DOCSLIB.ORG

Ben Ezra Synagogue Has an Interest· Ing History As Detailed Hereunder

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ben Ezra Synagogue Has an Interest· Ing History As Detailed Hereunder L BEN EZRA The author of this modest work who e~ercing has the privilege of hi.s mi.s.sion ,I· Synagogue in thi.s beautiful Nile Valley, so well k_no1v.n, fo r its liberali.sm and spiric of rtligiow to•' It is situated in Old Cairo, surrounded lerance is happy to present to the leadeu by 29 Mosques and 20 Churches, the in· of the Revolution, trith thi.s book, hi.s I·. re.s·1 habitants are about 133.000 Mohamedans pectful hommage of loyalty. Patriot•sm 10.000 Copts and 42 Jewish families in and profound watitude . I this locality, (Old Cairo). BEN EZRA SYNAGOGlJE Although this population of different Old Cairo religious yet they are united and love each I ~. other as one family. Ben Ezra Synagogue has an interest· ing history as detailed hereunder : In the tirue of Moses, about l 392 B.C. during the reign of the Egyptian King s Meneptah (19th Dynasty) Jews have lived the site of the Synagogue of the Prophet in the Land of Giza (Goscheo Land) close Jeremiah and Rabbi Abraham Ben Ezra . to the Synagogue in the City of Giza, where the prophet Moses u1ed to pray and To the West of the Synagogue is the worship God. Abou Serga Church, there is a Crypt whose history goes back evt'n to before Christ. Before Moses left Egypt he prayed Historians say that when Herod, the Ro· there for the lut time leaving unmistakable man ruler of Jerusalem, ordered that all traces or mark signes which pron bis ex· the children, of this Kingdom, must be i sten ~e in Egypt in thoae early times. Killed. The Virgin Mary, Joseph and the During the reign of tbe Babylonian Child Jesus, fled to Egypt and sheltered King Nebuchadnezzar (606 · 538 B.C.) the in this Crypt for three months. It is po· Jews who returned with their prophet Jes sitively known that Joseph was Jew and remiab. They accidentally found the Mark· thst tbtl logical thing for him to do was of Moses close to the city of Giza and to go to bis own people for a refuge for there they built a Synagogue in the name bis family and himself. This fact combin· Jeremiah. Within this Synagogue was built ed with many other furnishes definite proof a special place called Guenizeh or Safe of a Jewish quarter around this locality Keeping, fo r the incomplete Torah. over 2000 years ago. The following give proof of the exis­ Many Historians ref er to the Old tt'nce of a Jewish quarter in and around Synagogue located in his area; one of them 7 -~ ,.. ..,.. :'. '• IE§i=;:1J=~~=1:!~~· _.11 • ...- ~ .......-. .... ..,.~, I : "t Benjamin de Tudel, who came from Spain I ' I • ~ , .r-'fl~..... -:; ~i ·)-~ ·1--. '!-. ·' ~ I I in 1169 A.D. said in bis book, written in I .. I ...,;- . ...~ ...... -,.,,,-- - 1\"',,... ...,. " 1170, that be had visited tbe J ewisb Sy· ,.. -...;.. :-,.rw: ---- ---- ~ na~ogue in a place called Old Cairo and ,.:~. __ _...,,. ___ ..,,,._ -- - --::...:. -- ---·----- .-!1 ! • ..• there found the Torah of Ezra the Scribe. ~~·-,• ... ', .•. ,_f_ .. •:·r-- : ~ . --- --·· -- !I' This is further proof that the Prophet ·I . ' Moses lived in tbia locality. .. --c; \-.:.-.· '-';1··~·· ... >"·#·«."'".· .............. ~.·-.· . ' I Another ooe is the famous Italian Je· wish author Jacob de Vette:ioa, who came before him. ' ! . .......... _;., :·: I~:. ~ ~ ' A third is Rabbi Joseph, who said f '-: , • 1j '-·' ,_.,,,.., 1.... ....../ .. / ~ •I - - •. : in his book, written in 1630 A. D. that the ,. r ... • ~ <' I • ~ I 9 \ .. ' ...'"' origi nal inscription of Sambare in the ~- : .. '- . ) i ~- ' ·~ Bod leain University of Oxford contains .. ·-~'~--·._" -- -, ·Li ··.:··.. ::.=--~.:::.:~~-~ ~ many references to the Ben Ez!a Synago· r ..• ---· ..- .... :\°_ ; ~--·"'t"',,,. •, .• .. - I oil. __ .. ,' ...... ' .. •..... -~ ..... -- ... ~ I •. I ·-s~:·:_.--:-~.~: ; ~ . .:.. '. ~-\ • gue of Cairo. L - - ·- - 'r• •""1'iinlll . 't.•' • I• ! . ~~,;. [J Amongst these are lioes written by .... -.... ·.. ·.r.J.:-:-:....:." .."t"J·.:r..-,fl!!!~~~:• ... )· . ..-.·.-.... .. ·r~~ ' El Makrizi who lived io the Hoth century (in bis book KHETAT) 0 "When visited the Synagogue of Old C&. '"o than the Jews they convinsed Amro lbn [ found, in the southern side of it, the El'Aes and the land was handed over to place, where the Old Torah was put many them. years befou, Ezra the Scribe." The Copts built a church on the land Dr. Soliman Shicbter of the Columbia referred to, by El Makrizi as the Angle Univereity, who came to Egypt during Lord Gabriel's Church, and refe rred to by the Cromer'• time, tndorsed tbe ~tatements of historians as St. Michatl's Church. the previous writers about the Synagogu~. Dr. Richard Gothiel, When they invaded Egypt 30 8 . C., Columbia Univers i1 y. the Romans destroyed the Synagogue of the Prophet Jeremiah. Prof. \Villiaru Wortll, University of Michigan. In the year 6-4·641 A.O. Anno lbn In the Book Fragemenh of the Cairo el'Ass deftated the Romans in Babylon and Genizah in the freer collect ion. returned all the properties which he had been taken from the rightful owners. The And it has been destroyed by El Copts claimed th e land of Jeremiah's Sy· Hakem be Amr Allah Abo Aly El Mansour nagogue on the ground that in their New El Fatimi 996 · 1021 A.D. Testament Jeremiah was named nR on of their Propbet:1. Their number being greater lo 868 A.O. Ahmed Ibo Tuluo became 10 11 I 189-1!, the Amencan lhstorian, Proressor Shichter came to Egypt and when he visi· the ruler of Egypt and be taxed the Copts ted the Synagogue he found the Guenizeb 20.000 dinars io gold annualy. In the year in which the Old Torah had been kept. 1115 A.D. the great Rabbi Abraham Ben A dtfinile proof of the existence of tbe Ezra came to Egypt from Jerusalem and Old Synagogue io that arett. He also found visited the Holy Palace where Moses and 100.000 books of various dates, the Ben Jeremiah had worshipped: he then went to Sira's Book and the marriage documeot of notabilities and told them what he knew Maimonidi's son. Professor Sbicbter al~!O about ihe Synagogue aod why this land found traces of the Maimonidi'a Synogo· should be their own . He iotervewed His ~ue which is now the St. Barbara Coptic Eminence the Patriarch Alexander the 56th Cemetery. and asked that Synagogue should he re• turned to the Jews. The Patriarch told By special permiesion of the Jewish Rabbi Ibn Ezra that the Arabic ruler would Congregation, Profeesor Shicbter took part insist on the annual tax of 20.000 dinars of the Old Torah back to America with in gold. After some bargaining it was that him. agreed so long they paid the tax, the Sy· nagogue should be returoed to the Jewa. The Old Torah is now !pead over the Western world part in the Columbia Uni· Ben Ezra rebuilt the Syoagogue which veuity, part in the cemenery of new York is still called after bis name . part of the British Museum and the Bod· Many centuries passed, and then, io 13 12 7. -The spring (Mikva), 9o0 years leiao University College and iurther part o]d dating with the Synagogue. in Austria and Torin6. 8. Dwellings built for the poorer Among the attractions in and around Jews thy the Jewish Congeration the Ben Ezra Synagogue area are : of Cairo. 1. Moses Atlas which is called the Communaute Israelite Miracle Rock or Jeremiah's tomb. du Caire 2. An Old Torah (written on deer skin about 475 B. C.) 3. An arabeeque ciling built in 1115 A.O. 4. The Guenizeh P1ace. 5. A clock of wood in which is car· To whom comes the merit of ved Korie writting referring to the actual state of the the visit of Amro lbn El' Ass to Synagogue and the Dwelling1. that area. 6. A drawing of seven branched can· delebra on deer skin. lS 14 lo all Oriental countries, including Egypt which were conquered by Amro Ehn El'Ass in 6'1, the Jews were granted comp· plete frtedom . This wa8 laid down in the Roman Arabic Pact, Article 5, duly iiigoed in 10112/Ml, in Babylon by Amro Ebn El'Ass and Mokaukas (Cyrus). That free· dom bas been maiotaioed up to the actual r~'fga ''. of the Leaders of the Revolurion. 17- ~- "Life ia passing shadow, say the scrip· ture. It is the shadow of a tower, or a tree? A shadow that prevails for a while? No, it is the shadow of bird in its fli2bt Sayings ·from - away flies the bird, and tbeJ."e is a neither the Talmud bird no shadow." .. -Repent one day before the death. " Even when the gate of tbe heaven There y,·as a king who bade all his servant are shut to prayer, they are open to tears. to a great repast, but did not indicate the Prayer is Isra el's only weapons inherited bour r some went home and but on their from bis fathers a weapon tried in a t.~ou· best garments and stood at the door of the sand battles." palace ; other said. .. fhere is ample timt: the king will let us now beforehand''. But "When the righteous man dies, it -is the king summonded them of a sudden; the ear th that loses. The lost jewel will 1\ and those who came in their best grameuts always be a jewel but the possessor wbo were well r ec~ived, but the foolish ore!\, bas lost it-well may be weep." ' who came in there slovenliness, were tur­ " To one wlio denied ressurrection ned away in hie grace.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Copyrighted Material
    chapter 1 life and works nlike most medieval Jewish philosophers, about whom very little is known, Maimonides provided future generations with ample informa- Ution about himself in letters and documents; many of these docu- ments have been preserved in part in the Cairo Geniza, a repository of discarded documents discovered over a century ago in the Ben Ezra synagogue of Fustât (Old Cairo) where Maimonides lived. From these snippets of texts, scholars have been able to reconstruct at least some details surrounding Maimonides’ life. He was known by several names: his original Hebrew name Moses ben Maimon; his Latinized name Maimonides; the Hebrew acronym RaMBaM, standing for Rabbi Moses ben Maimon; his Arabic name al-Ra’is Abu ‘Imran Musa ibn Maymun ibn ‘Abdallah (‘Ubaydallah) al-Qurtubi al-Andalusi al-Isra’ili; the honorific title “the teacher [ha-Moreh]”; and of course “the great eagle.” In this chapter I provide a brief synopsis of Maimonides’ intellectual bio- graphy, against the backdrop of twelfth-century Spain and North Africa. Recent biographies by Kraemer and Davidson have provided us with a detailed reconstruction of Maimonides’ life, drawn from Geniza fragments, letters, observations by his intellectual peers, and comments by Maimonides himself.1 We shall consider, ever so briefly, important philosophical influences upon Maimonides; scholars have explored in great detail which philosophers – Greek, Jewish, and Arabic – were most influential upon his intellectual development. I will then discuss Maimonides’ major philosophical works, most of which we shall examine in more detail in subsequent chapters. Maimonides’COPYRIGHTED Life MATERIAL Moses ben Maimon was born in Cordova, Spain in 1135/8 and died in Cairo in 1204.
    [Show full text]
  • Historical Studies (HIS) 1
    Historical Studies (HIS) 1 HIS 594B. Egypt. (2 h) HISTORICAL STUDIES (HIS) This course provides an historical introduction to Egypt's Muslim society as the context within which minority Christian communities HIS 501. History of Christianity. (3 h) have practiced their faith. By traveling to the Arab Republic of Egypt, This course surveys the first through the 16th centuries. Attention is students will directly experience Muslim culture and religion as they given to the early Councils, the rise of the papacy, dissenting movements, investigate Egypt's rich religious heritage. The class will visit numerous and the development of the sacraments. Medieval studies include pharaonic, Christian, Muslim, and (historically) Jewish places of worship mysticism, church/state affiliations, and scholasticism. Reformation in the greater Cairo area and in Egypt's stunning archeological sites at issues survey the work of Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and the Radical the southern environs of Luxor. We will witness the grandeur of Islamic Reformers. civilization in Cairo's medieval mosques and modern monuments. We HIS 502. History of Christianity II. (3 h) will discuss the tumultuous history of Jews in Egypt while touring Cairo's This course surveys the 17th through the 20th centuries. Attention is historic Ben Ezra Synagogue. We will examine Christian monasticism given to the rise of modernism and its impact on philosophy, theology, in the place of its origin at the Wadi Natrun. Site visits to numerous ecclesiology and politics. Catholic studies focus on individuals such as Christian churches, including All Saints Anglican Church (with its Sor Juana de la Cruz, Teresa of Avila, Alfred Loisy, Pius IX, John XXII and Sudanese refugee congregation), will expose students to a diversity of Dorothy Day, and the impact of Liberation Theology.
    [Show full text]
  • Land, Property Rights and Institutional Durability in Medieval Egypt
    Land, Property Rights and Institutional Durability in Medieval Egypt Lisa Blaydes - Stanford University LSE-Stanford-Universidad de los Andes Conference on Long-Run Development in Latin America, London School of Economics and Political Science, 16-17 May 2018 Land, Property Rights and Institutional Durability in Medieval Egypt Lisa Blaydes∗ Associate Professor Department of Political Science Stanford University April 2018 Abstract Historical institutionalists have long been concerned with the conditions under which political institutions provoke their own processes of internal change. Using data on changing landholding patterns during the Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517 CE), I demon- strate that land shifted from temporary and revocable land grants offered in exchange for service to Islamic religious endowments and hybridized land types, representing a transformation away from state authority over agricultural resources to more priva- tized forms of property control. Predation on collective state resources by individual mamluks | state actors themselves | was a negative externality associated with the foundational principle of the impermissibility of transferring mamluk status to one's sons. My characterization of mamluk political institutions provides an empirical il- lustration of a self-undermining equilibrium with implications for understanding how Middle Eastern political institutions differed from those in other world regions, partic- ularly medieval Europe. ∗Many thanks to Connor Kennedy, Shivonne Logan, Vivan Malkani and Kyle Van Rensselaer for out- standing research assistance. Scott Abramson, Gary Cox, David Laitin, Hans Lueders and Yuki Takagi provided helpful comments and assistance. 1 What explains institutional durability? An influential literature suggests that institu- tional equilibria can be indirectly strengthened or weakened by processes dynamically intro- duced by the institutions themselves (Greif and Laitin 2004).
    [Show full text]
  • Exhibit Shows How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Created a Vibrant Society in Medieval Cairo a New Exhibition at the University
    January 13, 2015 Contact: Emily Teeter 773 702 1062 [email protected] Susie Allen [email protected] 773 702-4009 Exhibit Shows How Christians, Muslims, and Jews created a Vibrant Society in Medieval Cairo A new exhibition at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute Museum will offer a glimpse into everyday life in a lively, multicultural city in ancient Egypt. “A Cosmopolitan City: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Old Cairo” features many objects that have never been displayed in the museum before and shows how people of different faiths interacted to create a vibrant society. The exhibit is on view from February 17 through September 13, 2015. The exhibit sheds light on Egypt in the time between the pharaohs and the modern city, roughly 650–1170 AD, when the main population lived in the area known as Fustat, located in today’s southern Cairo. Fustat was established in 641 by the first Muslim ruler of Egypt, ‘Amr Ibn al-‘As. His administration included Christians, whose community was established there some 600 years before, and Jews, who had settlements in the Nile Valley for over a millennium. "So much is known about Fustat from written sources,” said Jack Green, Chief Curator of the Oriental Institute Museum. “This exhibit also presents some the material possessions of the community, providing insights into the everyday lives of the people who lived in this bustling city.” Visitors to the exhibit will explore how Old Cairo’s communities lived together and melded their traditions to create a multicultural society. The neighborhoods of Fustat were populated by people from a patchwork of religious and ethnic communities, including native Egyptians and immigrants from Arabia, North Africa, and other regions of the Middle East.
    [Show full text]
  • Lecture Transcript: Karaites in Egypt
    Lecture Transcript: Karaites in Egypt: The Preservation of Jewish-Egyptian Heritage Sunday, September 13, 2020 Louise Bertini: Hello, everyone, and good afternoon or good evening, depending on where you are joining us from. And welcome to our special September lecture, titled, "Karaites in Egypt: The Preservation of Egyptian-Jewish Heritage." I'm Dr. Louise Bertini, the executive director of the American Research Center in Egypt. ARCE is a nonprofit organization composed of educational and cultural institutions, professional scholars and members alike whose mission is to support research on all aspects of Egyptian history and culture, foster a broader knowledge about Egypt among the general public and to strengthen American-Egyptian cultural ties. I want to extend a special welcome to any ARCE members who are joining us today, and if you are not already a member, I encourage you to visit our website, arce.org, where you can find further information on how to join. I want to direct your attention to the Q and A button, to which you can pose questions at the end of the lecture. Today's lecture is also done in partnership with the Drop of Milk Association, whose mission is to promote interfaith tolerance through the preservation of Egyptian-Jewish heritage and promotion of its history through cultural events. I will shortly be introducing Magda Haroun, the head of the Egyptian-Jewish community in Cairo. In 2019, ARCE, in partnership with the Drop of Milk Association, was awarded a grant from the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation to document the remaining areas of the historic Bassatine Cemetery, as well as pilot a conservation project in the two burial grounds belonging to the Menasha and Lichaa families, who are prominent members of Egypt's Karaite community.
    [Show full text]
  • Threshold to the Sacred: the Ark Door of Cairo's Ben Ezra Synagogue
    For Immediate Release Contact: Michael Kaminer, 212‐260‐9733 [email protected] MEDIEVAL TORAH ARK DOOR FROM CAIRO’S BEN‐EZRA SYNAGOGUE OFFERS DOORWAY INTO JEWISH CAIRO’S REMARKABLE PAST NOW ON VIEW AT YESHIVA UNIVERSITY MUSEUM WHAT: Threshold to the Sacred: The Ark Door of Cairo’s Ben Ezra Synagogue WHEN: October 27, 2013 – February 23, 2014 WHERE: Yeshiva University Museum, 15 W. 16th Street, NYC, 212‐294‐8330 COST: Adults: $8; seniors and students: $6. Free for members and children under 5 WEB: http://yumuseum.tumblr.com/ArkDoor or www.yumuseum.org “Threshold to the Sacred: The Ark Door of Cairo’s Ben Ezra Synagogue” Includes Rare Manuscripts by Philosopher and Physician Moses Maimonides and Poet and Philosopher Judah Halevi Medieval Treasure Re‐Discovered in Florida in 1990s New York City, October 24 2013 – An exquisite artifact from a celebrated Cairo synagogue sheds light on daily life in the medieval Mediterranean – and illuminates the city’s remarkable pluralistic past – in an extraordinary new exhibition at Yeshiva University Museum. Yeshiva University Museum, at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street) near Union Square in New York City, explores and interprets the artistic and cultural experience of Jewish life. Threshold to the Sacred: The Ark Door of Cairo's Ben Ezra Synagogue focuses on a work of beauty and historical significance: an intricately carved and inscribed wood panel that formed part of the door to the ark 8holding the Torah scrolls in the Ben Ezra Synagogue of Old Cairo. The ark door, which dates to the 11th century but was re‐decorated over centuries of use, is jointly owned by Yeshiva University Museum and the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
    [Show full text]
  • Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Middle Islamic Period
    © 2017, V&R unipress GmbH, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847107927 – ISBN E-Book: 9783847007920 Mamluk Studies Volume 16 Edited by Stephan Conermann and Bethany J. Walker Editorial Board: Thomas Bauer (Münster, Germany), Albrecht Fuess (Marburg, Germany), ThomasHerzog (Bern, Switzerland), Konrad Hirschler (London, Great Britain),Anna Paulina Lewicka (Warsaw, Poland), Linda Northrup (Toronto, Canada), Jo VanSteenbergen (Gent, Belgium) © 2017, V&R unipress GmbH, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847107927 – ISBN E-Book: 9783847007920 Stephan Conermann (ed.) Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Middle Islamic Period Jews in the Ayyubid and Mamluk Sultanates (1171–1517) V&Runipress Bonn University Press © 2017, V&R unipress GmbH, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847107927 – ISBN E-Book: 9783847007920 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available online: http://dnb.d-nb.de. ISSN 2198-5375 ISBN 978-3-8470-0792-0 You can find alternative editions of this book and additional material on our website: www.v-r.de Publications of Bonn University Press are published by V&R unipress GmbH. Sponsored by the Annemarie Schimmel College ªHistory and Society during the Mamluk Era, 1250±1517º. © 2017, V&R unipress GmbH, Robert-Bosch-Breite 6, 37079 Göttingen, Germany / www.v-r.de All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher. Cover image: Ben Ezra Synagogue, Cairo, Egypt (photographer: Faris Knight, 10/12/2011). © 2017, V&R unipress GmbH, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847107927 – ISBN E-Book: 9783847007920 Contents Stephan Conermann Introduction.................................
    [Show full text]
  • Ben Ezra Synagogue: a Different Side of Old Cairo | Cairo 360 Guide to Cairo, Egypt
    Ben Ezra Synagogue: A Different Side of Old Cairo | Cairo 360 Guide to Cairo, Egypt عربي 20/06/2012 Ben Ezra Synagogue: A Different Side of Old Cairo How did a community of over 75,000 Jews vanish from Egypt? After the founding of Israel in 1948 the situation for Jews in the region became impossible and Jews in Egypt were to be forever declared Zionists and enemies of the state as a result of the Suez crisis in 1956. The Jews’ assets were confiscated and they were expelled, while it is believed that around 25,000 left voluntarily. Others were held in prisons such as Abu Zaabal and Tora for a period of up to three years on account of the 1967 war. All of these events led to the eventual and absolute disappearance of a community rich in culture and heritage. Ben Ezra is quite easily accessible from anywhere in Cairo, with the Metro being the most convenient. From the Marc Girgis station, take a left and you’ll find an underground tunnel that leads to a number of heritage sites including Ben Ezra. The synagogue may appear to be quite ordinary but the history behind it is on the contrary, quite extraordinary. Ben Ezra is often referred to as the El-Geniza Synagogue; Geniza being Hebrew for ‘storage room’ and in the 19th century, sacred Hebrew manuscripts were found stored there. The collection, widely known as the ’Cairo Geniza‘, gave significant insight into how the Jewish community dealt with past Islamic https://www.cairo360.com/article/sights-travel/ben-ezra-synagogue-a-different-side-of-old-cairo/[3/5/2017 12:39:22 AM] Ben Ezra Synagogue: A Different Side of Old Cairo | Cairo 360 Guide to Cairo, Egypt leaders, as well as several interpretations of the Torah.
    [Show full text]
  • A Cosmopolitan City: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Old Cairo February 17–September 13, 2015
    oi.uchicago.edu a cosmopolitan city 1 oi.uchicago.edu Exterior of a house in cairo (photo by J. Brinkmann) oi.uchicago.edu a cosmopolitan city MusliMs, Christians, and Jews in old Cairo edited by t asha vordErstrassE and tanya trEptow with new object photography by anna r. ressman and Kevin Bryce lowry oriEntal institutE musEum puBlications 38 thE oriEntal institutE of thE univErsity of chicago oi.uchicago.edu Library of Congress Control Number: 2014958594 ISBN: 978-1-61491-026-8 © 2015 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Published 2015. Printed in the United States of America. The Oriental Institute, Chicago This volume has been published in conjunction with the exhibition A Cosmopolitan City: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Old Cairo February 17–September 13, 2015 Oriental Institute Museum Publications 38 Published by The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago 1155 East 58th Street Chicago, Illinois, 60637 USA oi.uchicago.edu Cover Illustration Fragment of a fritware bowl depicting a horse. Fustat. Early 14th century. 4.8 × 16.4 cm. OIM E25571. Catalog No. 19. Cover design by Josh Tulisiak Photography by Anna R. Ressman: Catalog Nos. 2–15, 17–23, 25–26, 30–33, 35–55, 57–63, 65–72; Figures 1.5–6, 7.1, 9.3–4 Photography by K. Bryce Lowry: Catalog Nos. 27–29, 34, and 56 Printed through Four Colour Print Group by Lifetouch, Loves Park, Illinois, USA The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Service — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
    [Show full text]
  • UCLA Journal of Religion Lasting Legacies: Jewish Life Under
    UCLA Journal of Religion Volume 1 Issue 1 Spring 2017 Lasting Legacies: Jewish Life Under Medieval Muslim Rule Elizabeth Ho University of California, Los Angeles ABSTRACT The history of religious coexistence—particularly that of Islam’s relationship with Judaism—has often seen both periods of peace and of war. In light of modern political and religious tensions, the periods of peace and thriving are doubly important, as they provide both a precedent and a sign of hope for the future. During the rise and spread of the Muslim dynasties in the medieval period, two dynasties in particular—the Umayyads and the Fatimids—defied conflict-driven discrimination in favor of ensuring the safety and consequent success of their Jewish subjects. Both dynasties’ uniquely implemented policies and societal standards ultimately freed their Jewish dhimmis to make lasting contributions to the fields of literature, diplomacy and religious scholarship. This paper seeks to show how just as these contributions continue to benefit modern scholarship today, so must the legacy of the Fatimids and the Umayyads continue to inform the future of religious coexistence across the globe. Keywords: Judaism, Islam, Umayyads, Fatimids, Dhimmis, Jizya UCLA Journal of Religion Vol. 1:1, Spring 2017 Lasting Legacies: Jewish Life Under Medieval Muslim Rule By Elizabeth Ho1 University of California, Los Angeles INTRODUCTION ince its conception as a monotheistic religion under Muhammad, S Islam has shared a continually fluctuating relationship with the Jewish people. The Middle Ages—during which Jews under Muslim rule went from being viewed as compatriots and equals to categorized as separated dhimmis—were no exception to this.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lost Archive: Traces of a Caliphate in a Cairo Synagogue'
    H-Africa Jefferson on Rustow, 'The Lost Archive: Traces of a Caliphate in a Cairo Synagogue' Review published on Thursday, March 4, 2021 Marina Rustow. The Lost Archive: Traces of a Caliphate in a Cairo Synagogue. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2020. 621 pp. $45.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-691-18952-9. Reviewed by Rebecca Jefferson (University of Florida)Published on H-Africa (March, 2021) Commissioned by David D. Hurlbut (Independent Scholar) Printable Version: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=55691 Marina Rustow’s deeply absorbing book,The Lost Archive: Traces of a Caliphate in a Cairo Synagogue states its main objective from the outset; namely, to lay to rest the persistent and erroneous notion that the medieval Islamic states of the Middle East were deficient in the art of statecraft. This false notion has been underpinned by an all-pervasive belief that medieval Islamic rule was either “laissez-faire to the point of indifference or despotic to the point of authoritarianism” (p. 3). The apparent lack of surviving documents has bolstered this claim but, as Rustow points out, more than 99 percent of extant Arabic papyrus and paper documents still remain unpublished. In order to debunk the misconceptions, Rustow introduces the reader to a unique cache of medieval Arabic documents dating from the period of Fatimid rule in Egypt and Syria that first came to light in Cairo in the nineteenth century. The documents, which include Fatimid state petitions and decrees, were preserved by virtue of having been re-used as a writing surface by Jewish scribes, and then some time after that by virtue of having been consigned to a geniza.
    [Show full text]
  • Miriam Frenkel MAIMONIDES: CULTURAL HERO AND
    ‰È‰˜· Èχ¯˘È‰ ÈÓ„˜‡‰ Êίӯ اﳌﺮﻛﺰ اﻻﻛﺎدﳝﻲ اﻻﺳﺮاﺋﻴﻠﻲ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻘﺎﻫﺮة BULLETIN the israeli academic center in cairo Miriam Frenkel MAIMONIDES: CULTURAL HERO AND HISTORICAL FIGURE Dr. Miriam Frenkel is a Genizah researcher, a lecturer in the Department of Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Deputy Chair of the Ben Zvi Institute, Jerusalem. Her most recent book is The Compassionate and Benevolent; The Leading Elite in the Jewish Community of Alexandria in the Middle Ages (Jerusalem, 2006). The Jewish philosopher and legal scholar R. Moshe ben On this basis, we know that Moshe ben Maimon Maimon (1135–1204), better known as Maimonides (a was born into a distinguished family in Cordoba, Graecized form of his name given him in Latin Euro- Spain, on the eve of Passover, 14 Nissan 4895 (1135). pean sources) or by his Hebrew acronym, Rambam, is His forebears included several communal, judicial, a figure of worldwide renown. Cultural, educational, and religious leaders. When he was thirteen, the fam- and medical institutions are named after him, and his ily was compelled to leave Cordoba after its conquest imagined portrait decorates coins, medals, stamps, and by the Muwahidun (the Almohades), an anti-anthro- statues. His status as a cultural hero has made his biog- pomorphist Muslim movement that took over all of raphy the concern of many people. Spain and North Africa and forced the non-Muslim The ongoing writing, transmission, and rewriting populations there to embrace Islam. For some years of Maimonides’ life story has taken two main paths. the family wandered between Spain and Provence, In the first, it is detached from its historical context until, in 1160, it settled in the city of Fez in Morocco.
    [Show full text]