The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela

p. 424 riches, and be made the King's steward; but he refused, and said, "I can not make up my mind to any such step." The King, however, placed him in the house of the rabbi Sar Shalom, of the Ispahan congregation, who in the course of time became his father-in-law. This very R. Moses related all these things unto me. From thence I returned to the country of Khuzistan, which lies on the Tigris. This river runs downward and falls into the Indian Sea (Persian Gulf), in the vicinity of an island called Kish. The extent of this island is six miles, and the inhabitants do not carry on any agriculture, for they have no rivers, nor more than one spring in the whole island, and are consequently obliged to drink rain-water. It is, however, a considerable market, being the spot to which the Indian merchants and those of the islands bring their commodities. While the traders of Mesopotamia, Yemen, and Persia import all silk and purple cloths, flax, cotton, hemp, mash, wheat, barley, millet, rye, and all other sorts of comestibles and pulse, which articles form objects of exchange, those from India import great quantities of spices, and the inhabitants of the island live by what they gain in their capacity of brokers to both parties. The island contains about five hundred Jews. It is ten days' passage by sea to El-Katif, a city with about five thousand Israelites. In this vicinity the pearls are found: about the twenty-fourth of the month of Nisan 65 large drops of rain are observed upon the surface of the water, which are swallowed by the reptiles, which thereupon close their shells and fall to the bottom of the sea; about the middle of the month of Thishri 66 people dive with the assistance of ropes, collect these reptiles from the bottom, and bring them up, after which they are opened and the pearls taken out.

Seven days from thence is Chulam, 67 on the confines of the country of the sun-worshipers, who are descendants of Kush, 68 are addicted to astrology, and are all black. This p. 425 nation is very trustworthy in matters of trade; and whenever foreign merchants enter their port, three secretaries of the king immediately repair on board their vessels, write down their names, and report them to him. The king thereupon grants them security for their property, which they may even leave in the open fields without any guard. One of the king's officers sits in the market, and receives goods that may have been found anywhere, and which he returns to those applicants who can minutely describe them. This custom is observed in the whole empire of the king. From Easter to new year, 69 during the whole of the summer, the heat is extreme. From the third hour of the day people shut themselves up in their houses until the evening, at which time everybody goes out. The streets and markets are lighted up, and the inhabitants employ all the night upon their business, which they are prevented from doing in the daytime by the excessive heat. . . . Here are the confines of Germany, a country full of hills and mountains. The Jewish congregations of Germany inhabit the banks of the great river Rhine, from Cologne, where the empire commences, unto Cassanburg, the frontier of Germany, which is fifteen days' journey, and is called Ashkenas by the Jews. These are the cities of Germany which contain congregations of Israelites, all situated on the river Moselle---Coblence, Andernach, Kaub, Kartania, Bingen, Worms, and Mistran. In fact, the Jews are dispersed over all countries, and whoever hinders Israel from being collected shall never see any good sign, and shall not live with Israel. And at the time which the Lord has appointed to be a limit of our captivity and to exalt the horn of his anointed, every one shall come forth and shall say, "I will lead the Jews and I will assemble them."

These cities contain many eminent scholars; the congregations are on the best terms with one another, and are friendly toward strangers. Whenever a traveler visits them they are rejoiced thereat and hospitably receive him. They are full p. 426 of hopes, and say: "Be of good spirit, dear brethren, for the salvation of the Lord will be quick, like the twinkling of an eye; and, indeed, were it not that we had doubted hitherto that the end of our captivity had not yet arrived, we should have assembled long ago; but this is impossible before the time of song arrive, and the sound of the cooing turtle gives warning; then will the message arrive, and we will say, The name of the Lord be exalted!" 70 They send letters to one another, by which they exhort to hold firm in the Mosaic law. Those that spend their time as mourners of the downfall of Sion and the destruction of Jerusalem are always dressed in black clothes, and pray for mercy before the Lord, for the sake of their brethren. Beside the cities which we have already mentioned as being in Germany, there are, further, Astransburg, Duidisburg, Mantern, Pisingas, Bamberg, Zor, and Regensburg, on the confines of the empire; all these cities contain many rich and learned Jews. Farther on is the country of Bohemia, called Prague. Here begins Sclavonia, called by the Jews who inhabit it Khenaan, because the inhabitants sell their children to all nations, which is also applicable to the people of Russia. The latter country is very extensive, reaching from the gates of Prague to those of Kiev, a large city on the confines of the empire. The country is very mountainous and full of forests; in the latter the beasts called vaiverges 71 are met, which yield the sable fur or ermine. In winter the cold is so intense that nobody ventures to leave his house. So far the kingdom of Russia.

The kingdom of France, called by the Jews Tsarphat, reaches from the town of Alsodo to Paris, the metropolis, and is six days in extent. This city, situated on the river Seine, belongs to King Louis, and contains many learned men, the equal of which are to be met with at present nowhere upon earth: they employ all their time upon the study of the law, are hospitable to all travelers, and on friendly terms with all their Jewish brethren. p. 427 May the Lord in his mercy be full of compassion toward them and us, and may he fulfil toward both the words of his Holy Scripture (Deut. xx. 3), "Then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee."--Amen, Amen, Amen. THE END 383:1 The expression "of blessed memory" is generally added by Jews when mentioning the "honored dead" (see Proverbs x. 7), and recurs frequently in the following narrative. 383:2 This city was one of great antiquity; and at this time the remains of its ancient walls appear to have been very remarkable. Destroyed at an earlier period by the Saracens, Tarragona was rebuilt in the twelfth century. 387:3 Alexander III, who held the papacy from 1159 to 1181. The employment of Jews in the service of the pope is a circumstance worthy of remark. 387:4 The book Aruch was a celebrated dictionary, completed by Rabbi Nathan at Rome, in A.D. 1101.

387:4 The book Aruch was a celebrated dictionary, completed by Rabbi Nathan at Rome, in A.D. 1101. 387:5 These singular legends relating to the ancient buildings in Rome are chiefly taken from the writings of Josephus ben Gorion. Some of them may be compared with similar tales which are found in the works of Christian writers, and of which several examples are inserted in William of Malmesbury's History. 388:6 The time of the destruction of both temples at Jerusalem. The day is still one of fast and mourning to all Jews, and is celebrated as such by all synagogues. 388:7 These were ten ancient teachers of the Mishna, who suffered violent death in the period between Vespasian and Hadrian. A late legend not only connected these persecutions as one event, but assigned to the victims a common sepulcher at Rome. The legend contains a conversation of the ten martyrs with the emperor. Several of the ten were certainly not buried in Rome; the sepulchers of three, Akiba, Ishmael, and Juda ben Thema, were shown in Palestine in the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Antipatris is said by others to be the place of the sepulcher of R. Akiba. A more recent catalogue notices, as known in Palestine, the sepulchers of R. Juda, son of Baba, and Simon, son of Gamaliel, two others of the "ten martyrs." 389:8 The modern Nahr-el-Mukattua. See Judges v. 21. 389:9 Joshua xix. 13. Modern writers identify Kaiffa with the ancient Ephah, and not with Gath.

389:9 Joshua xix. 13. Modern writers identify Kaiffa with the ancient Ephah, and not with Gath. 390:10 To which place, according to the tenets of the Talmudic Jews, the offerings are confined, and since the destruction of which they have been discontinued. 391:11 critics and travelers appear to confirm this statement relating to the peculiar pronunciation of the three letters by the Samaritans. 391:12 The knights templars. 392:13 Jesus is thus called in the Talmud. 394:14 After the slaughter of the Jews of Jerusalem by the crusaders, the few that were saved from destruction were dispersed in all directions. These persons who mourned over these unhappy circumstances were called "mourners of Jerusalem," and are mentioned under that title more than once by Benjamin. We find these mourners even among the Caraites about 1147. We read in several ancient Jewish writers of the danger incurred by the Jews who visited Jerusalem while it remained in the power of the Christians. Pethachia found only one Jew at Jerusalem, whereas Benjamin speaks of 200. A numerous congregation was again to be met with there about 1190; but about 1216 great discord prevailed among them in consequence of the pretensions of the different congregations. 394:15 It may be observed that most of the richer stuffs, the siclatons, etc., used in the west of Europe during the Middle Ages, came from the East, which accounts for the number of. dyers, mentioned by the traveler.

394:15 It may be observed that most of the richer stuffs, the siclatons, etc., used in the west of Europe during the Middle Ages, came from the East, which accounts for the number of. dyers, mentioned by the traveler. 395:16 The "House of Abraham" is still shown to travelers, about an hour's ride from Hebron, the site being occupied by the ruins of a small convent. 395:17 Joshua xv. 44. It is the Bethogabris of the Greek and Latin writers, and supposed to be the Eleutheropolis of the early Christian fathers. 396:18 The rocks of Jonathan, mentioned (I Sam. xiv. 5) as being between Gibeah and Michmash, and which formed a narrow path between the two places, were also seen by Robinson and Smith. "Directly between Jeba and Mukhmas are two conical hills, not very high, which are probably the scene of Jonathan's romantic adventure against the Philistines, recorded in 1 Sam. xiv." 396:19 The Azotus of the ancient geographers. 397:20 The Esdraela of the Greeks, called by the historians of the crusades Gerinum and Zarain. 397:21 During the Middle Ages Jews were not unfrequently employed as astrologers by the Arabian princes. R. Isaac, the son of Baruch (A. D. 1080), appears, among others, to have rendered services of this kind to Almohammad. King Alphonso of Castile also entertained Jews who were proficients in astrology. The surname astrologer, was borne by Abraham in Tiberias. Eliezer, author of an astrological book of chances, lived in 1559. We also find mention of Joseph, astrologer of Seifeddin, sultan of Mosul; R. Isaac, an astronomer of the twelfth century in France; and Salomon, an astronomer in Nineveh.

397:22 Jochanan, son of Zakhai, was a celebrated teacher of the Mishna in the time of Vespasian; later catalogues mention his sepulcher in Tiberias. 397:23 This identification is evidently an error, as Thimnatha was in Judea, far to the south of Tiberias, and could not be Tebnin. Benjamin falls into another error in placing here the sepulcher of Samuel, who was buried in Ramah. Mr. Asher proposes to read Simeon. 398:24 Meirûn is still a place of pilgrimage to the Jews of the vicinity, who resort thither on certain days to say prayers on the sepulchers of some rabbis; and this corroborates our text, according to which Hillel and Shamai, the two most celebrated teachers of the Talmud, who flourished before the birth of our Savior, are interred in a cave near Merûn. This legend must have been very prevalent at our author's time, as it is also reported by Pethachia, who adds that a large stone vase, situated in the cave of the sepulcher, filled itself spontaneously with water whenever a worthy man entered it for the purpose of devotion, but remained empty if the visitor was a man of doubtful character. The two other persons whose sepulchers are mentioned here were celebrated teachers of the law, who flourished in the third and second centuries. 398:25 All the persons mentioned here were celebrated rabbis of the first century before, and the three centuries after Christ, except Barak, who is well known by the fourth chapter of the book of Judges.

398:25 All the persons mentioned here were celebrated rabbis of the first century before, and the three centuries after Christ, except Barak, who is well known by the fourth chapter of the book of Judges. 398:26 This is Paneas, or Baneas, the ancient Cæsarea Philippi. 398:27 This identification is not quite correct, the ancient Dan having been situated on another small rivulet, still called Dan, and distant about four Roman miles west of Paneas on the way to Tyre. William of Tyre also identifies Dan with Cæsarea. The apparent source of the Jordan flows from under a cave at the foot of a precipice, in the sides of which are several niches with Greek inscriptions, which Benjamin has mistaken for the altar of Micha. 399:28 This is a mistake of Rabbi Benjamin, as this term, used in Deut, xi. 24, means the Mediterranean. 399:29 It is hardly necessary to state that this was the celebrated sultan of Damascus, Aleppo, and Egypt, so well known in the history of the crusades. He reigned from 1145 to 1173. 401:30 The earthquake alluded to visited this part of Syria in 1157, at which period Hamah, Antiochia, Emessa, Apamea, Laodicea, and many other cities, were laid in ruins. R. Benjamin calls the river Orontes Jabbok; the Arabians call it Oroad, or Asi. Reiha, or Rieha, is a name still borne by a place and mountain in this part of the road from Damascus to Aleppo. 401:31 Numb. xxii. 5. Deut. xxiii. 4. It is the Barbarissus of the Romans. Bales was taken by the crusaders under Tancred in 1111.

401:31 Numb. xxii. 5. Deut. xxiii. 4. It is the Barbarissus of the Romans. Bales was taken by the crusaders under Tancred in 1111. 401:32 The Dauses, or Davana, of the Greeks. In the history of the crusades, Kalat (or fort) Jiaber is often mentioned; and the circumstances alluded to by our author are told at length by Desguignes. In Abulfeda's time this place was a deserted ruin; but the castle, built on a mound of marl and gypsum, still stands, thirty-five miles below Bir, on the left bank of the Euphrates. 402:33 The Callinicus of the Greeks, afterward called Nicephorium. 402:34 The Carrhæ of the ancients. The site of the house of Abraham is still pointed out as an object of veneration. Mr. Asher observes that, from Aleppo to Racca, our author, like most modern and ancient travelers, followed the course of the Euphrates; but being probably attracted, like Marco Polo, by the considerable trade then carried on at Mosul, he proceeded thither from Racca, by way of Haran, Nisibis, and Jezireh, a route pointed out as probably used by Alexander on Rennel's map of the retreat of the Ten Thousand. 402:35 It appears that the name of a city is omitted here. Our author probably wrote "from thence to Ras-el-Ain," at which place the Khabur becomes a formidable river. 402:36 This is of course not the true Ararat. It is called Jebel Judi. The island is the ancient Bezebde. 403:37 The ancient Erbela.

403:37 The ancient Erbela. 403:38 The ancient Cercusium. 403:39 All these were celebrated Jewish rabbis in the earlier centuries of the Christian era. 401:40 He Calif alluded to by Benjamin was either Moktafi, who died in 1160, or Mostanjeh abul-Modhaffer, who reigned from his death to 1170. It is probable that Benjamin was at Bagdad in 1164. 406:41 Dar-al-Morabittan in Arabic; literally, "abode of those who require being chained," i.e., of the raving mad. 408:42 The ceremony of consecration, performed by the prince of captivity, consisted in his laying his hands on the heads of the candidates. 409:43 The place where the rolls of the Pentateuch are deposited. It is generally elevated above the seats of the congregation. 409:44 Gen. x. 12. Ras-al-Ain is the Ressaina of the Romans; it is erroneously identified with Resen. 409:45 The name is omitted in all editions. 410:46 This tradition of the burning furnace is mentioned by the Arabian geographers, by whom we are further informed that the ashes still remained. 410:47 These are also some of the early rabbis concerning whom the Jews possess many legends; the places of burial of others are mentioned further on. 410:48 Benjamin here alludes to the Birs Nimrod, which is, however, more than four miles from Hillah. Al-ajurr is the Persian word for these bricks. 410:49 Perhaps the Nachaba of Ptolemy. It is not found in modern maps. 410:50 This celebrated sepulcher is still a place of pilgrimage to the Jews and Mohammedans in the East.

410:50 This celebrated sepulcher is still a place of pilgrimage to the Jews and Mohammedans in the East. 413:51 Fasting being prohibited on these days by the Talmud. This proves Niebuhr's supposition, that they were Talmudists, to be correct. 414:52 The name of a city appears to be omitted here. 414:53 Waset is the ancient Cybate. The Hebrew text reads Naset, which Mr. Asher has rightly corrected. 414:54 The name of a city is omitted here; no doubt Kornah, on the Samarra, or ancient Delos. 415:55 Sanjar was a very celebrated and powerful prince. He conquered Samarkand in 1140, and died in 1157, shortly before Benjamin visited the East. 416:56 Benjamin's account of the Assassins, and their residence at Mulehet, coincides very closely with that given by Marco Polo. It has been supposed that the sect of the Assassins originated in this district of Persia. 417:57 That is, probably, in A.D. 1155; for 1165 appears to be about the year in which Benjamin of Tudela visited Persia. The history of David El-Roy, and the scene of his imposture, have been illustrated by Major Rawlinson in a memoir communicated to the Geographical Society of London, and printed in its Transactions. 418:58 Shem Hamphorash, literally, "the explained name," the letters of the word "Jehovah" in their full explanation, a mystery known but to very few, and by which it is believed wonders may be executed. The wonders performed by Jesus are ascribed in the Talmud to his knowledge of this mystery.

418:58 Shem Hamphorash, literally, "the explained name," the letters of the word "Jehovah" in their full explanation, a mystery known but to very few, and by which it is believed wonders may be executed. The wonders performed by Jesus are ascribed in the Talmud to his knowledge of this mystery. 419:59 Hamadan, which is now in a state of ruin, is said to stand on or near the site of the ancient Ecbatana. The sepulcher of Mordecai and Esther is still shown there. 420:60 This town is conjectured to be Farahabad. 420:61 The city of Khiva. 420:62 2 Kings xvii. 6, and xviii. 11. "And the King of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put them in Halah and in Habor, by the river Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes." 421:63 Of the tribe of Levi, the descendants of which are divided into Leviim and Khohanim, and are the only Jews who to this day claim the descent from a certain tribe, all others having mixed and become extinct in the course of time. 421:64 These were the Ghuzes, a Turkish tribe who emigrated in the twelfth century from the country to the north of the Oxus. The events mentioned in the text seem to have occurred in 1153, when the Ghuzes revolted against the Persians, defeated the Sultan, and plundered Mero and Nishapur. The Sultan was made a prisoner, and only escaped and returned to his own country in 1156. 424:65 In April. 424:66 In October. 424:67 Chulam, the Koulam of Marco Polo and Ibn-Batuta, was an important place on the coast of Malabar, but is much reduced in modern times.

424:68 Negroes. 425:69 I.e., from April to October. 426:70 Psalms xxxv. 27. 426:71 Vaiverges, Polish wiewiórka, the white squirrel, a quadruped the skins of which were considered to be of great value.