ (= Caesar-Augusta). Charisi, in _Tachkemoni_,
+     46, refers to some of the Rabbis.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 5: See Graetz, _Geschichte der Juden_, vol. VI,
+     pp. 230 et seq.; also notes 1 and 10 at the end of vol. VI.]
+
+     [Footnote 6: The ancient name of Gerona was Gerunda.]
+
+     [Footnote 7: See Geiger's _Jüdische Zeitschrift für
+     Wissenschaft und Leben_, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 10: The King of Portugal is even now styled King
+     of the Algarves.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 12: He is referred to in _Tosafoth Temurah_, fol.
+     12a and b.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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 Encyclopaedia_, also Gross, _Gallia Judaica_,
+     might be consulted with advantage.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 18: His full name is R. Jacob Perpignano. See
+     Graetz, VI, note 1, p. 399.]
+
+     [Footnote 19: The meaning of course is that the Genoese
+     pillage Christian and Mohammedan places alike.]
+
+     [Footnote 20: See Dr. H. Berliner's work _Die Geschichte der
+     Juden in Rom._ His derivation of the Hebrew word used for
+     Pope, [Hebrew:] from Peter, is questionable. It is the Greek
+     [Greek: hepiphoros]. See Talmud, _Aboda Zarah_, 11 a.]
+
+     [Footnote 21: The great work alluded to is the _Talmudical
+     Dictionary_, completed in 1101. See Graetz, VI, p. 281.]
+
+     [Footnote 22: The palace of the Caesars on the Palatine Hill
+     is no doubt here referred to.]
+
+     [Footnote 23: [Hebrew:], quoted by E and Asher, is a corrupt
+     reading for [Hebrew:].]
+
+     [Footnote 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 [Hebrew:] "consul."]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 26: I. 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 [Hebrew:],
+     Berlin, 1840, and [Hebrew:], Berlin edition, fols. 151-2
+     [Hebrew:] Rome, as so many other cities, had its own
+     martyrs.]
+
+     [Footnote 27: This is the statue of Marcus Aurelius now
+     before the Capitol.]
+
+     [Footnote 28: Even in Benjamin's time the Campagna was noted
+     for malaria.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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 Piedi grotta of Posilipo,
+     constructed by Augustus.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 32: Cf. Isaiah lxvi. 19.]
+
+     [Footnote 33: This city was destroyed by William the Bad in
+     1156. It was ordered to be restored by William the Good in
+     1169, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 35: The river Achelous falls into the Ionian Sea
+     opposite to Ithaca.]
+
+     [Footnote 36: Anatolica is now known as Aetolicum.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 39: Chalcis, the capital of Euboea or Negroponte,
+     is even now called Egripo. It is situated on the Straits of
+     Euripus.]
+
+     [Footnote 40: Some twenty years later the Wallachians were
+     in open revolt and became independent of the Byzantine
+     Empire. Gibbon, chap. lx.]
+
+     [Footnote 41: See Gibbon, chap. liii. He often quotes
+     Benjamin.]
+
+     [Footnote 42: The Grand Duchy of Kieff was called Russia.
+     See page 81.]
+
+     [Footnote 43: The Petchinegs, as well as the Khazars,
+     Bulgarians, Hungarians, and Turks, are called by Josippon,
+     I, chap. i, descendants of Togarma. Patzinakia was the
+     country from the Danube to the Dnieper, and corresponds with
+     Dacia of classical times.]
+
+     [Footnote 44: The readings of E and A are corrupt. R has
+     [Hebrew:], and BM. has [Hebrew:], 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 most of the inhabitants embraced the Jewish religion.]
+
+     [Footnote 45: _Procopius_, vol. I (Palestine Pilgrims' Text
+     Society), gives a full description of Constantinople.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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 Benjamin_.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 49: This place is mentioned by _Procopius_, p.
+     119, as having been fortified by Justinian. It is now known
+     as Rodosto.]
+
+     [Footnote 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 Angevin England_, p.
+     35.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 52: The several MSS. give different readings. The
+     kingdom reached to the Taurus mountains and the Sultanate of
+     Rum or Iconium.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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 Hamâh is also called Al Urunt or the Nahr al Maklûb
+     (the Overturned) on account of its course from south to
+     north; or, again, it is called Al' Âsi (the Rebel), for the
+     reason that though most rivers water the lands on their
+     borders without the aid of water-wheels, the river of Hamâh
+     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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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, Alaü, 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_.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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_.]
+
+     [Footnote 61: See the narrative of William of Tyre.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 63: _The 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 67: In Benjamin's time hermits, who eventually
+     founded the Carmelite order of monks, occupied grottoes on
+     Mount Carmel.]
+
+     [Footnote 68: Benjamin travelled along the coast to
+     Caesarea. Mr. Guy Le Strange (_Palestine under the Moslems_,
+     1890, p. 477) writes: "Tall Kanîsah, or Al Kunaisah, the
+     Little Church, is the mound a few miles north of Athlith,
+     which the Crusaders took to be the site of Capernaum."
+     Benjamin must have known very well that Maon, which was
+     contiguous to another Carmel (referred to in Joshua xv. 55),
+     belonged to Judah, and was not in the north of Palestine.
+     Here, as in the case of Gath and elsewhere, he quotes what
+     was the hearsay identification current at the time he
+     visited these places. See an article by C.R. Conder on
+     "Early Christian Topography" in the _Quarterly Statements of
+     the Palestine Exploration Fund_ for 1876, p.16. Cf. _The
+     Ancient Hebrew Tradition_, by Prof. Fr. Hommel, p. 243.]
+
+     [Footnote 69: 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.)]
+
+     [Footnote 70: It lies between Caesarea and Lydda. See
+     Conder's _Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem_. Munk's _Palestine_
+     might also be consulted with advantage.]
+
+     [Footnote 71: The tomb of St. George is still shown in the
+     Greek church at Lydda.]
+
+     [Footnote 72: 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 [Hebrew:], the Levite Cohon.
+     Cf. Adler and Seligsohn's _Une nouvelle chronique
+     Samaritaine_. (Paris: Durlacher, 1903.)]
+
+     [Footnote 73: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 74: Cf. Guy Le Strange, _Palestine_, 381, and
+     Rapoport's Note 166, Asher's _Benjamin_, vol. II, p. 87.]
+
+     [Footnote 75: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 76: 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 mediæval
+     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."]
+
+     [Footnote 77: King Baldwin III died in 1162, and was
+     succeeded by his brother Almaric.]
+
+     [Footnote 78: 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 [Hebrew: daleth] meaning four would easily be misread
+     for [Hebrew: resh] meaning 200.]
+
+     [Footnote 79: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 80: 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, _Zeitschrift des Deutschen
+     Palästina-Vereins._]
+
+     [Footnote 81: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 82: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 83: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 84: See Baedeker's _Palestine and Syria_, pp. 233,
+     236; also Schwartz, _Palestine_, 1852, p. 230 and Dr.
+     Robinson's _Palestine_, I, p. 516.]
+
+     [Footnote 85: Edrisi in 1154 writes: "The tomb is covered by
+     twelve stones, and above it is a dome vaulted over with
+     stones."]
+
+     [Footnote 86: Compare R. Pethachia's account of his visit
+     (_Travels of Rabbi Petachia_: translated by Dr. A. Benisch;
+     London, Trübner & Co., 1856, p. 63). See papers by
+     Professors Goldziher and Guthe (_Zeitschrift des Deutschen
+     Palästina-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.)]
+
+     [Footnote 87: 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 [Hebrew:], but it should be [Hebrew:].
+     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 Toron
+     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.]
+
+     [Footnote 88: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 89: This and Mahomerie-le-grand, already
+     mentioned, are Crusaders' churches. See Rey, _Les Colonies
+     franques de Syrie aux XII'e et XIII'e siècles_, p. 387; also
+     Conder, _The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem_.]
+
+     [Footnote 90: 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_.]
+
+     [Footnote 91: See an interesting Paper, "Der Pass von
+     Michmas," by Prof. D.G. Dalman, _Z.D.P.V._, 1904, vol.
+     XXVII, p. 161.]
+
+     [Footnote 92: Asher renders [Hebrew:] 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 [Hebrew:] to be an
+     abbreviation for [Hebrew:] The reports of contemporary
+     Arabic authors will be found in Guy Le Strange's
+     _Palestine_, pp. 303-8.]
+
+     [Footnote 93: 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, _Beiträge zur Geographie
+     Palästinas_.)]
+
+     [Footnote 94: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 95: A.M. Lunez 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 _Jerusalem_, 1906, VII, p. 87.]
+
+     [Footnote 96: Both BM. and R have [Hebrew:], whilst E and A
+     have the faulty reading [Hebrew:]. 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 97: The common belief is that Simon the Just was
+     buried near Jerusalem, on the road to Nablous, about a mile
+     from the Damascus Gate.]
+
+     [Footnote 98: Cf. Schechter's _Saadyana_, p. 89.]
+
+     [Footnote 99: The passage referring to the Arnon is
+     evidently out of place.]
+
+     [Footnote 100: See Deut. xi. 24.]
+
+     [Footnote 101: 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-Saa, the Dome of Hours.
+     Mukaddasi gives an elaborate description of the mosaics and
+     other features of this mosque.]
+
+     [Footnote 102: Cf. _Midrash Raba_, chap, xiv: [Hebrew:];
+     also Josephus, _Ant_. I, vii, 2 who quotes Nicolaus of
+     Damascus in the words "_In Damasco regnarit Abramus._"]
+
+     [Footnote 103: Pethachia estimates the Jewish population at
+     19,000. This confirms the opinion already given (p. 26) that
+     Benjamin refers to heads of families.]
+
+     [Footnote 104: 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. 79-96.]
+
+     [Footnote 105: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 106: Tarmod is Tadmor or Palmyra.]
+
+     [Footnote 107: 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 Fuwâr 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 108: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 109: Robinson and Conder identify Hazor with a
+     site near Kedesh Naftali, but Sheiza is doubtless Sheizár,
+     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, "Beiträge zur Kenntuis der Syrischen
+     Steppe," _Z.D.P.V._, vols. XXII and XXIII, 1900 I. Cf. the
+     article on the Boundaries of Palestine and Syria by M.
+     Friedmann, Luncz's _Jerusalem_, vol. II.]
+
+     [Footnote 110: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 111: Edrisi and Abulfeda speak of Balis and Kalat
+     Jabar. See Guy Le Strange, p. 417. Zengy the Atabeg was
+     slain at Kalat Jabar.]
+
+     [Footnote 112: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 113: Harr[=a]n, the city of Nahor, is twenty-four
+     miles SSE. of Edessa on the Balikh. Mustawfi tells us of
+     Abraham's Shrine.]
+
+     [Footnote 114: Ras-el-Ain, probably Rhesaina. The river
+     Khabur--the Araxes of Xenophon--flows from the Kurdistan
+     mountains southwards, and runs into the Euphrates.]
+
+     [Footnote 115: 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 116: 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 117: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 118: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 119: Irbil, or Arbela, is two days' journey from
+     Mosul. See Saadyana, _J. Q.R._, vol. XIV, p. 503, and W.
+     Bacher's note, p. 741.]
+
+     [Footnote 120: 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 does not come
+     to pass, See Schwarz, _Das Heilige Land_, 1852, p. 259,
+     identifying Kefar Tanchum near Tiberias with Nahum's
+     burialplace]
+
+     [Footnote 121: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 122: 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. Benisch's edition, p. 19.)]
+
+     [Footnote 123: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 124: _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.]
+
+     [Footnote 125: The statements here made are strangely
+     contradictory; see a suggestive article by Dr. Goldziher in
+     _Z.D.P.G._, 1905, p. 151.]
+
+     [Footnote 126: A valuable work, _Bagdad during the Abbaside
+     Caliphate, from Contemporary Arabic and 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
+     Mustansiriyah, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 127: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 128: The last or tenth Academy.]
+
+     [Footnote 129: This appellation is applied in the Talmud to
+     scholars who uninterruptedly apply themselves to communal
+     work.]
+
+     [Footnote 130: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 131: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 132: 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 currrent 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. 1, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 133: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 134: It is interesting to compare this account
+     with that of the Installation of the Egyptian Nagid
+     (_J.Q.R._, IX, p. 717).]
+
+     [Footnote 135: This is a well-known sage, whose name often
+     occurs in the Talmud.]
+
+     [Footnote 136: 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 137: The Valley of Dura mentioned in Daniel iii.
+     is here referred to. See Dr. Berliner's _Beiträge zur
+     Geographie und Ethnographie Babyloniens_; also Layard's
+     _Nineveh and Babylon_, p. 469. Cf. Berachot, 57 b.]
+
+     [Footnote 138: 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
+     Cyclopaedia_. 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 139: 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).]
+
+     [Footnote 140: 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
+     [Hebrew]. 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 _majn[=u]n_, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 141: See picture of the traditional tomb of
+     Ezekiel in the _Jewish Encyclopaedia_, vol. V, p. 315.]
+
+     [Footnote 142: The Talmud (Sabbath, II a) speaks of the
+     destruction of Mata Mehasya. Sura took its place as a centre
+     of learning.]
+
+     [Footnote 143: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 144: 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).]
+
+     [Footnote 145: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 146: 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 Safir_,
+     Lyck, 1866. Dr. L. Grünhut, in his introduction, _Die
+     Reisebeschreibungen des R. Benjamin von Tudela_, Jerusalem,
+     1903, p. 16, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 147: It is clear that, when speaking of the
+     population of some of these places, the whole oasis or
+     district is intended, and not a particular town.]
+
+     [Footnote 148: In reading through the foregoing account of
+     the Jews in Arabia, it is quite clear that Benjamin never
+     visited the country, nor did he pretend to have done so. In
+     the words of Mr. C.E. 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 [Hebrew:] and made [Hebrew:]
+     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 [Hebrew:]
+     "_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 (1 Sam. xxx, 1 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, otherwise Anaessi,
+     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 80,000, 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 any more 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 149: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 150: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 151: 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. II, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 152: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 153: _Marco Polo_, book II, chap, xlv, 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 154: The reputed sepulchre of Daniel is situated
+     between Schuster and 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 Chaldée 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 155: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 156: 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
+     [Hebrew letter 'resh'] for a [Hebrew letter 'daleth']. The
+     scribe of the British Museum MS. had made other errors of
+     this kind, writing [Hebrew:] for [Hebrew:], [Hebrew:] for
+     [Hebrew:], &c. See Guy Le Strange, p. 92.]
+
+     [Footnote 157: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 158: 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).]
+
+     [Footnote 159: 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 he ascribes to
+     Schahristani.]
+
+     [Footnote 160: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 161: 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 E. 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 [Hebrew:] for [Hebrew:]. 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 162: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 163: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 164: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 165: Asher, following the printed editions, quotes
+     the Jewish population of this place as 8,000, 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 Gihon (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.]
+
+     [Footnote 166: 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, Nöldeke 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 wären die zehn Stämme Israels zu suchen?_
+     Dr. M. Lewin, Frankfort, 1901.]
+
+     [Footnote 167: It should be 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 168: Rayy is the ancient city of Rages, spoken of
+     in the Book of Tobit i. 14. The ruins are in the
+     neighbourhood of Teheran.]
+
+     [Footnote 169: 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. Müller's _Islam,_ also Dr. G. Oppert's _Presbyter
+     Johannes in Sage und Geschichte, 1864._]
+
+     [Footnote 170: It will be noted that Benjamin uses here the
+     terms [Hebrew: ] 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 sea-banks 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 171: 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 [Hebrew] 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 [Hebrew], 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 172: 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 _The 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 submit 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 jüdischen Colonien in Indien_, Dr. Gustav Oppert;
+     also _Semitic Studies_, (Berlin,1897), pp. 396-419.
+
+     Under the heading of "Cochin", the Jewish Encyclopaedia
+     gives an account of the White and Black Jews of Malabar. By
+     way of supplementing the Article, it may be well to refer to
+     a MS., No. 4238 of the Merzbacher 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 Wünsche's
+     _Jüdische Literatur_, vol III, p. 459. Cf. article on the
+     Beni-Israel of India by Samuel B. Samuel, _The Jewish
+     Literary Annual_, 1905.]
+
+     [Footnote 173: The British Museum text has Ibrig, and the
+     Casanatense has Ibriag: neither can be identified. The
+     printed editions have [Hebrew:] 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 174: 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 [Hebrew:] which occurs in the
+     Bible four times; in the Song of Moses (Exod. xv. 8):
+     [Hebrew:] "The depths were curdled in the heart of the sea"
+     (not "_congealed_" as the Version has it), Job x. 10:
+     [Hebrew:] "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.]
+
+     [Footnote 175: 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_.]
+
+     [Footnote 176: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 177: 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 Tudèle_ (Bruxelles, 1852), takes
+     great pains to locate the land of Hommatum [Hebrew:] in lieu
+     of which our text reads [Hebrew:] 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 Abyssinia, 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).]
+
+     [Footnote 178: 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 Havilah.]
+
+     [Footnote 179: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 180: This sentence is out of place, and should
+     follow the sentence in the preceding paragraph which speaks
+     of the Sultan Al-Habash.]
+
+     [Footnote 181: 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 [Hebrew: 'Sin'] denotes 300, not
+     3.]
+
+     [Footnote 182: 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 _The Store 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 183:'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 seven years later. The Cairo of 1170,
+     which was styled El Medina, and was called by Benjamin
+     [Hebrew:], 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 184: Cf. two elaborate papers by Dr. A. Büchler,
+     "The Reading of the Law and Prophets in a Triennial Cycle,"
+     _J. Q.R._, V, 420, VI, I, and E.N. Adler, ib. VIII, 529.
+     For details as to synagogues, see _J. Q.R._, XVIII, 11;
+     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.]
+
+     [Footnote 185: Zunz was the first to put forward the
+     supposition that R. Nethanel is identical with Hibet Allah
+     ibn 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 186: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 187: 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._, IX, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 188: 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
+     [Hebrew: êis] 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 189: In a Geniza fragment C quoted by Dr. Neubauer
+     in _J.Q.R._, IX, p. 36, this city is called [Hebrew:].
+     Probably the first two letters denote that it is an island.
+     Compare the passage in Schechter's _Saadyana_, pp. 90, 91,
+     [Hebrew:].]
+
+     [Footnote 190: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 191: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 192: See _Makrizi_, vol. II, 464, and _J.Q.R._,
+     XV, p. 75; also XIX, 502.]
+
+     [Footnote 193: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 194: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 195: 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 Tanta 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).]
+
+     [Footnote 196: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 197: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 198: 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 _O_, 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 [Hebrew:] has been repeated. Patzinakia
+     (referred to on p. 12, as trading with Constantinople) is
+     there spelt [Hebrew:] not [Hebrew:]. [Hebrew:] may be read
+     [Hebrew:]; 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 199: Simasin or Timasin is doubtless near Lake
+     Timsah. Sunbat is spoken of by Arabic writers as noted for
+     its linen manufactures and trade.]
+
+     [Footnote 200: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 201: 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 Raha 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_.]
+
+     [Footnote 202: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 203: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 204: 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: [Hebrew:]
+     "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."]
+
+     [Footnote 205: The straits of Messina were named Faro. Lipar
+     has reference, no doubt, to the Liparian Islands, which are
+     in the neighbourhood.]
+
+     [Footnote 206: Cf. Bertinoro's interesting description of
+     the synagogue at Palermo, which he said had not its equal,
+     _Miscellany of Hebrew Literature_, vol. I, p. 114.]
+
+     [Footnote 207: Hacina is the Arabic for a fortified or
+     enclosed place.]
+
+     [Footnote 208: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 209: 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 [Hebrew:]
+     _This is the domain of the viceroy._ The Oxford MS. agrees
+     with our text and reads [Hebrew:] _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.]
+
+     [Footnote 210: Edrisi, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 211: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 212: See Aronius, _Regester_, p. 131. This writer,
+     as a matter of course, had only the printed editions before
+     him. His supposition that [Hebrew:] is Mayence is more than
+     doubtful, but his and Lelewel's identification of [Hebrew:]
+     with Mantern and [Hebrew:] 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 213: 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 Kieff.]
+
+     [Footnote 214: Benjamin does not tell us whether Jews
+     resided in Kieff. Mr. A. Epstein has obligingly furnished
+     the following references: In [[Hebrew:], Graetz,
+     _Monatsschrift_, 39, 511, we read: [Hebrew:]. In [Hebrew:],
+     _Monatsschrift_, 40, 134, [Hebrew:]. This Rabbi Moses is
+     also mentioned in _Resp._ of R. Meir of Rothenburg, ed.
+     Berlin, p. 64. Later records give the name [Hebrew:].]
+
+     [Footnote 215: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 216: Lelewel, having the reading [Hebrew:] 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, [Hebrew:], joined the
+     Synod convened by Rashbam and Rabenu Tam. See _Gallia
+     Judaica_, p. 60, also Graetz, vol. VI, 395 (10).]
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela
+by Benjamin of Tudela
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela
+by Benjamin of Tudela
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela
+
+Author: Benjamin of Tudela
+
+Release Date: February 8, 2005 [EBook #14981]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ITINERARY OF BENJAMIN OF TUDELA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Ted Garvin and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div style=
+" background-color: white; color: black; border-style: ridge;">
+
+<center>
+<h1>THE ITINERARY<br />
+
+OF<br />
+
+BENJAMIN OF TUDELA</h1>
+</center>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<h3>CRITICAL TEXT, TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY<br />
+
+BY</h3>
+
+<h2>MARCUS NATHAN ADLER, M.A.</h2>
+
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<h4><a href="#CONTENTS">TABLE OF CONTENTS</a></h4>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<h4>PHILIPP FELDHEIM, INC<br />
+THE HOUSE OF THE JEWISH BOOK<br />
+NEW YORK</h4>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<h4>FIRST EDITION: LONDON 1907</h4>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<h4><i>published by</i> <br />
+PHILIPP FELDHEIM, Inc. <br />
+96 East Broadway <br />
+New York, N.Y. 10002</h4>
+<br />
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+<h3>PRINTED IN JERUSALEM ISRAEL BY S. MONSON</h3>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<h4>DEDICATED
+TO THE
+MEMORY OF
+MORITZ STEINSCHNEIDER</h4>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<table summary="toc">
+<tr>
+<td><a name="CONTENTS"><b>TABLE OF CONTENTS</b></a></td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td><ins class="correction"
+  Title="Transcriber's note: 'not included'">Map showing Benjamin's route</ins></td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td></td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right">Pages</td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td><a href="#INTRODUCTION"></a><b>INTRODUCTION</b></td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td>I. Islam in the Middle Ages </td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_vii">vii</a></td>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td>II. The Object of Benjamin's Journey</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_xii">xii</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>III. Bibliography</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_xiii">xiii</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>THE ITINERARY</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Translation of Hebrew Introduction</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_1">1</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><i>EUROPE</i></td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Saragossa, Barcelona, Narbonne </td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_2">2</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Beziers, Montpellier, Lunel</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_3">3</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Posqui&egrave;res, Bourg de St. Gilles, Arles, Marseilles</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_4">4</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Genoa, Pisa, Lucca </td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_5">5</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Rome </td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_5">5-7</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Naples, Sorrento, Salerno</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_8">8</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Amalfi, Benevento, Melfi, Ascoli, Trani, Taranto, Brindisi</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_9">9</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Corfu, Arta, Patras, Lepanto, Crissa, Corinth, Thebes</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_10">10</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Wallachia, Armylo, Vissena, Salonica, Abydos</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_11">11</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Constantinople </td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_11">11-14</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Rhaedestus, Gallipoli, Chios, Samos, Rhodes</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_14">14</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><i>ASIA</i></td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Cyprus, Curicus, Malmistras, Antioch</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_15">15</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Antioch, Ladikiya, Gebela, the Hashishim</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_16">16</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Kadmus, Tarabulus (Tripolis), Gubail (Byblus)</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_17">17</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Beirut, Sidon, the Druses, Tyre</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_18">18</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Acre, Haifa, Carmel</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_19">19</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Caesarea, Ludd, Samaria, Nablous</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_20">20</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>The Samaritans</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_20">20-1</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Jerusalem</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_22">22-5</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Bethlehem, Hebron</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_25">25-6</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Beit Jibrin, Shiloh, Ramah</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_26">26</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Gibeah, Nob, Ramleh, Jaffa</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_27">27</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>
+Askelon, Jezreel, Sepphoris, Tiberias</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_28">28</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Meron, Kedesh Naphtali, Banias</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_29">29</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Damascus</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_29">29-30</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Galid, Salchah</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_30">30</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Baalbec, Tadmor, Emesa, Hatnath</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_31">31</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sheizar, Aleppo, Kalat Jabar, Rakka</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_32">32</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Harr&#257;n, Ras-el-Ain, Geziret Ibn Omar</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_33">33</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Mosul</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_33">33-4</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Rahbah, Karkisiya, El-Anbar</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_34">34</a></td>
+<tr>
+<td>Hadara, Okbara</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_35">35</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Bagdad</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_35">35-42</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Gazigan, Babylon</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_42">42</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Hillah, Tower of Babel, Kaphri</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_43">43</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sepulchre of Ezekiel</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_44">44</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Kotsonath, Kefar Al-Keram, Kufa, Sura</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_45">45</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Shafjathib, El-Anbar, Hillah</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_46">46</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Kheibar, Teima, Tilmas and Tanai in Arabia</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_47">47-50</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Basra, Khuzistan, Shushan</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_51">51</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sepulchre of Daniel</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_52">52-3</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Rudbar, Nihawand, Mulahid</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_53">53</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Amadia, History of David Alroy</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_54">54-6</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Hamadan, Tabaristan</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_57">57</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Ispahan, Shiraz, Ghaznah</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_58">58</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Samarkand, Tibet, Naisabur</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_59">59</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Expedition of Sinjar against the Ghuz</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_60">60-2</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Khuzistan, Island of Kish</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_62">62</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Katifa, Khulam (Quilon), India</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_63">63-4</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Ibrig</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_65">65-6</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>China, Sea of Nikpa</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_66">66</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Al-Gingaleh, Zebid, Aden</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_67">67</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><i>AFRICA</i></td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Abyssinia and Nubia, Egypt</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_68">68</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Gana, Desert of Sahara, Fayum, Heluan,</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_69">69</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td> Cairo </td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_70">70-4</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Alexandria</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_75">75-7</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Damietta, Sunbat, Mount Sinai, Tur Sinai, Tanis</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_77">77-8</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>
+<i>EUROPE</i>.</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"></td>
+<tr>
+<td>Island of Sicily, Messina, Palermo, Italy</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_78">78-9</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Germany</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_79">79-80</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Bohemia, Slavonia</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_80">80</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Russia, France, Paris </td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#bpage_81">81</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>ENGLISH INDEX</td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"><a href="#INDEX">82-94</a></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><a href="#FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</a></td>
+<td></td>
+<td align="right"></td>
+<td></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<pre>
+<ins class="correction"
+  Title="Transcriber's note: 'not included'">
+HEBREW TEXT, with prefatory note ...[Hebrew]
+    List of emendations of Text  ...[Hebrew]
+HEBREW INDEX ...................... [Hebrew]</ins>
+</pre>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 85%;">
+<h2><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a>INTRODUCTION</h2>
+<hr style="width: 85%;">
+<br />
+
+<a name="bpage_vii"></a>
+<h4>I. ISLAM IN THE MIDDLE AGES.</h4>
+
+
+<p>The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela throws a flashlight upon one of
+the most interesting stages in the development of nations.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+<p>It was the ill-treatment by the Seljuks of the Christian pilgrims to<a name="bpage_viii"></a>
+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 &quot;Atabegs&quot;, 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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>At length there came a pause in the decline of Islam. Zengi, a
+powerful Seljuk Atabeg, in 1144 captured Edessa, 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 army, in which Saladin held a subordinate<a name="bpage_ix"></a>
+command, by a timely arrival on the scene forced the Franks to
+retreat, and the Saracens were acclaimed as deliverers.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>At this juncture the traveller Rabbi Benjamin came to Egypt. Some
+three years earlier he had left his native place&mdash;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: &quot;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.&quot; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+<a name="bpage_x"></a>
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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, &quot;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&mdash;in lieu thereof they have two small holes through which they
+breathe.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>It took Saladin some years to consolidate his empire.</p>
+<a name="bpage_xi"></a>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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
+<a name="bpage_xii"></a>
+whether the prophetic words of Scripture will continue to hold good:
+&quot;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.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<br />
+<h4><a name="II_THE_OBJECT_OF_BENJAMINS_JOURNEY" id="II_THE_OBJECT_OF_BENJAMINS_JOURNEY"></a>II. THE
+OBJECT OF BENJAMIN'S JOURNEY.</h4>
+
+
+<p>We may ask what induced Benjamin to undertake his travels? What object
+or mission was he carrying out?</p>
+
+<p>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: &quot;I pray thee see whether it be well
+with thy brethren, and bring me word again.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>It is not unlikely, therefore, that Benjamin may have <a name="bpage_xiii"></a>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<br />
+<h4><a name="III_BIBLIOGRAPHY" id="III_BIBLIOGRAPHY"></a>III. BIBLIOGRAPHY.</h4>
+
+
+<p>&quot;The Itinerary of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela,&quot; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 &quot;Jews&quot;
+Bible in Spanish.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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.:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>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 &amp; Co.
+in October, 1865, some twenty years after Asher's death.</p>
+
+<p>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
+<i>Hammazkir</i> (vol. V, fo. 105, xvii) makes the following comment upon
+it:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image01.gif" width="322" height="17"></p>
+<p>This MS. is the groundwork of the text I have adopted.</p>
+
+<p>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
+<img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image02.gif" width="17" height="17">).
+Under my direction Dr. Gr&uuml;nhut, 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.</p>
+
+<p>3. E, a MS. now in the possession of Herr Epstein of
+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:
+&quot;visto per me fra Luigi da Bologna Juglio 1599.&quot; 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
+&quot;Italian&quot; 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 Ashor 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.</p>
+
+<p>4. O, in the Oppenheim collection of the Bodleian Library (MS. Opp.
+add. 8&deg; 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 <i>lacuna</i> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>5. B, also in the Oppenheim collection of the Bodleian Library (MS.
+Opp. add. 8&deg;, 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 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 &quot;The Dawn of Modern Geography,&quot; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 <i>Der Orient</i>.
+The articles bore the signature <i>Sider</i>, 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 &quot;Benjamin Literature.&quot; The savant passed away on
+the 23rd of January last, and I humbly dedicate my modest work to his
+memory.</p>
+
+<p>I have the pleasure of expressing my thanks to the editors of the
+<i>Jewish Quarterly Review</i>, 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.</p>
+
+<p>Marcus N. Adler. <i>May 27, 1907.</i></p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 85%;">
+<h2><a name="THE_ITINERARY_OF_BENJAMIN_OF_TUDELA"
+id="THE_ITINERARY_OF_BENJAMIN_OF_TUDELA"></a>THE ITINERARY
+OF BENJAMIN OF TUDELA.</h2>
+<hr style="width: 85%;">
+<br />
+<a name="bpage_1"></a>
+<p>HEBREW INTRODUCTION.</p>
+
+
+<p>THIS is the book of travels, which was compiled by Rabbi Benjamin, the
+son of Jonah, of the land of Navarre&mdash;his repose be in Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>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&mdash;matters not previously heard of in
+the land of Sepharad<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>. 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.
+1173)<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>. The said Rabbi Benjamin is a wise and understanding man,<a name="bpage_2"></a>
+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>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">p.1</a></span>  His book commences as follows:&mdash;I journeyed first from my native
+town to the city of Saragossa<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>, 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<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a>, 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 with their wares, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">p.2</a></span> 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<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a>.
+Prominent in the community is <a name="bpage_3"></a>R Abraham<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a>, head of the Academy: also
+R. Machir and R. Judah, and many other distinguished scholars. At the
+present day 300 Jews are there.</p>
+
+<p>Thence it is four parasangs<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> 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 Montpellier. This is a place well situated for commerce.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">p.3</a></span>
+It is about a parasang from the sea, and men come for business there
+from all quarters, from Edom, Ishmael, the land of Algarve<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a>,
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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 meat<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">p.4</a></span> 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<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a>, 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<a name="bpage_4"></a>
+both far and near. The congregation consists of about 300 Jews&mdash;may
+the Lord preserve them.</p>
+
+<p>From there it is two parasangs to Posqui&egrave;res, 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<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a>. 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 without means he <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">p.5</a></span> also pays the expenses, for he is very rich. The munificent R.
+Joseph, son of Menachem, 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<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Thence it is three parasangs to the city of Arles, which has about 200
+Israelites, at their head being R. Moses, R. Tobias, R. Isaiah, R.
+Solomon, the chief rabbi R. Nathan, and R. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">p.6</a></span>Abba Mari, since
+deceased<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>From there it is two days' journey to Marseilles<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a>, 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. <a name="bpage_5"></a>They form a great academy of learned
+men, amongst them being R. Simeon, R. Solomon, R. Isaac, son of Abba
+Mari<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a>, 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<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a>, 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.</p>
+
+<p>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. Each <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">p.7</a></span>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<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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 R.
+David, R. Samuel, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">p.8</a></span> R. Jacob.</p>
+
+<p>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 <a name="bpage_6"></a>official of the Pope<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a>.
+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<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> 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. Peter's of Rome.
+The great Palace of Julius Caesar was also in Rome<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>There are many wonderful structures in the city, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">p.9</a></span>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<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 two<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>In Rome is also the palace of Vespasianus, a great and very strong
+building; also the Colosseum<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a>, in which edifice there are 365
+sections, <a name="bpage_7"></a>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.
+The king caused to be engraved a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">p.10</a></span>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.</p>
+
+<p>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
+&quot;Solomon the son of David.&quot; 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<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a>. In front of St. John in the Lateran there are
+statues of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">p.11</a></span> 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<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a>. Many
+other edifices are there, and remarkable sights beyond enumeration.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a>. 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.</p>
+<a name="bpage_8"></a>
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a>. A spring issues forth from beneath
+the ground containing the oil which is called petroleum.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">p.12</a></span>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a>. 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.</p>
+
+<p>Thence one proceeds by sea to the city of Salerno, where the
+Christians have a school of medicine. About 600 Jews dwell there.
+Among the scholars are R. Judah, son of R. Isaac, the son of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">p.13</a></span>
+Melchizedek, the great Rabbi<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a>, 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 <a name="bpage_9"></a>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.</p>
+
+<p>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, which is the land of Pul<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a>, where about 200<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">p.14</a></span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>From there it is a day's journey to Colo di Bari, which is the great
+city which King William of Sicily destroyed<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a>. 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>
+
+<p>From Taranto it is a day's journey to Brindisi, which is on the sea
+coast.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">p.15</a></span> 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 50 Jews, at the head of them being R. Menachem, R. Caleb,<a name="bpage_10"></a>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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)<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a>, 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 sea
+<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a>.</p>
+<p>From there it takes a day to Patras, which is the city which
+Antipater<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a>, King of the Greeks, built. He was one of the four
+successors of King Alexander. In the city there are several large old
+buildings, and about fifty <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16"
+id="page_16">p.16</a></span>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)<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a>, where there are about 100 Jews,
+who live on the sea-coast; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 city of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">p.17</a></span>
+Constantinople. From Thebes it is a day's journey to Egripo<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a>, 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.</p>
+
+<p>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,<a name="bpage_11"></a>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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, but give themselves Jewish names. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">p.18</a></span> 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<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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 his sons, who are scholars.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">p.19</a></span>   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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="bpage_12"></a>
+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 Domesticus, the third Dominus, and the
+fourth<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">p.20</a></span>  is Megaa Ducas, and the fifth is Oeconomus Megalus; the
+others bear names like these<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a>. 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a>,
+from Hungaria, Patzinakia<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a>, Khazaria<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a>, 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. And the like of this wealth is
+not to be found<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">p.21</a></span>   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<a name="bpage_13"></a>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a>. 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, and a golden crown was
+suspended<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">p.22</a></span>   by a gold chain over the throne, so arranged that he
+might sit thereunder<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a>. 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 in
+all cloth stuffs, and in bread, meat, and wine.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">p.23</a></span>   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.</p>
+
+<p>They hire from amongst all nations warriors called Loazim (Barbarians)
+to fight with the Sultan Masud<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a>, 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.</p>
+
+<a name="bpage_14"></a>
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a>. In the Jewish quarter are
+about 2,000 Rabbanite Jews and about 500 Kara&iuml;tes, 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 there is
+allowed to ride on horseback.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24"
+id="page_24">p.24</a></span>   The one exception is R. Solomon
+Hamitsri, 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.</p>
+
+<p>From Constantinople it is two days' voyage to Rhaedestus<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a>, 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 head being R.
+Elijah Kapur, R. Shabbattai Zutro, and R. Isaac Megas, which means
+&quot;great&quot; in Greek. And from here it is two days to Kales.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">p.25</a></span>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<a name="bpage_15"></a>
+Jews and Kara&iuml;tes; 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<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a>. From Cyprus it is
+four days' journey to Curicus (Kurch), which is the beginning of the
+land <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">p.26</a></span>  called Armenia, and this is the frontier of the empire of
+Thoros<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a>, ruler of the mountains, and king of Armenia, whose
+dominions extend to the province of Trunia<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a>, 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<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a>. This is the great city which<a name="bpage_16"></a>
+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<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a>, surnamed le Baube. Ten Jews<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> dwell here, engaged in
+glass-making, and at their head are R. Mordecai, R. Chayim, and R.
+Samuel. From here it is two days' journey to Lega, or Ladikiya, where
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">p.27</a></span>  there are about 100 Jews, at their head being R. Chayim and R.
+Joseph.</p>
+
+<p>Thence it is two days' journey to Gebal (Gebela), which is Baal-Gad,
+at the foot of Lebanon<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a>. In the neighbourhood dwells a people
+called Al-Hashishim<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a>. They do not believe in the religion of Islam,
+but follow one of their own folk, whom they regard as their prophet,<a name="bpage_17"></a>
+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<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a>. 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 <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">p.28</a></span> the Land of Israel, and more than 20,000 souls
+perished<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a>. There are about 200<a name="bpage_18"></a>
+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 day's journey to Saida, which is Sidon, a large city,
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">p.29</a></span>  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<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a>. 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 Jews.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">p.30</a></span>  They
+roam over the mountains and hills, and no man can do battle with them.</p>
+
+<p>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 (S&#363;r), 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.</p>
+<a name="bpage_19"></a>
+<p>In the vicinity is found sugar of a high class, for men plant it here,
+and people come from all lands to buy it<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a>. 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. And should one care to go
+forth by boat, one can see the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31"
+id="page_31">p.31</a></span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a> on the seaboard, and on the
+other side is Mount Carmel<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a>, 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 four parasangs to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">p.32</a></span> Capernaum,
+which is the village of Nahum, identical with Maon, the home of Nabal
+the Carmelite<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a>.</p>
+<a name="bpage_20"></a>
+<p>Six parasangs from here is Caesarea, the Gath<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a> 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<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a>, the Keilah of
+Scripture. There are no Jews here. Thence it is half a day's journey
+to St. George, which is Ludd<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a>, 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 priests<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">p.33</a></span>  of the seed (of Aaron), and they
+call them Aaronim, who do not intermarry with Cuthim, but wed only
+amongst themselves<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a>. These priests offer sacrifices, and bring
+burnt-offerings in their place of assembly on Mount Gerizim, as it is
+written in their law&mdash;&quot;And thou shalt set the blessing on Mount
+Gerizim.&quot; 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&mdash;&quot;Ye shall set up the stones upon Mount Gerizim, of the<a name="bpage_21"></a>
+stones which Joshua and the children of Israel set up at the Jordan.&quot;
+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&mdash;&quot;and the bones of Joseph buried they in Shechem<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a>.&quot;
+Their alphabet lacks three letters, namely <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image03.gif" width="194" height="17"> <a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a>. The letter <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image04.gif" width="14" height="15"> He is taken from
+Abraham our father, because they have no dignity, the letter <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image05.gif" width="18" height="16">
+Heth from Isaac, because they have no kindliness, and the letter
+<img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image06.gif" width="22" height="18"> Ain from Jacob, because they have no humility. In place of
+these letters they make use of the Aleph, by which we can<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">p.34</a></span>  tell
+that they are not of the seed of Israel, although they know the 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a> ..., a village where
+there are no Jews. Thence it is two parasangs to the valley of
+Ajalon<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a>, which the Christians call Val-de-Luna. At a distance of<a name="bpage_22"></a>
+one parasang is Mahomerie-le-Grand, which is Gibeon the Great; it
+contains no Jews.</p>
+
+<p>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 people
+of all tongues. It contains a dyeing-house, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">p.35</a></span> for which the Jews
+pay a small rent annually to the king<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a>, 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<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a>.
+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&mdash;the
+hospital&mdash;there issue forth four hundred knights; and therein all the
+sick who come thither are lodged and cared for in life and in
+death<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a>. 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 burial-place of
+Jesus, unto which the Christians make pilgrimages.[<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">p.36</a></span> </p>
+
+<p>Jerusalem<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a> has four gates&mdash;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.<a name="bpage_23"></a>
+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<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a>.
+Here is the pillar called <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">p.37</a></span>  Absalom's Hand, and the sepulchre of
+King Uzziah<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a>. The whole land of the plain and the<a name="bpage_24"></a>
+valley of Shittim as far as Mount Nebo are visible from here.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_84_84" id="FNanchor_84_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a>
+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><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">p.38</a></span>
+
+<p>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, &quot;Why have you tarried to-day?&quot; They
+answered, &quot;Why need you complain? When our fellow workmen go to their
+meal we will do our work.&quot; 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, &quot;Let us go in and see if any money is to be found
+there.&quot; They entered the cave, and reached a large chamber resting
+upon pillars of marble overlaid with silver and gold. In
+front was <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">p.39</a></span> 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: &quot;Arise and go forth from this place!&quot; 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
+Constantini, the pious recluse, who was one of the mourners of
+Jerusalem, and to him he related all these things according to the<a name="bpage_25"></a>
+report of the two men who had come forth. Then Rabbi Abraham replied,
+&quot;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.&quot; And on the morrow they sent
+for the two men, and found each of them lying on his bed  <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">p.40</a></span>in terror,
+and the men said: &quot;We will not enter there, for the Lord doth not
+desire to show it to any man.&quot; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_85_85" id="FNanchor_85_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a>. At Bethlehem there are two Jewish dyers. It
+is a land of brooks of water, and contains wells and fountains.</p>
+
+<p>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 at the time of the Mohammedan rule, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">p.41</a></span>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 &quot;This is the grave of Abraham&quot;; upon that of Isaac, &quot;This is
+the grave of Isaac, the son of Abraham our Father&quot;; upon that of
+Jacob, &quot;This is the grave of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of
+Abraham our Father&quot;; and upon the others, &quot;This is the grave of
+Sarah,&quot; &quot;This is the grave of Rebekah,&quot; and &quot;This is the grave of
+Leah.&quot; A lamp burns day and night upon the graves in the cave.</p>
+<a name="bpage_26"></a>
+<p>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 and to deposit them there to this day<a name="FNanchor_86_86" id="FNanchor_86_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a>. </p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">p.42</a></span>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>From Hebron it is five parasangs to Beit Jibrin, which is Mareshah,
+where there are but three Jews<a name="FNanchor_87_87" id="FNanchor_87_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_88_88" id="FNanchor_88_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a>.</p>
+<a name="bpage_27"></a>
+<p>From there it is three parasangs to Mahomerie-le-petit<a name="FNanchor_89_89" id="FNanchor_89_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a>, which is
+Gibeah of Saul, where there are no Jews, and this is Gibeah of
+Benjamin. Thence three parasangs to Beit Nuba<a name="FNanchor_90_90" id="FNanchor_90_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a>, which is Nob, the
+city of priests. In the middle <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">p.43</a></span>of the way are the two crags of
+Jonathan, the name of the one being Bozez, and the name of the other
+Seneh<a name="FNanchor_91_91" id="FNanchor_91_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a>. Two Jewish dyers dwell there.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_92_92" id="FNanchor_92_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Thence it is five parasangs to Y&#257;fa 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 <a name="bpage_28"></a>
+built by the sea. It was originally called Bene Berak. The place is
+four parasangs distant from the ancient ruined city of Askelon. New
+Askelon is a large and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">p.44</a></span> 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 Kara&iuml;tes, 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<a name="FNanchor_93_93" id="FNanchor_93_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>From there it is a journey of a day to St. George<a name="FNanchor_94_94" id="FNanchor_94_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a> 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<a name="FNanchor_95_95" id="FNanchor_95_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a>.
+Many other Jewish graves are here.</p>
+
+<p>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 Hapisgah, 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, at their head being <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">p.45 </a></span> 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. Near by is the
+Synagogue of Caleb ben Jephunneh, and Jewish sepulchres. R. Johanan<a name="bpage_29"></a>
+ben Zakkai and R. Jehudah Halevi<a name="FNanchor_96_96" id="FNanchor_96_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a> are buried here. All these places
+are situated in Lower Galilee.</p>
+
+<p>From here it is two days to Tymin or Timnathah, where Simon
+the Just<a name="FNanchor_97_97" id="FNanchor_97_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_97_97" class="fnanchor">[97]</a> 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, of Raban Simeon ben <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">p.46</a></span>Gamaliel,
+and of R. Jose Hagelili<a name="FNanchor_98_98" id="FNanchor_98_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_98_98" class="fnanchor">[98]</a>. </p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_99_99" id="FNanchor_99_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_99_99" class="fnanchor">[99]</a>. 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
+worshipped 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<a name="FNanchor_100_100" id="FNanchor_100_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_100_100" class="fnanchor">[100]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>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 the water is conveyed to
+the houses of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">p.47</a></span>the great people, and into the streets and
+market-places. The Pharpar flows through their gardens and<a name="bpage_30"></a>
+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<a name="FNanchor_101_101" id="FNanchor_101_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_101_101" class="fnanchor">[101]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_102_102" id="FNanchor_102_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_102_102" class="fnanchor">[102]</a>.  For so it was found inscribed on his grave,
+where it was also written that he ruled <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">p.48</a></span>over the whole world. Three
+thousand Jews abide in this city, and amongst them are learned and
+rich men<a name="FNanchor_103_103" id="FNanchor_103_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_103_103" class="fnanchor">[103]</a>. The head of the Academy of the land of Israel resides
+here<a name="FNanchor_104_104" id="FNanchor_104_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_104_104" class="fnanchor">[104]</a>. 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
+Kara&iuml;tes dwell here, also 400 Cuthim, and there is peace between them,
+but they do not intermarry.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_105_105" id="FNanchor_105_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_105_105" class="fnanchor">[105]</a>.</p>
+<a name="bpage_31"></a>
+<p>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 of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">p.49</a></span>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.<a name="FNanchor_106_106" id="FNanchor_106_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_106_106" class="fnanchor">[106]</a> 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.</p>
+
+<p>From Baalbec to Karjat&#298;n, which 1s 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<a name="FNanchor_107_107" id="FNanchor_107_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_107_107" class="fnanchor">[107]</a>. Thence it is a day's journey to Hamah, which is
+Hamath. It lies on the river Jabbok at the foot of Mount Lebanon<a name="FNanchor_108_108" id="FNanchor_108_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_108_108" class="fnanchor">[108]</a>.
+Some time ago there was a great earthquake in the city, and<a name="bpage_32"></a>
+25,000 souls perished in one day, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50"
+id="page_50">p.50</a></span>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<a name="FNanchor_109_109" id="FNanchor_109_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_109_109" class="fnanchor">[109]</a>, and
+from there it is three parasangs to Dimin (Latmin).</p>
+
+<p> 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 rainwater,
+each one possessing a cistern in his house<a name="FNanchor_110_110" id="FNanchor_110_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_110_110" class="fnanchor">[110]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_111_111" id="FNanchor_111_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_111_111" class="fnanchor">[111]</a>, 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 Togarmim took
+their land and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">p.51</a></span>caused them to fly into the wilderness. About 2,000
+Jews dwell there, at their head being R. Zedekiah, R. Chiya, and R.
+Solomon.</p>
+
+<p>Thence it is one day's journey to Rakka<a name="FNanchor_112_112" id="FNanchor_112_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_112_112" class="fnanchor">[112]</a>, 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 Harr&#257;n, where twenty<a name="bpage_33"></a>
+Jews live<a name="FNanchor_113_113" id="FNanchor_113_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_113_113" class="fnanchor">[113]</a>. 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.</p>
+
+<p>Thence it is a journey of two days to Ras-el-Ain<a name="FNanchor_114_114" id="FNanchor_114_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_114_114" class="fnanchor">[114]</a>, whence proceeds
+the river El Khabur&mdash;the Habor of old&mdash;which flows through the land of
+Media, and falls into the river Gozan<a name="FNanchor_115_115" id="FNanchor_115_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_115_115" class="fnanchor">[115]</a>. Here there are 200
+Jews<a name="FNanchor_116_116" id="FNanchor_116_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_116_116" class="fnanchor">[116]</a>. Thence it is two days to Geziret Ibn Omar, which is
+surrounded by the river <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52"
+id="page_52">p.52</a></span>Hiddekel (Tigris), at the foot of the
+mountains of Ararat. </p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_117_117" id="FNanchor_117_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_117_117" class="fnanchor">[117]</a>. 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_118_118" id="FNanchor_118_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_118_118" class="fnanchor">[118]</a>. Mosul is the frontier town of the land of Persia.</p>
+<a name="bpage_34"></a>
+<p>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 extend forty parasangs to the city of Irbil<a name="FNanchor_119_119" id="FNanchor_119_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_119_119" class="fnanchor">[119]</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">p.53</a></span>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<a name="FNanchor_120_120" id="FNanchor_120_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_120_120" class="fnanchor">[120]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>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. Tahor and R. Isaac. It is a very fine city, large and
+fortified, and surrounded by gardens and plantations.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_121_121" id="FNanchor_121_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_121_121" class="fnanchor">[121]</a>. 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<a name="bpage_35"></a>
+built in their lifetime. Here is also the grave of Bostanai the Nasi,
+the head of the Captivity, and of R. Nathan and Rab Nachman the son of
+Papa.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">p.54</a></span>
+
+<p> Thence it takes five days to Hadara, where about 15,000 Jews
+dwell, at their head being R. Zaken, R. Jehosef and R. Nethanel<a name="FNanchor_122_122" id="FNanchor_122_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_122_122" class="fnanchor">[122]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_123_123" id="FNanchor_123_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_123_123" class="fnanchor">[123]</a>. 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. There the great king, Al Abbasi the Caliph
+(Hafiz) <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">p.55</a></span>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<a name="bpage_36"></a>
+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 &quot;Our Lord, light of Islam and
+glory of our Law, show us the effulgence of thy countenance,&quot; but he
+pays no regard to their words. Then the princes who minister unto him
+say to him, &quot;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,&quot; and thereupon he arises and lets down the hem of his
+robe from the window, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">p.56</a></span>and the pilgrims come and kiss it<a name="FNanchor_124_124" id="FNanchor_124_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_124_124" class="fnanchor">[124]</a>,
+and a prince says unto them &quot;Go forth in peace, for our Master the
+Lord of Islam granteth peace to you.&quot; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_125_125" id="FNanchor_125_125"></a><a href="#Footnote_125_125" class="fnanchor">[125]</a>. Within the
+domains of the palace of the Caliph there are great buildings of
+marble and columns of silver and gold, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">p. 57</a></span> carvings upon rare
+stones are fixed in the walls. In the Caliph's palace are great riches<a name="bpage_37"></a>
+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 precious stones of 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 (Gil&#257;n) 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. They salute
+him with a loud<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">p.58</a></span> voice and say, &quot;Peace unto thee, our Lord the
+King and Light of Islam!&quot; 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 again for a whole year. He is
+a benevolent man.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">p.59</a></span>
+
+<p> He built, on the other side of the river, on the banks of an
+arm of theEuphrates which there borders the city, a hospital
+consisting of blocks of houses and hospices for the sick poor who come
+to be healed<a name="FNanchor_126_126" id="FNanchor_126_126"></a><a href="#Footnote_126_126" class="fnanchor">[126]</a>. Here there are about sixty physicians' stores which<a name="bpage_38"></a>
+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.</p>
+<a name="bpage_39"></a>
+<p>In Bagdad there are about 40,000 Jews<a name="FNanchor_127_127" id="FNanchor_127_127"></a><a href="#Footnote_127_127" class="fnanchor">[127]</a>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">p.60</a></span> 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. Elazar, 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 the Nasi, is the
+head of the Sium<a name="FNanchor_128_128" id="FNanchor_128_128"></a><a href="#Footnote_128_128" class="fnanchor">[128]</a>. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61"
+id="page_61">p.61</a></span>These are the ten Batlanim<a name="FNanchor_129_129" id="FNanchor_129_129"></a><a href="#Footnote_129_129" class="fnanchor">[129]</a>, 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
+&quot;Our Lord the Head of the Captivity of all Israel.&quot; He possesses a
+book of pedigrees going back as far as David, King of Israel. The Jews
+call him &quot;Our Lord, Head of the Captivity,&quot; and the Mohammedans call
+him &quot;Saidna ben Daoud,&quot; 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<a name="FNanchor_130_130" id="FNanchor_130_130"></a><a href="#Footnote_130_130" class="fnanchor">[130]</a>.</p>
+<a name="bpage_40"></a>
+<p>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 any one who should
+refuse to rise up should receive one hundred stripes<a name="FNanchor_131_131" id="FNanchor_131_131"></a><a href="#Footnote_131_131" class="fnanchor">[131]</a>.</p>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">p.62</a></span>
+<p>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, &quot;Make way before our Lord, the son of David, as
+is due unto him,&quot; the Arabic words being &quot;Amilu tarik la Saidna ben
+Daud.&quot; 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&mdash;&quot;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.&quot; 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<a name="FNanchor_132_132" id="FNanchor_132_132"></a><a href="#Footnote_132_132" class="fnanchor">[132]</a>, which is a land<a name="bpage_41"></a>
+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<a name="FNanchor_133_133" id="FNanchor_133_133"></a><a href="#Footnote_133_133" class="fnanchor">[133]</a>, 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 the
+communities power to appoint <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63"
+id="page_63">p.63</a></span>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 him
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="bpage_42"></a>
+the Chiefs of the Academies by placing his hand upon their heads, thus
+installing them in their office<a name="FNanchor_134_134" id="FNanchor_134_134"></a><a href="#Footnote_134_134" class="fnanchor">[134]</a>. The Jews of the city are learned
+men and very rich.</p>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">p.64</a></span>
+<p> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_135_135" id="FNanchor_135_135"></a><a href="#Footnote_135_135" class="fnanchor">[135]</a>&mdash;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>
+
+<p>Thence it is a day's journey <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65"
+id="page_65">p.65</a></span>to Babylon, which is the Babel of
+old. The ruins thereof are thirty miles in extent<a name="FNanchor_136_136" id="FNanchor_136_136"></a><a href="#Footnote_136_136" class="fnanchor">[136]</a>. 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<a name="bpage_43"></a>
+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<a name="FNanchor_137_137" id="FNanchor_137_137"></a><a href="#Footnote_137_137" class="fnanchor">[137]</a> known unto all.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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, and the length thereof<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">p.66</a></span> two hundred
+cubits. At every ten cubits' distance there are slopes which go round
+the tower by which one can ascend to the top<a name="FNanchor_138_138" id="FNanchor_138_138"></a><a href="#Footnote_138_138" class="fnanchor">[138]</a>. 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_139_139" id="FNanchor_139_139"></a><a href="#Footnote_139_139" class="fnanchor">[139]</a>. It is
+fronted by sixty turrets, <a name="bpage_44"></a>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 at the top, and Ezekiel <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">p.67</a></span>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<a name="FNanchor_140_140" id="FNanchor_140_140"></a><a href="#Footnote_140_140" class="fnanchor">[140]</a>. Distinguished Mohammedans also come hither <a name="bpage_45"></a>to pray, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">p.68</a></span>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<a name="FNanchor_141_141" id="FNanchor_141_141"></a><a href="#Footnote_141_141" class="fnanchor">[141]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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 river Raga, where <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">p.69</a></span>
+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....</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_142_142" id="FNanchor_142_142"></a><a href="#Footnote_142_142" class="fnanchor">[142]</a>. 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 <a name="bpage_46"></a>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.<a name="FNanchor_143_143" id="FNanchor_143_143"></a><a href="#Footnote_143_143" class="fnanchor">[143]</a></p>
+
+<p>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.<a name="FNanchor_144_144" id="FNanchor_144_144"></a><a href="#Footnote_144_144" class="fnanchor">[144]</a></p>
+
+<p>Thence it is a day and a half's journey to El-Anbar, which was
+Pumbedita in Nehardea.<a name="FNanchor_145_145" id="FNanchor_145_145"></a><a href="#Footnote_145_145" class="fnanchor">[145]</a> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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
+called the land<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">p.70</a></span> El-Yemen, lying at the side of the land of
+Shinar which is towards the North.<a name="FNanchor_146_146" id="FNanchor_146_146"></a><a href="#Footnote_146_146" class="fnanchor">[146]</a></p>
+<a name="bpage_47"></a>
+<p>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&mdash;the mountains of the north.
+The Jews own many large fortified cities. The yoke of the Gentiles is
+hnot upon them. They go forth to pillage and to capture booty from
+distant lands in conjunction with the Arabs, their neighbours and<a name="bpage_48"></a>
+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 Israelites 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 garments<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">p.71</a></span> 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<a name="FNanchor_147_147" id="FNanchor_147_147"></a><a href="#Footnote_147_147" class="fnanchor">[147]</a>. At this place
+lives Salmon the Nasi, the brother of Hanan the Nasi; and the land
+belongs to the two brothers, who are of the seed of David, for they
+have their pedigree in writing. They address many questions unto the
+Head of the Captivity&mdash;their kinsman in Bagdad&mdash;and they fast forty
+days in the year for the Jews that dwell in exile.</p>
+
+<p>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, and
+contains gardens<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">p.72</a></span> 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 Tilmas 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.</p>
+
+<p>Kheibar is a very large city with 50,000 Jews<a name="FNanchor_148_148" id="FNanchor_148_148"></a><a href="#Footnote_148_148" class="fnanchor">[148]</a>. In it are learned<a name="bpage_49"></a>
+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<a name="bpage_50"></a>
+land of El-Yemen near them, which latter country is on the confines of
+India<a name="FNanchor_149_149" id="FNanchor_149_149"></a><a href="#Footnote_149_149" class="fnanchor">[149]</a>. Returning from their land, it is a journey of twenty-five
+days to the river Virae, which is in the land of El-Yemen, <a name="bpage_51"></a>where about
+3,000 Jews dwell<a name="FNanchor_150_150" id="FNanchor_150_150"></a><a href="#Footnote_150_150" class="fnanchor">[150]</a>, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73"
+id="page_73">p.73</a></span>and amongst them are many a Rabbi and Dayan.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_151_151" id="FNanchor_151_151"></a><a href="#Footnote_151_151" class="fnanchor">[151]</a>. 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 (Susa), 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.</p>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">p.74</a></span><a name="bpage_52"></a>
+<p>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 &quot;All this prosperity enjoyed by those on
+the other side is due to the merits of Daniel the prophet who lies
+buried there.&quot; 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 forty-five kings subject to his authority, came to this
+place. </p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">p.75</a></span>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_152_152" id="FNanchor_152_152"></a><a href="#Footnote_152_152" class="fnanchor">[152]</a>. He ruled also over Tibet, in the forests
+whereof one finds the animals from which the musk is obtained<a name="FNanchor_153_153" id="FNanchor_153_153"></a><a href="#Footnote_153_153" class="fnanchor">[153]</a>.
+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, &quot;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<a name="bpage_53"></a>
+synagogue for all comers, so that whoever wishes to pray there, be he
+Jew or Gentile, may do so.&quot; And to this very day the coffin is
+suspended from the bridge. And the king commanded<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">p.76</a></span> that out of
+respect for Daniel no fisherman should catch fish within a mile above
+or a mile below.<a name="FNanchor_154_154" id="FNanchor_154_154"></a><a href="#Footnote_154_154" class="fnanchor">[154]</a></p>
+
+<p>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<a name="bpage_54"></a>
+land of the Hashishim<a name="FNanchor_155_155" id="FNanchor_155_155"></a><a href="#Footnote_155_155" class="fnanchor">[155]</a>. 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<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">p.77</a></span> Captivity in Babylon. Thence it is five
+days to Amadia where there are about 25,000 Israelites<a name="FNanchor_156_156" id="FNanchor_156_156"></a><a href="#Footnote_156_156" class="fnanchor">[156]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_157_157" id="FNanchor_157_157"></a><a href="#Footnote_157_157" class="fnanchor">[157]</a>. 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<a name="bpage_55"></a>
+writings of magicians and soothsayers. He conceived the idea of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">p.78</a></span> 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, &quot;The Holy One, blessed be
+He, sent me to capture Jerusalem and to free you from the yoke of the
+Gentiles.&quot; 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, &quot;Art thou the king of the Jews?&quot; He
+answered, &quot;I am.&quot; 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.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">p.79</a></span>
+And when the king  saw him, he said to him, &quot;Who brought thee
+hither, and who has released thee?&quot; &quot;My own wisdom and skill,&quot;
+answered the other; &quot;for I am not afraid of thee, nor of any of thy
+servants.&quot; The king forthwith loudly bade his servants to seize him,
+but they answered, &quot;We cannot see any man, although our ears hear
+him.&quot; Then the king and all his princes marvelled at his subtlety; but
+he said to the king &quot;I will go my way&quot;; 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 he crossed the water on his mantle, they pursued him in
+small boats, wishing to bring him back, but they were unable, and they
+said, &quot;There is no wizard like this in the whole world.&quot; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">p.80</a></span>
+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, &quot;The time of redemption is not yet arrived; we have not
+yet seen the signs thereof; for by strength shall no man prevail. Now<a name="bpage_56"></a>
+our mandate is, that thou cease from these designs, or thou shalt
+surely be excommunicated from all Israel.&quot; 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
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">p.81</a></span>warn 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<a name="FNanchor_158_158" id="FNanchor_158_158"></a><a href="#Footnote_158_158" class="fnanchor">[158]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_159_159" id="FNanchor_159_159"></a><a href="#Footnote_159_159" class="fnanchor">[159]</a>.</p>
+<a name="bpage_57"></a>
+<p>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 an Esther<a name="FNanchor_160_160" id="FNanchor_160_160"></a><a href="#Footnote_160_160" class="fnanchor">[160]</a>.</p>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">p.82</a></span>
+<p>From thence (Hamadan<a name="FNanchor_161_161" id="FNanchor_161_161"></a><a href="#Footnote_161_161" class="fnanchor">[161]</a>) it takes four days to Tabaristan,<a name="bpage_58"></a>
+which is situated on the river Gozan. Some [four] thousand Jews live
+there<a name="FNanchor_162_162" id="FNanchor_162_162"></a><a href="#Footnote_162_162" class="fnanchor">[162]</a>. Thence it is seven days to Ispahan the great city and the
+royal residence. It is twelve miles in circumference, and about 15,000
+Israelites reside there<a name="FNanchor_163_163" id="FNanchor_163_163"></a><a href="#Footnote_163_163" class="fnanchor">[163]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_164_164" id="FNanchor_164_164"></a><a href="#Footnote_164_164" class="fnanchor">[164]</a>.
+Thence it is seven days to Ghaznah the great city on the river Gozan,
+where there are about 80,000 Israelites<a name="FNanchor_165_165" id="FNanchor_165_165"></a><a href="#Footnote_165_165" class="fnanchor">[165]</a>. It is a city of
+commercial importance; people of all countries and tongues come<a name="bpage_59"></a>
+thither with their wares. The land is extensive.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>Thence it is four days' journey to Tibet, the country in whose forests
+the musk is found. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">p.83</a></span>
+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): &quot;And he put them in Halah and in
+Habor by the river of Gozan and in the cities of the Medes<a name="FNanchor_166_166" id="FNanchor_166_166"></a><a href="#Footnote_166_166" class="fnanchor">[166]</a>.&quot;</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_167_167" id="FNanchor_167_167"></a><a href="#Footnote_167_167" class="fnanchor">[167]</a>.</p>
+<a name="bpage_60"></a>
+<p>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, but
+live on raw uncooked meat.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">p.84</a></span> 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<a name="FNanchor_168_168" id="FNanchor_168_168"></a><a href="#Footnote_168_168" class="fnanchor">[168]</a>; 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, &quot;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.&quot; 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 they would require for the march
+through the wilderness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">p.85</a></span> And he replied, &quot;Take with you bread
+and wine for fifteen days, for you will find no sustenance by the way,
+till you have reached their land.&quot; 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, &quot;Where is your promise to us that you would find our
+adversaries?&quot; To which the other replied, &quot;I have mistaken the way.&quot;
+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>
+
+<p>Then the king commanded two of his servants to go<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">p.86</a></span> and inquire<a name="bpage_61"></a>
+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, &quot;We are the servants of the king of Persia,
+and we have come to ask who you are, and whom you serve.&quot; To which the
+other replied: &quot;We are Jews; we have no king and no Gentile prince,
+but a Jewish prince rules over us.&quot; They then questioned him with
+regard to the infidels, the sons of Ghuz of the Kofar-al-Turak, and he
+answered: &quot;Truly they are in league with us, and he who seeks to do
+them harm seeks our harm.&quot; 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: &quot;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 are stronger than I am in this place,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">p.87</a></span> 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.&quot; 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<a name="FNanchor_169_169" id="FNanchor_169_169"></a><a href="#Footnote_169_169" class="fnanchor">[169]</a>.</p>
+<a name="bpage_62"></a>
+<p>Now a horseman, one of the servants of the king of Persia, enticed <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">p.88</a></span>
+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, &quot;If thou wilt embrace
+our religion, I will make thee a rich man and steward of my house,&quot;
+but he answered, My lord, I cannot do this thing.&quot; 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.</p>
+
+<p>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
+unto an island called Kish<a name="FNanchor_170_170" id="FNanchor_170_170"></a><a href="#Footnote_170_170" class="fnanchor">[170]</a>. It is a six days' journey to reach
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">p.89</a></span>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<a name="bpage_63"></a>
+thither. The islanders act as middlemen, and earn their livelihood
+thereby. There are about 500 Jews there.</p>
+
+<p>Thence it is ten days' journey by sea to Katifa, where there are about
+5,000 Jews. Here the bdellium is to be found<a name="FNanchor_171_171" id="FNanchor_171_171"></a><a href="#Footnote_171_171" class="fnanchor">[171]</a>. 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 descend to the bed of the sea by ropes, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">p.90</a></span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>Thence it is seven days' journey to Khulam which is the beginning of
+the country of the Sun-worshippers<a name="FNanchor_172_172" id="FNanchor_172_172"></a><a href="#Footnote_172_172" class="fnanchor">[172]</a>. These are the sons of Cush,<a name="bpage_64"></a>
+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<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">p.91</a></span> night-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.</p>
+
+<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">p. 92</a></span> 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<a name="bpage_65"></a>
+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 all 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 Halacha.</p>
+
+<p>Thence it is twenty-three days by sea to Ibrig<a name="FNanchor_173_173" id="FNanchor_173_173"></a><a href="#Footnote_173_173" class="fnanchor">[173]</a>, 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
+sons and daughters to pass through the fire, and even their
+dead<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">p.93</a></span> 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:&mdash;&quot;I have
+vowed to throw myself in the fire whilst I am yet alive,&quot; then they
+answer, saying: &quot;Happy art thou.&quot; 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:
+&quot;Arrange the house, for this day your father will come to give his
+last directions as to what ye shall do.&quot; 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: &quot;I went to my companions, but they would not<a name="bpage_66"></a>
+receive me until I had discharged my obligations to the members of my house and to my
+neighbours.&quot; <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">p.94</a></span>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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_174_174" id="FNanchor_174_174"></a><a href="#Footnote_174_174" class="fnanchor">[174]</a>. 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
+of oxen.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">p.95</a></span> 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<a name="FNanchor_175_175" id="FNanchor_175_175"></a><a href="#Footnote_175_175" class="fnanchor">[175]</a>.</p>
+<a name="bpage_67"></a>
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_176_176" id="FNanchor_176_176"></a><a href="#Footnote_176_176" class="fnanchor">[176]</a>. 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 plain-country called Lybia, which is
+a Christian Empire. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">p.96</a></span>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<a name="FNanchor_177_177" id="FNanchor_177_177"></a><a href="#Footnote_177_177" class="fnanchor">[177]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Thence to the land of Assuan is a journey of twenty days through the<a name="bpage_68"></a>
+desert. This is Seba on the river Pishon (Nile) which descends from
+the land of Cush<a name="FNanchor_178_178" id="FNanchor_178_178"></a><a href="#Footnote_178_178" class="fnanchor">[178]</a>. 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 them in the l<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">p.97</a></span>and of Egypt
+and in the surrounding countries. And these are the black slaves, the
+sons of Ham.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_179_179" id="FNanchor_179_179"></a><a href="#Footnote_179_179" class="fnanchor">[179]</a>. In this desert there are<a name="bpage_69"></a>
+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<a name="FNanchor_180_180" id="FNanchor_180_180"></a><a href="#Footnote_180_180" class="fnanchor">[180]</a>. From Heluan it is thirteen days' journey to Kutz which
+is K&#363;s, and this is the commencement of the land of Egypt. At Kutz
+there are 300 Jews<a name="FNanchor_181_181" id="FNanchor_181_181"></a><a href="#Footnote_181_181" class="fnanchor">[181]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_182_182" id="FNanchor_182_182"></a><a href="#Footnote_182_182" class="fnanchor">[182]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>Thence to Mizraim is a journey of four days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">p.98</a></span> This Mizraim is
+the great city situated on the banks of the Nile, which is Pison or
+Al-Nil<a name="FNanchor_183_183" id="FNanchor_183_183"></a><a href="#Footnote_183_183" class="fnanchor">[183]</a>. The number of Jewish inhabitants is about 7,000. Two<a name="bpage_70"></a>
+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<a name="FNanchor_184_184" id="FNanchor_184_184"></a><a href="#Footnote_184_184" class="fnanchor">[184]</a>. Among the Jews is Nethanel the Prince of</p>
+<a name="bpage_71"></a>
+<p>Princes and the head of the Academy, who is the head of all the
+congregations in Egypt<a name="FNanchor_185_185" id="FNanchor_185_185"></a><a href="#Footnote_185_185" class="fnanchor">[185]</a>; 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 city for the Arabs. Here resides the Emir al Muminin, a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">p.99</a></span>descendant of Abu Talib. All
+his subjects are called &quot;Alawiyyim<a name="FNanchor_186_186" id="FNanchor_186_186"></a><a href="#Footnote_186_186" class="fnanchor">[186]</a>,&quot; 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).</p>
+
+<p>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
+market-places 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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_187_187" id="FNanchor_187_187"></a><a href="#Footnote_187_187" class="fnanchor">[187]</a>. When the Nile rises and covers the column, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">p.100</a></span>they know that<a name="bpage_72"></a>
+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:
+&quot;Give praise unto the Creator, for the river this day has risen to
+such and such a height&quot;; 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 drink<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">p.101</a></span> Nile water afterwards they will not hurt him,
+for the waters have medicinal properties.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_188_188" id="FNanchor_188_188"></a><a href="#Footnote_188_188" class="fnanchor">[188]</a>. <a name="bpage_73"></a>
+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.</p>
+
+<p>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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_189_189" id="FNanchor_189_189"></a><a href="#Footnote_189_189" class="fnanchor">[189]</a>, where it falls into the sea. The second channel flows
+to the city of Reshid (Rosetta),<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102"
+id="page_102">p.102</a></span> 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<a name="FNanchor_190_190" id="FNanchor_190_190"></a><a href="#Footnote_190_190" class="fnanchor">[190]</a>. 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_191_191" id="FNanchor_191_191"></a><a href="#Footnote_191_191" class="fnanchor">[191]</a>. A pillar is there
+of marvellous workmanship, the like of which cannot be seen throughout
+the world.</p>
+<a name="bpage_74"></a>
+<p>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 Al
+Sheik Abu al-Nazr<a name="FNanchor_192_192" id="FNanchor_192_192"></a><a href="#Footnote_192_192" class="fnanchor">[192]</a>. The extent of Mizraim, which is in ruins, is
+three miles. Thence to the land of Goshen is eight parasangs;
+here is Bilbais<a name="FNanchor_193_193" id="FNanchor_193_193"></a><a href="#Footnote_193_193" class="fnanchor">[193]</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103"
+id="page_103">p.103</a></span> 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 fore-fathers raised, namely, towers built of
+bricks. From here it is a day's journey to Al Bubizig, where there are
+about 200 Jews. Thence it is half a day to Benha, where there are
+about 60 Jews. Thence it takes half a day to Muneh Sifte, where there
+are 500 Jews<a name="FNanchor_194_194" id="FNanchor_194_194"></a><a href="#Footnote_194_194" class="fnanchor">[194]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_195_195" id="FNanchor_195_195"></a><a href="#Footnote_195_195" class="fnanchor">[195]</a>. Two days' journey takes
+one to Alexandria of Egypt, which is Ammon of No; but when Alexander
+of Macedon built the city, he called it after his own name, and made
+it exceedingly strong and beautiful<a name="FNanchor_196_196" id="FNanchor_196_196"></a><a href="#Footnote_196_196" class="fnanchor">[196]</a>. The houses, the palaces, and<a name="bpage_75"></a>
+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 is built over a hollow<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">p.104</a></span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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 custom of all merchants.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">p.105</a></span>
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_197_197" id="FNanchor_197_197"></a><a href="#Footnote_197_197" class="fnanchor">[197]</a>.</p>
+<a name="bpage_76"></a>
+<p>Alexandria is a commercial market for all nations. Merchants come
+thither from all the Christian kingdoms: on the one side,
+from <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">p.106</a></span>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<a name="FNanchor_198_198" id="FNanchor_198_198"></a><a href="#Footnote_198_198" class="fnanchor">[198]</a>, 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="bpage_77"></a>
+suppose that it is the sepulchre of a king who lived in early
+times<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">p.107</a></span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_199_199" id="FNanchor_199_199"></a><a href="#Footnote_199_199" class="fnanchor">[199]</a>. Thence it is four days to
+Ailam, which is Elim<a name="FNanchor_200_200" id="FNanchor_200_200"></a><a href="#Footnote_200_200" class="fnanchor">[200]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_201_201" id="FNanchor_201_201"></a><a href="#Footnote_201_201" class="fnanchor">[201]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_202_202" id="FNanchor_202_202"></a><a href="#Footnote_202_202" class="fnanchor">[202]</a>. 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<a name="bpage_78"></a>
+Egyptian rule. At a day's journey from Mount Sinai is [<a name="FNanchor_203_203" id="FNanchor_203_203"></a><a href="#Footnote_203_203" class="fnanchor">[203]</a>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. It is an island in the midst of the
+sea<a name="FNanchor_204_204" id="FNanchor_204_204"></a><a href="#Footnote_204_204" class="fnanchor">[204]</a>. Thus far<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">p.108</a></span> extends the empire of Egypt.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="FNanchor_205_205" id="FNanchor_205_205"></a><a href="#Footnote_205_205" class="fnanchor">[205]</a>, 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<a name="FNanchor_206_206" id="FNanchor_206_206"></a><a href="#Footnote_206_206" class="fnanchor">[206]</a>. 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)<a name="FNanchor_207_207" id="FNanchor_207_207"></a><a href="#Footnote_207_207" class="fnanchor">[207]</a>, containing all sorts of
+fruit-trees. And in it is a large fountain. The garden is encompassed<a name="bpage_79"></a>
+by a wall. And a reservoir has been made there which is called Al
+Buheira<a name="FNanchor_208_208" id="FNanchor_208_208"></a><a href="#Footnote_208_208" class="fnanchor">[208]</a>, and in it are many sorts of fish. Ships overlaid with
+silver and gold are there, belonging to the king, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">p.109</a></span>who takes
+pleasure-trips in them with his women<a name="FNanchor_209_209" id="FNanchor_209_209"></a><a href="#Footnote_209_209" class="fnanchor">[209]</a>. 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<a name="FNanchor_210_210" id="FNanchor_210_210"></a><a href="#Footnote_210_210" class="fnanchor">[210]</a>.</p>
+
+<p>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<a name="bpage_80"></a>
+of Alamannia, otherwise called Ashkenaz. And the following <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">p.110</a></span>
+are the cities in the land of Alamannia, which have Hebrew
+congregations: Metz, Treves on the river Moselle, Coblenz, Andernach,
+Bonn, Cologne, Bingen, M&uuml;nster, Worms,<a name="FNanchor_211_211" id="FNanchor_211_211"></a><a href="#Footnote_211_211" class="fnanchor">[211]</a> [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, &quot;I will lead the Jews and I will gather them.&quot; 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, &quot;Rejoice, brethren, for the help of the Lord
+comes in the twinkling of an eye.&quot; 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 come and say continually, &quot;The Lord be exalted.&quot;
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">p.111</a></span> Meanwhile they send missives one to the other, saying, &quot;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.&quot; In addition to the several cities which we have mentioned
+there are besides] Strassburg, W&uuml;rzburg, Mantern, Bamberg, Freising,
+and Regensburg at the extremity of the Empire<a name="FNanchor_212_212" id="FNanchor_212_212"></a><a href="#Footnote_212_212" class="fnanchor">[212]</a>. In these cities
+there are many Israelites, wise men and rich.</p>
+
+<p>Thence extends the land of Bohemia, called Prague<a name="FNanchor_213_213" id="FNanchor_213_213"></a><a href="#Footnote_213_213" class="fnanchor">[213]</a>. 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<a name="bpage_81"></a>
+the gates of Kieff, the large city which is at the extremity of that
+empire<a name="FNanchor_214_214" id="FNanchor_214_214"></a><a href="#Footnote_214_214" class="fnanchor">[214]</a>. It is a land of mountains and forests, where there are to
+be found the animals called vair<a name="FNanchor_215_215" id="FNanchor_215_215"></a><a href="#Footnote_215_215" class="fnanchor">[215]</a>, ermine, and sable. No one
+issues forth from his house<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112"
+id="page_112">p.112 </a></span> 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.</p>
+
+<p>The kingdom of France, which is Zarfath, extends from the town of
+Auxerre<a name="FNanchor_216_216" id="FNanchor_216_216"></a><a href="#Footnote_216_216" class="fnanchor">[216]</a> unto Paris, the great city&mdash;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!</p>
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Finished and completed. </p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 85%;">
+<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2>
+<hr style="width: 85%;">
+<br />
+<p>The references in this Index are made to the pages of <i>Asher's
+Edition</i>, which are marked in the margin of the foregoing English
+translation.</p>
+
+
+<ul>
+
+<li>Aaronim,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ab, Fast of,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Abaji, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Abba Mari, R., bailiff of Count Raymond,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Abraham, gate of,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--house of, at Harran,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>; near Hebron,
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_41">41</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--well of,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Abraham, R., the astronomer,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--head of the Academy at Narbonne,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--head of the Academy at Posqui&egrave;res,
+<a href="#page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Abraham el Constantini, R.,
+<a href="#page_39">39</a>,
+<a href="#page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Abramaz, king of the Giants,
+<a href="#page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Absalom, statue of, at Rome,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Absalom's Hand, pillar called,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Abu al-Nazr, sheik,
+<a href="#page_102">102</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Abu Talib,
+<a href="#page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Abydos,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Abyssinia, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--people of,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--source of Nile in,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>,
+<a href="#page_101">101</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Academies: in Alexandria,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>;
+<li class=indent>Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_60">60</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ibelin,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>;
+<li class=indent>Mizraim,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>;
+<li class=indent>Narbonne,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>;
+<li class=indent>Nehardea,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>Posqui&egrave;res,
+<a href="#page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Heads of the, installed by Exilarch,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>;
+<li class=indent>visit Synagogue of Ezekiel,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>;
+<li class=indent>dwelt originally at Sura,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>sepulchres of the,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Academy Gaon Jacob,
+<a href="#page_60">60</a>,
+<a href="#page_80">80</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--of the land of Israel,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Acco, <i>see</i> Acre.
+
+<li>Achelous (Aphilon),
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Acre (Acco),
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Aden,
+<a href="#page_95">95</a>,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Africa, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Agur bricks,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ahab, son of Omri, palace of,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ahasuerus, king,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ailam (Elim),
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ain Siptha,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ain-al-Shams (Ramses),
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ajalon, valley of,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Al Abbasi, caliph,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>,
+<a href="#page_99">99</a>;
+<li class=indent><i>see also</i> Caliph of Bagdad.
+
+<li>Al-Bubizig,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Al Buheira,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Al-Gingaleh,
+<a href="#page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Al-Habash (Abyssinia),
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>,
+<a href="#page_101">101</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--sultan,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Al Harbina,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Al-Karkh,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Al-Sham (Esh-Sham), <i>see</i> Syria.
+
+<li>Alamannia, <i>see</i> Germany.
+
+<li>Alani, the,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alawiyyim,
+<a href="#page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Aleph, letter, used by Samaritans in
+<li class=indent>place of <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image04.gif" width="14" height="25">,
+<img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image05.gif" width="18" height="16">
+ and <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image06.gif" width="22" height="18">,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Aleppo (Haleb, Aram Zoba),
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alexander the Great,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>;
+<li class=indent>built Alexandria,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>,
+<a href="#page_104">104</a>;
+<li class=indent>iron gates made by,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alexander III, pope,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alexandria,
+<a href="#page_102">102-6</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Algarve, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ali ben Abu Talib,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Almah,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alphabet, Samaritan, lacks <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image04.gif" width="14" height="25">,
+<img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image05.gif" width="18" height="16">
+ and <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image06.gif" width="22" height="18">,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alroy, David, <i>see</i> David Alroy.
+
+<li>Altar, of the children of Ammon at Jebeil,
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>;
+<li class=indent>of the children of Dan at Banias,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>;
+<li class=indent>of Jeroboam at Banias,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>;
+<li class=indent>on Mount Carmel,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>;
+<li class=indent>on Mount Gerizim,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Amadia,
+<a href="#page_76">76-9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Amalfi,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Amana, river,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ammon, children of,
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ammon of No,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Anatolica,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Andalusia, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Andernach,
+<a href="#page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Angleterre, <i>see</i> England.
+
+<li>Anjou, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Antioch, <a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Antiochus, king of Syria,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Antipater, king of the Greeks,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Aphilon, <i>see</i> Achelous.
+
+<li>Apulia, <a href="#page_13">13</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Aqueducts in Damascus,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Arabia, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Arabs: Kalat Jabar left by the Turks to the,
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>;
+<li class=indent>pray at the Synagogue of Ezekiel,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>;
+<li class=indent>join the Jews of Teima in pillaging,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Aragon, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Aram Naharaim,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Aram Zoba, <i>see</i> Aleppo.
+
+<li>Ararat, mountains of,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Archers, display of skill by,
+<a href="#page_88">88</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Aristotle, academy of, at Alexandria,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ark, in Synagogue of Exilarch,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>;
+<li class=indent>in Synagogue of Ezekiel,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Arles,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Armenia,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Armylo,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Arnon, river,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Arta (Larta),
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Artaxerxes, king of Persia,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Artificers in silk at Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>;
+<li class=indent>at Salonica,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>;
+<li class=indent>in silk and purple at Thebes,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ascoli,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ashdod,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ashdoth Hapisgah,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Asher,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--tribe of, in mountains of Naisabur,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Asher, R., the recluse,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ashkelonah, <i>see</i> Askelon.
+
+<li>Ashkenaz, <i>see</i> Germany.
+
+<li>Ashmedai,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ashmun,
+<a href="#page_102">102</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Asia, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Askelon,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Assassins (Hashishim),
+<a href="#page_27">27</a>,
+<a href="#page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Assuan, <a href="#page_96">96</a>,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Assur the Great, <i>see</i> Mosul.
+
+<li>Astronomers: R. Abraham,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Joseph, Burhan-al-mulk,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>,
+<a href="#page_80">80</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Asveh, mountains of,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Auxerre,
+<a href="#page_112">112</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Azariah, furnace into which he was thrown,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>;
+<li class=indent>sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Azariah, R., head of the Academy of the land of Israel,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+<li>Baalbec (Baaloth),
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Baal-Gad, <i>see</i> Gebal (Gebele).
+
+<li>Babel, <i>see</i> Babylon.
+
+<li>Babel, Tower of,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Babylon,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>,
+<a href="#page_76">76</a>,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>,
+<a href="#page_54">54-64</a>,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>,
+<a href="#page_77">77-9</a>,
+<a href="#page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Balaam, Turret of,
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Balis (Pethor),
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bamberg,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Banias (Dan),
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bar Melicha, <i>see</i> Dar Melicha.
+
+<li>Barak ben Abinoam, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Barbarians, hired by Greeks to fight with Sultan Masud,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Barcelona, <a href="#page_1">1</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bari, Colo di, <a href="#page_14">14</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Basra, <a href="#page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Basra gate, Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bassorah, <i>see</i> Basra.
+
+<li>Bath, gigantic head used as a,
+<a href="#page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Batlanim, at Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Battles, in the Colosseum,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bdellium, found at Katifa,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Beirut (Beeroth),
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Beit Jibrin,
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Beit Nuba (Nob),
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bekr, <i>see</i> Diar Kalach.
+
+<li>Ben Hadad, palace of,
+<a href="#page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bene Berak,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benevento,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benha,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benjamin ben Japheth, R., sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Beth Din, Sar Shalom, head of the,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bethlehem (Beth-Leon),
+<a href="#page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Beziers,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bilbais,
+<a href="#page_102">102</a>,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bingen,
+<a href="#page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bir Abraham,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Blachernae, palace of king Emanuel,
+<a href="#page_21">21</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Boemond
+<li class=indent>Poitevin,
+<li class=indent>prince
+<li class=indent>(le Baube),
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bohemia,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bones of the Israelites, at Hebron,
+<a href="#page_41">41</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bonn, <a href="#page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bostanai the Nasi, exilarch,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bourg de St. Gilles,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bozez,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Brindisi,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bronze columns from the Temple,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bulgaria, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Burgundy, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Caesar, Julius, palace of, at Rome,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Caesarea,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Calabria,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Caleb ben Jephunneh, synagogue of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Caliph of Bagdad: al Abbasi--Emir al Muminin--Hafiz,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>;
+<li class=indent>his attendants,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>;
+<li class=indent>his benevolence,
+<a href="#page_59">59</a>;
+<li class=indent>his dress,
+<a href="#page_56">56</a>;
+<li class=indent>his excursions,
+<a href="#page_56">56-8</a>;
+<li class=indent>his industry,
+<a href="#page_55">55</a>;
+<li class=indent>his learning,
+<a href="#page_55">55</a>,
+<a href="#page_58">58</a>;
+<li class=indent>his palace,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>;
+<li class=indent>his position,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>;
+<li class=indent>his recreation,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>;
+<li class=indent>his riches,
+<a href="#page_56">56</a>;
+<li class=indent>is revered by pilgrims,
+<a href="#page_55">55</a>;
+<li class=indent>places guards over the members of his family,
+<a href="#page_56">56</a>;
+<li class=indent>invests Exilarch with authority,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>;
+<li class=indent>is warned against David Alroy,
+<a href="#page_79">79</a>;
+<li class=indent>revolt of the Alawiyyim against the,
+<a href="#page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Callipolis, <i>see</i> Gallipoli.
+
+<li>Camel slain as Passover-sacrifice by Caliph of Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_58">58</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Canaan, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Capernaum,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Caphtor,
+<a href="#page_101">101</a>,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Captivity, Head of the,
+<i>see</i> Exilarch, Bostanai the Nasi, and Daniel the son of Hisdai.
+
+<li>Capua,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Capys, king,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Caravans, in the Sahara,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Carchemish, <i>see</i> Karkisiya.
+
+<li>Carmel, Mount,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Castile, Introduction.
+
+<li>Catacombs, at Rome,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Catania,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cemeteries, Jewish, at Almah,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>;
+<li class=indent>near Ramleh,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>;
+<li class=indent>of the Israelites, near Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ceuta, <a href="#page_6">6</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chafton, mountains of,
+<a href="#page_77">77</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Charlemagne,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chebar, river,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>.</li>
+
+<li>China (Zin),
+<a href="#page_94">94</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chinnereth, lake of,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chios,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chisdai, Rab, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chiya, R., grave of,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Christianity, followed by Girgashites,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Christians, large number of, at Palermo,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>;
+<li class=indent>Medical School of, at Salerno,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Christopoli,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chulan,
+<a href="#page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Chuni Hamaagal, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Churches, in Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cloth, purple, artificers in, at Thebes,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Coblenz,
+<a href="#page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Colo di Bari,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cologne,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>,
+<a href="#page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Colosseum, in Rome,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Columns, of silver and gold in palace of Caliph,
+<a href="#page_56">56</a>;
+<li class=indent>in mosque at Damascus,
+<a href="#page_47">47</a>;
+<li class=indent>of bronze, from the Temple,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>;
+<li class=indent>of marble, in Synagogue of Exilarch, <a href="#page_64">64</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>,
+<a href="#page_19">19-24</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Constantinus the Great, equestrian statue of, <a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Coral (Al Murgan), found at Trapani,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Corfu,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Corinth,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Coverlets, made by the Caliph of Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_55">55</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Crete,
+<a href="#page_105">105</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Crissa,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Croatia, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Curicus (Kurch),
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cush, land of,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>;
+<li class=indent>sons of,
+<a href="#page_90">90</a>,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cuthim, in Caesarea,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>;
+<li class=indent>Damascus,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>;
+<li class=indent>Nablous,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>;
+<li class=indent>New Askelon,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cyclopean buildings at Tarragona,
+<a href="#page_1">1</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cyprus, <a href="#page_25">25</a>,
+<a href="#page_105">105</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+
+<li>Damascus,
+<a href="#page_46">46-8</a>,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Damietta, <a href="#page_101">101</a>,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Damira,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dan, <i>see</i> Banias.
+
+<li class=indent>--tribe of,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Danemark, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Daniel, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_74">74</a>,
+<a href="#page_75">75</a>;
+<li class=indent>Synagogue of the Pavilion of,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Daniel, the son of Hisdai, exilarch, his authority, <a href="#page_61">61</a>,
+<li class=indent>and its extent,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>;
+<li class=indent>his dress,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>;
+<li class=indent>his possessions,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>;
+<li class=indent>his visits to the Caliph of Bagdad, <a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dar-al-Maristan,
+<a href="#page_59">59</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dar Melicha (the Dwelling of Beauty),
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>David, king,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>,
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>;
+<li class=indent>sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_39">39</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--gate of, in Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--house of,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>sepulchres of the,
+<a href="#page_38">38</a>,
+<a href="#page_39">39</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--seed of, Daniel the Exilarch,
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>;
+<li class=indent>Salmon the Nasi of Teima,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Todros,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Zakkai,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Tower of,
+<a href="#page_35">35</a>.</li>
+
+<li>David Alroy, his learning,
+<a href="#page_77">77</a>;
+<li class=indent>his rebellion,
+<a href="#page_78">78</a>;
+<li class=indent>his pretended miracles,
+<a href="#page_78">78</a>;
+<li class=indent>his imprisonment and escape,
+<a href="#page_78">78</a>;
+<li class=indent>his departure
+<li class=indent>from Amadia,
+<a href="#page_79">79</a>;
+<li class=indent>his murder,
+<a href="#page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dayanim, at the river Virae,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Daylam (Gil&#257;n), princes of,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Demented people, provided for by Caliph of Bagdad, <a href="#page_59">59</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Demetrizi,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dimin (Latmin), <a href="#page_50">50</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Disciples, twenty sepulchres of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>"Dominus," one of the twelve ministers of Greece, <a href="#page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Diy&#257;r Kalach (Bekr),
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Drama,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Druses, the,
+<a href="#page_29">29</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Duchbin, <a href="#page_92">92</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dyers, at Beit Nubi,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>;
+<li class=indent>Bethlehem,
+<a href="#page_40">40</a>;
+<li class=indent>Brindisi,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>;
+<li class=indent>among the Druses,
+<a href="#page_29">29</a>;
+<li class=indent>at Jaffa,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>;
+<li class=indent>Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>,
+<a href="#page_35">35</a>;
+<li class=indent>Jezreel,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>;
+<li class=indent>Karjat&#298;n,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ludd,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Earthquake, at Hama (Hamath),
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>;
+<li class=indent>at Tripoli,
+<a href="#page_27">27</a>,
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ebal, Mount,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ebro, river, <a href="#page_1">1</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Eden (Aden), <a href="#page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Edom, merchants from, <a href="#page_3">3</a>, <a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Edom, sons of, <i>see</i> Franks.
+
+<li>Egripo,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Egypt, <a href="#page_96">96-198</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>;
+<li class=indent>frontier of,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>El-Anbar, <a href="#page_53">53</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>El-Khabur (Habor), river,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>El-Mosul (Assur),
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>,
+<a href="#page_80">80</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Elahutha, fire named,
+<a href="#page_92">92</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Elam, <i>see</i> Khuzistan.
+
+<li>Elazar, R., son of Zemach,
+<a href="#page_60">60</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Eleazar ben Arak, R., sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Eleazar ben Azariah, R., sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>El-id-bed Ramazan, feast,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Elijah, altar on Mount Carmel repaired by,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--cave of,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Elim, <i>see</i> Ailam.
+
+<li>Emanuel, sovereign of the Greeks,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>;
+<li class=indent>resides at Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>;
+<li class=indent>built Blachernae,
+<a href="#page_21">21</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Embalming, by natives of Malabar,
+<a href="#page_92">92</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Embriacus, Guillelmus, governor of Gubail,
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Emesa,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Emir al Muminin, the Fatimite Caliph, resides in Mizraim,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--al Abbasi,
+<a href="#page_54">54-63</a>,
+<a href="#page_79">79</a>,
+<a href="#page_99">99</a>;
+<li class=indent><i>see also</i> Caliph of Bagdad.
+
+<li>England, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Epacto, <i>see</i> Lepanto.
+
+<li>Ephraim, Mount,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--tribe of,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Epikursin, in Cyprus,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ermine, found in Russia,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Esther, grave of,
+<a href="#page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Euphrates, river,
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>,
+<a href="#page_59">59</a>,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Evil-merodach,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Exilarch, the, his authority,
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>
+<li class=indent>and its extent,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>,
+<a href="#page_76">76</a>;
+<li class=indent>his functions,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>;
+<li class=indent>his honour,
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>;
+<li class=indent>his installation,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>;
+<li class=indent>his revenues,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>;
+<li class=indent>his Synagogue,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>;
+<li class=indent>visits Synagogue of Ezekiel,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>;
+<li class=indent>dwelt originally at Sura,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>consulted by independent Jews of Arabia, <a href="#page_71">71</a>;
+<li class=indent>warned against David Alroy,
+<a href="#page_80">80</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ezekiel, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_66">66-8</a>;
+<li class=indent>Synagogue of,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ezra the priest,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>;
+<li class=indent>sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>;
+<li class=indent>Synagogue of,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>;
+<li class=indent>Synagogue of, at Harr&#257;n,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>;
+<li class=indent>at Rakka,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+
+<li>Farming, by Jews at Crissa,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>;
+<li class=indent>on banks of the Nile,
+<a href="#page_101">101</a>;
+<li class=indent>by Jews in Arabia,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>;
+<li class=indent>by Jews of the mountains of Naisabur, <a href="#page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fars, or Shiraz,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fayum, <a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fer, river, <i>see</i> Orontes.
+
+<li>Fera, a fair at Synagogue of Ezekiel,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fighting-men, Jews of Aden,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>;
+<li class=indent>Jews of Kheibar, <a href="#page_72">72</a>;
+<li class=indent>among Jews of the mountains of Naisabur, <a href="#page_83">83</a>;
+<li class=indent>in Pisa,
+<a href="#page_7">7</a>;
+<li class=indent>Jews of Tadmor,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>;
+<li class=indent>Jews of Teima,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fire-worshippers, of Ibrig,
+<a href="#page_92">92-4</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fish, caught when Nile recedes,
+<a href="#page_100">100</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fishing, forbidden near Synagogue of Daniel, <a href="#page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Flanders, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Flax, grown at Sunbat,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fortifications, near Naples,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>;
+<li class=indent>at Salerno,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>.</li>
+
+<li>France (Zarfath),
+<a href="#page_112">112</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Franks, the,
+<a href="#page_27">27</a>;
+<li class=indent>in Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Freising,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Frisia, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fur, river, <i>see</i> Orontes.
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Gad, tribe of,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Galid, <a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Galilee, lower, <a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gallipoli, <a href="#page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gamaliel, Rabban, grave of,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gana,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gardens and plantations: at Amalfi,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>;
+<li class=indent>Baalbec,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>;
+<li class=indent>Babylon,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>;
+<li class=indent>Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>;
+<li class=indent>Damascus,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>;
+<li class=indent>Galid,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>;
+<li class=indent>Messina,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>;
+<li class=indent>on banks of Nile,
+<a href="#page_101">101</a>;
+<li class=indent>at Palermo,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rahbah,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>;
+<li class=indent>Sebastiya,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>;
+<li class=indent>Shushan,
+<a href="#page_74">74</a>;
+<li class=indent>Teima,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gardiki,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gascony, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gate of Mercy, at Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gates, iron, made by Alexander,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gath,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gazigan (Resen),
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gebal (Gebela, Baal-Gad),
+<a href="#page_27">27</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gebal (Gubail), <a href="#page_28">28</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Genoa,
+<a href="#page_6">6</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Genoese, at Montpellier,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>;
+<li class=indent>at Armylo,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>;
+<li class=indent>rule over Gubail,
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>;
+<li class=indent>military and naval exploits of the,
+<a href="#page_7">7</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gentiles, in Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>;
+<li class=indent>pilgrims to Bourg de St. Gilles, <a href="#page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Georgians, in Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gerizim, Mount,
+<a href="#page_32">32-4</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Germany,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gerona,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Geziret Ibn Omar,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ghaznah,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ghetto, the, at Constantinople, defiled by tanners, <a href="#page_24">24</a>;
+<li class=indent>at Bourg de St. Gilles,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ghuz, the sons of,
+<a href="#page_86">86</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ghuzz,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gibeah of Saul,
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gibeon the Great,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gihon, river,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gil&#257;n, <i>see also</i> Daylam.</li>
+
+<li>Gilboa, Mount,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gilead, <i>see</i> Galid.
+
+<li>Girgashites,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Glass-making, at Antioch,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>;
+<li class=indent>at Tyre,
+<a href="#page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Golden calf, at Dan,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Goshen,
+<a href="#page_102">102</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gozan, river,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>,
+<a href="#page_75">75</a>,
+<a href="#page_78">78</a>,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>,
+<a href="#page_85">85</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Graves, <i>see</i> Sepulchres.
+
+<li>Great Sea, the,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Greece (Byzantine Empire), attacked by Genoese,
+<a href="#page_7">7</a>;
+<li class=indent>administered by twelve ministers,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>;
+<li class=indent>extent of,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Greek buildings at Tarragona,
+<a href="#page_1">1</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Greeks, in Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_22">22</a>;
+<li class=indent>Gardiki,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>;
+<li class=indent>Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>;
+<li class=indent>Taranto,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>;
+<li class=indent>despoiled by the Wallachians,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>;
+<li class=indent>Naples founded by the,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Griffin, sailors rescued by,
+<a href="#page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gubail (Gebal),
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gurgan, land of,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Habor, river, <i>see</i> El-Khabur.
+
+<li>Hadadezer,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hadara,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hafiz, <i>see</i> Caliph of Bagdad.
+
+<li>Hahepher, <i>see</i> Haifa.
+
+<li>Hai, R., sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Haifa (Hahepher),
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hainault, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hakkadosh, Rabbenu, grave of,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Halah,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Haleb, <i>see</i> Aleppo.
+
+<li>Ham, sons of,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hamah (Hamath),
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hamadan,
+<a href="#page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hanan, R., the Nasi,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hananel, R., the physician,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hananiah, furnace into which he was thrown,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>;
+<li class=indent>sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hanes, <i>see</i> Tanis.
+
+<li>Har Gaash, <i>see</i> Montpellier.
+
+<li>Harr&#257;n,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hashishim (al-), <i>see</i> Assassins.
+
+<li>Havilah, <a href="#page_97">97</a>,
+<a href="#page_101">101</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hazor, <a href="#page_50">50</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Head of a giant used as a bath,
+<a href="#page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Head of the Captivity, <i>see</i> Exilarch, Bostanai the Nasi, and Daniel the son of Hisdai.
+
+<li>Hebron,
+<a href="#page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Heluan (Helwan),
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Heretical Jews in Cyprus,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hermon, Mount,
+<a href="#page_29">29</a>,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hiddekel (Tigris) river,
+<a href="#page_52">52-4</a>,
+<a href="#page_58">58</a>,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>,
+<a href="#page_74">74</a>,
+<a href="#page_88">88</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hillah,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hillel, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>"Hipparchus," king,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hippodrome, at Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_21">21</a>.</li>
+
+<li>"Holy of Holies,"
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hospices, owned by Exilarch,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>;
+<li class=indent>of the Jews,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hospital, built by Caliph of Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_59">59</a>;
+<li class=indent>in Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_35">35</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hot-water springs, at Pozzuoli,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>;
+<li class=indent>Tiberias,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Huna, Rab, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hungaria, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Ibelin,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ibrig,
+<a href="#page_92">92</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Idol of the children of Ammon,
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>.</li>
+
+<li>India,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Indian Ocean,
+<a href="#page_88">88</a>,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Inns, in Alexandria,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>;
+<li class=indent>Mizraim,
+<a href="#page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Inscriptions, Alexandria,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ramleh,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>;
+<li class=indent>dates on sepulchres,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Intermarriage among Druses,
+<a href="#page_29">29</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Irbil,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ireland, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Isaac, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_41">41</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Isaac Napcha, R., Synagogue of,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ishmael, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ishmaelites,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Islam, men of,
+<a href="#page_55">55</a>,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>, <a href="#page_58">58</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--great mosque of,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ispahan, <a href="#page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Israel, land of, earthquake in the,
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Israelites, bones of the, at Hebron,
+<a href="#page_41">41</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Jabbok, river,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jabneh,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jabustrisa,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jacob, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_41">41</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jacobites, in Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jaffa,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Javan, land of, <i>see</i> Greece.
+
+<li>Jean de Maurienne, mountain of,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jeconiah, king of Judah, built Hadara,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>;
+<li class=indent>built Synagogue of Ezekiel,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>;
+<li class=indent>property belonging to,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>;
+<li class=indent>sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jehoshaphat, gate of,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--valley of,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jehuda, Rab, grave of,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jehuda ben Bethera, R., sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jehudah Halevi, R., sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>,
+<a href="#page_34">34-7</a>;
+<li class=indent>earth of,
+<a href="#page_79">79</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--mourners of,
+<a href="#page_39">39</a>,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jesus the Nazarene,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>;
+<li class=indent>burial-place of,
+<a href="#page_35">35</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jewish names adopted by the Wallachians,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jews: in Achelous,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>;
+<li class=indent>Acre,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>;
+<li class=indent>Aden,
+<a href="#page_95">95-6</a>;
+<li class=indent>Al-Bubizig,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>;
+<li class=indent>Al-Gingaleh,
+<a href="#page_95">95</a>;
+<li class=indent>Aleppo,
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>;
+<li class=indent>Alexandria,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>;
+<li class=indent>Almah,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>;
+<li class=indent>Amadia,
+<a href="#page_77">77</a>;
+<li class=indent>Amalfi,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>;
+<li class=indent>Antioch,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>;
+<li class=indent>Arles,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>;
+<li class=indent>Armylo,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>;
+<li class=indent>Arta,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>;
+<li class=indent>near Babylon,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>;
+<li class=indent>in Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_59">59-64</a>;
+<li class=indent>Balis,
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>;
+<li class=indent>Barcelona,
+<a href="#page_1">1</a>;
+<li class=indent>Basra,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>;
+<li class=indent>Beirut,
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>;
+<li class=indent>Benevento,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>;
+<li class=indent>Benha,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>;
+<li class=indent>Beziers,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>;
+<li class=indent>Bilbais,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>;
+<li class=indent>Bohemia,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>;
+<li class=indent>Bourg de St. Gilles,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>;
+<li class=indent>Brindisi,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>;
+<li class=indent>Caesarea,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>;
+<li class=indent>Capua,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>;
+<li class=indent>Chios,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>;
+<li class=indent>Christopoli,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>;
+<li class=indent>Corfu,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>;
+<li class=indent>Corinth,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>;
+<li class=indent>Crissa,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>;
+<li class=indent>Cyprus,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>;
+<li class=indent>Damascus,
+<a href="#page_47">47</a>;
+<li class=indent>Damietta,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>;
+<li class=indent>Damira,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>;
+<li class=indent>Demetrizi,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>;
+<li class=indent>Drama,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>;
+<li class=indent>Egripo,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>;
+<li class=indent>El-Anbar,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>;
+<li class=indent>El-Mosul,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>;
+<li class=indent>Emesa,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>;
+<li class=indent>Fayum,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>;
+<li class=indent>Galid,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>;
+<li class=indent>Gallipoli,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>;
+<li class=indent>Gardiki,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>;
+<li class=indent>Gazigan,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>;
+<li class=indent>Genoa,
+<a href="#page_6">6-7</a>;
+<li class=indent>Germany,
+<a href="#page_110">110</a>;
+<li class=indent>Gerona,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>;
+<li class=indent>Geziret Ibn Omar,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ghaznah,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>;
+<li class=indent>Gubail,
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>;
+<li class=indent>Hadara,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>;
+<li class=indent>Hamadan,
+<a href="#page_81">81</a>;
+<li class=indent>Harr&#257;n,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>;
+<li class=indent>Heluan,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>;
+<li class=indent>Hillah,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ibrig,
+<a href="#page_92">92</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ispahan,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>;
+<li class=indent>Jabustrisa,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kalat Jabar,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kales,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kaphri,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>;
+<li class=indent>Karkisiya,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>;
+<li class=indent>Katifa,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kheibar,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kish,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kotsonath,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kufa,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kutz,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ladikiya,
+<a href="#page_27">27</a>;
+<li class=indent>Lammanah,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>;
+<li class=indent>Lepanto,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>;
+<li class=indent>Lucca,
+<a href="#page_7">7</a>;
+<li class=indent>Lunel,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>;
+<li class=indent>Mareshah,
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>;
+<li class=indent>Marseilles,
+<a href="#page_6">6</a>;
+<li class=indent>Melfi,
+<a href="#page_13">13-14</a>;
+<li class=indent>Messina,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>;
+<li class=indent>Mytilene,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>;
+<li class=indent>Mizraim,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>;
+<li class=indent>Muneh Sifte,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>;
+<li class=indent>Naples,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>;
+<li class=indent>Narbonne,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>;
+<li class=indent>Nehardea,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>Otranto,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>;
+<li class=indent>Palermo,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>;
+<li class=indent>Patras,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>;
+<li class=indent>Pera,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>;
+<li class=indent>Pisa,
+<a href="#page_7">7</a>;
+<li class=indent>Posqui&egrave;res,
+<a href="#page_4">4</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rabonica,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rahbah,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rakka,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rams,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ras-el-Ain,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rhaedestus,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rhodes,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rome,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rudbar,
+<a href="#page_76">76</a>;
+<li class=indent>Salerno,
+<a href="#page_12">12-13</a>;
+<li class=indent>Salonica,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>;
+<li class=indent>Samarkand,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>;
+<li class=indent>Samnu,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>;
+<li class=indent>Samos,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>;
+<li class=indent>near Sepulchre of Ezra,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>;
+<li class=indent>in Shiraz,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>;
+<li class=indent>Shushan,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>;
+<li class=indent>Sidon,
+<a href="#page_29">29</a>;
+<li class=indent>Simasim,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>;
+<li class=indent>Sinon Potamo,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>;
+<li class=indent>Slavonia,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>;
+<li class=indent>Tabaristan,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>;
+<li class=indent>Tanai and district,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>;
+<li class=indent>Tanis,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>;
+<li class=indent>Taranto,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>;
+<li class=indent>Tarmod,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>;
+<li class=indent>Thebes,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>;
+<li class=indent>Tiberias,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>;
+<li class=indent>Tilmas,
+<a href="#page_71">71-2</a>;
+<li class=indent>Trani,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>;
+<li class=indent>Tyre,
+<a href="#page_30">30</a>;
+<li class=indent>near river Virae,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>;
+<li class=indent>in Vissena,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>;
+<li class=indent>Zebid,
+<a href="#page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--excluded from city of Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>;
+<li class=indent>oppression of,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Black, of Malabar,
+<a href="#page_92">92</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--heretical (Epikursin), in Cyprus, <a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--independent, of Abyssinia,
+<a href="#page_95">95</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kheibar and Teima,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>;
+<li class=indent>land of Mulahid,
+<a href="#page_76">76</a>;
+<li class=indent>mountains of Naisabur,
+<a href="#page_83">83-7</a>;
+<li class=indent>Tadmor,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Kara&iuml;tes, in Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>;
+<li class=indent>Cyprus,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>;
+<li class=indent>New Askelon,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>;
+<li class=indent>Damascus,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Rabbanite,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>, <a href="#page_25">25</a>,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Samaritans (Cuthim), in Caesarea,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>;
+<li class=indent>Nablous,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>;
+<li class=indent>New Askelon,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>;
+<li class=indent>Damascus,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+<li class=indent>--Occupations of the: archers,
+<a href="#page_88">88</a>;
+<li class=indent>artificers in silk,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>;
+<li class=indent>astronomers,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>,
+<a href="#page_80">80</a>;
+<li class=indent>dyers,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>,
+<a href="#page_29">29</a>,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>,
+<a href="#page_35">35</a>,
+<a href="#page_40">40</a>,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>;
+<li class=indent>fighting men,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>;
+<li class=indent>glass-makers,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>, <a href="#page_30">30</a>;
+<li class=indent>handi-craftsmen,
+<a href="#page_29">29</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>,
+<a href="#page_29">29</a>;
+<li class=indent>officials of the Pope,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>;
+<li class=indent>owners of cattle,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>;
+<li class=indent>physicians,
+<a href="#page_4">4</a>,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>, <a href="#page_24">24</a>,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>;
+<li class=indent>shipowners,
+<a href="#page_30">30</a>;
+<li class=indent>tillers of the soil,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jezreel,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Joab, <a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Johanan ben Zakkai, R., sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jonah, Synagogue of Obadiah built by,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jonah, son of Amittai, grave of,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jonathan, crags of,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jordan, river,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>, <a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jose Hagelili, R., sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Joseph, grave of,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>;
+<li class=indent>store-house of, in Old Mizraim, <a href="#page_102">102</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Joseph, R., Burhan al-mulk, the astronomer,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>, <a href="#page_80">80</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Joseph Amarkala, R.,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Joseph ben Hama, Rab, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Joseph Sinai, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Judah, kings of, sepulchres of the,
+<a href="#page_39">39</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Judah, R., ben Tibbon, the physician,
+<a href="#page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jugglery,
+<a href="#page_21">21</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+
+<li>Kadmus,
+<a href="#page_27">27</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kako,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kalat Jabar (Selah),
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kales,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kalonymos, R., of Narbonne,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kaphri,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kara&iuml;tes, in Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>;
+<li class=indent>Cyprus,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>;
+<li class=indent>Damascus,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>;
+<li class=indent>New Askelon,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Karjat&#298;n (Kirjathim),
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Karkisiya,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Katifa,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kedemoth <i>see</i> Kadmus.
+
+<li>Kedesh Naphtali,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kedumim, brook of,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kefar al-Keram,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Keilah,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kenisat-al-Irakiyyin,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kenisat-al-Schamiyyin,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Khazaria, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>, <a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kheibar,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Khulam (Quilon),
+<a href="#page_90">90</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Khurasan,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Khuzistan (Elam),
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>,
+<a href="#page_88">88</a>;
+<li class=indent>princes of,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kidron, brook of,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kieff,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kifto <i>see</i> Lepanto.
+
+<li>Kirjathim, <i>see</i> Karjat&#298;n.
+
+<li>Kish,
+<a href="#page_88">88-9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kishon, brook,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Knights Templars and Hospitalers,
+<a href="#page_35">35</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kofar-al-Turak, the, <a href="#page_83">83-7</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kotsonath, <a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kufa, <a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kurch, <i>see</i> Curicus.
+
+<li>Kurland, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kus (Kutz),
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+
+<li>Ladikiya,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lammanah,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Larta, <i>see</i> Arta.
+
+<li>Latmin, <i>see</i> Dimin.
+
+<li>Law, the, method of reading, in Cairo Synagogues, <a href="#page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Leah, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_41">41</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Learning, centres of: Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>, <a href="#page_64">64</a>;
+<li class=indent>Basra,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>;
+<li class=indent>Beziers,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>;
+<li class=indent>Bourg de St. Gilles,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>;
+<li class=indent>Capua,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>;
+<li class=indent>Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>;
+<li class=indent>Damascus,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>;
+<li class=indent>El-Anbar,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kheibar,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>;
+<li class=indent>Lunel,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>;
+<li class=indent>Marseilles,
+<a href="#page_6">6</a>;
+<li class=indent>Montpellier,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>;
+<li class=indent>Narbonne,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>;
+<li class=indent>Paris,
+<a href="#page_112">112</a>;
+<li class=indent>Posqui&egrave;res,
+<a href="#page_4">4</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rome,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rudbar,
+<a href="#page_76">76</a>;
+<li class=indent>Salerno,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>;
+<li class=indent>Thebes,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lebanon, Mount,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>,
+<a href="#page_27">27</a>, <a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--plains of,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lega, <i>see</i> Ladikiya.
+
+<li>Lepanto,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Levites,
+<a href="#page_60">60</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lighthouse at Alexandria,
+<a href="#page_104">104</a>,
+<a href="#page_105">105</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lipar, straits of,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lombardy, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>;
+<li class=indent>sick people of,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lot's wife,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Louis, king of France,
+<a href="#page_112">112</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lucca, <a href="#page_7">7</a>,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ludd (Lydda),
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lunel,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lybia,
+<a href="#page_95">95</a>,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>
+
+<li>Lydda, <i>see</i> Ludd.
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Machpelah, field of,
+<a href="#page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Magicians at Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mahomerie-le-Grand,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mahomerie-le-Petit,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Malaria, in principality of Capua,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Malmistras (Tarshish),
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Manar al Iskandriyyah, lighthouse built by Alexander, <a href="#page_104">104</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Manasseh, tribe of,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mantern,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Maon,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mar Keshisha, Synagogue of, at Hillah,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Maresha,
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mari, R., Synagogue of, at Hillah,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Market-places, in Mizraim,
+<a href="#page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Marmora, sea of,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Marsala,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Marseilles,
+<a href="#page_6">6</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Martyrs, graves at Rome of the ten,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mastic, obtained at Chios,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Masud, Sultan,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mata Mehasya, <i>see</i> Sura.
+
+<li>Mazliach, R., the lecturer,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mecca, pilgrims to,
+<a href="#page_55">55</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Media, land of,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>,
+<a href="#page_77">77</a>,
+<a href="#page_81">81</a>,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>;
+<li class=indent>princes of,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Medicinal properties, of Nile water,
+<a href="#page_101">101</a>;
+<li class=indent>of petroleum and hot-water springs at Pozzuoli, <a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Medicine, school of, at Salerno, <a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Medon, <i>see</i> Meron.
+
+<li>"Megas Domesticus," <a href="#page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li>"Megas Ducas," <a href="#page_20">20</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Meir, R., "crown of the scholars" at Damascus, <a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Synagogue of, at Hillah,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Melfi,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Merchants in Alexandria,
+<a href="#page_105">105</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>;
+<li class=indent>Amalfi,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>;</li>
+<li class=indent>Armylo,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>;</li>
+<li class=indent>Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>;</li>
+<li class=indent>Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>;</li>
+<li class=indent>among the Druses,
+<a href="#page_29">29</a>;</li>
+<li class=indent>in Egripo,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>;</li>
+<li class=indent>Ghaznah,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>;</li>
+<li class=indent>Khulam,
+<a href="#page_90">90</a>;</li>
+<li class=indent>Kish,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>;</li>
+<li class=indent>Montpellier,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>;
+<li class=indent>New Askelon,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>;
+<li class=indent>at Synagogue of Ezekiel,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>;
+<li class=indent>in Tarragona,
+<a href="#page_1">1</a>;
+<li class=indent>Tyre,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Exilarch's revenue derived from, <a href="#page_63">63</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Meron (Medon),
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mesopotamia, <i>see</i> Aram Naharaim.
+
+<li>Messina,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Metz,
+<a href="#page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Micah, graven image of,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mills, at Baalbec,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ministers of religion, power to appoint, given to Exilarch, <a href="#page_63">63</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mishael, <a href="#page_65">65</a>;
+<li class=indent>sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mizraim, New,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>,
+<a href="#page_101">101</a>,
+<a href="#page_102">102</a>;
+<li class=indent>Old,
+<a href="#page_102">102</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mohammed,
+<a href="#page_56">56</a>,
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>;
+<li class=indent>family of,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mohammedans,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Montpellier (Har Gaash),
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>, <a href="#page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mordecai, grave of,
+<a href="#page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Moselle, river,
+<a href="#page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Moses, "our teacher,"
+<a href="#page_60">60</a>;
+<li class=indent>law of,
+<a href="#page_92">92</a>,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>;
+<li class=indent>Synagogue of, outside Mizraim, <a href="#page_102">102</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Moses, R., the archer,
+<a href="#page_88">88</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mosque, at Damascus,
+<a href="#page_47">47</a>;
+<li class=indent>of Islam at Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>;
+<li class=indent>of Mohammedans at Kufa,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>Noah's Ark made into a,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mourners of Zion and Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_39">39</a>,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mulahid, <a href="#page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Muneh Sifte, <a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li>M&uuml;nster, <a href="#page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Musk, from Tibet, <a href="#page_75">75</a>, <a href="#page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mytilene, <a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Nabal, the Carmelite,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nablous,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nahum, the Elkoshite, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>;
+<li class=indent>Synagogue of,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--village of, <i>see</i> Capernaum.
+
+<li>Naisabur, mountains of,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>,
+<a href="#page_85">85</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Names, Jewish, adopted by Wallachians,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Naphtali, tribe of,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Naples,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Narbonne,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nasi of the Seed of David, the, Daniel,
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Hanan,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>;
+<li class=indent>Salmon,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Todros,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Zakkai,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nathan, R., composer of the Aruch,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Naupactus, <i>see</i> Lepanto.
+
+<li>Navarra, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nebo, Mount, <a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nebuchadnezzar, palace of,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nehardea,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nero, Emperor, palace of, at Rome,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nethanel, "the Prince of Princes,"
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nihawand,
+<a href="#page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nikpa, Sea of,
+<a href="#page_94">94</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nile (Pison), river,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>,
+<a href="#page_102">102</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nilometer,
+<a href="#page_99">99-101</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nineveh,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Noah's Ark,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nob, <i>see</i> Beit Nuba.
+
+<li>Normandy, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Norway, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nur-ed-din, King of the Togarmim,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>,
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Obadiah, Synagogue of,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--R., the Nasi,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li>"Oeconomus Megalus," the,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Oil, obtained from fish of the Nile,
+<a href="#page_100">100</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Oil-spring at Pozzuoli,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>"Old Man of the Hashishim,"
+<a href="#page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Olives, Mount of,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Omar ben al Khataab,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Orion, star, <a href="#page_94">94</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Orontes, river, <a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Otranto, <a href="#page_15">15</a>.</li>
+
+
+
+<li>Palace of: Ahab at Sebastiya,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ahasuerus at Shushan,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>;
+<li class=indent>Caliph of Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>;
+<li class=indent>eighty emperors at Rome,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>;
+<li class=indent>Emir al Muminim at Mizraim,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>;
+<li class=indent>Julius Caesar at Rome,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>;
+<li class=indent>Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>;
+<li class=indent>Nur-ed-din at Aleppo,
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>;
+<li class=indent>Pharaoh's daughter at Baalbec,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>;
+<li class=indent>Pope at Rome,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>;
+<li class=indent>Salmon the Nasi at Tanai,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>;
+<li class=indent>Solomon at Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_35">35</a>;
+<li class=indent>Titus outside Rome,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>;
+<li class=indent>Vespasianus at Rome,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>;
+<li class=indent>King William at Palermo,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Palermo,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Palestine, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Palmid, <a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Papa, Rab, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Paris,
+<a href="#page_112">112</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Passover, Feast of the,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Patras,
+<a href="#page_15">15</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Patriarch of Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_38">38</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Patriarchs, tombs of the, at Hebron,
+<a href="#page_41">41</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Patzinakia, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>, <a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pavilion of Daniel, Synagogue of the,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pearl-fishery, at Katifa,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pedigrees: of Daniel the son of Hisdai,
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Elazar the son of Zemach,
+<a href="#page_60">60</a>;
+<li class=indent>Hanan the Nasi,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Kalonymos the son of R. Todros,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>;
+<li class=indent>Salmon the Nasi,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Samuel the son of Eli,
+<a href="#page_60">60</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pepin, king,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pepper, grown at Khulam,
+<a href="#page_91">91</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pera,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Persia,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>, <a href="#page_89">89</a>;
+<li class=indent>princes of,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Shah of, exacts poll-tax from Jews of Amadia,
+<a href="#page_77">77</a>;
+<li class=indent>extent of his dominions,
+<a href="#page_75">75</a>;
+<li class=indent>his expedition against the Kofar-al-Turak,
+<a href="#page_84">84-7</a>;
+<li class=indent>imprisoned David Alroy,
+<a href="#page_78">78</a>, <a href="#page_79">79</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pethor, <i>see</i> Balis.
+
+<li>Petralia,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Petroleum, spring of, at Pozzuoli,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pharpar, river,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>,
+<a href="#page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Physicians: R. Hananel,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Judah,
+<a href="#page_4">4</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Solomon Hamitsri,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Zedekiah,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pilgrims, to Bourg de St. Gilles,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>;
+<li class=indent>Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>,
+<a href="#page_35">35</a>,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>;
+<li class=indent>Mecca,
+<a href="#page_55">55</a>.</li>
+
+<li>"Pillar of Salt,"
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pisa, <a href="#page_7">7</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pisans, at Montpellier, <a href="#page_3">3</a>; at Armylo, <a href="#page_18">18</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pishon, river, <i>see</i> Nile.
+
+<li>Pithom, <a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Plantations, <i>see</i> Gardens.
+
+<li>Poitiers, merchants from, <a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pool in Jerusalem, used for sacrifices,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pope of the Greeks,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pope of Rome,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>,
+<a href="#page_54">54</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Posqui&egrave;res,
+<a href="#page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pozzuoli,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Prague,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Priests, Samaritan, <a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Provence,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Psalms, inscribed in Synagogue of Exilarch,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pul, land of (Apulia),
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pumbedita, <i>see</i> El-Anbar.
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+
+<li>Quilon, <i>see</i> Khulam.
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+
+<li>Rab and Samuel, Synagogue of,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rabbah, Synagogue of,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rabbanite Jews, in Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>;
+<li class=indent>Cyprus,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>;
+<li class=indent>New Askelon,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rabbis, among Jews at river Virae,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>;
+<li class=indent>appointed by Nethanel, Head of the Academy,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>;
+<li class=indent>power to appoint, given by Exilarch,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rabonica, <a href="#page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rachel's grave,
+<a href="#page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Raga, river,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ragusa, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rahbah,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rakka (Salchah),
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ramah (Ramlah),
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rams (Ramleh),
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ramses, <i>see</i> Ain-al-Shams.
+
+<li>Ras-el-Ain,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Raymond V, Count of Toulouse,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rayy,
+<a href="#page_84">84</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rebekah, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_41">41</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Red Sea,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Regensburg,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rephidim,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Resen, <i>see</i> Gazigan.
+
+<li>Reshid (Rosetta),
+<a href="#page_101">101</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Reuben, tribe of,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rhaedestus,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rhine, river,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rhodes,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rhone, river,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rib of a giant, at Damascus,
+<a href="#page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Riding on horseback forbidden to Jews of Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Romagna, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Roman road between Pozzuoli and Naples,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rome,
+<a href="#page_8">8-11</a>,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>; merchants from,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Romulus, king,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rosetta, <i>see</i> Reshid.
+
+<li>Rudbar,
+<a href="#page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ruins: at Ain-al-Shams,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>;
+<li class=indent>Babylon,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>;
+<li class=indent>Fayum,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>;
+<li class=indent>Gardiki,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>;
+<li class=indent>Nineveh,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>;
+<li class=indent>Old Mizraim,
+<a href="#page_102">102</a>;
+<li class=indent>Palmid (Ashdod),
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>;
+<li class=indent>Pozzuoli,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rams,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>;
+<li class=indent>Shushan,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Russia, extent of,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Saadiah Al-Fiumi, R., sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Saba, <i>see</i> Yemen, el.
+
+<li>Sabbath, observance of,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sable, found in Russia,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sacrifices, on Mount Gerizim, on Passover and other festivals,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Saffuriya, <i>see</i> Sepphoris.
+
+<li>Sahara,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Saida, <i>see</i> Sidon.
+
+'<li>Saidna ben Daoud,'
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>St. Abram, church of,
+<a href="#page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li>St. Abram de Bron,
+<a href="#page_40">40</a>.</li>
+
+<li>St. Elias, structure erected on Mount Carmel,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li>St. George of Ludd,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>St. Gilles, Bourg de,
+<a href="#page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li>St. John in the Lateran, Church of,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>.</li>
+
+<li>St. Peter's Church, Rome,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>.</li>
+
+<li>St. Samuel of Shiloh,
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Salchah, <i>see</i> Rakka.
+--<i>see</i> Salkat.
+
+<li>Salerno,
+<a href="#page_12">12</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Salkat (Salchah),
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Salmon, the Nasi,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Salonica,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Salt Sea (Sea of Sodom),
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Samara, river,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Samaritan alphabet, <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image04.gif" width="14" height="25">,
+<img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image05.gif" width="18" height="16">
+ and <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image06.gif" width="22" height="18">,lacking in,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Samaritans in Caesarea,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>;
+<li class=indent>Nablous (Shechem) <i>See</i> Cuthim.,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li>Samarkand,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Samnu,
+<a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Samos,
+<a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Samson, statue of, at Rome,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Samuel, the prophet, grave of,
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>;
+<li class=indent>descendant of,
+<a href="#page_60">60</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Synagogue with graves of Rab and,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--ben Hofni, Rab, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--R., head of the Jews in Salonica,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Samuel, the son of Eli, chief rabbi,
+<a href="#page_60">60</a>,
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sand-storms, in the Sahara,
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Santa Sophia, Church of, at Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sar Shalom, head of the Beth Din,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sar Shalom, chief rabbi of Ispahan,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>,
+<a href="#page_88">88</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sarafend, <i>see</i> Sarepta.
+
+<li>Saragossa, <a href="#page_1">1</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sarah, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_41">41</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sarepta,
+<a href="#page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Saxony, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Scorpions, at Babylon,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Scotia, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Seba,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sebastiya,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Seine, river,
+<a href="#page_112">112</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Selah, <i>see</i> Kalat Jabar.
+
+<li>Seleucus, king,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Seljuks, <i>see</i> Togarmim.
+
+<li>Senators of Rome,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Seneh,
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sepharad, <i>see</i> Spain.
+
+<li>Sephardi, the, <i>see</i> Judah, R., ben Tibbon.
+
+<li>Sepphoris (Saffuriya),
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sepulchre, Church at Jerusalem.
+
+<li>Sepulchres: of Abaji and other sages, near Kefar al-Keram,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>;
+<li class=indent>Barak ben Abinoam, at Kadesh Naphtali,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>;
+<li class=indent>Bostanai the Nasi, at El Anbar,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rab Chisdai at Kefar al-Keram,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>;
+<li class=indent>Daniel at Shushan,
+<a href="#page_74">74-6</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Eleazar ben Arak, &amp;c., at Almah,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ezekiel near Kaphri,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ezra the priest,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>;
+<li class=indent>Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah near Synagogue of Ezekiel, <a href="#page_68">68</a>;
+<li class=indent>House of David on Mount Zion,
+<a href="#page_38">38</a>;
+<li class=indent>Israelites near Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>;
+<li class=indent>Hillel, &amp;c., near Meron,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>;
+<li class=indent>King Jeconiah at Kufa,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rab (Jehuda) and Samuel at El-Anbar,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Jehudah Halevi, &amp;c., near Tiberias,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>;
+<li class=indent>Joseph at Shechem,
+<a href="#page_33">33</a>;
+<li class=indent>the ten Martyrs near river Tiber,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>;
+<li class=indent>Mordecai and Esther at Hamadan,
+<a href="#page_81">81</a>;
+<li class=indent>Nahum at Ain Siptha,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>;
+<li class=indent>the Patriarchs at St. Abram de Bron,
+<a href="#page_41">41</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rab Papa, &amp;c., at Kotsonath,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rahbah at Gazigan,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rabbenu Hakkadosh, &amp;c., at Sepphoris,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>;
+<li class=indent>Samuel the Ramathite at Ramah,
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Sherira, &amp;c., at Sura,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>Uzziah in valley of Jehoshaphat,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>;
+<li class=indent>King Zedekiah, near river Raga,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>at foot of Mount Carmel,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>;
+<li class=indent>marble sepulchre at Alexandria,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Serpents at Babylon,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shafjathib,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shalmaneser, king of Assyria,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>,
+<a href="#page_77">77</a>,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shammai, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shechem,
+<a href="#page_32">32</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sheik Al Hashishim,
+<a href="#page_27">27</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sheizar,
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sherira, R., sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shiloh,
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shinar, land of,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shipping at Acre,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>;
+<li class=indent>Genoa,
+<a href="#page_7">7</a>;
+<li class=indent>New Tyre,
+<a href="#page_30">30</a>;
+<li class=indent>Pisa,
+<a href="#page_7">7</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shiraz,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shittim, valley of,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Shomron, <i>see</i> Samaria.
+
+<li class=indent>--Jews of, <i>see</i> Samaritans.
+
+<li>Shushan (Susa),
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Siberia,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sicily,
+<a href="#page_7">7</a>,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sidon (Saida),
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sihon, land of,
+<a href="#page_27">27</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Silk, artificers in,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>,
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>;
+<li class=indent>silk-weaving at Salonica,
+<a href="#page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Siloam, Waters of,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Simasim,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Simeon ben Gamaliel, Raban, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Simon the Just, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sinai, Mount,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sin-ed-din, King of the Togarmim,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>,
+<a href="#page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Singers of the Temple, their melodies known<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  by R. Elazar the son of Zemach,
+<a href="#page_60">60</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sinjar, Shah of Persia, <a href="#page_74">74</a>;
+<li class=indent>extent of his dominions,
+<a href="#page_75">75</a>;
+<li class=indent>his defeat by Ghuzes,
+<a href="#page_84">84-8</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sinon Potamo,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Siponto,
+<a href="#page_13">13</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Slaves, taken by men of Assuan,
+<a href="#page_96">96</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Slavonia (Canaan),
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">1-6</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sodom, Sea of, <i>see</i> Salt Sea.
+
+<li>Solomon, King,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>;
+<li class=indent>palace of,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>;
+<li class=indent>sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_39">39</a>;
+<li class=indent>Temple of,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>,
+<a href="#page_35">35</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Solomon Hamitsri, R., the physician,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sorrento,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Spain (Sepharad),
+<a href="#page_1">1</a>,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_20">20</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Spices, from India,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>,
+<a href="#page_91">91</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Stables, built by Solomon,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Statues, at Rome,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Strassburg,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sugar, grown near Tyre,
+<a href="#page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+
+<li>Sunbat,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sun-dial, in mosque at Damascus,
+<a href="#page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sun-worshippers,
+<a href="#page_90">90-2</a>.</li>
+
+<li>S&#363;r, <i>see</i> Tyre.
+
+<li>Sura (Mata Mehasya),
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Susa, <i>see</i> Shushan.
+
+<li>Synagogues: of Caleb ben Jephunneh at Tiberias,
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>;
+<li class=indent>Exilarch at Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ezekiel,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>,
+<a href="#page_67">67</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ezra,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ezra, at Haran,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>;
+<li class=indent>Ezra at Rakka,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Isaac Napcha at Kaphri,
+<a href="#page_66">66</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rab (Jehuda) and Samuel at El-Anbar,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>R. Meir, &amp;c., at Hillah,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>;
+<li class=indent>Moses, outside Mizraim,
+<a href="#page_102">102</a>;
+<li class=indent>Nahum the Elkoshite at Mosul,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>;
+<li class=indent>Obadiah at Mosul,
+<a href="#page_53">53</a>;
+<li class=indent>the Pavilion of Daniel near Babylon,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>;
+<li class=indent>Rabbah at Gazigan,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>;
+<li class=indent>Samuel at Ramah,
+<a href="#page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--in Bagdad,
+<a href="#page_64">64</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kotsonath,
+<a href="#page_68">68</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kufa,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>Mizraim,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>;
+<li class=indent>near Sepulchre of Ezra,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>;
+<li class=indent>in Shafjathib,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>;
+<li class=indent>Shushan,
+<a href="#page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Syracuse,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Syria (Al-Sham), merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Syrians, in Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_34">34</a>;
+<li class=indent>convent of, on Mount Sinai,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+
+<li>Tabaristan,
+<a href="#page_78">78</a>,
+<a href="#page_81">81</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tadmor (Tarmod),
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Talmud, the,
+<a href="#page_3">3</a>,
+<a href="#page_4">4</a>,
+<a href="#page_63">63</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tanai,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tanis (Hanes),
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tanners, in Constantinople,
+<a href="#page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tarabulus el Sham, <i>see</i> Tripolis.
+
+<li>Taranto,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tarmal Galsin, King, catacombs of,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tarmod, <i>see</i> Tadmor.
+
+<li>Tarquinius, palace of, at Rome,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tarragona,
+<a href="#page_1">1</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tarshish,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Teima,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Temple, of children of Ammon at Gubail,
+<a href="#page_28">28</a>;
+<li class=indent>of Solomon at Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>,
+<a href="#page_35">35</a>,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Terah, house of, at Harr&#257;n,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Thebes,
+<a href="#page_16">16</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Thelasar,
+<a href="#page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Theodoros, a Greek captain,
+<a href="#page_104">104</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Thoros, King of Armenia,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tiber, river,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tiberias,
+<a href="#page_44">44</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tiberius, emperor, palace of, at Rome,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tibet,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>,
+<a href="#page_82">82</a>;
+<li class=indent>princes of,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tigris, river, <i>see</i> Hiddekel.
+
+<li>Tilmas,
+<a href="#page_71">71</a>,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Timnathah, <i>see</i> Tymin.
+
+<li>Titus, reputed palace of, outside Rome,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>;
+<li class=indent>stored Temple vessels in cave,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Todros, R., of the seed of David,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Togarma, princes of,
+<a href="#page_57">57</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Togarmim (Seljuks),
+<a href="#page_23">23</a>,
+<a href="#page_46">46</a>,
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>;
+<li class=indent>land of the,
+<a href="#page_51">51</a>,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tombs, <i>see</i> Sepulchres.
+
+<li>Torah, the,
+<a href="#page_2">2</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tortosa,
+<a href="#page_1">1</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Trani,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Transmigration of souls, belief of Druses in,
+<a href="#page_29">29</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Trapani,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Trastevere,
+<a href="#page_8">8</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Treves,
+<a href="#page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tripolis,
+<a href="#page_27">27</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Trunia,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tur Sinai,
+<a href="#page_107">107</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tuscany, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tymin (Timnathah),
+<a href="#page_45">45</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tyre (ancient) (S&#363;r),
+<a href="#page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--New (S&#363;r),
+<a href="#page_30">30</a>,
+<a href="#page_31">31</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tyrian glass-ware,
+<a href="#page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Uzziah, king, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+<li>Vair, found in Russia,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Val-de-Luna, <a href="#page_34">34</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Vegetables and fruit grown in Egypt,
+<a href="#page_101">101</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Venetia, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Venetians in Armylo,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Verdun,
+<a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Vespasianus, emperor, palace of, at Rome,
+<a href="#page_9">9</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Vessels from the Temple,
+<a href="#page_10">10</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Vessels, sea-going, of Jews of Tyre,
+<a href="#page_30">30</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Virae, river,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Vissena,
+<a href="#page_18">18</a>.</li>
+
+
+
+<li>Wales, merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Wallachia,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Wallachians, adopt Jewish names,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>;
+<li class=indent>warlike nature of the,
+<a href="#page_17">17</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Water, how supplied to Antioch,
+<a href="#page_26">26</a>;
+<li class=indent>bad, at Capua,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>;
+<li class=indent>rain-water drunk at, Aleppo,
+<a href="#page_50">50</a>;
+<li class=indent>Jerusalem,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>;
+<li class=indent>Kish,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>.</li>
+
+<li>William, King of Sicily,
+<a href="#page_14">14</a>;
+<li class=indent>palace of,
+<a href="#page_108">108</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Witchcraft, of Duchbin priests,
+<a href="#page_92">92-4</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Worms,
+<a href="#page_110">110</a>.</li>
+
+<li>W&uuml;rzburg,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+<li>Y&#257;fa (Jaffa),
+<a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Yemen, el,
+<a href="#page_62">62</a>,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>,
+<a href="#page_72">72</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_89">89</a>,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Yeshiba Gaon (Jacob),
+<a href="#page_61">61</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul>
+
+
+<li>Zakkai, R., the Nasi,
+<a href="#page_52">52</a>,
+<a href="#page_80">80</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zarfath, <i>see</i> France.
+
+<li>Zawilah (Havilah),
+<a href="#page_97">97</a>;
+<li class=indent>merchants from,
+<a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zebid, <a href="#page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zebulun, tribe of,
+<a href="#page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zedekiah, king, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zedekiah, R., the physician,
+<a href="#page_48">48</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zeiri, Rab, Synagogue of, at Hillah,
+<a href="#page_65">65</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zelzah, <a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zemarites,
+<a href="#page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zephaniah, the prophet, sepulchre of,
+<a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zerin, <i>see</i> Jezreel.
+
+<li>Zin, <i>see</i> China.
+
+<li>Zion, gate of,
+<a href="#page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--Mount,
+<a href="#page_37">37</a>.</li>
+
+<li class=indent>--mourners of,
+<a href="#page_70">70</a>,
+<a href="#page_111">111</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zoan,
+<a href="#page_99">99</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zoan el-Medina,
+<a href="#page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zur, son of Hadadezer,
+<a href="#page_11">11</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<hr style="width: 85%;">
+<h3><a name="FOOTNOTES" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES:</a></h3>
+<hr style="width: 85%;">
+<br />
+<div class="blockquot">
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1">[1]</a></p>  <p> Tudela was called in Benjamin's time <i>Tuteila</i>. Sepharad is Spain.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2">[2]</a></p>  <p> 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&mdash;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 <i>Life of Saladin</i>, 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3">[3]</a></p>  <p> Saragossa was called in Benjamin's time <i>Sarakosta</i> (= Caesar-Augusta).
+  Charisi, in <i>Tachkemoni</i>, 46, refers to some of the Rabbis.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4">[4]</a></p>  <p> The imposing ruins at Tarragona comprise prehistoric walls of
+  enormous unhewn blocks of stone, as well as the remains of Roman
+  aqueducts, tombs, amphitheatres, &amp;c. Here and generally in this narrative
+  the letter R is used as an abbreviation for Rabbi.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5">[5]</a></p>  <p> See Graetz, <i>Geschichte der Juden</i>, vol. VI, pp. 230 et seq.; also notes
+  1 and 10 at the end of vol. VI.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6">[6]</a></p>  <p> The ancient name of Gerona was Gerunda.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7">[7]</a></p>  <p> See Geiger's <i>J&uuml;dische Zeitschrift f&uuml;r Wissenschaft und Leben</i>, p. 281. The
+  Records of Narbonne bear evidence of sales of lands standing in the
+  name of R. Kalonymos (<i>Archives Israelites</i>, 1861, p. 449). His ancestor,
+  R. Machir, came to Europe in the time of Charlemagne.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8">[8]</a></p>  <p>
+  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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9">[9]</a></p>  <p>
+  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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"> [10]</a></p>  <p>
+  The King of Portugal is even now styled King of the Algarves.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"> [11]</a></p>  <p>
+  Cf. Graetz, VI, p. 240, also Joseph Jacob's <i>Angevin Jews</i>, p. 111. R. Asher
+  was one of a group of pious Rabbis known as Perushim&mdash;who might be
+  styled Jewish monks. His father, Rabbenu Meshullam, died 1170.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"> [12]</a></p>  <p>
+  He is referred to in <i>Tosafoth Temurah</i>, fol. 12a and b.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"> [13]</a></p>  <p> This eminent Talmudist, known as the Rabad, was son-in-law of the
+  R. Abraham of Narbonne before referred to. See Graetz, VI, 243.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"> [14]</a></p>  <p> 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 &quot;the
+  good Duke.&quot; 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 &quot;Jews in Mediaeval
+  France,&quot; and other articles, in the <i>Jewish Encyclopaedia</i>, also Gross,
+  <i>Gallia Judaica</i>, might be consulted with advantage.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"> [15]</a></p>  <p> The BM. MS. calls R. Abba Mari dead, which statement, unless
+  qualified, as in a few other instances, by the insertion of the word
+  &quot;since,&quot; would be unintelligible.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"> [16]</a></p>  <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"> [17]</a></p>  <p> R. Isaac, son of Abba Mari, is the celebrated author of &quot;Baal
+  Haittur&quot;; he wrote this work at Marseilles, 1179. It is doubtful
+  whether he was the son of Count Raymond's bailiff.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"> [18]</a></p>  <p> His full name is R. Jacob Perpignano. See Graetz, VI, note 1, p. 399.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"> [19]</a></p>  <p> The meaning of course is that the Genoese pillage Christian and
+  Mohammedan places alike.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"> [20]</a></p>  <p> See Dr. H. Berliner's work <i>Die Geschichte der Juden in Rom.</i> His
+  derivation of the Hebrew word used for Pope, <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image07.gif" width="56" height="12"> from Peter, is
+  questionable. It is the Greek '&#941;&#960;&#943;&#966;&#959;&#961;&#959;&#962;. See
+  Talmud, <i>Aboda Zarah</i>, 11 a.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"> [21]</a></p>  <p> The great work alluded to is the <i>Talmudical Dictionary</i>, completed in
+  1101. See Graetz, VI, p. 281.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"> [22]</a></p>  <p> The palace of the Caesars on the Palatine Hill is no doubt here
+  referred to.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"> [23]</a></p>  <p> <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image08.gif" width="52" height="22">, quoted by E and Asher, is a corrupt reading for <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image09.gif" width="54" height="21">.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"> [24]</a></p>  <p> 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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image10.gif" width="39" height="16"> &quot;consul.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"> [25]</a></p>  <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"> [26]</a></p>  <p> I. Heilprin, the author of <i>Seder Hadoroth</i> (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</p>
+  <p><img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image11.gif" width="549" height="101"></p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"> [27]</a></p>  <p> This is the statue of Marcus Aurelius now before the Capitol.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"> [28]</a></p>  <p> Even in Benjamin's time the Campagna was noted for malaria.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"> [29]</a></p>  <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"> [30]</a></p> <p> 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
+  Piedi grotta of Posilipo, constructed by Augustus.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"> [31]</a></p> <p> R. Isaac, the father of R. Judah, must be the &quot;Greek Locust&quot; against
+  whom Ibn Ezra directed his satire when visiting Salerno some twenty
+  years before R. Benjamin. See Graetz, VI, p. 441.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"> [32]</a></p> <p> Cf. Isaiah lxvi. 19.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"> [33]</a></p> <p> This city was destroyed by William the Bad in 1156. It was ordered
+  to be restored by William the Good in 1169, 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"> [34]</a></p> <p> See H. M. Adler's article on Jews in Southern Italy, <i>J.Q.R.</i>, XIV, p. 111.
+  Gibbon, <i>Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</i>, chap. lvi, describing the
+  reconquest of the southern provinces of Italy by the Byzantine Emperor
+  Manuel, 1155, says. &quot;The natives of Calabria were still attached to the
+  Greek language and worship.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"> [35]</a></p> <p> The river Achelous falls into the Ionian Sea opposite to Ithaca.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"> [36]</a></p> <p> Anatolica is now known as Aetolicum.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"> [37]</a></p> <p> Patras, the ancient Patrae, was founded long before the time of
+  Antipater. <i>Josippon</i>, II, chap. xxiii, is again the questionable authority
+  on which Benjamin relied.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"> [38]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"> [39]</a></p>
+
+<p> Chalcis, the capital of Euboea or Negroponte, is even now called
+  Egripo. It is situated on the Straits of Euripus.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"> [40]</a></p> <p> Some twenty years later the Wallachians were in open revolt and
+  became independent of the Byzantine Empire. Gibbon, chap. lx.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"> [41]</a></p> <p> See Gibbon, chap. liii. He often quotes Benjamin.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"> [42]</a></p> <p> The Grand Duchy of Kieff was called Russia. See page 81.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"> [43]</a></p> <p> The Petchinegs, as well as the Khazars, Bulgarians, Hungarians, and
+  Turks, are called by Josippon, I, chap. i, descendants of Togarma.
+  Patzinakia was the country from the Danube to the Dnieper, and corresponds
+  with Dacia of classical times.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"> [44]</a></p> <p> The readings of E and A are corrupt. R has <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image12.gif" width="55" height="21">, and BM. has
+  <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image13.gif" width="43" height="21">, 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, <i>Translation of Petachia's
+  Travels</i>. In note 3, p. 70, he gives a short sketch of their history.
+  The ruling dynasty and most of the inhabitants embraced the Jewish
+  religion.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"> [45]</a></p> <p> <i>Procopius</i>, vol. I (Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society), gives a full description
+  of Constantinople.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"> [46]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"> [47]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>Itinerary of Rabbi Benjamin</i>.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"> [48]</a></p> <p> Ibn Verga, <i>Shevet Jehuda</i>, 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"> [49]</a></p> <p> This place is mentioned by <i>Procopius</i>, p. 119, as having been fortified
+  by Justinian. It is now known as Rodosto.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"> [50]</a></p> <p> Ibn Ezra visited Cyprus before his arrival in London in 1158, when
+  he wrote the <i>Sabbath Epistle</i>. 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, <i>Ibn Ezra in
+  England, J.Q.R.</i>, VIII, p. 140, and Joseph Jacobs, <i>The Jews of Angevin
+  England</i>, p. 35.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"> [51]</a></p> <p> See Gibbon, chaps, lviii and lix; Charles Mills, <i>History of the Crusades</i>,
+  I, p. 159; C. R. Conder, <i>Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem</i>, p. 39.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"> [52]</a></p> <p> The several MSS. give different readings. The kingdom reached to
+  the Taurus mountains and the Sultanate of Rum or Iconium.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"> [53]</a></p> <p> 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. <i>Josippon</i>, I, chap. i,
+  identifies Tarshish with Tarsus.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"> [54]</a></p> <p> 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: &quot;The river of Ham&acirc;h is also called Al Urunt or the
+  Nahr al Makl&ucirc;b (the Overturned) on account of its course from south
+  to north; or, again, it is called Al' &Acirc;si (the Rebel), for the reason that
+  though most rivers water the lands on their borders without the aid
+  of water-wheels, the river of Ham&acirc;h will not irrigate the lands except
+  by the aid of machines for raising its waters.&quot; (Guy le Strange,
+  <i>Palestine under the Moslems</i>, 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"> [55]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"> [56]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"> [57]</a></p> <p> Gebal is the Gabala of ancient geographers. See Schechter, <i>Saadyana</i>,
+  p. 25. Many travellers, among them Robinson, identify Baal-Gad with
+  Banias, others suppose it to be Hasbeya.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"> [58]</a></p> <p> Hashishim&mdash;hemp-smokers&mdash;hence is derived the word &quot;assassin.&quot;
+  See Socin, <i>Palestine and Syria</i>, 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 (<i>The Book of Ser Marco Polo</i>: translated
+  and edited by Colonel Sir Henry Yule; third edition, London,
+  John Murray, 1903): &quot;In a fertile and sequestered valley he placed every
+  conceivable thing pleasant to man&mdash;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.&quot; 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, Ala&uuml;,
+  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 <i>The Arabian Nights</i>.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"> [59]</a></p> <p> See Parchi, <i>Caphtor wa-pherach</i>, an exhaustive work on Palestine
+  written 1322, especially chap. xi. The author spent over seven years
+  in exploring the country.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"> [60]</a></p> <p> Socin, the author of Baedeker's <i>Handbook to Palestine and Syria</i>, 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
+  <i>terminus ad quem</i>.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"> [61]</a></p> <p> See the narrative of William of Tyre.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"> [62]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"> [63]</a></p> <p> <i>The Quarterly Statements of the Palestine Exploration Fund</i> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"> [64]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"> [65]</a></p> <p> 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: &quot;Outside the eastern city gate is a spring.
+  This they call Ain al Bakar, relating how it was Adam&mdash;peace be upon
+  him!&mdash;who discovered this spring, and gave his oxen water therefrom,
+  whence its name.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"> [66]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"> [67]</a></p> <p> In Benjamin's time hermits, who eventually founded the Carmelite
+  order of monks, occupied grottoes on Mount Carmel.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"> [68]</a></p> <p> Benjamin travelled along the coast to Caesarea. Mr. Guy Le Strange
+  (<i>Palestine under the Moslems</i>, 1890, p. 477) writes: &quot;Tall Kan&icirc;sah, or Al
+  Kunaisah, the Little Church, is the mound a few miles north of Athlith,
+  which the Crusaders took to be the site of Capernaum.&quot; Benjamin
+  must have known very well that Maon, which was contiguous to another
+  Carmel (referred to in Joshua xv. 55), belonged to Judah, and was not in
+  the north of Palestine. Here, as in the case of Gath and elsewhere, he
+  quotes what was the hearsay identification current at the time he visited
+  these places. See an article by C.R. Conder on &quot;Early Christian Topography&quot;
+  in the <i>Quarterly Statements of the Palestine Exploration Fund</i> for 1876,
+  p.16. Cf. <i>The Ancient Hebrew Tradition</i>, by Prof. Fr. Hommel, p. 243.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"> [69]</a></p> <p> In the time of the Crusaders Gath was supposed to be near Jamnia,
+  but nothing definite is known as to its site. (Baedeker, <i>Handbook to
+  Palestine and Syria</i>, 1876, p. 317.)</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"> [70]</a></p> <p> It lies between Caesarea and Lydda. See Conder's <i>Latin Kingdom
+  of Jerusalem</i>. Munk's <i>Palestine</i> might also be consulted with advantage.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"> [71]</a></p> <p> The tomb of St. George is still shown in the Greek church at Lydda.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"> [72]</a></p> <p> Mr. A. Cowley in an article on the Samaritan Liturgy in <i>J. Q. R.</i>, VII,
+  125, states that the &quot;House of Aaron&quot; died out in 1624. The office then
+  went to another branch, the priest being called <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image14.gif" width="68" height="21">, the Levite Cohon.
+  Cf. Adler and Seligsohn's <i>Une nouvelle chronique Samaritaine</i>. (Paris: Durlacher, 1903.)</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"> [73]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"> [74]</a></p> <p> Cf. Guy Le Strange, <i>Palestine</i>, 381, and Rapoport's Note 166, Asher's
+  <i>Benjamin</i>, vol. II, p. 87.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"> [75]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>Itinerary</i>. 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"> [76]</a></p> <p> 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, <i>The Survey of Western Palestine</i>. 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: &quot;The medi&aelig;val 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.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"> [77]</a></p> <p> King Baldwin III died in 1162, and was succeeded by his brother Almaric.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"> [78]</a></p> <p> 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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image15.gif" width="14" height="13"> daleth meaning four would easily be misread for <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image16.gif" width="17" height="20"> resh
+  meaning 200.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"> [79]</a></p> <p> The Knights of the Hospital of St. John and the Templars are here
+  referred to. See Gibbon, <i>Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</i>; Charles Mills,
+  <i>History of the Crusades</i>, 4th edition, vol. I, p. 342, and Besant and Palmer's
+  <i>Jerusalem</i>, chap. ix.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"> [80]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>Palestine</i> 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, <i>Zeitschrift des
+  Deutschen Pal&auml;stina-Vereins.</i></p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"> [81]</a></p> <p> 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, <i>Temple
+  at Jerusalem</i> and Sir Charles Warren's Comments.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"> [82]</a></p> <p> 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., <i>Jerusalem</i>,
+  as to identification of sites. Sir Charles Wilson, <i>Picturesque Palestine</i>, gives
+  excellent illustrations of the holy places, and his work might be consulted
+  with advantage.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"> [83]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_84_84" id="Footnote_84_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_84"> [84]</a></p> <p> See Baedeker's <i>Palestine and Syria</i>, pp. 233, 236; also Schwartz,
+  <i>Palestine</i>, 1852, p. 230 and Dr. Robinson's <i>Palestine</i>, I, p. 516.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_85_85" id="Footnote_85_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_85"> [85]</a></p> <p> Edrisi in 1154 writes: &quot;The tomb is covered by twelve stones, and
+  above it is a dome vaulted over with stones.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_86_86" id="Footnote_86_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_86"> [86]</a></p> <p> Compare R. Pethachia's account of his visit (<i>Travels of Rabbi Petachia</i>:
+  translated by Dr. A. Benisch; London, Tr&uuml;bner &amp; Co., 1856, p. 63).
+  See papers by Professors Goldziher and Guthe (<i>Zeitschrift des Deutschen
+  Pal&auml;stina-Vereins</i>, 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 &pound;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.
+  (<i>Palestine Exploration Fund's Quarterly Statement</i>, 1882.)</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_87_87" id="Footnote_87_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_87"> [87]</a></p> <p> Beit Jibrin was fortified by King Fulk in 1134. See Baedeker's
+  <i>Palestine and Syria</i>, p. 309; Rapoport's <i>Erech Milin</i>, p. 54; also a
+  preliminary notice on the Necropolis of Maresha in <i>P.E.F.Q.S.</i>, Oct.,
+  1902, p. 393. The text has <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image17.gif" width="37" height="25">, but it should be
+  <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image18.gif" width="38" height="18">. 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 Toron 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_88_88" id="Footnote_88_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_88"> [88]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_89_89" id="Footnote_89_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_89"> [89]</a></p> <p> This and Mahomerie-le-grand, already mentioned, are Crusaders'
+  churches. See Rey, <i>Les Colonies franques de Syrie aux XII'e et XIII'e si&egrave;cles</i>,
+  p. 387; also Conder, <i>The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem</i>.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_90_90" id="Footnote_90_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_90"> [90]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>Itinerarium Regis Ricardi</i>.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_91_91" id="Footnote_91_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_91"> [91]</a></p> <p> See an interesting Paper, &quot;Der Pass von Michmas,&quot; by Prof.
+  D.G. Dalman, <i>Z.D.P.V.</i>, 1904, vol. XXVII, p. 161.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_92_92" id="Footnote_92_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_92"> [92]</a></p> <p> Asher renders <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image19.gif" width="40" height="17"> Ramleh, for which there is some justification.
+  Ramleh did not exist in Bible times&mdash;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 &quot;about three Jews dwell there.&quot; This is obviously
+  wrong. Probably the copyist is to blame in taking <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image20.gif" width="27" height="26"> to be an abbreviation
+  for <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image21.gif" width="37" height="22"> The reports of contemporary Arabic authors will be found
+  in Guy Le Strange's <i>Palestine</i>, pp. 303-8.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_93_93" id="Footnote_93_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_93"> [93]</a></p> <p> Ali of Herat, Benjamin's contemporary, writes: &quot;Askelon is a fine
+  and beautiful city. There is near here the well of Abraham, which they
+  say he dug with his own hand.&quot; Bohadin, in his <i>Life of Saladin</i>, 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, <i>Beitr&auml;ge zur Geographie
+  Pal&auml;stinas</i>.)</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_94_94" id="Footnote_94_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_94"> [94]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_95_95" id="Footnote_95_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_95"> [95]</a></p> <p> A. M. Lunez 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 <i>Jerusalem</i>, 1906, VII, p. 87.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_96_96" id="Footnote_96_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_96"> [96]</a></p> <p> Both BM. and R have <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image22.gif" width="106" height="19">, whilst E and A have the faulty
+  reading <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image23.gif" width="129" height="19">. 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_97_97" id="Footnote_97_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97_97"> [97]</a></p> <p> The common belief is that Simon the Just was buried near Jerusalem,
+  on the road to Nablous, about a mile from the Damascus Gate.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_98_98" id="Footnote_98_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98_98"> [98]</a></p> <p> Cf. Schechter's <i>Saadyana</i>, p. 89.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_99_99" id="Footnote_99_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99_99"> [99]</a></p> <p> The passage referring to the Arnon is evidently out of place.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_100_100" id="Footnote_100_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_100_100"> [100]</a></p> <p> See Deut. xi. 24.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_101_101" id="Footnote_101_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_101_101"> [101]</a></p> <p> For a description of the city and its great mosque, see Baedeker,
+  also Guy Le Strange, <i>Palestine under the Moslems</i>, chap. vi. The most eastern
+  dome of the mosque is to this day called Kubbet-es-Saa, the Dome of
+  Hours. Mukaddasi gives an elaborate description of the mosaics and
+  other features of this mosque.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_102_102" id="Footnote_102_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_102_102"> [102]</a></p> <p> Cf. <i>Midrash Raba</i>, chap, xiv: </p>
+<p>
+<img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image24.gif" width="316" height="18">; also
+  Josephus, <i>Ant</i>. I, vii, 2 who quotes Nicolaus of Damascus in the words
+  &quot;<i>In Damasco regnarit Abramus.</i>&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_103_103" id="Footnote_103_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_103_103"> [103]</a></p> <p> Pethachia estimates the Jewish population at 19,000. This confirms
+  the opinion already given (p. 26) that Benjamin refers to heads of families.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_104_104" id="Footnote_104_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_104_104"> [104]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>J. Q. R.</i>, XV, pp. 79-96.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_105_105" id="Footnote_105_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_105_105"> [105]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_106_106" id="Footnote_106_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_106_106"> [106]</a></p> <p> Tarmod is Tadmor or Palmyra.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_107_107" id="Footnote_107_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_107_107"> [107]</a></p> <p> 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 Fuw&acirc;r ed-Der, the Sabbatio River of antiquity,
+  which Titus visited after the destruction of Jerusalem. Josephus (<i>Wars of
+  the Jews</i>, Book VII, sec. 5) describes it as follows: &quot;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.&quot; The intermittent action is readily accounted for by the
+  stream having hollowed out an underground duct, which acts as a syphon.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_108_108" id="Footnote_108_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_108_108"> [108]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_109_109" id="Footnote_109_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_109_109"> [109]</a></p> <p> Robinson and Conder identify Hazor with a site near Kedesh Naftali,
+  but Sheiza is doubtless Sheiz&aacute;r, 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, &quot;Beitr&auml;ge zur Kenntuis der Syrischen Steppe,&quot;
+  <i>Z.D.P.V.</i>, vols. XXII and XXIII, 1900 I. Cf. the article on the Boundaries
+  of Palestine and Syria by M. Friedmann, Luncz's <i>Jerusalem</i>,
+  vol. II.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_110_110" id="Footnote_110_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_110_110"> [110]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_111_111" id="Footnote_111_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_111_111"> [111]</a></p> <p> Edrisi and Abulfeda speak of Balis and Kalat Jabar. See Guy Le
+  Strange, p. 417. Zengy the Atabeg was slain at Kalat Jabar.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_112_112" id="Footnote_112_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_112_112"> [112]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_113_113" id="Footnote_113_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_113_113"> [113]</a></p> <p> Harr&#257;n, the city of Nahor, is twenty-four miles SSE. of Edessa on
+  the Balikh. Mustawfi tells us of Abraham's Shrine.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_114_114" id="Footnote_114_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_114_114"> [114]</a></p> <p> Ras-el-Ain, probably Rhesaina. The river Khabur&mdash;the Araxes of
+  Xenophon&mdash;flows from the Kurdistan mountains southwards, and runs
+  into the Euphrates.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_115_115" id="Footnote_115_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_115_115"> [115]</a></p> <p> 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: &quot; ... and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of
+  Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_116_116" id="Footnote_116_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_116_116"> [116]</a></p> <p> All the MSS. except BM. have here: &quot;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.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_117_117" id="Footnote_117_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_117_117"> [117]</a></p> <p> Josephus (<i>Antiquities</i>, 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 <i>Marco Polo</i>, Bk. I.
+  ch. 3.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_118_118" id="Footnote_118_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_118_118"> [118]</a></p> <p> See Lebrecht's Essay &quot;On the State of the Caliphate at Bagdad.&quot;
+  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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_119_119" id="Footnote_119_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_119_119"> [119]</a></p> <p> Irbil, or Arbela, is two days' journey from Mosul. See Saadyana,
+  <i>J. Q. R.</i>, vol. XIV, p. 503, and W. Bacher's note, p. 741.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_120_120" id="Footnote_120_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_120_120"> [120]</a></p> <p> For a full account of Mosul and other places here referred to, see
+  Mr. Guy Le Strange's <i>The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate</i>, 1905, also
+  Layard's <i>Nineveh and its Remains</i> and <i>Nineveh and Babylon</i>. 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 <i>Synagogue</i>. 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 does not come to pass, See Schwarz, <i>Das Heilige Land</i>,
+  1852, p. 259, identifying Kefar Tanchum near Tiberias with Nahum's burialplace</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_121_121" id="Footnote_121_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_121_121"> [121]</a></p> <p> As to Jewish seats of learning in Babylon refer to Dr. Krauss's
+  Article &quot;Babylonia&quot; in the <i>Jewish Encyclopaedia</i>; see also Guy Le Strange,
+  p. 74, who suggests that Pumbedita means &quot;mouth of the Badat canal.&quot;
+  Cf. <i>J. Q. R.</i>, XVII, p. 756.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_122_122" id="Footnote_122_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_122_122"> [122]</a></p> <p> 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,&mdash;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: &quot;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.&quot; (Dr. Benisch's edition, p. 19.)</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_123_123" id="Footnote_123_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_123_123"> [123]</a></p> <p> 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&mdash;Emir
+  al-Muminin&mdash;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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_124_124" id="Footnote_124_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_124_124"> [124]</a></p> <p> <i>Lebrecht</i>, 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_125_125" id="Footnote_125_125"></a><a href="#FNanchor_125_125"> [125]</a></p> <p> The statements here made are strangely contradictory; see a suggestive
+  article by Dr. Goldziher in <i>Z.D.P.V.</i>, 1905, p. 151.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_126_126" id="Footnote_126_126"></a><a href="#FNanchor_126_126"> [126]</a></p> <p> A valuable work, <i>Bagdad during the Abbaside Caliphate, from Contemporary
+  Arabic and Persian Sources</i>, 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 &quot;Elephant and Castle&quot; 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.
+</p><p>
+  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 Mustansiriyah, 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_127_127" id="Footnote_127_127"></a><a href="#FNanchor_127_127"> [127]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>forty thousand</i>. 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_128_128" id="Footnote_128_128"></a><a href="#FNanchor_128_128"> [128]</a></p> <p> The last or tenth Academy.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_129_129" id="Footnote_129_129"></a><a href="#FNanchor_129_129"> [129]</a></p> <p> This appellation is applied in the Talmud to scholars who uninterruptedly
+  apply themselves to communal work.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_130_130" id="Footnote_130_130"></a><a href="#FNanchor_130_130"> [130]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_131_131" id="Footnote_131_131"></a><a href="#FNanchor_131_131"> [131]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_132_132" id="Footnote_132_132"></a><a href="#FNanchor_132_132"> [132]</a></p> <p> 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 (<i>Travels of Ser Marco Polo:</i>
+  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 currrent at
+  the time that the Pass of Derbend was traversed by Alexander.
+  It is still called in Turkish &quot;Demis-Kapi&quot; or the Iron Gate, and the
+  Persians designate it &quot;Sadd-i-Iskandar&quot;&mdash;the Rampart of Alexander.
+  Lord Curzon, however, in his valuable work <i>Persia and the Persians</i>, vol. 1,
+  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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_133_133" id="Footnote_133_133"></a><a href="#FNanchor_133_133"> [133]</a></p> <p> Probably the Oxus, called by the Arabs &quot;Gaihun.&quot; Rabad I, a contemporary
+  of Benjamin, speaks of the land of Gurgan in his Sefer
+  Hakabalah. The Nestorian Christians are probably here referred to.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_134_134" id="Footnote_134_134"></a><a href="#FNanchor_134_134"> [134]</a></p> <p> It is interesting to compare this account with that of the Installation
+  of the Egyptian Nagid (<i>J.Q.R.</i>, IX, p. 717).</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_135_135" id="Footnote_135_135"></a><a href="#FNanchor_135_135"> [135]</a></p> <p> This is a well-known sage, whose name often occurs in the Talmud.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_136_136" id="Footnote_136_136"></a><a href="#FNanchor_136_136"> [136]</a></p> <p> 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&mdash;the Kasr&mdash;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, &quot;Her cities are a desolation, a sterile land, and a wilderness,
+  a place wherein no man dwelleth.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_137_137" id="Footnote_137_137"></a><a href="#FNanchor_137_137"> [137]</a></p> <p> The Valley of Dura mentioned in Daniel iii. is here referred to.
+  See Dr. Berliner's <i>Beitr&auml;ge zur Geographie und Ethnographie Babyloniens</i>; also
+  Layard's <i>Nineveh and Babylon</i>, p. 469. Cf. Berachot, 57 b.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_138_138" id="Footnote_138_138"></a><a href="#FNanchor_138_138"> [138]</a></p> <p> 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, <i>Nineveh and Babylon</i>, chap, xxii, p. 496. He says:
+  &quot;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.&quot; Cf. Professor T. K. Cheyne's article, &quot;The Tower of
+  Babel,&quot; in the new <i>Biblical Cyclopaedia</i>. 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_139_139" id="Footnote_139_139"></a><a href="#FNanchor_139_139"> [139]</a></p> <p> Niebuhr, vol. II, 216, gives a full account of his visit to the tomb.
+  Layard, speaking of Birs Nimroud, says: &quot;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&quot; (<i>Nineveh and Babylon</i>, p. 500). Alcharizi composed a
+  beautiful ode when visiting this tomb (chap, xxxv, also chap. L).</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_140_140" id="Footnote_140_140"></a><a href="#FNanchor_140_140"> [140]</a></p> <p> 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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image56.gif" width="58" height="18">.
+  The MS., on which the Constantinople <i>editio princeps</i> 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 <i>majn&#363;n</i>, a term against which Mohammed protested several times
+  in the Koran, because it means he was possessed by a <i>jinn</i>, 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_141_141" id="Footnote_141_141"></a><a href="#FNanchor_141_141"> [141]</a></p> <p> See picture of the traditional tomb of Ezekiel in the <i>Jewish Encyclopaedia</i>,
+  vol. V, p. 315.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_142_142" id="Footnote_142_142"></a><a href="#FNanchor_142_142"> [142]</a></p> <p> The Talmud (Sabbath, II a) speaks of the destruction of Mata
+  Mehasya. Sura took its place as a centre of learning.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_143_143" id="Footnote_143_143"></a><a href="#FNanchor_143_143"> [143]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_144_144" id="Footnote_144_144"></a><a href="#FNanchor_144_144"> [144]</a></p> <p> 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: &quot;For thy servants take pleasure in her
+  stones, and favour the dust thereof&quot; (Ps. cii. 14).</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_145_145" id="Footnote_145_145"></a><a href="#FNanchor_145_145"> [145]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_146_146" id="Footnote_146_146"></a><a href="#FNanchor_146_146"> [146]</a></p> <p> Asher, at this stage of Benjamin's narrative, has the following note:
+  &quot;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.&quot; No such
+  account appeared in the work, but in the <i>Bikkure Haittim</i> 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 <i>Jewish Quarterly Review</i>, vol. XV, p. 170, gives us
+  the translation of a letter found in the Cairo <i>Genizah</i>, 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
+  <i>The Penetration of Arabia</i>, 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.
+</p><p>
+  C.M. Doughty was, however, more successful when visiting this district
+  in 1875. Of Kheibar he says &quot;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.&quot; See
+  C.M. Doughty's <i>Arabia Deserta</i>, vol. II, p. 129. &quot;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&quot; (vol. I, p. 286).
+</p><p>
+  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 <i>Iben Safir</i>, Lyck, 1866. Dr. L. Gr&uuml;nhut, in his
+  introduction, <i>Die Reisebeschreibungen des R. Benjamin von Tudela</i>, Jerusalem,
+  1903, p. 16, refutes Safir's statements.
+</p><p>
+  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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_147_147" id="Footnote_147_147"></a><a href="#FNanchor_147_147"> [147]</a></p> <p> It is clear that, when speaking of the population of some of these
+  places, the whole oasis or district is intended, and not a particular town.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_148_148" id="Footnote_148_148"></a><a href="#FNanchor_148_148"> [148]</a></p> <p> In reading through the foregoing account of the Jews in Arabia, it is
+  quite clear that Benjamin never visited the country, nor did he pretend
+  to have done so. In the words of Mr. C. E. Beazley (The Dawn of Modern
+  Geography, p. 252), &quot;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.'&quot; But Beazley is wrong when he
+  characterizes as &quot;wild&quot; the account of the Jews of Southern Arabia &quot;who
+  were Rechabites.&quot; 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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image25.gif" width="164" height="18">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.
+</p><p>
+  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&mdash;notwithstanding
+  all oppression, intensified under Turkish rule&mdash;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.
+</p><p>
+  The volcanic highlands (Harrah) of Kheibar were always inaccessible,
+  owing to their being surrounded by waterless deserts and fanatic Bedouin
+  tribes.
+</p><p>
+  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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image26.gif" width="170" height="17"> &quot;<i>people say</i> they belong
+  to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, whom
+  Salmanesser, King of Assyria, led hither into captivity.&quot;
+</p><p>
+  I would here mention an interesting work of Dr. R. Dozy, Professor
+  of History and Oriental Languages at Leyden, <i>Die Israeliten in Mecca</i>,
+  1864. By a series of ingenious inferences from Bible texts (1 Sam. xxx,
+  1 Chron. iv. 24-43, &amp;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.
+</p><p>
+  Hommel, in two articles in Ersch and Gruber's <i>Encyclopaedia</i>, under &quot;Bedouins&quot;
+  and &quot;Anzah,&quot; gives full particulars respecting the Anizeh, otherwise
+  Anaessi, tribe&mdash;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 80,000, 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 (<i>Journey through Syria, &amp;c.</i>, I, ch. i, p. 356) says, &quot;In
+  Kheibar are no Jews now, only Anaessi.&quot; 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.
+</p><p>
+  Ritter (<i>Geographie</i>, 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?
+</p><p>
+  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: &quot;But let none
+  any more 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.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_149_149" id="Footnote_149_149"></a><a href="#FNanchor_149_149"> [149]</a></p> <p> It will be seen further on (p. 67) that Benjamin speaks of Aden
+  as being in India, &quot;which is on the mainland.&quot; It is well known that
+  Abyssinia and Arabia were in the Middle Ages spoken of as &quot;Middle
+  India.&quot; It has been ascertained that in ancient times the Arabs extensively
+  colonized the western sea-coast of the East Indies. Cf. the
+  article &quot;Arabia,&quot; in the ninth edition of the <i>Encyclopaedia Britannica</i> and
+  Supplement.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_150_150" id="Footnote_150_150"></a><a href="#FNanchor_150_150"> [150]</a></p> <p> The Casanatense MS. here interpolates: &quot;Thence it takes seven days
+  to Lusis, where there are 2,000 Israelites.&quot; Asher substitutes for Lusis
+  Wasit, a place near the Tigris. I am unable to identify the river Virae,
+  and the words &quot;which is in the land of Al Yemen&quot; are evidently out of
+  place.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_151_151" id="Footnote_151_151"></a><a href="#FNanchor_151_151"> [151]</a></p> <p> 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 (<i>J. Q. R.</i>, vol. XV, 683). Layard writes as
+  follows:&mdash;&quot;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.&quot; Layard's <i>Early Adventures in Persia, Susiana,
+  and Babylonia</i>, vol. II, p. 214. See also an elaborate note of Dr. Benisch, p. 91
+  of his edition of Pethachia's Travels, and I. J. Benjamin II, <i>Eight Years in
+  Asia and Africa</i>, p. 167.</p></div>
+
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_152_152" id="Footnote_152_152"></a><a href="#FNanchor_152_152"> [152]</a></p> <p>  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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_153_153" id="Footnote_153_153"></a><a href="#FNanchor_153_153"> [153]</a></p> <p>
+  <i>Marco Polo</i>, book II, chap, xlv, says of Tibet: &quot;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.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_154_154" id="Footnote_154_154"></a><a href="#FNanchor_154_154"> [154]</a></p> <p> The reputed sepulchre of Daniel is situated between Schuster and
+  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.
+</p><p>
+  The tomb of Daniel has been fully described by Layard&mdash;see <i>Early
+  Adventures</i>, 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 <i>La Perse, la Chald&eacute;e et la Susiane</i>, Paris, 1887.
+</p><p>
+  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.
+</p><p>
+  E.N. Adler, in his recent work <i>Jews in many Lands</i>, Jewish Historical
+  Society of England, p. 224, in describing Samarkand, writes
+  as follows: &quot;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.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_155_155" id="Footnote_155_155"></a><a href="#FNanchor_155_155"> [155]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_156_156" id="Footnote_156_156"></a><a href="#FNanchor_156_156"> [156]</a></p> <p> Amadia (Imadiyah) is a city in Kurdistan in a mountainous district,
+  north of Mosul. Ben Virga and R. Joseph Hacohen, the author of <i>Emek
+  Habacha</i>, 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 Hebrew letter 'resh' for a Hebrew letter 'daleth'. The scribe of the British
+  Museum MS. had made other errors of this kind, writing <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image27.gif" width="300" height="20">. See Guy Le Strange, p. 92.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_157_157" id="Footnote_157_157"></a><a href="#FNanchor_157_157"> [157]</a></p> <p> The author of <i>Emek Habacha</i> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_158_158" id="Footnote_158_158"></a><a href="#FNanchor_158_158"> [158]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>Life of Saladin</i>,
+  Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, p. 51).</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_159_159" id="Footnote_159_159"></a><a href="#FNanchor_159_159"> [159]</a></p> <p> The accounts given by Ben Virga in <i>Sheret Jehudah</i>, and by Joseph
+  Hacohen in <i>Emek Habacha</i>, 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 <i>Emek Habacha</i>, 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.
+</p><p>
+  De Sacy, in his <i>Chrestomathie Arabe</i>, I, p. 363, gives a similar story, the
+  authorship of which he ascribes to Schahristani.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_160_160" id="Footnote_160_160"></a><a href="#FNanchor_160_160"> [160]</a></p> <p> 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: &quot;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.&quot; 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, <i>Jews in Many Lands</i>,
+  p. 214.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_161_161" id="Footnote_161_161"></a><a href="#FNanchor_161_161"> [161]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>Jewish Chronicle</i> 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.
+</p><p>
+  The statement of E. Jehiel Heilprin, in the <i>Seder Hadoroth</i>, that
+  Mordecai and Esther are buried at Shomron is devoid of foundation, and
+  may have arisen through reading here <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image28.gif" width="123" height="20">. 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, <i>The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate</i>. The maps will be found most
+  useful.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_162_162" id="Footnote_162_162"></a><a href="#FNanchor_162_162"> [162]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_163_163" id="Footnote_163_163"></a><a href="#FNanchor_163_163"> [163]</a></p> <p> 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 &quot;Jew Town&quot; 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_164_164" id="Footnote_164_164"></a><a href="#FNanchor_164_164"> [164]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_165_165" id="Footnote_165_165"></a><a href="#FNanchor_165_165"> [165]</a></p> <p> Asher, following the printed editions, quotes the Jewish population
+  of this place as 8,000, 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 Gihon
+  (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: &quot;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.&quot; Istakhri says: &quot;No city of this countryside was
+  richer in merchants and merchandise, for it was as the port of India.&quot;
+  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
+   &quot;Usun&quot; is the name for water or river. Thus &quot;Kisil-Usun&quot; means
+  &quot;Red River.&quot; The addition of a &quot;g&quot; before a &quot;u&quot; or &quot;w&quot; is quite
+  a common feature in language; it occurs, for instance, in the Romance
+  and Keltic languages.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_166_166" id="Footnote_166_166"></a><a href="#FNanchor_166_166"> [166]</a></p> <p> The British Museum text has: &quot;And he put them in Halah and in
+  Habor and the mountains of Gozan and the mountains of the Medes.&quot;
+  Having regard to the passages 2 Kings xix. 12 and Isaiah xxxvii. 12,
+  N&ouml;ldeke maintains that there was a tract of land watered by the river
+  Gozan, known as Gozanitis, which Scripture refers to. See <i>J. Q. R.</i>, vol. I,
+  p. 186.
+</p><p>
+  Naisabur is a city near Meshed, and close to high mountains which
+  are a continuation of the Elburz mountain range.
+</p><p>
+  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; <i>Jews in many Lands</i>,
+  p. 178. Cf. <i>Wo w&auml;ren die zehn St&auml;mme Israels zu suchen?</i> Dr. M. Lewin,
+  Frankfort, 1901.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_167_167" id="Footnote_167_167"></a><a href="#FNanchor_167_167"> [167]</a></p> <p> It should be remembered that <i>Cush</i> in ancient Jewish literature does
+  not always signify Ethiopia, but also denotes parts of Arabia, especially
+  those nearest to Abyssinia. The name <i>Cush</i> is also applied to countries
+  east of the Tigris, see p. 63.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_168_168" id="Footnote_168_168"></a><a href="#FNanchor_168_168"> [168]</a></p> <p> Rayy is the ancient city of Rages, spoken of in the Book of Tobit i. 14.
+  The ruins are in the neighbourhood of Teheran.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_169_169" id="Footnote_169_169"></a><a href="#FNanchor_169_169"> [169]</a></p> <p> The incidents here related are fully gone into by Dr. Neubauer in the
+  third of his valuable articles &quot;Where are the ten tribes?&quot; (<i>J. Q. R.</i>, 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 &quot;infidels, the sons of Ghuz of the
+  Kofar-al-Turak,&quot; 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. M&uuml;ller's <i>Islam,</i>
+  also Dr. G. Oppert's <i>Presbyter Johannes in Sage und Geschichte, 1864.</i></p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_170_170" id="Footnote_170_170"></a><a href="#FNanchor_170_170"> [170]</a></p> <p> It will be noted that Benjamin uses here the terms <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image57.gif" width="148" height="15">
+  evidently implying that he himself did not go to sea.
+</p><p>
+  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
+  sea-banks
+  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 <i>The Times,</i> Jan. 18, 1904.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_171_171" id="Footnote_171_171"></a><a href="#FNanchor_171_171"> [171]</a></p> <p> 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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image58.gif" width="35" height="17"> 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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image59.gif" width="42" height="19">, 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 <i>Meadows of
+  Gold</i>, 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
+  &pound;1,000,000. See P. M. Sykes, <i>Ten Thousand Miles in Persia</i>, 1902.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_172_172" id="Footnote_172_172"></a><a href="#FNanchor_172_172"> [172]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>The Travels of Two Mohammedan
+  Traders</i>, 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 <ins class="correction"
+  Title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'admi'">
+admit</ins>
+
+
+  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 <i>Die j&uuml;dischen Colonien in Indien</i>, Dr. Gustav Oppert; also
+  <i>Semitic Studies</i>, (Berlin,1897), pp. 396-419.
+</p><p>
+  Under the heading of &quot;Cochin&quot;, the Jewish Encyclopaedia gives an account
+  of the White and Black Jews of Malabar. By way of supplementing the
+  Article, it may be well to refer to a MS., No. 4238 of the Merzbacher 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 W&uuml;nsche's <i>J&uuml;dische
+  Literatur</i>, vol III, p. 459. Cf. article on the Beni-Israel of India by Samuel
+  B. Samuel, <i>The Jewish Literary Annual</i>, 1905.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_173_173" id="Footnote_173_173"></a><a href="#FNanchor_173_173"> [173]</a></p> <p> The British Museum text has Ibrig, and the Casanatense has Ibriag:
+  neither can be identified. The printed editions have <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image29.gif" width="61" height="15"> 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 <i>Travels</i>, 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_174_174" id="Footnote_174_174"></a><a href="#FNanchor_174_174"> [174]</a></p> <p> 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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image30.gif" width="31" height="16"> which occurs in
+  the Bible four times; in the Song of Moses (Exod. xv. 8): <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image31.gif" width="157" height="16">
+  &quot;The depths were curdled in the heart of the sea&quot; (not &quot;<i>congealed</i>&quot; as the
+  Version has it), Job x. 10: <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image32.gif" width="123" height="17"> &quot;curdled me like cheese&quot;; and
+  in Zeph. i. 12 and Zech. xiv. 6. The term &quot;the curdling sea&quot; would
+  be very expressive of the tempestuous nature of the China Sea and of some
+  of its straits at certain seasons of the year.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_175_175" id="Footnote_175_175"></a><a href="#FNanchor_175_175"> [175]</a></p> <p> Marco Polo has much to say about the bird &quot;gryphon&quot; when speaking
+  of the sea-currents which drive ships from Malabar to Madagascar. He
+  says, vol. II, book III, chap. 33: &quot;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.'&quot; 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&mdash;not only in Chinese folk-lore&mdash;but also in the old,
+  Babylonian literature. The bird is of course familiar to readers of
+  <i>The Arabian Nights</i>.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_176_176" id="Footnote_176_176"></a><a href="#FNanchor_176_176"> [176]</a></p> <p> 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:
+  &quot;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.&quot; 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 <i>Eben
+  Saphir</i>, to a full account of the Jews of Aden.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_177_177" id="Footnote_177_177"></a><a href="#FNanchor_177_177"> [177]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>Examen geographique des Voyages
+  de Benjamin de Tud&egrave;le</i> (Bruxelles, 1852), takes great pains to locate the
+  land of Hommatum <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image33.gif" width="107" height="23"> in lieu of which our text reads <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image34.gif" width="93" height="17"> 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 Abyssinia, 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 <i>Abstract of Abyssinian Chronicles</i> with
+  regard to a Jewish dynasty which superseded the royal line in the tenth
+  century. See also Dr. Charles Singer's interesting communication in
+  <i>J. Q. R.</i>, XVII, p. 142, and J. Halevy's <i>Travels in Abyssinia</i> (Miscellany of
+  Hebrew Literature: 2nd Series, p. 175).</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_178_178" id="Footnote_178_178"></a><a href="#FNanchor_178_178"> [178]</a></p> <p> 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 Havilah.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_179_179" id="Footnote_179_179"></a><a href="#FNanchor_179_179"> [179]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>The Story of Cairo</i>, p. 61, tells us of its
+  edifices, and adds: &quot;It is curious to consider how nearly this modern
+  health-resort became the capital of Egypt.&quot; 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&mdash;the modern Fezzan&mdash;a large oasis in the Sahara
+  Desert, south of Tripoli.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_180_180" id="Footnote_180_180"></a><a href="#FNanchor_180_180"> [180]</a></p> <p> This sentence is out of place, and should follow the sentence in
+  the preceding paragraph which speaks of the Sultan Al-Habash.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_181_181" id="Footnote_181_181"></a><a href="#FNanchor_181_181"> [181]</a></p> <p> 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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image35.gif" width="18" height="19"> letter 'Sin' denotes 300, not 3.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_182_182" id="Footnote_182_182"></a><a href="#FNanchor_182_182"> [182]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>The
+  Store City of Pithom and the Route of the Exodus</i>: 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).
+</p><p>
+  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, <i>Jacut</i>,
+  IV, 933 and <i>Makrizi</i>, I, 241.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_183_183" id="Footnote_183_183"></a><a href="#FNanchor_183_183"> [183]</a></p> <p>'Mr. Israel Abrahams, in <i>J. Q. R.</i>, 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
+  seven years later. The Cairo of 1170, which was styled El Medina,
+  and was called by Benjamin <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image36.gif" width="150" height="16">, 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&mdash;more
+  particularly the Jews&mdash;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 &quot;Mizraim.&quot; 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 <i>Cairo</i>, p. 34.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_184_184" id="Footnote_184_184"></a><a href="#FNanchor_184_184"> [184]</a></p> <p> Cf. two elaborate papers by Dr. A. B&uuml;chler, &quot;The Reading of the Law
+  and Prophets in a Triennial Cycle,&quot; <i>J. Q. R.</i>, V, 420, VI, I, and E. N. Adler,
+  ib. VIII, 529. For details as to synagogues, see <i>J. Q. R.</i>, XVIII, 11; Letter I
+  of R. Obadja da Bertinoro; <i>Miscellany of Hebrew Literature</i>, p. 133; Joseph
+  Sambari's Chronicle in Dr. Neubauer's <i>Anecdota Oxoniensia</i>, p. 118.
+  Sambari must have had Benjamin's <i>Itinerary</i> before him, as has been
+  pointed out by Mr. I. Abrahams, <i>J. Q. R.</i>, II, 107.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_185_185" id="Footnote_185_185"></a><a href="#FNanchor_185_185"> [185]</a></p> <p> Zunz was the first to put forward the supposition that R. Nethanel
+  is identical with Hibet Allah ibn 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, <i>Die arabische Literatur der Juden</i>, 1902,
+  p. 178, confirms this opinion, and gives a detailed account of Hibet
+  Allah's medical and philosophical works. Dr. Neubauer, in an article,
+  <i>J.Q.R.</i>, 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, <i>J.Q.R.</i>,
+  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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_186_186" id="Footnote_186_186"></a><a href="#FNanchor_186_186"> [186]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_187_187" id="Footnote_187_187"></a><a href="#FNanchor_187_187"> [187]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>Jews in Many Lands</i>,
+  p. 28, also <i>J.Q.R.</i>, IX, 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_188_188" id="Footnote_188_188"></a><a href="#FNanchor_188_188"> [188]</a></p> <p> 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
+  <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image37.gif" width="34" height="20"> &ecirc;is 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_189_189" id="Footnote_189_189"></a><a href="#FNanchor_189_189"> [189]</a></p> <p> In a Geniza fragment C quoted by Dr. Neubauer in <i>J.Q.R.</i>, IX, p. 36,
+  this city is called <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image38.gif" width="108" height="23">. Probably the first two letters denote that
+  it is an island. Compare the passage in Schechter's <i>Saadyana</i>, pp. 90,
+  91, <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image39.gif" width="290" height="24">.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_190_190" id="Footnote_190_190"></a><a href="#FNanchor_190_190"> [190]</a></p> <p> 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, <i>J.Q.R.</i>, XV, 87. The
+  fourth channel is the Tanitic branch. See p. 78, n. 2.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_191_191" id="Footnote_191_191"></a><a href="#FNanchor_191_191"> [191]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>Abulfeda</i>, vol. II, p. 140.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_192_192" id="Footnote_192_192"></a><a href="#FNanchor_192_192"> [192]</a></p> <p> See <i>Makrizi</i>, vol. II, 464, and <i>J.Q.R.</i>, XV, p. 75; also XIX, 502.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_193_193" id="Footnote_193_193"></a><a href="#FNanchor_193_193"> [193]</a></p> <p> E. Naville in his <i>Essay on the Land of Goshen</i>, 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&mdash;the Egyptian
+  nome of Arabia&mdash;was the Phakusa of the Greeks. A small railway station
+  is now on the spot, which bears the name Ramses. Cf. Gen. xlvii. 11.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_194_194" id="Footnote_194_194"></a><a href="#FNanchor_194_194"> [194]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_195_195" id="Footnote_195_195"></a><a href="#FNanchor_195_195"> [195]</a></p> <p> Samnu is perhaps Samnat, Dukmak, V, 20. On Damira see
+  Schechter, <i>Saadyana</i>, p. 82; Worman, <i>J.Q.R.</i>, 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 Tanta and Mansura.
+  Sambari (119, 10) mentions a synagogue there, to which Jews even now
+  make pilgrimages (Goldziher, <i>Z.D.P.G.</i>, vol. XXVIII, p. 153).</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_196_196" id="Footnote_196_196"></a><a href="#FNanchor_196_196"> [196]</a></p> <p> 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, <i>Biblical Researches</i>, 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&mdash;over 2,000 years before Cairo was founded.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_197_197" id="Footnote_197_197"></a><a href="#FNanchor_197_197"> [197]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_198_198" id="Footnote_198_198"></a><a href="#FNanchor_198_198"> [198]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>R</i> and <i>O</i>, which appear to have been written by
+  careful scribes, and are of an older date than <i>E</i> 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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image40.gif" width="34" height="17"> has been repeated. Patzinakia (referred to on
+  p. 12, as trading with Constantinople) is there spelt <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image41.gif" width="144" height="15">.
+  <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image42.gif" width="223" height="18">; I have rendered it Hainault in accordance
+  with Deguigne's <i>Memoir</i>, referred to by Asher. Maurienne (mentioned
+  p. 79) embraced Savoy and the Maritime Alps. It was named after the
+  Moors who settled there.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_199_199" id="Footnote_199_199"></a><a href="#FNanchor_199_199"> [199]</a></p> <p> Simasin or Timasin is doubtless near Lake Timsah. Sunbat is
+  spoken of by Arabic writers as noted for its linen manufactures and trade.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_200_200" id="Footnote_200_200"></a><a href="#FNanchor_200_200"> [200]</a></p> <p> 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 <i>Marah</i> 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 <i>Egypt</i>, 1879 edition. Professor Lepsius was
+  responsible for the chapter on the Sinai routes.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_201_201" id="Footnote_201_201"></a><a href="#FNanchor_201_201"> [201]</a></p> <p> 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 Raha 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 <i>Biblical Researches</i>, vol. I, section iii:
+  also articles <i>Sinai</i> in Cheyne's <i>Encyclopaedia Biblica</i> and Dean Stanley's
+  <i>Sinai and Palestine</i>.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_202_202" id="Footnote_202_202"></a><a href="#FNanchor_202_202"> [202]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_203_203" id="Footnote_203_203"></a><a href="#FNanchor_203_203"> [203]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_204_204" id="Footnote_204_204"></a><a href="#FNanchor_204_204"> [204]</a></p> <p> 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, <i>Saadyana</i>, p. 91, occurs the
+  passage:<br /> <br />
+ <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image43.gif" width="474" height="18"> &quot; <br />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.&quot;</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_205_205" id="Footnote_205_205"></a><a href="#FNanchor_205_205"> [205]</a></p> <p> The straits of Messina were named Faro. Lipar has reference, no doubt,
+  to the Liparian Islands, which are in the neighbourhood.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_206_206" id="Footnote_206_206"></a><a href="#FNanchor_206_206"> [206]</a></p> <p> Cf. Bertinoro's interesting description of the synagogue at Palermo,
+  which he said had not its equal, <i>Miscellany of Hebrew Literature</i>, vol. I, p. 114.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_207_207" id="Footnote_207_207"></a><a href="#FNanchor_207_207"> [207]</a></p> <p> Hacina is the Arabic for a fortified or enclosed place.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_208_208" id="Footnote_208_208"></a><a href="#FNanchor_208_208"> [208]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_209_209" id="Footnote_209_209"></a><a href="#FNanchor_209_209"> [209]</a></p> <p> King William II, surnamed &quot;the Good,&quot; 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 <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image45.gif" width="183" height="20"> <i>This is the
+  domain of the viceroy.</i> The Oxford MS. agrees with our text and reads
+  <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image46.gif" width="169" height="20"> <i>This is the domain of the king's garden.</i> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_210_210" id="Footnote_210_210"></a><a href="#FNanchor_210_210"> [210]</a></p> <p> Edrisi, 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_211_211" id="Footnote_211_211"></a><a href="#FNanchor_211_211"> [211]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_212_212" id="Footnote_212_212"></a><a href="#FNanchor_212_212"> [212]</a></p> <p> See Aronius, <i>Regester</i>, p. 131. This writer, as a matter of course, had
+  only the printed editions before him. His supposition that <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image44.gif" width="61" height="16"> is
+  Mayence is more than doubtful, but his and Lelewel's identification of
+  <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image47.gif" width="57" height="18"> with Mantern and
+<img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image55.gif" width="57" height="18">
+
+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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_213_213" id="Footnote_213_213"></a><a href="#FNanchor_213_213"> [213]</a></p> <p> 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 Kieff.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_214_214" id="Footnote_214_214"></a><a href="#FNanchor_214_214"> [214]</a></p> <p> Benjamin does not tell us whether Jews resided in Kieff. Mr. A.
+  Epstein has obligingly furnished the following references: In <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image48.gif" width="152" height="12">,
+  Graetz, <i>Monatsschrift</i>, 39, 511, we read:</p> <p><img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image49.gif" width="319" height="15">. In <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image50.gif" width="77" height="15"> Monatsschrift, 40, 134, <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image51.gif" width="234" height="14">
+  This Rabbi Moses is also mentioned in <i>Resp.</i> of R. Meir of Rothenburg, ed.
+  Berlin, p. 64. Later records give the name <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image52.gif" width="204" height="16">.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_215_215" id="Footnote_215_215"></a><a href="#FNanchor_215_215"> [215]</a></p> <p> 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.</p></div>
+
+  <div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_216_216" id="Footnote_216_216"></a>
+<a href="#FNanchor_216_216">[216]</a></p> <p> Lelewel, having
+the reading <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image53.gif" width="58" height="15">
+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, <img alt="Hebrew: " src="images/image54.gif"
+width="97" height="18">,
+  joined the Synod convened
+  by Rashbam and Rabenu Tam. See <i>Gallia Judaica</i>, p. 60, also
+  Graetz, vol. VI, 395 (10).</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela
+by Benjamin of Tudela
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@@ -0,0 +1,5605 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela
+by Benjamin of Tudela
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela
+
+Author: Benjamin of Tudela
+
+Release Date: February 8, 2005 [EBook #14981]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ITINERARY OF BENJAMIN OF TUDELA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Ted Garvin and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  THE ITINERARY
+        OF
+  BENJAMIN OF TUDELA
+
+
+
+
+
+  CRITICAL TEXT, TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY
+                    BY
+          MARCUS NATHAN ADLER, M.A.
+
+
+
+
+  PHILIPP FELDHEIM, INC
+  THE HOUSE OF THE JEWISH BOOK
+  NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+  FIRST EDITION: LONDON 1907
+
+  _published by_
+  PHILIPP FELDHEIM, Inc.
+  96 East Broadway
+  New York, N.Y.10002
+
+
+
+  PRINTED IN JERUSALEM ISRAEL BY S. MONSON
+
+
+
+
+  DEDICATED
+  TO THE MEMORY OF
+  MORITZ STEINSCHNEIDER
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+  Map showing Benjamin's route ... to face title page
+
+  INTRODUCTION
+
+  I. Islam in the Middle Ages
+
+  II. The Object of Benjamin's Journey
+
+  III. Bibliography ... xiii
+
+  THE ITINERARY
+
+  Translation of Hebrew Introduction
+
+  _EUROPE_.
+
+  Saragossa, Barcelona, Narbonne
+
+  Beziers, Montpellier, Lunel
+
+  Posquieres, Bourg de St. Gilles, Arles, Marseilles
+
+  Genoa, Pisa, Lucca
+
+  Rome.
+
+  Naples, Sorrento, Salerno
+
+  Amalfi, Benevento, Melfi, Ascoli, Trani, Taranto, Brindisi
+
+  Corfu, Arta, Patras, Lepanto, Crissa, Corinth, Thebes
+
+  Wallachia, Armylo, Vissena, Salonica, Abydos.
+
+  Constantinople
+
+  Rhaedestus, Gallipoli, Chios, Samos, Rhodes
+
+  _ASIA_.
+
+  Cyprus, Curicus, Malmistras, Antioch
+
+  Antioch, Ladikiya, Gebela, the Hashishim
+
+  Kadmus, Tarabulus (Tripolis), Gubail (Byblus)
+
+  Beirut, Sidon, the Druses, Tyre
+
+  Acre, Haifa, Carmel.
+
+  Caesarea, Ludd, Samaria, Nablous.
+
+  The Samaritans
+
+  Jerusalem
+
+  Bethlehem, Hebron
+
+  Beit Jibrin, Shiloh, Ramah
+
+  Gibeah, Nob, Ramleh, Jaffa
+
+  Askelon, Jezreel, Sepphoris, Tiberias
+
+  Meron, Kedesh Naphtali, Banias
+
+  Damascus
+
+  Galid, Salchah
+
+  Baalbec, Tadmor, Emesa, Hatnath
+
+  Sheizar, Aleppo, Kalat Jabar, Rakka
+
+  Harr[=a]n, Ras-el-Ain, Geziret Ibn Omar
+
+  Mosul
+
+  Rahbah, Karkisiya, El-Anbar
+
+  Hadara, Okbara
+
+  Bagdad
+
+  Gazigan, Babylon
+
+  Hillah, Tower of Babel, Kaphri
+
+  Sepulchre of Ezekiel
+
+  Kotsonath, Kefar Al-Keram, Kufa, Sura
+
+  Shafjathib, El-Anbar, Hillah
+
+  Kheibar, Teima, Tilmas and Tanai in Arabia
+
+  Basra, Khuzistan, Shushan
+
+  Sepulchre of Daniel
+
+  Rudbar, Nihawand, Mulahid
+
+  Amadia, History of David Alroy
+
+  Hamadan, Tabaristan
+
+  Ispahan, Shiraz, Ghaznah
+
+  Samarkand, Tibet, Naisabur
+
+  Expedition of Sinjar against the Ghuz
+
+  Khuzistan, Island of Kish
+
+  Katifa, Khulam (Quilon), India
+
+  Ibrig
+
+  China, Sea of Nikpa
+
+  Al-Gingaleh, Zebid, Aden
+
+  _AFRICA_.
+
+  Abyssinia and Nubia, Egypt
+
+  Gana, Desert of Sahara, Fayum, Heluan
+
+  Cairo
+
+  Alexandria
+
+  Damietta, Sunbat, Mount Sinai, Tur Sinai, Tanis
+
+  _EUROPE_.
+
+  Island of Sicily, Messina, Palermo, Italy
+
+  Germany
+
+  Bohemia, Slavonia
+
+  Russia, France, Paris
+
+  ENGLISH INDEX
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+  HEBREW TEXT, with prefatory note ....... [Hebrew]
+      List of emendations of Text ........ [Hebrew]
+  HEBREW INDEX ........................... [Hebrew]
+
+         *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+
+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 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 Edessa, 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 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.
+
+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.
+
+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
+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 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.
+
+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.:--
+
+I. 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:--
+
+[HEBREW: Masaot R. Binyamin y''g dafim k'tivah ashkenazit k'domah
+yoter:]
+
+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 [HEBREW: ayn-nun]).
+Under my direction Dr. Gruenhut, 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 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
+Ashor 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 deg. 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 deg., 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 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.
+1173)[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.
+
+[p.2]
+
+Merchants come thither from all quarters 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 Montpellier. This is a place well situated for commerce.
+
+[p.3]
+
+It is about a parasang from the sea, and men come for business there
+from all quarters, from Edom, Ishmael, the land of Algarve[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 meat[11].
+
+[p.4]
+
+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 without means he also
+pays the expenses, for he is very rich.
+
+[p.5]
+
+The munificent R. Joseph, son of Menachem, 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].
+
+[p.6]
+
+Thence it is three parasangs to the city of Arles, which has about 200
+Israelites, at their head being R. Moses, R. Tobias, 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. Isaac, 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.
+
+[p.7]
+
+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. 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 R.
+David, R. Samuel, and R. Jacob.
+
+[p.8]
+
+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. Peter's of Rome.
+The great Palace of Julius Caesar was also in Rome[22].
+
+[p.9]
+
+There are many wonderful structures in the 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 two[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.11]
+
+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].
+
+[p.12]
+
+A spring issues forth from beneath 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.
+
+[p.13]
+
+Among 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, which is the land of Pul[32], where about 200 Jews reside, at
+their head being R. Achimaaz, R. Nathan, and R. Isaac.
+
+[p.14]
+
+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.
+
+From Taranto it is a day's journey to Brindisi, which is on the sea
+coast.
+
+[p.15]
+
+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 sea[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.
+
+[p.16]
+
+In the city there are several large old 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
+sea-coast; 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 city of Constantinople.
+
+[p.17]
+
+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, but give themselves Jewish names.
+
+[p.18]
+
+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 his sons, who are scholars.
+
+[p.19]
+
+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 Domesticus, the third Dominus, and the
+fourth is Megaa Ducas, and the fifth is Oeconomus Megalus; the others
+bear names like these[41].
+
+[p.20]
+
+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.21]
+
+And 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, and a golden crown was
+suspended by a gold chain over the throne, so arranged that he might
+sit thereunder[46].
+
+[p.22]
+
+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 in
+all cloth stuffs, and in bread, meat, and wine.
+
+[p.23]
+
+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 there is
+allowed to ride on horseback.
+
+[p.24]
+
+The one exception is R. Solomon Hamitsri, 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 head being R.
+Elijah Kapur, R. Shabbattai Zutro, and R. Isaac Megas, which means
+"great" in Greek. And from here it is two days to Kales.
+
+[p.25]
+
+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].
+
+[p.26]
+
+From Cyprus it is four days' journey to Curicus (Kurch), which 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.
+
+[p.27]
+
+From here it is two days' journey to Lega, or Ladikiya, where 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-Hashishim[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
+perished[60].
+
+[p.28]
+
+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 day's journey to Saida, which is Sidon, a large city,
+with about twenty Jews.
+
+[p.29]
+
+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 Jews.
+
+[p.30]
+
+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 (S[=u]r), 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.
+
+[p.32]
+
+From here it is four parasangs to Capernaum, which is the village of
+Nahum, identical with Maon, the home of Nabal the Carmelite[68].
+
+Six parasangs from here is Caesarea, the Gath[69] 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[70], the Keilah of
+Scripture. There are no Jews here. Thence it is half a day's journey
+to St. George, which is Ludd[71], 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.
+
+[p.33]
+
+They have priests of the seed (of Aaron), and they call them Aaronim,
+who do not intermarry with Cuthim, but wed only amongst
+themselves[72]. 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[73]."
+Their alphabet lacks three letters, namely [Hebrew:] He, [Hebrew:]
+Heth, and [Hebrew:] Ain[74]. The letter [Hebrew:] He is taken from
+Abraham our father, because they have no dignity, the letter [Hebrew:]
+Heth from Isaac, because they have no kindliness, and the letter
+[Hebrew: Ain] from Jacob, because they have no humility.
+
+[p.34]
+
+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
+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[75] ..., a village where
+there are no Jews. Thence it is two parasangs to the valley of
+Ajalon[76], 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 people
+of all tongues.
+
+[p.35]
+
+It contains a dyeing-house, for which the Jews pay a small rent
+annually to the king[77], 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[78]. 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[79]. 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 burial-place of Jesus, unto which the
+Christians make pilgrimages.
+
+[p.36]
+
+Jerusalem[80] 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[81].
+Here is the pillar called Absalom's Hand, and the sepulchre of King
+Uzziah[82].
+
+[p.37]
+
+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[83]. 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[84]
+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 of marble overlaid with silver and gold.
+
+[p.39]
+
+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
+Constantini, 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."
+
+[p.40]
+
+And on the morrow they sent for the two men, 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[85]. 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.
+
+[p.41]
+
+Here there is the great church called St. Abram, and this was a Jewish
+place of worship 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 and to deposit them there to this day[86].
+
+[p.42]
+
+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[87]. 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[88].
+
+From there it is three parasangs to Mahomerie-le-petit[89], which is
+Gibeah of Saul, where there are no Jews, and this is Gibeah of
+Benjamin. Thence three parasangs to Beit Nuba[90], 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[91]. 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[92].
+
+Thence it is five parasangs to Y[=a]fa 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.
+
+[p.44]
+
+It was originally called Bene Berak. The place is four parasangs
+distant from the ancient ruined city of Askelon. New 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[93].
+
+From there it is a journey of a day to St. George[94] 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[95].
+Many other Jewish graves are here.
+
+[p.45]
+
+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 Hapisgah, 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, 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. Near by is the
+Synagogue of Caleb ben Jephunneh, and Jewish sepulchres. R. Johanan
+ben Zakkai and R. Jehudah Halevi[96] 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[97] 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, of Raban Simeon ben Gamaliel, and of R. Jose
+Hagelili[98].
+
+[p.46]
+
+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[99]. 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
+worshipped 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[100].
+
+[p.47]
+
+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 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[101]. 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[102].
+
+[p.48]
+
+For so it was found inscribed on 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[103]. The head of the
+Academy of the land of Israel resides here[104]. 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[105].
+
+[p.49]
+
+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 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.[106] 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 Karjat[=e]n, which 1s 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[107]. Thence it is a day's journey to Hamah, which is
+Hamath. It lies on the river Jabbok at the foot of Mount Lebanon[108].
+
+[p.50]
+
+Some time ago there was a great earthquake in the 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[109], and from
+there it is three parasangs to Dimin (Latmin).
+
+[p.51]
+
+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 rainwater,
+each one possessing a cistern in his house[110]. 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[111], 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 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[112], 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 Harr[=a]n, where twenty
+Jews live[113]. 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[114], whence proceeds
+the river El Khabur--the Habor of old--which flows through the land of
+Media, and falls into the river Gozan[115]. Here there are 200
+Jews[116]. Thence it is two days to Geziret Ibn Omar, which is
+surrounded by the river Hiddekel (Tigris), at the foot of the
+mountains of Ararat.
+
+[p.52]
+
+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[117]. 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[118]. Mosul is the frontier town of the land of Persia.
+
+[p.53]
+
+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 extend
+forty parasangs to the city of Irbil[119]. 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[120].
+
+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. Tahor 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[121]. 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, and of R. Nathan and Rab Nachman the son of
+Papa.
+
+[p.54]
+
+Thence it takes five days to Hadara, where about 15,000 Jews dwell, at
+their head being R. Zaken, R. Jehosef and R. Nethanel[122].
+
+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[123]. 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.
+
+[p.56]
+
+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 robe from the window, and the
+pilgrims come and kiss it[124], 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[125]. Within the
+domains of the palace of the Caliph there are great buildings of
+marble and columns of silver and gold, and carvings upon rare stones
+are fixed in the walls.
+
+[p.57]
+
+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
+precious stones of 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 (Gil[=a]n) 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.
+
+[p.58]
+
+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. 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 again for a whole year. He is
+a benevolent man.
+
+[p.59]
+
+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[126]. 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.
+
+[p.60]
+
+In Bagdad there are about 40,000 Jews[127], 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. Elazar, 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 the Nasi, is the
+head of the Sium[128].
+
+[p.61]
+
+These are the ten Batlanim[129], 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
+as far as David, King of Israel. The Jews call him "Our Lord, Head of
+the Captivity," and the Mohammedans call him "Saidna ben 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[130].
+
+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 any one who should
+refuse to rise up should receive one hundred stripes[131].
+
+[p.62]
+
+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 ben 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[132], 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[133], 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 the
+communities power to appoint Rabbis and Ministers who come unto him to
+be consecrated and to receive his authority.
+
+[p.63]
+
+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 him 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[134]. The Jews of the city are learned
+men and very rich.
+
+[p.64]
+
+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[135]--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 day's journey to Babylon, which is the Babel of old.
+The ruins thereof are thirty miles in extent[136]. 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[137] 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.
+
+[p.66]
+
+The length of its foundation is about two miles, the breadth of the
+tower is about forty cubits, and the length thereof two hundred
+cubits. At every ten cubits' distance there are slopes which go round
+the tower by which one can ascend to the top[138]. 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[139]. 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 at the top, and Ezekiel at the bottom.
+
+[p.67]
+
+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[140].
+
+[p.68]
+
+Distinguished Mohammedans also come hither 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[141].
+
+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.
+
+[p.69]
+
+Thence it is a day's journey to the river 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[142]. 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.[143]
+
+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.[144]
+
+Thence it is a day and a half's journey to El-Anbar, which was
+Pumbedita in Nehardea.[145] 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.
+
+[p.70]
+
+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
+called the land El-Yemen, lying at the side of the land of Shinar
+which is towards the North.[146]
+
+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
+hnot 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 Israelites 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 garments of black.
+
+[p.71]
+
+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[147]. At this place lives Salmon the
+Nasi, the brother of Hanan the Nasi; and the land belongs to the two
+brothers, 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, and
+contains gardens and plantations.
+
+[p.72]
+
+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
+Tilmas 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[148]. 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[149]. Returning from their land, it is a journey of twenty-five
+days to the river Virae, which is in the land of El-Yemen, where about
+3,000 Jews dwell[150], and amongst them are many a Rabbi and Dayan.
+
+[p.73]
+
+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[151]. 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 (Susa), 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.
+
+[p.74]
+
+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 forty-five kings subject to his authority, came to this
+place.
+
+[p.75]
+
+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[152]. He ruled also over Tibet, in the forests
+whereof one finds the animals from which the musk is obtained[153].
+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 this 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.[154]
+
+[p.76]
+
+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[155]. 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.
+
+[p.77]
+
+These Jews are under the authority of the Head of the Captivity in
+Babylon. Thence it is five days to Amadia where there are about 25,000
+Israelites[156]. 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[157]. 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 writings of magicians and soothsayers.
+
+[p.78]
+
+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.
+
+[p.79]
+
+And when the king 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 he 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.
+
+[p.80]
+
+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 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 warn him, but he would not
+accept the warning.
+
+[p.81]
+
+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[158]. 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[159].
+
+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 an Esther[160].
+
+[p.82]
+
+From thence (Hamadan[161]) it takes four days to Tabaristan, which is
+situated on the river Gozan. Some [four] thousand Jews live
+there[162]. Thence it is seven days to Ispahan the great city and the
+royal residence. It is twelve miles in circumference, and about 15,000
+Israelites reside there[163]. 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[164].
+Thence it is seven days to Ghaznah the great city on the river Gozan,
+where there are about 80,000 Israelites[165]. 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.
+
+[p.83]
+
+Thence it is four days' journey to Tibet, 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[166]."
+
+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[167].
+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, but
+live on raw uncooked meat.
+
+[p.84]
+
+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[168]; 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
+they would require for the march through the wilderness.
+
+[p.85]
+
+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 are 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."
+
+[p.87]
+
+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[169].
+
+[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
+unto an island called Kish[170]. It is a six days' journey to reach
+this island.
+
+[p.89]
+
+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[171]. 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.
+
+[p.90]
+
+And about the middle of Tishri men descend 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[172]. 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 night-time.
+
+[p.91]
+
+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.
+
+[p.92]
+
+They worship the sun, and they have high places everywhere outside the
+city at a distance of 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 all 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
+Halacha.
+
+Thence it is twenty-three days by sea to Ibrig[173], 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.
+
+[p.93]
+
+And they cause their sons 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 my obligations to the
+members of my house and to my neighbours."
+
+[p.94]
+
+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[174]. 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 of
+oxen.
+
+[p.95]
+
+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[175].
+
+[p.96]
+
+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[176]. 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 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[177].
+
+Thence to the land of Assuan is a journey of twenty days through the
+desert. This is Seba on the river Pishon (Nile) which descends from
+the land of Cush[178]. 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.
+
+[p.97]
+
+Thus they bring many of them back prisoners, and sell them 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[179]. In this desert there 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[180]. From Heluan it is thirteen days' journey to Kutz which
+is K[=u]s, and this is the commencement of the land of Egypt. At Kutz
+there are 300 Jews[181]. 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[182].
+
+Thence to Mizraim is a journey of four days.
+
+[p.98]
+
+This Mizraim is the great city situated on the banks of the Nile,
+which is Pison or Al-Nil[183]. 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[184]. 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[185]; 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 city for the Arabs.
+
+[p.99]
+
+Here resides the Emir al Muminin, a descendant of Abu Talib. All his
+subjects are called "Alawiyyim[186]," 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
+market-places 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[187].
+
+[p.100]
+
+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 drink Nile water afterwards they will not hurt him,
+for the waters have medicinal properties.
+
+[p.101]
+
+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[188]. 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[189], 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[190]. 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[191]. 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 Al
+Sheik Abu al-Nazr[192]. 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[193].
+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 fore-fathers
+raised, namely, towers built of bricks. From here it is a day's
+journey to Al Bubizig, where there are about 200 Jews. Thence it is
+half a day to Benha, where there are about 60 Jews. Thence it takes
+half a day to Muneh Sifte, where there are 500 Jews[194]. 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[195]. Two days' journey takes one to Alexandria of Egypt, which
+is Ammon of No; but when Alexander of Macedon built the city, he
+called it after his own name, and made it exceedingly strong and
+beautiful[196]. 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.
+
+[p.104]
+
+The city is 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
+custom of all merchants.
+
+[p.105]
+
+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[197].
+
+[p.106]
+
+Alexandria is a commercial market for all nations. Merchants come
+thither from all the Christian kingdoms: on the one side, 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[198], 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.
+
+[p.107]
+
+Men suppose that it is the sepulchre of a king who lived in 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[199]. Thence it is four days to
+Ailam, which is Elim[200]. 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[201]. 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[202]. 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 [[203]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. It is an island in the midst of the sea[204].
+
+[p.108]
+
+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[205], 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[206]. 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)[207], 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 Al
+Buheira[208], and in it are many sorts of fish. Ships overlaid with
+silver and gold are there, belonging to the king, who takes
+pleasure-trips in them with his women[209].
+
+[p.109]
+
+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[210].
+
+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.
+
+[p.110]
+
+And the following are the cities in the land of Alamannia, which have
+Hebrew congregations: Metz, Treves on the river Moselle, Coblenz,
+Andernach, Bonn, Cologne, Bingen, Muenster, Worms,[211] [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 come and say continually, "The Lord be exalted."
+
+[p.111]
+
+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, Wuerzburg, Mantern, Bamberg, Freising, and
+Regensburg at the extremity of the Empire[212]. In these cities there
+are many Israelites, wise men and rich.
+
+Thence extends the land of Bohemia, called Prague[213]. 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[214]. It is a land of mountains and forests, where there are to
+be found the animals called vair[215], ermine, and sable.
+
+[p.112]
+
+No one issues 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[216] 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.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+The references in this Index are made to the pages of _Asher's
+Edition_, which are marked in the margin of the foregoing English
+translation.
+
+
+
+
+     FOOTNOTES:
+
+     [Footnote 1: Tudela was called in Benjamin's time _Tuteila_.
+     Sepharad is Spain.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 3: Saragossa was called in Benjamin's time
+     _Sarakosta_ (= Caesar-Augusta). Charisi, in _Tachkemoni_,
+     46, refers to some of the Rabbis.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 5: See Graetz, _Geschichte der Juden_, vol. VI,
+     pp. 230 et seq.; also notes 1 and 10 at the end of vol. VI.]
+
+     [Footnote 6: The ancient name of Gerona was Gerunda.]
+
+     [Footnote 7: See Geiger's _Juedische Zeitschrift fuer
+     Wissenschaft und Leben_, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 10: The King of Portugal is even now styled King
+     of the Algarves.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 12: He is referred to in _Tosafoth Temurah_, fol.
+     12a and b.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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 Encyclopaedia_, also Gross, _Gallia Judaica_,
+     might be consulted with advantage.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 18: His full name is R. Jacob Perpignano. See
+     Graetz, VI, note 1, p. 399.]
+
+     [Footnote 19: The meaning of course is that the Genoese
+     pillage Christian and Mohammedan places alike.]
+
+     [Footnote 20: See Dr. H. Berliner's work _Die Geschichte der
+     Juden in Rom._ His derivation of the Hebrew word used for
+     Pope, [Hebrew:] from Peter, is questionable. It is the Greek
+     [Greek: hepiphoros]. See Talmud, _Aboda Zarah_, 11 a.]
+
+     [Footnote 21: The great work alluded to is the _Talmudical
+     Dictionary_, completed in 1101. See Graetz, VI, p. 281.]
+
+     [Footnote 22: The palace of the Caesars on the Palatine Hill
+     is no doubt here referred to.]
+
+     [Footnote 23: [Hebrew:], quoted by E and Asher, is a corrupt
+     reading for [Hebrew:].]
+
+     [Footnote 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 [Hebrew:] "consul."]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 26: I. 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 [Hebrew:],
+     Berlin, 1840, and [Hebrew:], Berlin edition, fols. 151-2
+     [Hebrew:] Rome, as so many other cities, had its own
+     martyrs.]
+
+     [Footnote 27: This is the statue of Marcus Aurelius now
+     before the Capitol.]
+
+     [Footnote 28: Even in Benjamin's time the Campagna was noted
+     for malaria.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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 Piedi grotta of Posilipo,
+     constructed by Augustus.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 32: Cf. Isaiah lxvi. 19.]
+
+     [Footnote 33: This city was destroyed by William the Bad in
+     1156. It was ordered to be restored by William the Good in
+     1169, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 35: The river Achelous falls into the Ionian Sea
+     opposite to Ithaca.]
+
+     [Footnote 36: Anatolica is now known as Aetolicum.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 39: Chalcis, the capital of Euboea or Negroponte,
+     is even now called Egripo. It is situated on the Straits of
+     Euripus.]
+
+     [Footnote 40: Some twenty years later the Wallachians were
+     in open revolt and became independent of the Byzantine
+     Empire. Gibbon, chap. lx.]
+
+     [Footnote 41: See Gibbon, chap. liii. He often quotes
+     Benjamin.]
+
+     [Footnote 42: The Grand Duchy of Kieff was called Russia.
+     See page 81.]
+
+     [Footnote 43: The Petchinegs, as well as the Khazars,
+     Bulgarians, Hungarians, and Turks, are called by Josippon,
+     I, chap. i, descendants of Togarma. Patzinakia was the
+     country from the Danube to the Dnieper, and corresponds with
+     Dacia of classical times.]
+
+     [Footnote 44: The readings of E and A are corrupt. R has
+     [Hebrew:], and BM. has [Hebrew:], 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 most of the inhabitants embraced the Jewish religion.]
+
+     [Footnote 45: _Procopius_, vol. I (Palestine Pilgrims' Text
+     Society), gives a full description of Constantinople.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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 Benjamin_.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 49: This place is mentioned by _Procopius_, p.
+     119, as having been fortified by Justinian. It is now known
+     as Rodosto.]
+
+     [Footnote 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 Angevin England_, p.
+     35.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 52: The several MSS. give different readings. The
+     kingdom reached to the Taurus mountains and the Sultanate of
+     Rum or Iconium.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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' Asi (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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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, Alaue, 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_.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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_.]
+
+     [Footnote 61: See the narrative of William of Tyre.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 63: _The 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 67: In Benjamin's time hermits, who eventually
+     founded the Carmelite order of monks, occupied grottoes on
+     Mount Carmel.]
+
+     [Footnote 68: Benjamin travelled along the coast to
+     Caesarea. Mr. Guy Le Strange (_Palestine under the Moslems_,
+     1890, p. 477) writes: "Tall Kanisah, or Al Kunaisah, the
+     Little Church, is the mound a few miles north of Athlith,
+     which the Crusaders took to be the site of Capernaum."
+     Benjamin must have known very well that Maon, which was
+     contiguous to another Carmel (referred to in Joshua xv. 55),
+     belonged to Judah, and was not in the north of Palestine.
+     Here, as in the case of Gath and elsewhere, he quotes what
+     was the hearsay identification current at the time he
+     visited these places. See an article by C.R. Conder on
+     "Early Christian Topography" in the _Quarterly Statements of
+     the Palestine Exploration Fund_ for 1876, p.16. Cf. _The
+     Ancient Hebrew Tradition_, by Prof. Fr. Hommel, p. 243.]
+
+     [Footnote 69: 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.)]
+
+     [Footnote 70: It lies between Caesarea and Lydda. See
+     Conder's _Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem_. Munk's _Palestine_
+     might also be consulted with advantage.]
+
+     [Footnote 71: The tomb of St. George is still shown in the
+     Greek church at Lydda.]
+
+     [Footnote 72: 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 [Hebrew:], the Levite Cohon.
+     Cf. Adler and Seligsohn's _Une nouvelle chronique
+     Samaritaine_. (Paris: Durlacher, 1903.)]
+
+     [Footnote 73: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 74: Cf. Guy Le Strange, _Palestine_, 381, and
+     Rapoport's Note 166, Asher's _Benjamin_, vol. II, p. 87.]
+
+     [Footnote 75: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 76: 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 77: King Baldwin III died in 1162, and was
+     succeeded by his brother Almaric.]
+
+     [Footnote 78: 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 [Hebrew: daleth] meaning four would easily be misread
+     for [Hebrew: resh] meaning 200.]
+
+     [Footnote 79: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 80: 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, _Zeitschrift des Deutschen
+     Palaestina-Vereins._]
+
+     [Footnote 81: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 82: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 83: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 84: See Baedeker's _Palestine and Syria_, pp. 233,
+     236; also Schwartz, _Palestine_, 1852, p. 230 and Dr.
+     Robinson's _Palestine_, I, p. 516.]
+
+     [Footnote 85: Edrisi in 1154 writes: "The tomb is covered by
+     twelve stones, and above it is a dome vaulted over with
+     stones."]
+
+     [Footnote 86: Compare R. Pethachia's account of his visit
+     (_Travels of Rabbi Petachia_: translated by Dr. A. Benisch;
+     London, Truebner & Co., 1856, p. 63). See papers by
+     Professors Goldziher and Guthe (_Zeitschrift des Deutschen
+     Palaestina-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 L5,240 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.)]
+
+     [Footnote 87: 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 [Hebrew:], but it should be [Hebrew:].
+     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 Toron
+     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.]
+
+     [Footnote 88: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 89: This and Mahomerie-le-grand, already
+     mentioned, are Crusaders' churches. See Rey, _Les Colonies
+     franques de Syrie aux XII'e et XIII'e siecles_, p. 387; also
+     Conder, _The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem_.]
+
+     [Footnote 90: 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_.]
+
+     [Footnote 91: See an interesting Paper, "Der Pass von
+     Michmas," by Prof. D.G. Dalman, _Z.D.P.V._, 1904, vol.
+     XXVII, p. 161.]
+
+     [Footnote 92: Asher renders [Hebrew:] 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 [Hebrew:] to be an
+     abbreviation for [Hebrew:] The reports of contemporary
+     Arabic authors will be found in Guy Le Strange's
+     _Palestine_, pp. 303-8.]
+
+     [Footnote 93: 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, _Beitraege zur Geographie
+     Palaestinas_.)]
+
+     [Footnote 94: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 95: A.M. Lunez 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 _Jerusalem_, 1906, VII, p. 87.]
+
+     [Footnote 96: Both BM. and R have [Hebrew:], whilst E and A
+     have the faulty reading [Hebrew:]. 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 97: The common belief is that Simon the Just was
+     buried near Jerusalem, on the road to Nablous, about a mile
+     from the Damascus Gate.]
+
+     [Footnote 98: Cf. Schechter's _Saadyana_, p. 89.]
+
+     [Footnote 99: The passage referring to the Arnon is
+     evidently out of place.]
+
+     [Footnote 100: See Deut. xi. 24.]
+
+     [Footnote 101: 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-Saa, the Dome of Hours.
+     Mukaddasi gives an elaborate description of the mosaics and
+     other features of this mosque.]
+
+     [Footnote 102: Cf. _Midrash Raba_, chap, xiv: [Hebrew:];
+     also Josephus, _Ant_. I, vii, 2 who quotes Nicolaus of
+     Damascus in the words "_In Damasco regnarit Abramus._"]
+
+     [Footnote 103: Pethachia estimates the Jewish population at
+     19,000. This confirms the opinion already given (p. 26) that
+     Benjamin refers to heads of families.]
+
+     [Footnote 104: 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. 79-96.]
+
+     [Footnote 105: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 106: Tarmod is Tadmor or Palmyra.]
+
+     [Footnote 107: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 108: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 109: 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, "Beitraege zur Kenntuis der Syrischen
+     Steppe," _Z.D.P.V._, vols. XXII and XXIII, 1900 I. Cf. the
+     article on the Boundaries of Palestine and Syria by M.
+     Friedmann, Luncz's _Jerusalem_, vol. II.]
+
+     [Footnote 110: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 111: Edrisi and Abulfeda speak of Balis and Kalat
+     Jabar. See Guy Le Strange, p. 417. Zengy the Atabeg was
+     slain at Kalat Jabar.]
+
+     [Footnote 112: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 113: Harr[=a]n, the city of Nahor, is twenty-four
+     miles SSE. of Edessa on the Balikh. Mustawfi tells us of
+     Abraham's Shrine.]
+
+     [Footnote 114: Ras-el-Ain, probably Rhesaina. The river
+     Khabur--the Araxes of Xenophon--flows from the Kurdistan
+     mountains southwards, and runs into the Euphrates.]
+
+     [Footnote 115: 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 116: 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 117: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 118: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 119: Irbil, or Arbela, is two days' journey from
+     Mosul. See Saadyana, _J. Q.R._, vol. XIV, p. 503, and W.
+     Bacher's note, p. 741.]
+
+     [Footnote 120: 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 does not come
+     to pass, See Schwarz, _Das Heilige Land_, 1852, p. 259,
+     identifying Kefar Tanchum near Tiberias with Nahum's
+     burialplace]
+
+     [Footnote 121: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 122: 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. Benisch's edition, p. 19.)]
+
+     [Footnote 123: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 124: _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.]
+
+     [Footnote 125: The statements here made are strangely
+     contradictory; see a suggestive article by Dr. Goldziher in
+     _Z.D.P.G._, 1905, p. 151.]
+
+     [Footnote 126: A valuable work, _Bagdad during the Abbaside
+     Caliphate, from Contemporary Arabic and 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
+     Mustansiriyah, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 127: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 128: The last or tenth Academy.]
+
+     [Footnote 129: This appellation is applied in the Talmud to
+     scholars who uninterruptedly apply themselves to communal
+     work.]
+
+     [Footnote 130: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 131: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 132: 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 currrent 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. 1, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 133: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 134: It is interesting to compare this account
+     with that of the Installation of the Egyptian Nagid
+     (_J.Q.R._, IX, p. 717).]
+
+     [Footnote 135: This is a well-known sage, whose name often
+     occurs in the Talmud.]
+
+     [Footnote 136: 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 137: The Valley of Dura mentioned in Daniel iii.
+     is here referred to. See Dr. Berliner's _Beitraege zur
+     Geographie und Ethnographie Babyloniens_; also Layard's
+     _Nineveh and Babylon_, p. 469. Cf. Berachot, 57 b.]
+
+     [Footnote 138: 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
+     Cyclopaedia_. 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 139: 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).]
+
+     [Footnote 140: 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
+     [Hebrew]. 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 _majn[=u]n_, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 141: See picture of the traditional tomb of
+     Ezekiel in the _Jewish Encyclopaedia_, vol. V, p. 315.]
+
+     [Footnote 142: The Talmud (Sabbath, II a) speaks of the
+     destruction of Mata Mehasya. Sura took its place as a centre
+     of learning.]
+
+     [Footnote 143: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 144: 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).]
+
+     [Footnote 145: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 146: 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 Safir_,
+     Lyck, 1866. Dr. L. Gruenhut, in his introduction, _Die
+     Reisebeschreibungen des R. Benjamin von Tudela_, Jerusalem,
+     1903, p. 16, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 147: It is clear that, when speaking of the
+     population of some of these places, the whole oasis or
+     district is intended, and not a particular town.]
+
+     [Footnote 148: In reading through the foregoing account of
+     the Jews in Arabia, it is quite clear that Benjamin never
+     visited the country, nor did he pretend to have done so. In
+     the words of Mr. C.E. 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 [Hebrew:] and made [Hebrew:]
+     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 [Hebrew:]
+     "_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 (1 Sam. xxx, 1 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, otherwise Anaessi,
+     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 80,000, 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 any more 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 149: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 150: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 151: 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. II, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 152: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 153: _Marco Polo_, book II, chap, xlv, 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 154: The reputed sepulchre of Daniel is situated
+     between Schuster and 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."]
+
+     [Footnote 155: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 156: 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
+     [Hebrew letter 'resh'] for a [Hebrew letter 'daleth']. The
+     scribe of the British Museum MS. had made other errors of
+     this kind, writing [Hebrew:] for [Hebrew:], [Hebrew:] for
+     [Hebrew:], &c. See Guy Le Strange, p. 92.]
+
+     [Footnote 157: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 158: 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).]
+
+     [Footnote 159: 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 he ascribes to
+     Schahristani.]
+
+     [Footnote 160: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 161: 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 E. 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 [Hebrew:] for [Hebrew:]. 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 162: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 163: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 164: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 165: Asher, following the printed editions, quotes
+     the Jewish population of this place as 8,000, 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 Gihon (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.]
+
+     [Footnote 166: 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, Noeldeke 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 waeren die zehn Staemme Israels zu suchen?_
+     Dr. M. Lewin, Frankfort, 1901.]
+
+     [Footnote 167: It should be 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 168: Rayy is the ancient city of Rages, spoken of
+     in the Book of Tobit i. 14. The ruins are in the
+     neighbourhood of Teheran.]
+
+     [Footnote 169: 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. Mueller's _Islam,_ also Dr. G. Oppert's _Presbyter
+     Johannes in Sage und Geschichte, 1864._]
+
+     [Footnote 170: It will be noted that Benjamin uses here the
+     terms [Hebrew: ] 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 sea-banks 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 171: 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 [Hebrew] 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 [Hebrew], 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 L1,000,000. See P.M. Sykes, _Ten Thousand
+     Miles in Persia_, 1902.]
+
+     [Footnote 172: 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 _The 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 submit 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 juedischen Colonien in Indien_, Dr. Gustav Oppert;
+     also _Semitic Studies_, (Berlin,1897), pp. 396-419.
+
+     Under the heading of "Cochin", the Jewish Encyclopaedia
+     gives an account of the White and Black Jews of Malabar. By
+     way of supplementing the Article, it may be well to refer to
+     a MS., No. 4238 of the Merzbacher 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 Wuensche's
+     _Juedische Literatur_, vol III, p. 459. Cf. article on the
+     Beni-Israel of India by Samuel B. Samuel, _The Jewish
+     Literary Annual_, 1905.]
+
+     [Footnote 173: The British Museum text has Ibrig, and the
+     Casanatense has Ibriag: neither can be identified. The
+     printed editions have [Hebrew:] 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 174: 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 [Hebrew:] which occurs in the
+     Bible four times; in the Song of Moses (Exod. xv. 8):
+     [Hebrew:] "The depths were curdled in the heart of the sea"
+     (not "_congealed_" as the Version has it), Job x. 10:
+     [Hebrew:] "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.]
+
+     [Footnote 175: 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_.]
+
+     [Footnote 176: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 177: 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 [Hebrew:] in lieu
+     of which our text reads [Hebrew:] 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 Abyssinia, 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).]
+
+     [Footnote 178: 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 Havilah.]
+
+     [Footnote 179: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 180: This sentence is out of place, and should
+     follow the sentence in the preceding paragraph which speaks
+     of the Sultan Al-Habash.]
+
+     [Footnote 181: 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 [Hebrew: 'Sin'] denotes 300, not
+     3.]
+
+     [Footnote 182: 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 _The Store 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 183:'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 seven years later. The Cairo of 1170,
+     which was styled El Medina, and was called by Benjamin
+     [Hebrew:], 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 184: Cf. two elaborate papers by Dr. A. Buechler,
+     "The Reading of the Law and Prophets in a Triennial Cycle,"
+     _J. Q.R._, V, 420, VI, I, and E.N. Adler, ib. VIII, 529.
+     For details as to synagogues, see _J. Q.R._, XVIII, 11;
+     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.]
+
+     [Footnote 185: Zunz was the first to put forward the
+     supposition that R. Nethanel is identical with Hibet Allah
+     ibn 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 186: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 187: 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._, IX, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 188: 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
+     [Hebrew: eis] 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 189: In a Geniza fragment C quoted by Dr. Neubauer
+     in _J.Q.R._, IX, p. 36, this city is called [Hebrew:].
+     Probably the first two letters denote that it is an island.
+     Compare the passage in Schechter's _Saadyana_, pp. 90, 91,
+     [Hebrew:].]
+
+     [Footnote 190: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 191: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 192: See _Makrizi_, vol. II, 464, and _J.Q.R._,
+     XV, p. 75; also XIX, 502.]
+
+     [Footnote 193: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 194: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 195: 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 Tanta 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).]
+
+     [Footnote 196: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 197: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 198: 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 _O_, 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 [Hebrew:] has been repeated. Patzinakia
+     (referred to on p. 12, as trading with Constantinople) is
+     there spelt [Hebrew:] not [Hebrew:]. [Hebrew:] may be read
+     [Hebrew:]; 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 199: Simasin or Timasin is doubtless near Lake
+     Timsah. Sunbat is spoken of by Arabic writers as noted for
+     its linen manufactures and trade.]
+
+     [Footnote 200: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 201: 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 Raha 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_.]
+
+     [Footnote 202: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 203: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 204: 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: [Hebrew:]
+     "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."]
+
+     [Footnote 205: The straits of Messina were named Faro. Lipar
+     has reference, no doubt, to the Liparian Islands, which are
+     in the neighbourhood.]
+
+     [Footnote 206: Cf. Bertinoro's interesting description of
+     the synagogue at Palermo, which he said had not its equal,
+     _Miscellany of Hebrew Literature_, vol. I, p. 114.]
+
+     [Footnote 207: Hacina is the Arabic for a fortified or
+     enclosed place.]
+
+     [Footnote 208: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 209: 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 [Hebrew:]
+     _This is the domain of the viceroy._ The Oxford MS. agrees
+     with our text and reads [Hebrew:] _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.]
+
+     [Footnote 210: Edrisi, 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 211: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 212: See Aronius, _Regester_, p. 131. This writer,
+     as a matter of course, had only the printed editions before
+     him. His supposition that [Hebrew:] is Mayence is more than
+     doubtful, but his and Lelewel's identification of [Hebrew:]
+     with Mantern and [Hebrew:] 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 213: 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 Kieff.]
+
+     [Footnote 214: Benjamin does not tell us whether Jews
+     resided in Kieff. Mr. A. Epstein has obligingly furnished
+     the following references: In [[Hebrew:], Graetz,
+     _Monatsschrift_, 39, 511, we read: [Hebrew:]. In [Hebrew:],
+     _Monatsschrift_, 40, 134, [Hebrew:]. This Rabbi Moses is
+     also mentioned in _Resp._ of R. Meir of Rothenburg, ed.
+     Berlin, p. 64. Later records give the name [Hebrew:].]
+
+     [Footnote 215: 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.]
+
+     [Footnote 216: Lelewel, having the reading [Hebrew:] 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, [Hebrew:], joined the
+     Synod convened by Rashbam and Rabenu Tam. See _Gallia
+     Judaica_, p. 60, also Graetz, vol. VI, 395 (10).]
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela
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