Document 9-3: BENJAMIN BEN JONAH OF TUDELA, From Book of Travels (ca. 1159–1172)

A Spanish Jew Visits Baghdad

By the twelfth century, cultures throughout the Mediterranean were coming into contact with one another, largely as a consequence of the Crusades that began in 1095. Following in the paths of merchant vessels from Italian city-states and Crusader armies, travelers and pilgrims began to cross from Europe to the Middle East. One such traveler, Benjamin ben Jonah of Tudela, left his home in Christian-controlled Spain and visited Jewish communities throughout Europe and the Middle East. Benjamin’s record of his journeys, the Book of Travels, describes the social and religious customs at his various stops.

Baghdad [is] . . . the royal residence of the Caliph5 Emir al-Muminin al-Abbasi (1160–1170) of the family of Muhammad [Abbasid Dynasty]. He is at the head of the Muslim religion, and all the kings of Islam obey him; he occupies a similar position to that held by the pope over the Christians. He has a palace in Baghdad three miles in extent, wherein is a great park with all varieties of trees, fruit-bearing and otherwise, and all manner of animals. . . . There the great king, al-Abbasi the Caliph holds his court, and he is kind unto Israel [the Jewish people], 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 is truthful and trusty, speaking peace to all men. . . .

In Baghdad there are about forty thousand Jews,6 and they dwell in security, prosperity, and honor under the great Caliph, and among them are great sages, the heads of Academies engaged in the study of the Law [Jewish law: the Torah and the Talmud]. In this city there are ten Academies. . . . 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 (ca. 1000–965 B.C.E.). The Jews call him “Our Lord, Head of the Captivity,” and the Muslims call him “Saidna ben Daoud,” [“Lord, son of David”] 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. For thus Muhammad [not the Prophet, but a later Abbasid ruler of Baghdad] 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 Muslim or Jew, or belonging to any other nation in his dominion, should rise up before him and salute him, and that any one who should refuse to rise up should receive one hundred stripes [public lashes].

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. . . . Then he appears before the Caliph and kisses his hand, and the Caliph rises and places him on a throne which Muhammad had ordered to be made for him, and all the Muslim 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 Muhammad. . . . The authority of the Head of the Captivity extends over all the communities of Shinar,7 Persia, Khurasan, and Sheba which is El-Yemen, and Diyar Kalach and the land of Aram Naharaim, and over the dwellers in the mountains of Ararat and the land of the Alans. . . . 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, and these are the Girgashites [Nubians and Ethiopians] 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. 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,8 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 to the Ministers. On the day that the Caliph performs the ceremony of investing him with authority, he rides in the second of the royal carriages, and is escorted from the palace of the Caliph to his own house with timbrels and fifes. The Exilarch [leader of the exile, Daniel the son of Hisdai] appoints the Chiefs of the Academies by placing his hand upon their heads, thus installing them in their office. The Jews of the city are learned men and very rich.

In Baghdad 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 colors 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 Baghdad 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.

Benjamin ben Jonah, The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, trans. Marcus N. Adler (London: H. Frowde, 1907), 35–42.

READING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. What is the relationship between the Jewish and Muslim communities of Baghdad, as described by Benjamin ben Jonah?
  2. Describe the Jewish community and the social status of Daniel the son of Hisdai.
  3. In this account, ben Jonah appears to have exaggerated the power of the caliph, who had delegated authority to sultans throughout the caliphate. Why might ben Jonah have portrayed the caliphate as more powerful than it really was?
  4. What seems to be ben Jonah’s opinion of Baghdad? What does it suggest about the purpose of his travels?