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diff --git a/14981-8.txt b/14981-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f639b59 --- /dev/null +++ b/14981-8.txt @@ -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: 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 + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ITINERARY OF BENJAMIN OF TUDELA *** + +***** This file should be named 14981-8.txt or 14981-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/9/8/14981/ + +Produced by Ted Garvin and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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