,,the ,,itinerary ,,of ,,benjamin ,,of ,,tudela ,,critical ,,text1 ,,translation ,,and ,,commentary ,,by ,,marcus ,,nathan ,,adler1 ,m4,a4 ,,philipp ,,feldheim1 ,,inc ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,the ,,jewish ,,book ,,new ,,york ,,first ,,edition3 ,,london #aijg published by ,,philipp ,,feldheim1 ,inc4 #if ,east ,broadway ,new ,york1 ,n4,y4#ajjjb ,,printed ,,in ,,jerusalem ,,israel ,,by ,s4 ,,monson ,,dedicated ,,to ,,the ,,memory ,,of ,,moritz ,,steinschneider ,,table ,,of ,,contents ,map showing ,benjamin's route 444 to face title page ,,introduction ,i4 ,islam in the ,middle ,ages ,,ii4 ,the ,object of ,benjamin's ,journey ,,iii4 ,bibliography 444 xiii ,,the ,,itinerary ,translation of ,hebrew ,introduction ,,europe4 ,saragossa1 ,barcelona1 ,narbonne ,beziers1 ,montpellier1 ,lunel ,posquieres1 ,bourg de ,st4 ,gilles1 ,arles1 ,marseilles ,genoa1 ,pisa1 ,lucca ,rome4 ,naples1 ,sorrento1 ,salerno ,amalfi1 ,benevento1 ,melfi1 ,ascoli1 ,trani1 ,taranto1 ,brindisi ,corfu1 ,arta1 ,patras1 ,lepanto1 ,crissa1 ,corinth1 ,thebes ,wallachia1 ,armylo1 ,vissena1 ,salonica1 ,abydos4 ,constantinople ,rhaedestus1 ,gallipoli1 ,chios1 ,samos1 ,rhodes ,,asia4 ,cyprus1 ,curicus1 ,malmistras1 ,antioch ,antioch1 ,ladikiya1 ,gebela1 the ,hashishim ,kadmus1 ,tarabulus 7,tripolis71 ,gubail 7,byblus7 ,beirut1 ,sidon1 the ,druses1 ,tyre ,acre1 ,haifa1 ,carmel4 ,caesarea1 ,ludd1 ,samaria1 ,nablous4 ,the ,samaritans ,jerusalem ,bethlehem1 ,hebron ,beit ,jibrin1 ,shiloh1 ,ramah ,gibeah1 ,nob1 ,ramleh1 ,jaffa ,askelon1 ,jezreel1 ,sepphoris1 ,tiberias ,meron1 ,kedesh ,naphtali1 ,banias ,damascus ,galid1 ,salchah ,baalbec1 ,tadmor1 ,emesa1 ,hatnath ,sheizar1 ,aleppo1 ,kalat ,jabar1 ,rakka ,harran1 ,ras-el-,ain1 ,geziret ,ibn ,omar ,mosul ,rahbah1 ,karkisiya1 ,el-,anbar ,hadara1 ,okbara ,bagdad ,gazigan1 ,babylon ,hillah1 ,tower of ,babel1 ,kaphri ,sepulchre of ,ezekiel ,kotsonath1 ,kefar ,al-,keram1 ,kufa1 ,sura ,shafjathib1 ,el-,anbar1 ,hillah ,kheibar1 ,teima1 ,tilmas and ,tanai in ,arabia ,basra1 ,khuzistan1 ,shushan ,sepulchre of ,daniel ,rudbar1 ,nihawand1 ,mulahid ,amadia1 ,history of ,david ,alroy ,hamadan1 ,tabaristan ,ispahan1 ,shiraz1 ,ghaznah ,samarkand1 ,tibet1 ,naisabur ,expedition of ,sinjar against the ,ghuz ,khuzistan1 ,island of ,kish ,katifa1 ,khulam 7,quilon71 ,india ,ibrig ,china1 ,sea of ,nikpa ,al-,gingaleh1 ,zebid1 ,aden ,,africa4 ,abyssinia and ,nubia1 ,egypt ,gana1 ,desert of ,sahara1 ,fayum1 ,heluan ,cairo ,alexandria ,damietta1 ,sunbat1 ,mount ,sinai1 ,tur ,sinai1 ,tanis ,,europe4 ,island of ,sicily1 ,messina1 ,palermo1 ,italy ,germany ,bohemia1 ,slavonia ,russia1 ,france1 ,paris ,,english ,,index 99 99 99 99 99 ,,hebrew ,,text1 with prefatory note 4444444 ,hebrew ,list of emendations of ,text 44444444 ,hebrew ,,hebrew ,,index 444444444444444444444444444 ,hebrew 99 99 99 99 99 ,,introduction ,i4 ,,islam ,,in ,,the ,,middle ,,ages4 ,the ,itinerary of ,benjamin of ,tudela throws a flashlight upon one of the most interesting stages in the development of nations4 ,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 ,crescent4 ,this struggle is characterized by a persistent ebb and flow4 ,mohammed in #fbb ,a4,d4 transformed1 as if by magic1 a cluster of ,bedouin tribes into a warlike people4 ,an ,arabian ,empire was formed1 which reached from the ,ebro to the ,indus4 ,its further advance was stemmed in the year #gcb1 just a hundred years after ,mohammed's death1 by ,charles ,martel1 in the seven days' battle of ,tours4 ,the progress of the culture of the ,arabs was as rapid as had been that of their arms4 ,great cities such as ,cairo and ,bagdad were built4 ,commerce and manufactures flourished4 ,the ,jews1 who enjoyed protection under the benign rule of the ,caliphs1 transmitted to the ,arabs the learning and science of the ,greeks4 ,schools and universities arose in all parts of the ,empire4 ,the dark age of ,christendom proved to be the golden age of literature for ,jew and ,arab4 ,by the eleventh century1 however1 the ,arabs had lost much of their martial spirit4 ,islam might have lost its ascendancy in the ,east had not the warlike ,seljuk ,turks1 coming from the highlands of ,central ,asia1 possessed themselves of the countries which1 in days of old1 constituted the ,persian ,empire under ,darius4 ,the ,seljuks became ready converts to ,islam1 and upheld the failing strength of the ,arabs4 ,it was the ill-treatment by the ,seljuks of the ,christian pilgrims to ,palestine which aroused ,christian ,europe and led to the ,first ,crusade4 ,the feudal system adopted by the ,seljuks caused endless dissension among their petty sovereigns1 called ,atabegs1 all of whom were nominally vassals of the ,caliph at ,bagdad4 ,thus it came about that ,islamism1 divided against itself1 offered but a poor resistance to the advance of the ,christians4 ,the ,crusaders had little difficulty in making their way to ,palestine4 ,they captured ,jerusalem1 and established the ,latin kingdom there4 ,by the middle of the twelfth century ,mohammedan power had shrunk to smaller dimensions4 ,not only did the ,franks hold ,palestine and all the important posts on the ,syrian coast1 but1 by the capture of ,lesser ,armenia1 ,antioch1 and ,edessa1 they had driven a wedge into ,syria1 and extended their conquests even beyond the ,euphrates4 ,at length there came a pause in the decline of ,islam4 ,zengi1 a powerful ,seljuk ,atabeg1 in #aadd captured ,edessa1 the outpost of ,christendom1 and the ,second ,crusade1 led by the ,emperor ,conrad of ,germany and by ,king ,louis ,,vii of ,france1 failed to effect the recapture of the fortress4 ,nureddin1 the far-sighted son and successor of ,zengi1 and later on ,saladin1 a ,kurd1 trained at his court1 discovered how to restore the fallen might of ,islam and expel the ,franks from ,asia4 ,a necessary preliminary step was to put an end to the dissensions of the ,atabeg rulers4 ,nureddin did this effectually by himself annexing their dominions4 ,his next step was to gain possession of ,egypt1 and thereby isolate the ,latin ,kingdom4 ,genoa1 ,pisa1 and ,venice1 the three ,italian republics who between them had command of the sea1 were too selfish and too intent upon their commercial interests to interfere with the designs of the ,saracens4 ,the ,latin king ,amalric had for some years sought to gain a foothold in ,egypt4 ,in ,november1 #aafh1 he led the ,christian army as far as the ,nile1 and was about to seize ,fostat1 the old unfortified ,arab metropolis of ,egypt4 ,the inhabitants1 however1 preferred to set fire to the city rather than that it should fall into the hands of the ,christians4 ,to this very day many traces may be seen in the neighbourhood of ,cairo of this conflagration4 ,nureddin's army1 in which ,saladin held a subordinate command1 by a timely arrival on the scene forced the ,franks to retreat1 and the ,saracens were acclaimed as deliverers4 ,the nominal ruler of ,egypt at that time was ,el-,adid1 the ,fatimite ,caliph1 and he made ,saladin his ,vizier1 little thinking that that modest officer would soon supplant him4 ,so efficiently did ,saladin administer the country that in a few months it had regained its prosperity1 despite the five years' devastating war which had preceded4 ,at this juncture the traveller ,rabbi ,benjamin came to ,egypt4 ,some three years earlier he had left his native place--,tudela1 on the ,ebro in the north of ,spain4 ,after passing through the prosperous towns which lie on the ,gulf of ,lyons1 he visited ,rome and ,south ,italy4 ,from ,otranto he crossed over to ,corfu1 traversed ,greece1 and then came to ,constantinople1 of which he gives an interesting account4 ,very telling1 for example1 are the words3 ,they hire from amongst all nations warriors called ,barbarians to fight with the ,sultan of the ,seljuks2 for the natives are not warlike1 but are as women who have no strength to fight4 ,after visiting the ,islands of the ,aegean1 as well as ,rhodes and ,cyprus1 he passed on to ,antioch1 and followed the well-known southern route skirting the ,mediterranean1 visiting the important cities along the coast1 all of which were then in the hands of the ,franks4 ,having regard to the strained relations between the ,christians and ,saracens1 and to the fights and forays of the ,latin knights1 we can understand that ,benjamin had to follow a very circuitous way to enable him to visit all the places of note in ,palestine4 ,from ,damascus1 which was then the capital of ,nureddin's empire1 he travelled along with safety until he reached ,bagdad1 the city of the ,caliph1 of whom he has much to tell4 ,it is unlikely that he went far into ,persia1 which at that time was in a chaotic state1 and where the ,jews were much oppressed4 ,from ,basra1 at the mouth of the ,tigris1 he probably visited the island of ,kish in the ,persian ,gulf1 which in the ,middle ,ages was a great emporium of commerce1 and thence proceeded to ,egypt by way of ,aden and ,assuan4 ,benjamin gives us a vivid sketch of the ,egypt of his day4 ,peace and plenty seemed to prevail in the country4 ,this happy state of things was entirely due to the wise measures taken by ,saladin1 who1 however1 kept himself so studiously in the background1 that not even his name is mentioned in the ,itinerary4 ,the deposition of the ,fatimite ,caliph on ,friday1 ,september #aj1 #aaga1 and his subsequent death1 caused little stir4 ,saladin continued to govern ,egypt as ,nureddin's lieutenant4 ,in due course he made himself master of ,barca and ,tripoli2 then he conquered ,arabia ,felix and the ,soudan1 and after ,nureddin's death he had no difficulty in annexing his old master's dominions4 ,the ,christian nations viewed his rapidly growing power with natural alarm4 ,about that time news had reached ,europe that a powerful ,christian king named ,prester ,john1 who reigned over a people coming from ,central ,asia1 had invaded ,western ,asia and inflicted a crushing defeat upon a ,moslem army4 ,pope ,alexander ,,iii conceived the hope that a useful ally could be found in this priest-king1 who would support and uphold the ,christian dominion in ,asia4 ,he accordingly dispatched his physician ,philip on a mission to this mysterious potentate to secure his help against the ,mohammedans4 ,the envoy never returned4 ,benjamin is one of the very few writers of the ,middle ,ages who gives us an account of these subjects of ,prester ,john4 ,they were no other than the infidels1 the sons of ,ghuz1 or ,kofar-al-,turak1 the wild flat-nosed ,mongol hordes from the ,tartary ,steppes1 who1 in ,benjamin's quaint language1 worship the wind and live in the wilderness1 who eat no bread and drink no wine1 but feed on uncooked meat4 ,they have no noses--in lieu thereof they have two small holes through which they breathe4 ,these were not men likely to help the ,christians4 ,on the contrary1 as is so fully described in ,benjamin's ,itinerary1 they broke the power of ,sultan ,sinjar1 the mighty ,shah of ,persia1 who1 had he been spared by the men of ,ghuz1 would have proved a serious menace to ,saladin4 ,it took ,saladin some years to consolidate his empire4 ,in #aahg he felt himself in a position to engage the ,franks in a decisive conflict4 ,at the battle of ,tiberias1 ,guy1 the ,latin king1 was defeated and taken prisoner4 ,the ,knights-,templars and ,hospitalers1 of whose doings at ,jerusalem ,benjamin gives us particulars1 either shared the fate of the king or were slain in action4 ,jerusalem fell soon afterwards4 ,pope ,alexander ,,iii roused the conscience of ,europe1 and induced the pick of chivalry to embark upon the ,third ,crusade in #aahi4 ,but the prowess of the ,emperor ,frederic ,barbarossa1 the gallantry of ,richard ,i of ,england1 the astuteness of ,philip ,augustus of ,france1 were of no avail4 ,the ,fourth and ,fifth ,crusades were equally unsuccessful1 and the tide of ,islam's success rose high4 ,after ,saladin's death his empire gradually crumbled to pieces1 and under ,ghenghis ,khan an invasion took place of hordes of ,mongols and ,tartars1 of whom the ,ghuz had been merely the precursors4 ,they overran ,china and ,russia1 ,persia1 and parts of ,western ,asia4 ,the effete ,caliphate at ,bagdad was overthrown1 but to ,islam itself fresh life was imparted4 ,the rapid decline of the ,mongol power at the end of the thirteenth century gave free scope to the rise of the ,ottoman ,turks1 who had been driven from their haunts east of the ,caspian ,sea4 ,like their kinsmen the ,seljuks they settled in ,asia ,minor1 and embraced the ,mohammedan faith1 an example which many ,mongols followed4 ,the converts proved trusty warriors to fight the cause of ,islam1 which gradually attained the zenith of success4 ,on ,may #bi1 #adec1 ,constantinople was captured by the ,turks1 and an end was made of the ,byzantine ,empire4 ,eastern ,europe was subsequently overrun by them1 and it was not until ,john ,sobieski defeated the ,turks under the walls of ,vienna in #afhc that their victorious career was checked4 ,then at last the tide of ,islam turned1 and its fortunes have been ebbing ever since4 ,at the present day little territory remains to them in ,europe4 ,india and ,egypt are now subject to ,england2 ,russia has annexed ,central ,asia2 ,france rules ,algiers and ,tunis4 ,one wonders whether there will be a pause in this steady decline of ,islam1 and whether the prophetic words of ,scripture will continue to hold good3 ,he will be a wild man1 his hand will be against every man1 and every man's hand against him1 and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren4 ,this brief consideration of the struggle between ,cross and ,crescent may serve to indicate the importance of the revival of ,islam1 which took place between the ,second and ,third ,crusades1 at the time when ,benjamin wrote his ,itinerary4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,object ,,of ,,benjamin',s ,,journey4 ,we may ask what induced ,benjamin to undertake his travels8 ,what object or mission was he carrying out8 ,it must be explained that the ,jew in the ,middle ,ages was much given to travel4 ,he was the ,wandering ,jew1 who kept up communications between one country and another4 ,he had a natural aptitude for trade and travel4 ,his people were scattered to the four corners of the earth4 ,as we can see from ,benjamin's ,itinerary1 there was scarcely a city of importance where ,jews could not be found4 ,in the sacred tongue they possessed a common language1 and wherever they went they could rely upon a hospitable reception from their co-religionists4 ,travelling was1 therefore1 to them comparatively easy1 and the bond of common interest always supplied a motive4 ,like ,joseph1 the traveller would be dispatched with the injunction3 ,i pray thee see whether it be well with thy brethren1 and bring me word again4 ,if this was the case in times when toleration and protection were extended to the ,jews1 how much stronger must have grown the desire for intercommunication at the time of the ,crusades4 ,the most prosperous communities in ,germany and the ,jewish congregations that lay along the route to ,palestine had been exterminated or dispersed1 and even in ,spain1 where the ,jews had enjoyed complete security for centuries1 they were being pitilessly persecuted in the ,moorish kingdom of ,cordova4 ,it is not unlikely1 therefore1 that ,benjamin may have undertaken his journey with the object of finding out where his expatriated brethren might find an asylum4 ,it will be noted that ,benjamin seems to use every effort to trace and to afford particulars of independent communities of ,jews1 who had chiefs of their own1 and owed no allegiance to the foreigner4 ,he may have had trade and mercantile operations in view4 ,he certainly dwells on matters of commercial interest with considerable detail4 ,probably he was actuated by both motives1 coupled with the pious wish of making a pilgrimage to the land of his fathers4 ,whatever his intentions may have been1 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 ,ages4 ,,iii4 ,,bibliography4 ,the ,itinerary of ,rabbi ,benjamin of ,tudela1 prepared and published by ,a4 ,asher1 is the best edition of the diary of that traveller4 ,the first volume appeared in #ahdj1 and contained a carefully compiled ,hebrew text with vowel points1 together with an ,english translation and a bibliographical account4 ,a second volume appeared in #ahda containing elaborate notes by ,asher himself and by such eminent scholars as ,zunz and ,rapoport1 together with a valuable essay by the former on the ,geographical ,literature of the ,jews and on the ,geography of ,palestine1 also an ,essay by ,lebrecht on the ,caliphate of ,bagdad4 ,in addition to twenty-three several reprints and translations enumerated by ,asher1 various others have since appeared from time to time1 but all of them are based upon the two editions of the text from which he compiled his work4 ,these were the ,editio ,princeps1 printed by ,eliezer ben ,gershon at ,constantinople1 #aedc1 and the ,ferrara ,edition of #aeef1 printed by ,abraham ,usque1 the editor of the famous ,jews ,bible in ,spanish4 ,asher himself more than once deplores the fact that he had not a single ,,ms4 to resort to when confronted by doubtful or divergent readings in the texts before him4 ,i have1 however1 been fortunate enough to be able to trace and examine three complete ,,mss4 of ,benjamin's ,travels1 as well as large fragments belonging to two other ,,mss41 and these ,i have embodied in my present collation4 ,the following is a brief description of the ,,mss43-- ,i4 ,,bm1 a ,,ms4 in the ,british ,museum 7,no4 #bg1jhi74 ,it is bound up with some of ,maimonides' works1 several ,midrashic tracts1 a commentary on the ,hagadah by ,joseph ,gikatilia1 and an extract from ,abarbanel's commentary on ,isaiah2 it forms part of the ,almanzi collection1 which curiously enough was purchased by the ,british ,museum from ,asher ,co4 in ,october1 #ahfe1 some twenty years after ,asher's death4 ,photographs of three pages of this ,,ms4 will be found with the ,hebrew text4 ,with regard to the date of the ,,ms41 some competent judges who have seen it assign it to the thirteenth century1 and this view has some support from ,professor ,s4,d4 ,luzzatto1 who1 in ,steinschneider's ,hammazkir 7vol4 ,v1 fo4 #aje1 xvii7 makes the following comment upon it3-- ,,hebrew3 ,masaot ,r4 ,binyamin y''g dafim k'tivah ashkenazit k'domah yoter3 ,this ,,ms4 is the groundwork of the text ,i have adopted4 #b4 ,r1 or the ,roman ,,ms41 in the ,casanatense library at ,rome1 and numbered ,no4 #baf in the ,catalogue ,sacerdote4 ,this ,,ms4 occupies the first twenty-seven leaves of ,codex #cjig1 which contains fifteen other treatises1 among them a text of ,eldad ,hadani1 all written by the same scribe1 ,isaac of ,pisa1 in #eahi ,a4,m41 which corresponds with #adbi-adcj 7see ,colophon at the end of the ,hebrew text1 page ,,hebrew3 ayn-nun74 ,under my direction ,dr4 ,gruenhut1 of ,jerusalem1 proceeded to ,rome1 and made a copy4 ,subsequently ,i obtained a collation of it made by the late ,dr4 ,neubauer2 both have been used in preparing the notes to the text4 ,later on1 after the ,hebrew text had already been printed1 ,i visited ,rome1 and on examining the ,,ms4 ,i found that a few variants had been overlooked4 ,i had facsimiles made of several pages1 which will be found with the ,hebrew text4 #c4 ,e1 a ,,ms4 now in the possession of ,herr ,epstein of ,vienna1 who acquired it from ,halberstamm's collection4 ,the only reliable clue as to the date of this ,,ms4 is the license of the censor3 visto per me fra ,luigi da ,bologna ,juglio #aeii4 ,herr ,epstein considers it to have been written at the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century4 ,the ,,ms4 is on paper and in ,italian handwriting4 ,it contains seventy-four quarto pages of from #ai-bj lines each4 ,speaking generally it is analogous to the edition of ,ferrara1 #aeef1 which was used by ,ashor as the groundwork of his text 7,asher1 p4 #c71 but the spelling of persons and places in ,e often differs from that in the text of ,asher4 #d4 ,o1 in the ,oppenheim collection of the ,bodleian ,library 7,,ms4 ,opp4 add4 #h deg4 #cf2 ff4 #eh-fc2 ,neubauer #bdbe71 is a fragment4 ,its first three leaves are continuous1 beginning at p4 #fa of ,asher's edition and ending at p4 #gc4 ,after this there is a lacuna of four leaves1 and the fragment1 which recommences at p4 #ih of ,asher's edition1 is then continuous to the end of the book4 ,the volume in which it is bound contains various other treatises written by the same scribe1 and includes a fragment on ,maimonides1 whose death is mentioned as occurring in #abjb1 and also part of a controversy of ,nachmanides which took place in #abfc4 ,the ,,ms4 is in ,spanish ,rabbinic characters1 and would appear to have been written in the fourteenth or fifteenth century4 ,for the collation of this and the following fragment ,i am indebted to the kindness of my friend ,mr4 ,a4 ,cowley1 of ,oxford4 ,photographs of pages of both ,,mss4 will be found with the ,hebrew text4 #e4 ,b1 also in the ,oppenheim collection of the ,bodleian ,library 7,,ms4 ,opp4 add4 #h deg41 #eh2 fol4 #eg2 ,neubauer #behj74 ,this fragment begins at p4 #ej of ,asher's edition4 ,the date of this fragment is probably much later than that of ,o1 and may well be as late as the eighteenth century4 ,it appears to be written in an oriental hand4 ,in addition to the critical text1 ,i give a translation of the ,british ,museum ,,ms41 and add brief notes thereto4 ,i have purposely confined the latter to small dimensions in view of the fact that ,asher's notes1 the ,jewish ,encyclopaedia1 and the works of such writers as ,graetz and others1 will enable the reader to acquire further information on the various incidents1 personages1 and places referred to by ,benjamin4 ,i would1 however1 especially mention a work by ,mr4 ,c4 ,raymond ,beazley entitled ,the ,dawn of ,modern ,geography1 particularly his second volume1 published in #aija4 ,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 commentators1 of which ,asher repeatedly complains4 ,it is not out of place to mention that soon after the publication in #ahda of the work on ,benjamin by ,a4 ,asher1 there appeared a review thereof in consecutive numbers of the ,jewish periodical ,der ,orient4 ,the articles bore the signature ,sider1 but the author proved to be ,dr4 ,steinschneider4 ,they were among the first literary contributions by which he became known4 ,although written sixty-five years ago his review has a freshness and a value which renders it well worth reading at the present day4 ,the ninetieth birthday of the ,nestor of ,semitic literature was celebrated on ,march #cj of last year1 and it afforded no little gratification to the writer that ,dr4 ,steinschneider on that occasion accepted the dedication to him of this the latest contribution to the ,benjamin ,literature4 ,the savant passed away on the #bcrd of ,january last1 and ,i humbly dedicate my modest work to his memory4 ,i have the pleasure of expressing my thanks to the editors of the ,jewish ,quarterly ,review1 who have permitted me to reprint my articles2 also to ,dr4 ,berlin and other friends for their co-operation2 and to the ,delegates of the ,oxford ,university ,press for allowing me to make use of the map of ,western ,asia in the twelfth century1 which was designed by ,professor ,s4 ,lane-,poole4 ,marcus ,n4 ,adler4 ,may #bg1 #aijg4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,itinerary ,,of ,,benjamin ,,of ,,tudela4 ,,hebrew ,,introduction4 ,this is the book of travels1 which was compiled by ,rabbi ,benjamin1 the son of ,jonah1 of the land of ,navarre--his repose be in ,paradise4 ,the said ,rabbi ,benjamin set forth from ,tudela1 his native city1 and passed through many remote countries1 as is related in his book4 ,in every place which he entered1 he made a record of all that he saw1 or was told of by trustworthy persons--matters not previously heard of in the land of ,sepharad#a4 ,also he mentions some of the sages and illustrious men residing in each place4 ,he brought this book with him on his return to the country of ,castile1 in the year #dicc 7,c4,e4 #aagc7b4 ,the said ,rabbi ,benjamin is a wise and understanding man1 learned in the ,law and the ,halacha1 and wherever we have tested his statements we have found them accurate1 true to fact and consistent2 for he is a trustworthy man4 p4#a ,his book commences as follows3--,i journeyed first from my native town to the city of ,saragossa#c1 and thence by way of the ,river ,ebro to ,tortosa4 ,from there ,i went a journey of two days to the ancient city of ,tarragona with its ,cyclopean and ,greek buildings#d4 ,the like thereof is not found among any of the buildings in the country of ,sepharad4 ,it is situated by the sea1 and two days' journey from the city of ,barcelona1 where there is a holy congregation1 including sages1 wise and illustrious men1 such as ,r4 ,shesheth#e1 ,r4 ,shealtiel1 ,r4 ,solomon1 and ,r4 ,abraham1 son of ,chisdai4 ,this is a small city and beautiful1 lying upon the sea-coast4 p4#b ,merchants come thither from all quarters with their wares1 from ,greece1 from ,pisa1 ,genoa1 ,sicily1 ,alexandria in ,egypt1 ,palestine1 ,africa and all its coasts4 ,thence it is a day and a half to ,gerona1 in which there is a small congregation of ,jews#f4 ,a three days'journey takes one to ,narbonne1 which is a city pre-eminent for learning2 thence the ,torah 7,law7 goes forth to all countries4 ,sages1 and great and illustrious men abide here4 ,at their head is ,r4 ,kalonymos1 the son of the great and illustrious ,r4 ,todros of the seed of ,david1 whose pedigree is established4 ,he possesses hereditaments and lands given him by the ruler of the city1 of which no man can forcibly dispossess him#g4 ,prominent in the community is ,r ,abraham#h1 head of the ,academy3 also ,r4 ,machir and ,r4 ,judah1 and many other distinguished scholars4 ,at the present day #cjj ,jews are there4 ,thence it is four parasangs#i to the city of ,beziers1 where there is a congregation of learned men4 ,at their head is ,r4 ,solomon ,chalafta1 ,r ,joseph1 and ,r4 ,nethanel4 ,thence it is two days to ,har ,gaash which is called ,montpellier4 ,this is a place well situated for commerce4 p4#c ,it is about a parasang from the sea1 and men come for business there from all quarters1 from ,edom1 ,ishmael1 the land of ,algarve#aj1 ,lombardy1 the dominion of ,rome the ,great1 from all the land of ,egypt1 ,palestine1 ,greece1 ,france1 ,asia and ,england4 ,people of all nations are found there doing business through the medium of the ,genoese and ,pisans4 ,in the city there are scholars of great eminence1 at their head being ,r4 ,reuben1 son of ,todros1 ,r4 ,nathan1 son of ,zechariah1 and ,r4 ,samuel1 their chief rabbi1 also ,r4 ,solomon and ,r4 ,mordecai4 ,they have among them houses of learning devoted to the study of the ,talmud4 ,among the community are men both rich and charitable1 who lend a helping hand to all that come to them4 ,from ,montpellier it is four parasangs to ,lunel1 in which there is a congregation of ,israelites1 who study the ,law day and night4 ,here lived ,rabbenu ,meshullam the great rabbi1 since deceased1 and his five sons1 who are wise1 great and wealthy1 namely3 ,r4 ,joseph1 ,r4 ,isaac1 ,r4 ,jacob1 ,r4 ,aaron1 and ,r4 ,asher1 the recluse1 who dwells apart from the world2 he pores over his books day and night1 fasts periodically and abstains from all meat#aa4 p4#d ,he is a great scholar of the ,talmud4 ,at ,lunel live also their brother-in-law ,r4 ,moses1 the chief rabbi1 ,r4 ,samuel the elder#ab1 ,r4 ,ulsarnu1 ,r4 ,solomon ,hacohen1 and ,r4 ,judah the ,physician1 the son of ,tibbon1 the ,sephardi4 ,the students that come from distant lands to learn the ,law are taught1 boarded1 lodged and clothed by the congregation1 so long as they attend the house of study4 ,the community has wise1 understanding and saintly men of great benevolence1 who lend a helping hand to all their brethren both far and near4 ,the congregation consists of about #cjj ,jews--may the ,lord preserve them4 ,from there it is two parasangs to ,posquieres1 which is a large place containing about forty ,jews1 with an ,academy under the auspices of the great ,rabbi1 ,r4 ,abraham1 son of ,david1 of blessed memory1 an energetic and wise man1 great as a talmudical authority#ac4 ,people come to him from a distance to learn the ,law at his lips1 and they find rest in his house1 and he teaches them4 ,of those who are without means he also pays the expenses1 for he is very rich4 p4#e ,the munificent ,r4 ,joseph1 son of ,menachem1 also dwells here1 and ,r4 ,benveniste1 ,r4 ,benjamin1 ,r4 ,abraham and ,r4 ,isaac1 son of ,r4 ,meir of blessed memory4 ,thence it is four parasangs to the suburb 7,ghetto87 ,bourg de ,st4 ,gilles1 in which place there are about a hundred ,jews4 ,wise men abide there2 at their head being ,r4 ,isaac1 son of ,jacob1 ,r4 ,abraham1 son of ,judah1 ,r4 ,eleazar1 ,r4 ,jacob1 ,r4 ,isaac1 ,r4 ,moses and ,r4 ,jacob1 son of rabbi ,levi of blessed memory4 ,this is a place of pilgrimage of the ,gentiles who come hither from the ends of the earth4 ,it is only three miles from the sea1 and is situated upon the great ,river ,rhone1 which flows through the whole land of ,provence4 ,here dwells the illustrious ,r4 ,abba ,mari1 son of the late ,r4 ,isaac2 he is the bailiff of ,count ,raymond#ad4 p4#f ,thence it is three parasangs to the city of ,arles1 which has about #bjj ,israelites1 at their head being ,r4 ,moses1 ,r4 ,tobias1 ,r4 ,isaiah1 ,r4 ,solomon1 the chief rabbi ,r4 ,nathan1 and ,r4 ,abba ,mari1 since deceased#ae4 ,from there it is two days' journey to ,marseilles#af1 which is a city of princely and wise citizens1 possessing two congregations with about #cjj ,jews4 ,one congregation dwells below on the shore by the sea1 the other is in the castle above4 ,they form a great academy of learned men1 amongst them being ,r4 ,simeon1 ,r4 ,solomon1 ,r4 ,isaac1 son of ,abba ,mari#ag1 ,r4 ,simeon1 son of ,antoli1 and ,r4 ,jacob his brother2 also ,r4 ,libero4 ,these persons are at the head of the upper academy4 ,at the head of the congregation below are ,r4 ,jacob ,purpis#ah1 a wealthy man1 and ,r4 ,abraham1 son of ,r4 ,meir1 his son-in-law1 and ,r4 ,isaac1 son of the late ,r4 ,meir4 ,it is a very busy city upon the sea-coast4 p4#g ,from ,marseilles one can take ship and in four days reach ,genoa1 which is also upon the sea4 ,here live two ,jews1 ,r4 ,samuel1 son of ,salim1 and his brother1 from the city of ,ceuta1 both of them good men4 ,the city is surrounded by a wall1 and the inhabitants are not governed by any king1 but by judges whom they appoint at their pleasure4 ,each householder has a tower to his house1 and at times of strife they fight from the tops of the towers with each other4 ,they have command of the sea4 ,they build ships which they call galleys1 and make predatory attacks upon ,edom and ,ishmael#ai and the land of ,greece as far as ,sicily1 and they bring back to ,genoa spoils from all these places4 ,they are constantly at war with the men of ,pisa4 ,between them and the ,pisans there is a distance of two days' journey4 ,pisa is a very great city1 with about #aj1jjj turreted houses for battle at times of strife4 ,all its inhabitants are mighty men4 ,they possess neither king nor prince to govern them1 but only the judges appointed by themselves4 ,in this city are about twenty ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,moses1 ,r4 ,chayim1 and ,r4 ,joseph4 ,the city is not surrounded by a wall4 ,it is about six miles from the sea2 the river which flows through the city provides it with ingress and egress for ships4 ,from ,pisa it is four parasangs to the city of ,lucca1 which is the beginning of the frontier of ,lombardy4 ,in the city of ,lucca are about forty ,jews4 ,it is a large place1 and at the head of the ,jews are ,r4 ,david1 ,r4 ,samuel1 and ,r4 ,jacob4 p4#h ,thence it is six days' journey to the great city of ,rome4 ,rome is the head of the kingdoms of ,christendom1 and contains about #bjj ,jews1 who occupy an honourable position and pay no tribute1 and amongst them are officials of the ,pope ,alexander1 the spiritual head of all ,christendom4 ,great scholars reside here1 at the head of them being ,r4 ,daniel1 the chief rabbi1 and ,r4 ,jechiel1 an official of the ,pope#bj4 ,he is a handsome young man of intelligence and wisdom1 and he has the entry of the ,pope's palace2 for he is the steward of his house and of all that he has4 ,he is a grandson of ,r4 ,nathan1 who composed the ,aruch#ba and its commentaries4 ,other scholars are ,r4 ,joab1 son of the chief rabbi ,r4 ,solomon1 ,r4 ,menachem1 head of the academy1 ,r4 ,jechiel1 who lives in ,trastevere1 and ,r4 ,benjamin1 son of ,r4 ,shabbethai of blessed memory4 ,rome is divided into two parts by the ,river ,tiber4 ,in the one part is the great church which they call ,st4 ,peter's of ,rome4 ,the great ,palace of ,julius ,caesar was also in ,rome#bb4 p4#i ,there are many wonderful structures in the city1 different from any others in the world4 ,including both its inhabited and ruined parts1 ,rome is about twenty-four miles in circumference4 ,in the midst thereof#bc there are eighty palaces belonging to eighty kings who lived there1 each called ,imperator1 commencing from ,king ,tarquinius down to ,nero and ,tiberius1 who lived at the time of ,jesus the ,nazarene1 ending with ,pepin1 who freed the land of ,sepharad from ,islam1 and was father of ,charlemagne4 ,there is a palace outside ,rome 7said to be of ,titus74 ,the ,consul and his #cjj ,senators treated him with disfavour1 because he failed to take ,jerusalem till after three years1 though they had bidden him to capture it within two#bd4 ,in ,rome is also the palace of ,vespasianus1 a great and very strong building2 also the ,colosseum#be1 in which edifice there are #cfe sections1 according to the days of the solar year2 and the circumference of these palaces is three miles4 ,there were battles fought here in olden times1 and in the palace more than #ajj1jjj men were slain1 and there their bones remain piled up to the present day4 p4#aj ,the king caused to be engraved a representation of the battle and of the forces on either side facing one another1 both warriors and horses1 all in marble1 to exhibit to the world the war of the days of old4 ,in ,rome there is a cave which runs underground1 and catacombs of ,king ,tarmal ,galsin and his royal consort who are to be found there1 seated upon their thrones1 and with them about a hundred royal personages4 ,they are all embalmed and preserved to this day4 ,in the church of ,st4 ,john in the ,lateran there are two bronze columns taken from the ,temple1 the handiwork of ,king ,solomon1 each column being engraved ,solomon the son of ,david4 ,the ,jews of ,rome told me that every year upon the #ith of ,ab they found the columns exuding moisture like water4 ,there also is the cave where ,titus the son of ,vespasianus stored the ,temple vessels which he brought from ,jerusalem4 ,there is also a cave in a hill on one bank of the ,river ,tiber where are the graves of the ten martyrs#bf4 p4#aa ,in front of ,st4 ,john in the ,lateran there are statues of ,samson in marble1 with a spear in his hand1 and of ,absalom the son of ,king ,david1 and another of ,constantinus the ,great1 who built ,constantinople and after whom it was called4 ,the last-named statue is of bronze1 the horse being overlaid with gold#bg4 ,many other edifices are there1 and remarkable sights beyond enumeration4 ,from ,rome it is four days to ,capua1 the large town which ,king ,capys built4 ,it is a fine city1 but its water is bad1 and the country is fever-stricken#bh4 ,about #cjj ,jews live there1 among them great scholars and esteemed persons1 at their heads being ,r4 ,conso1 his brother ,r4 ,israel1 ,r4 ,zaken and the chief rabbi ,r4 ,david1 since deceased4 ,they call this district the ,principality4 ,from there one goes to ,pozzuoli which is called ,sorrento the ,great1 built by ,zur1 son of ,hadadezer1 when he fled in fear of ,david the king4 ,the sea has risen and covered the city from its two sides1 and at the present day one can still see the markets and towers which stood in the midst of the city#bi4 p4#ab ,a spring issues forth from beneath the ground containing the oil which is called petroleum4 ,people collect it from the surface of the water and use it medicinally4 ,there are also hot-water springs to the number of about twenty1 which issue from the ground and are situated near the sea1 and every man who has any disease can go and bathe in them and get cured4 ,all the afflicted of ,lombardy visit it in the summer-time for that purpose4 ,from this place a man can travel fifteen miles along a road under the mountains1 a work executed by ,king ,romulus who built the city of ,rome4 ,he was prompted to this by fear of ,king ,david and ,joab his general#cj4 ,he built fortifications both upon the mountains and below the mountains reaching as far as the city of ,naples4 ,naples is a very strong city1 lying upon the sea-board1 and was founded by the ,greeks4 ,about #ejj ,jews live here1 amongst them ,r4 ,hezekiah1 ,r4 ,shallum1 ,r4 ,elijah ,hacohen and ,r4 ,isaac of ,har ,napus1 the chief rabbi of blessed memory4 ,thence one proceeds by sea to the city of ,salerno1 where the ,christians have a school of medicine4 ,about #fjj ,jews dwell there4 p4#ac ,among the scholars are ,r4 ,judah1 son of ,r4 ,isaac1 the son of ,melchizedek1 the great ,rabbi#ca1 who came from the city of ,siponto2 also ,r4 ,solomon 7the ,cohen71 ,r4 ,elijah the ,greek1 ,r4 ,abraham ,narboni1 and ,r4 ,hamon4 ,it is a city with walls upon the land side1 the other side bordering on the sea and there is a very strong castle on the summit of the hill4 ,thence it is half a day's journey to ,amalfi1 where there are about twenty ,jews1 amongst them ,r4 ,hananel1 the physician1 ,r4 ,elisha1 and ,abu-al-gir1 the prince4 ,the inhabitants of the place are merchants engaged in trade1 who do not sow or reap1 because they dwell upon high hills and lofty crags1 but buy everything for money4 ,nevertheless1 they have an abundance of fruit1 for it is a land of vineyards and olives1 of gardens and plantations1 and no one can go to war with them4 ,thence it is a day's journey to ,benevento1 which is a city situated between the sea-coast and a mountain1 and possessing a community of about #bjj ,jews4 ,at their head are ,r4 ,kalonymus1 ,r4 ,zarach1 and ,r4 ,abraham4 ,from there it is two days' journey to ,melfi in the country of ,apulia1 which is the land of ,pul#cb1 where about #bjj ,jews reside1 at their head being ,r4 ,achimaaz1 ,r4 ,nathan1 and ,r4 ,isaac4 p4#ad ,from ,melfi it is about a day's journey to ,ascoli1 where there are about forty ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,consoli1 ,r4 ,zemach1 his son-in-law1 and ,r4 ,joseph4 ,from there it takes two days to ,trani on the sea1 where all the pilgrims gather to go to ,jerusalem2 for the port is a convenient one4 ,a community of about #bjj ,israelites is there1 at their head being ,r4 ,elijah1 ,r4 ,nathan1 the expounder1 and ,r4 ,jacob4 ,it is a great and beautiful city4 ,from there it is a day's journey to ,colo di ,bari1 which is the great city which ,king ,william of ,sicily destroyed#cc4 ,neither ,jews nor ,gentiles live there at the present day in consequence of its destruction4 ,thence it is a day and a half to ,taranto1 which is under the government of ,calabria1 the inhabitants of which are ,greek#cd4 ,it is a large city1 and contains about #cjj ,jews1 some of them men of learning1 and at their head are ,r4 ,meir1 ,r4 ,nathan1 and ,r4 ,israel4 ,from ,taranto it is a day's journey to ,brindisi1 which is on the sea coast4 p4#ae ,about ten ,jews1 who are dyers1 reside here4 ,it is two days' journey to ,otranto1 which is on the coast of the ,greek sea4 ,here are about #ejj ,jews1 at the head of them being ,r4 ,menachem1 ,r4 ,caleb1 ,r4 ,meir1 and ,r4 ,mali4 ,from ,otranto it is a voyage of two days to ,corfu1 where only one ,jew of the name of ,r4 ,joseph lives1 and here ends the kingdom of ,sicily4 ,thence it is two days' voyage to the land of ,larta 7,arta71 which is the beginning of the dominions of ,emanuel1 ,sovereign of the ,greeks4 ,it is a place containing about #ajj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,shelachiah and ,r4 ,hercules4 ,from there it is two days to ,aphilon 7,achelous7#ce1 a place in which reside about thirty ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,sabbattai4 ,from there it takes half a day to ,anatolica1 which is situated on an arm of the sea#cf4 ,from there it takes a day to ,patras1 which is the city which ,antipater#cg1 ,king of the ,greeks1 built4 ,he was one of the four successors of ,king ,alexander4 p4#af ,in the city there are several large old buildings1 and about fifty ,jews live here1 at their head being ,r4 ,isaac1 ,r4 ,jacob1 and ,r4 ,samuel4 ,half a day's journey by way of the sea takes one to ,kifto 7,lepanto7#ch1 where there are about #ajj ,jews1 who live on the sea-coast2 at their head are ,r4 ,guri1 ,r4 ,shallum1 and ,r4 ,abraham4 ,from there it is a journey of a day and a half to ,crissa1 where about #bjj ,jews live apart4 ,they sow and reap on their own land2 at their head are ,r4 ,solomon1 ,r4 ,chayim1 and ,r4 ,jedaiah4 ,from there it is three days' journey to the capital city of ,corinth2 here are about #cjj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,leon1 ,r4 ,jacob1 and ,r4 ,hezekiah4 ,thence it is two days' journey to the great city of ,thebes1 where there are about #b1jjj ,jews4 ,they are the most skilled artificers in silk and purple cloth throughout ,greece4 ,they have scholars learned in the ,mishnah and the ,talmud1 and other prominent men1 and at their head are the chief rabbi ,r4 ,kuti and his brother ,r4 ,moses1 as well as ,r4 ,chiyah1 ,r4 ,elijah ,tirutot1 and ,r4 ,joktan2 and there are none like them in the land of the ,greeks1 except in the city of ,constantinople4 p4#ag ,from ,thebes it is a day's journey to ,egripo#ci1 which is a large city upon the sea-coast1 where merchants come from every quarter4 ,about #bjj ,jews live there1 at their head being ,r4 ,elijah ,psalteri1 ,r4 ,emanuel1 and ,r4 ,caleb4 ,from there it takes a day to ,jabustrisa1 which is a city upon the sea-coast with about #ajj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,joseph1 ,r4 ,elazar1 ,r4 ,isaac1 ,r4 ,samuel1 and ,r4 ,nethaniah4 ,from there it is a day's journey to ,rabonica1 where there are about #ajj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,joseph1 ,r4 ,elazar1 and ,r4 ,isaac4 ,from there it is a day's journey to ,sinon ,potamo1 where there are about fifty ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,solomon and ,r4 ,jacob4 ,the city is situated at the foot of the hills of ,wallachia4 ,the nation called ,wallachians live in those mountains4 ,they are as swift as hinds1 and they sweep down from the mountains to despoil and ravage the land of ,greece4 ,no man can go up and do battle against them1 and no king can rule over them4 ,they do not hold fast to the faith of the ,nazarenes1 but give themselves ,jewish names4 p4#ah ,some people say that they are ,jews1 and1 in fact1 they call the ,jews their brethren1 and when they meet with them1 though they rob them1 they refrain from killing them as they kill the ,greeks4 ,they are altogether lawless#dj4 ,from there it is two days' journey to ,gardiki1 which is in ruins and contains but a few ,greeks and ,jews4 ,from there it is two days' journey to ,armylo1 which is a large city on the sea1 inhabited by ,venetians1 ,pisans1 ,genoese1 and all the merchants who come there2 it is an extensive place1 and contains about #djj ,jews4 ,at their head are the chief rabbi ,r4 ,shiloh ,lombardo1 ,r4 ,joseph1 the warden1 and ,r4 ,solomon1 the leading man4 ,thence it is a day's journey to ,vissena1 where there are about #ajj ,jews1 at their head being the chief rabbi ,r4 ,sabbattai1 ,r4 ,solomon1 and ,r4 ,jacob4 ,from there it is two days' voyage to the city of ,salonica1 built by ,king ,seleucus1 one of the four successors who followed after ,king ,alexander4 ,it is a very large city1 with about #ejj ,jews1 including the chief rabbi ,r4 ,samuel and his sons1 who are scholars4 p4#ai ,he is appointed by the king as head of the ,jews4 ,there is also ,r4 ,sabbattai1 his son-in-law1 ,r4 ,elijah1 and ,r4 ,michael4 ,the ,jews are oppressed1 and live by silk-weaving4 ,thence it is two days' journey to ,demetrizi1 with about fifty ,jews4 ,in this place live ,r4 ,isaiah1 ,r4 ,machir1 and ,r4 ,alib4 ,thence it is two days to ,drama1 where there are about #adj ,jews1 at the head of them being ,r4 ,michael and ,r4 ,joseph4 ,from there it is one day's journey to ,christopoli1 where about twenty ,jews live4 ,a three days' voyage brings one to ,abydos1 which is upon an arm of the sea which flows between the mountains1 and after a five days' journey the great town of ,constantinople is reached4 ,it is the capital of the whole land of ,javan1 which is called ,greece4 ,here is the residence of the ,king ,emanuel the ,emperor4 ,twelve ministers are under him1 each of whom has a palace in ,constantinople and possesses castles and cities2 they rule all the land4 ,at their head is the ,king ,hipparchus1 the second in command is the ,megas ,domesticus1 the third ,dominus1 and the fourth is ,megaa ,ducas1 and the fifth is ,oeconomus ,megalus2 the others bear names like these#da4 p4#bj ,the circumference of the city of ,constantinople is eighteen miles2 half of it is surrounded by the sea1 and half by land1 and it is situated upon two arms of the sea1 one coming from the sea of ,russia1 and one from the sea of ,sepharad4 ,all sorts of merchants come here from the land of ,babylon1 from the land of ,shinar1 from ,persia1 ,media1 and all the sovereignty of the land of ,egypt1 from the land of ,canaan1 and the empire of ,russia#db1 from ,hungaria1 ,patzinakia#dc1 ,khazaria#dd1 and the land of ,lombardy and ,sepharad4 ,it is a busy city1 and merchants come to it from every country by sea or land1 and there is none like it in the world except ,bagdad1 the great city of ,islam4 ,in ,constantinople is the church of ,santa ,sophia1 and the seat of the ,pope of the ,greeks1 since the ,greeks do not obey the ,pope of ,rome4 ,there are also churches according to the number of the days of the year4 ,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 there4 p4#ba ,and the like of this wealth is not to be found in any other church in the world4 ,and in this church there are pillars of gold and silver1 and lamps of silver and gold more than a man can count4 ,close to the walls of the palace is also a place of amusement belonging to the king1 which is called the ,hippodrome1 and every year on the anniversary of the birth of ,jesus the king gives a great entertainment there4 ,and in that place men from all the races of the world come before the king and queen with jugglery and without jugglery1 and they introduce lions1 leopards1 bears1 and wild asses1 and they engage them in combat with one another2 and the same thing is done with birds4 ,no entertainment like this is to be found in any other land4 ,this ,king ,emanuel built a great palace for the seat of his ,government upon the sea-coast1 in addition to the palaces which his fathers built1 and he called its name ,blachernae#de4 ,he overlaid its columns and walls with gold and silver1 and engraved thereon representations of the battles before his day and of his own combats4 ,he also set up a throne of gold and of precious stones1 and a golden crown was suspended by a gold chain over the throne1 so arranged that he might sit thereunder#df4 p4#bb ,it was inlaid with jewels of priceless value1 and at night time no lights were required1 for every one could see by the light which the stones gave forth4 ,countless other buildings are to be met with in the city4 ,from every part of the empire of ,greece tribute is brought here every year1 and they fill strongholds with garments of silk1 purple1 and gold4 ,like unto these storehouses and this wealth1 there is nothing in the whole world to be found4 ,it is said that the tribute of the city amounts every year to #bj1jjj gold pieces1 derived both from the rents of shops and markets1 and from the tribute of merchants who enter by sea or land4 ,the ,greek inhabitants are very rich in gold and precious stones1 and they go clothed in garments of silk with gold embroidery1 and they ride horses1 and look like princes4 ,indeed1 the land is very rich in all cloth stuffs1 and in bread1 meat1 and wine4 p4#bc ,wealth like that of ,constantinople is not to be found in the whole world4 ,here also are men learned in all the books of the ,greeks1 and they eat and drink every man under his vine and his fig-tree4 ,they hire from amongst all nations warriors called ,loazim 7,barbarians7 to fight with the ,sultan ,masud#dg1 ,king of the ,togarmim 7,seljuks71 who are called ,turks2 for the natives are not warlike1 but are as women who have no strength to fight4 ,no ,jews live in the city1 for they have been placed behind an inlet of the sea4 ,an arm of the sea of ,marmora shuts them in on the one side1 and they are unable to go out except by way of the sea1 when they want to do business with the inhabitants#dh4 ,in the ,jewish quarter are about #b1jjj ,rabbanite ,jews and about #ejj ,karaites1 and a fence divides them4 ,amongst the scholars are several wise men1 at their head being the chief rabbi ,r4 ,abtalion1 ,r4 ,obadiah1 ,r4 ,aaron ,bechor ,shoro1 ,r4 ,joseph ,shir-,guru1 and ,r4 ,eliakim1 the warden4 ,and amongst them there are artificers in silk and many rich merchants4 ,no ,jew there is allowed to ride on horseback4 p4#bd ,the one exception is ,r4 ,solomon ,hamitsri1 who is the king's physician1 and through whom the ,jews enjoy considerable alleviation of their oppression4 ,for their condition is very low1 and there is much hatred against them1 which is fostered by the tanners1 who throw out their dirty water in the streets before the doors of the ,jewish houses and defile the ,jews' quarter 7the ,ghetto74 ,so the ,greeks hate the ,jews1 good and bad alike1 and subject them to great oppression1 and beat them in the streets1 and in every way treat them with rigour4 ,yet the ,jews are rich and good1 kindly and charitable1 and bear their lot with cheerfulness4 ,the district inhabited by the ,jews is called ,pera4 ,from ,constantinople it is two days' voyage to ,rhaedestus#di1 with a community of ,israelites of about #djj1 at their head being ,r4 ,moses1 ,r4 ,abijah1 and ,r4 ,jacob4 ,from there it is two days to ,callipolis 7,gallipoli71 where there are about #bjj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,elijah ,kapur1 ,r4 ,shabbattai ,zutro1 and ,r4 ,isaac ,megas1 which means great in ,greek4 ,and from here it is two days to ,kales4 p4#be ,here there are about fifty ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,jacob and ,r4 ,judah4 ,from here it is two days' journey to the island of ,mytilene1 and there are ,jewish congregations in ten localities on the island4 ,thence it is three days' voyage to the island of ,chios1 where there are about #djj ,jews1 including ,r4 ,elijah ,heman and ,r4 ,shabtha4 ,here grow the trees from which mastic is obtained4 ,two days' voyage takes one to the island of ,samos1 where there are #cjj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,shemaria1 ,r4 ,obadiah1 and ,r4 ,joel4 ,the islands have many congregations of ,jews4 ,from ,samos it is three days to ,rhodes1 where there are about #djj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,abba1 ,r4 ,hannanel1 and ,r4 ,elijah4 ,it is four days' voyage from here to ,cyprus1 where there are ,rabbanite ,jews and ,karaites2 there are also some heretical ,jews called ,epikursin1 whom the ,israelites have excommunicated in all places4 ,they profane the eve of the sabbath1 and observe the first night of the week1 which is the termination of the sabbath#ej4 p4#bf ,from ,cyprus it is four days' journey to ,curicus 7,kurch71 which is the beginning of the land called ,armenia1 and this is the frontier of the empire of ,thoros#ea1 ruler of the mountains1 and king of ,armenia1 whose dominions extend to the province of ,trunia#eb1 and to the country of the ,togarmim or ,turks4 ,from there it is two days' journey to ,malmistras1 which is ,tarshish1 situated by the sea2 and thus far extends the kingdom of the ,javanim or ,greeks#ec4 ,thence it is two days' journey to ,antioch the ,great1 situated on the river ,fur 7,orontes71 which is the river ,jabbok1 that flows from ,mount ,lebanon and from the land of ,hamath#ed4 ,this is the great city which ,antiochus the king built4 ,the city lies by a lofty mountain1 which is surrounded by the city-wall4 ,at the top of the mountain is a well1 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 city4 ,the other part of the city is surrounded by the river4 ,it is a strongly fortified city1 and is under the sway of ,prince ,boemond ,poitevin#ee1 surnamed le ,baube4 ,ten ,jews#ef dwell here1 engaged in glass-making1 and at their head are ,r4 ,mordecai1 ,r4 ,chayim1 and ,r4 ,samuel4 p4#bg ,from here it is two days' journey to ,lega1 or ,ladikiya1 where there are about #ajj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,chayim and ,r4 ,joseph4 ,thence it is two days' journey to ,gebal 7,gebela71 which is ,baal-,gad1 at the foot of ,lebanon#eg4 ,in the neighbourhood dwells a people called ,al-,hashishim#eh4 ,they do not believe in the religion of ,islam1 but follow one of their own folk1 whom they regard as their prophet1 and all that he tells them to do they carry out1 whether for death or life4 ,they call him the ,sheik ,al ,hashishim1 and he is known as their ,elder4 ,at his word these mountaineers go out and come in4 ,their principal seat is ,kadmus1 which is ,kedemoth in the land of ,sihon4 ,they are faithful to each other1 but a source of terror to their neighbours1 killing even kings at the cost of their own lives4 ,the extent of their land is eight days' journey4 ,and they are at war with the sons of ,edom who are called the ,franks1 and with the ruler of ,tripolis1 which is ,tarabulus el ,sham#ei4 ,at ,tripolis in years gone by there was an earthquake1 when many ,gentiles and ,jews perished1 for houses and walls fell upon them4 ,there was great destruction at that time throughout the ,land of ,israel1 and more than #bj1jjj souls perished#fj4 p4#bh ,thence it is a day's journey to the other ,gebal 7,gubail71 which borders on the land of the children of ,ammon1 and here there are about #aej ,jews4 ,the place is under the rule of the ,genoese1 the name of the governor being ,guillelmus ,embriacus#fa4 ,here was found a temple belonging to the children of ,ammon in olden times1 and an idol of theirs seated upon a throne or chair1 and made of stone overlaid with gold4 ,two women are represented sitting one on the right and one on the left of it1 and there is an altar in front before which the ,ammonites used to sacrifice and burn incense#fb4 ,there are about #bjj ,jews there1 at their head being ,r4 ,meir1 ,r4 ,jacob1 and ,r4 ,simchah4 ,the place is situated on the sea-border of the land of ,israel4 ,from there it is two days' journey to ,beirut1 or ,beeroth1 where there are about fifty ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,solomon1 ,r4 ,obadiah1 and ,r4 ,joseph4 ,thence it is one day's journey to ,saida1 which is ,sidon1 a large city1 with about twenty ,jews4 p4#bi ,ten miles therefrom a people dwell who are at war with the men of ,sidon2 they are called ,druses1 and are pagans of a lawless character4 ,they inhabit the mountains and the clefts of the rocks2 they have no king or ruler1 but dwell independent in these high places1 and their border extends to ,mount ,hermon1 which is a three days' journey4 ,they are steeped in vice1 brothers marrying their sisters1 and fathers their daughters4 ,they have one feast-day in the year1 when they all collect1 both men and women1 to eat and drink together1 and they then interchange their wives#fc4 ,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 child1 and in the case of a bad man into the body of a dog or an ass4 ,such are their foolish beliefs4 ,there are no resident ,jews among them1 but a certain number of ,jewish handicraftsmen and dyers come among them for the sake of trade1 and then return1 the people being favourable to the ,jews4 p4#cj ,they roam over the mountains and hills1 and no man can do battle with them4 ,from ,sidon it is half a day's journey to ,sarepta 7,sarfend71 which belongs to ,sidon4 ,thence it is a half-day to ,new ,tyre 7,sur71 which is a very fine city1 with a harbour in its midst4 ,at night-time those that levy dues throw iron chains from tower to tower1 so that no man can go forth by boat or in any other way to rob the ships by night4 ,there is no harbour like this in the whole world4 ,tyre is a beautiful city4 ,it contains about #ejj ,jews1 some of them scholars of the ,talmud1 at their head being ,r4 ,ephraim of ,tyre1 the ,dayan1 ,r4 ,meir from ,carcassonne1 and ,r4 ,abraham1 head of the congregation4 ,the ,jews own sea-going vessels1 and there are glass-makers amongst them who make that fine ,tyrian glass-ware which is prized in all countries4 ,in the vicinity is found sugar of a high class1 for men plant it here1 and people come from all lands to buy it#fd4 ,a man can ascend the walls of ,new ,tyre and see ancient ,tyre1 which the sea has now covered1 lying at a stone's throw from the new city4 p4#ca ,and should one care to go forth by boat1 one can see the castles1 market-places1 streets1 and palaces in the bed of the sea4 ,new ,tyre is a busy place of commerce1 to which merchants flock from all quarters4 ,one day's journey brings one to ,acre1 the ,acco of old1 which is on the borders of ,asher2 it is the commencement of the land of ,israel4 ,situated by the ,great ,sea1 it possesses a large harbour for all the pilgrims who come to ,jerusalem by ship4 ,a stream runs in front of it1 called the brook of ,kedumim#fe4 ,about #bjj ,jews live there1 at their head being ,r4 ,zadok1 ,r4 ,japheth1 and ,r4 ,jonah4 ,from there it is three parasangs to ,haifa1 which is ,hahepher#ff on the seaboard1 and on the other side is ,mount ,carmel#fg1 at the foot of which there are many ,jewish graves4 ,on the mountain is the cave of ,elijah1 where the ,christians have erected a structure called ,st4 ,elias4 ,on the top of the mountain can be recognized the overthrown altar which ,elijah repaired in the days of ,ahab4 ,the site of the altar is circular1 about four cubits remain thereof1 and at the foot of the mountain the brook ,kishon flows4 p4#cb ,from here it is four parasangs to ,capernaum1 which is the village of ,nahum1 identical with ,maon1 the home of ,nabal the ,carmelite#fh4 ,six parasangs from here is ,caesarea1 the ,gath#fi of the ,philistines1 and here there are about #bjj ,jews and #bjj ,cuthim4 ,these are the ,jews of ,shomron1 who are called ,samaritans4 ,the city is fair and beautiful1 and lies by the sea4 ,it was built by ,caesar1 and called after him ,caesarea4 ,thence it is half a day's journey to ,kako#gj1 the ,keilah of ,scripture4 ,there are no ,jews here4 ,thence it is half a day's journey to ,st4 ,george1 which is ,ludd#ga1 where there lives one ,jew1 who is a dyer4 ,thence it is a day's journey to ,sebastiya1 which is the city of ,shomron 7,samaria71 and here the ruins of the palace of ,ahab the son of ,omri may be seen4 ,it was formerly a well-fortified city by the mountain-side1 with streams of water4 ,it is still a land of brooks of water1 gardens1 orchards1 vineyards1 and olive groves1 but no ,jews dwell here4 ,thence it is two parasangs to ,nablous1 which is ,shechem on ,mount ,ephraim1 where there are no ,jews2 the place is situated in the valley between ,mount ,gerizim and ,mount ,ebal1 and contains about #a1jjj ,cuthim1 who observe the written law of ,moses alone1 and are called ,samaritans4 p4#cc ,they have priests of the seed 7of ,aaron71 and they call them ,aaronim1 who do not intermarry with ,cuthim1 but wed only amongst themselves#gb4 ,these priests offer sacrifices1 and bring burnt-offerings in their place of assembly on ,mount ,gerizim1 as it is written in their law--,and thou shalt set the blessing on ,mount ,gerizim4 ,they say that this is the proper site of the ,temple4 ,on ,passover and the other festivals they offer up burnt-offerings on the altar which they have built on ,mount ,gerizim1 as it is written in their law--,ye shall set up the stones upon ,mount ,gerizim1 of the stones which ,joshua and the children of ,israel set up at the ,jordan4 ,they say that they are descended from the tribe of ,ephraim4 ,and in the midst of them is the grave of ,joseph1 the son of ,jacob our father1 as it is written--and the bones of ,joseph buried they in ,shechem#gc4 ,their alphabet lacks three letters1 namely ,hebrew3 ,he1 ,hebrew3 ,heth1 and ,hebrew3 ,ain#gd4 ,the letter ,hebrew3 ,he is taken from ,abraham our father1 because they have no dignity1 the letter ,hebrew3 ,heth from ,isaac1 because they have no kindliness1 and the letter ,hebrew3 ,ain from ,jacob1 because they have no humility4 p4#cd ,in place of these letters they make use of the ,aleph1 by which we can tell that they are not of the seed of ,israel1 although they know the law of ,moses with the exception of these three letters4 ,they guard themselves from the defilement of the dead1 of the bones of the slain1 and of graves2 and they remove the garments which they have worn before they go to the place of worship1 and they bathe and put on fresh clothes4 ,this is their constant practice4 ,on ,mount ,gerizim are fountains and gardens and plantations1 but ,mount ,ebal is rocky and barren2 and between them in the valley lies the city of ,shechem4 ,from the latter place it is a distance of four parasangs to ,mount ,gilboa1 which the ,christians call ,mont ,gilboa2 it lies in a very parched district4 ,and from there it is five#ge 4441 a village where there are no ,jews4 ,thence it is two parasangs to the valley of ,ajalon#gf1 which the ,christians call ,val-de-,luna4 ,at a distance of one parasang is ,mahomerie-le-,grand1 which is ,gibeon the ,great2 it contains no ,jews4 ,from there it is three parasangs to ,jerusalem1 which is a small city1 fortified by three walls4 ,it is full of people whom the ,mohammedans call ,jacobites1 ,syrians1 ,greeks1 ,georgians and ,franks1 and of people of all tongues4 p4#ce ,it contains a dyeing-house1 for which the ,jews pay a small rent annually to the king#gg1 on condition that besides the ,jews no other dyers be allowed in ,jerusalem4 ,there are about #bjj ,jews who dwell under the ,tower of ,david in one corner of the city#gh4 ,the lower portion of the wall of the ,tower of ,david1 to the extent of about ten cubits1 is part of the ancient foundation set up by our ancestors1 the remaining portion having been built by the ,mohammedans4 ,there is no structure in the whole city stronger than the ,tower of ,david4 ,the city also contains two buildings1 from one of which--the hospital--there issue forth four hundred knights2 and therein all the sick who come thither are lodged and cared for in life and in death#gi4 ,the other building is called the ,temple of ,solomon2 it is the palace built by ,solomon the king of ,israel4 ,three hundred knights are quartered there1 and issue therefrom every day for military exercise1 besides those who come from the land of the ,franks and the other parts of ,christendom1 having taken upon themselves to serve there a year or two until their vow is fulfilled4 ,in ,jerusalem is the great church called the ,sepulchre1 and here is the burial-place of ,jesus1 unto which the ,christians make pilgrimages4 p4#cf ,jerusalem#hj has four gates--the gate of ,abraham1 the gate of ,david1 the gate of ,zion1 and the gate of ,gushpat1 which is the gate of ,jehoshaphat1 facing our ancient ,temple1 now called ,templum ,domini4 ,upon the site of the sanctuary ,omar ben al ,khataab erected an edifice with a very large and magnificent cupola1 into which the ,gentiles do not bring any image or effigy1 but they merely come there to pray4 ,in front of this place is the western wall1 which is one of the walls of the ,holy of ,holies4 ,this is called the ,gate of ,mercy1 and thither come all the ,jews to pray before the wall of the court of the ,temple4 ,in ,jerusalem1 attached to the palace which belonged to ,solomon1 are the stables built by him1 forming a very substantial structure1 composed of large stones1 and the like of it is not to be seen anywhere in the world4 ,there is also visible up to this day the pool used by the priests before offering their sacrifices1 and the ,jews coming thither write their names upon the wall4 ,the gate of ,jehoshaphat leads to the valley of ,jehoshaphat1 which is the gathering-place of nations#ha4 ,here is the pillar called ,absalom's ,hand1 and the sepulchre of ,king ,uzziah#hb4 p4#cg ,in the neighbourhood is also a great spring1 called the ,waters of ,siloam1 connected with the brook of ,kidron4 ,over the spring is a large structure dating from the time of our ancestors1 but little water is found1 and the people of ,jerusalem for the most part drink the rain-water1 which they collect in cisterns in their houses4 ,from the valley of ,jehoshaphat one ascends the ,mount of ,olives2 it is the valley only which separates ,jerusalem from the ,mount of ,olives4 ,from the ,mount of ,olives one sees the ,sea of ,sodom1 and at a distance of two parasangs from the ,sea of ,sodom is the ,pillar of ,salt into which ,lot's wife was turned2 the sheep lick it continually1 but afterwards it regains its original shape#hc4 ,the whole land of the plain and the valley of ,shittim as far as ,mount ,nebo are visible from here4 ,in front of ,jerusalem is ,mount ,zion1 on which there is no building1 except a place of worship belonging to the ,christians4 ,facing ,jerusalem for a distance of three miles are the cemeteries#hd belonging to the ,israelites1 who in the days of old buried their dead in caves1 and upon each sepulchre is a dated inscription1 but the ,christians destroy the sepulchres1 employing the stones thereof in building their houses4 ,these sepulchres reach as far as ,zelzah in the territory of ,benjamin4 ,around ,jerusalem are high mountains4 p4#ch ,on ,mount ,zion are the sepulchres of the ,house of ,david1 and the sepulchres of the kings that ruled after him4 ,the exact place cannot be identified1 inasmuch as fifteen years ago a wall of the church of ,mount ,zion fell in4 ,the ,patriarch commanded the overseer to take the stones of the old walls and restore therewith the church4 ,he did so1 and hired workmen at fixed wages2 and there were twenty men who brought the stones from the base of the wall of ,zion4 ,among these men there were two who were sworn friends4 ,on a certain day the one entertained the other2 after their meal they returned to their work1 when the overseer said to them1 ,why have you tarried to-day8 ,they answered1 ,why need you complain8 ,when our fellow workmen go to their meal we will do our work4 ,when the dinner-time arrived1 and the other workmen had gone to their meal1 they examined the stones1 and raised a certain stone which formed the entrance to a cave4 ,thereupon one said to the other1 ,let us go in and see if any money is to be found there4 ,they entered the cave1 and reached a large chamber resting upon pillars of marble overlaid with silver and gold4 p4#ci ,in front was a table of gold and a sceptre and crown4 ,this was the sepulchre of ,king ,david4 ,on the left thereof in like fashion was the sepulchre of ,king ,solomon2 then followed the sepulchres of all the kings of ,judah that were buried there4 ,closed coffers were also there1 the contents of which no man knows4 ,the two men essayed to enter the chamber1 when a fierce wind came forth from the entrance of the cave and smote them1 and they fell to the ground like dead men1 and there they lay until evening4 ,and there came forth a wind like a man's voice1 crying out3 ,arise and go forth from this place6 ,so the men rushed forth in terror1 and they came unto the ,patriarch1 and related these things to him4 ,thereupon the ,patriarch sent for ,rabbi ,abraham el ,constantini1 the pious recluse1 who was one of the mourners of ,jerusalem1 and to him he related all these things according to the report of the two men who had come forth4 ,then ,rabbi ,abraham replied1 ,these are the sepulchres of the ,house of ,david2 they belong to the kings of ,judah1 and on the morrow let us enter4 ,i and you and these men1 and find out what is there4 p4#dj ,and on the morrow they sent for the two men1 and found each of them lying on his bed in terror1 and the men said3 ,we will not enter there1 for the ,lord doth not desire to show it to any man4 ,then the ,patriarch gave orders that the place should be closed up and hidden from the sight of man unto this day4 ,these things were told me by the said ,rabbi ,abraham4 ,from ,jerusalem it is two parasangs to ,bethlehem1 which is called by the ,christians ,beth-,leon1 and close thereto1 at a distance of about half a mile1 at the parting of the way1 is the pillar of ,rachel's grave1 which is made up of eleven stones1 corresponding with the number of the sons of ,jacob4 ,upon it is a cupola resting on four columns1 and all the ,jews that pass by carve their names upon the stones of the pillar#he4 ,at ,bethlehem there are two ,jewish dyers4 ,it is a land of brooks of water1 and contains wells and fountains4 ,at a distance of six parasangs is ,st4 ,abram de ,bron1 which is ,hebron2 the old city stood on the mountain1 but is now in ruins2 and in the valley by the field of ,machpelah lies the present city4 p4#da ,here there is the great church called ,st4 ,abram1 and this was a ,jewish place of worship at the time of the ,mohammedan rule1 but the ,gentiles have erected there six tombs1 respectively called those of ,abraham and ,sarah1 ,isaac and ,rebekah1 ,jacob and ,leah4 ,the custodians tell the pilgrims that these are the tombs of the ,patriarchs1 for which information the pilgrims give them money4 ,if a ,jew comes1 however1 and gives a special reward1 the custodian of the cave opens unto him a gate of iron1 which was constructed by our forefathers1 and then he is able to descend below by means of steps1 holding a lighted candle in his hand4 ,he then reaches a cave1 in which nothing is to be found1 and a cave beyond1 which is likewise empty1 but when he reaches the third cave behold there are six sepulchres1 those of ,abraham1 ,isaac and ,jacob1 respectively facing those of ,sarah1 ,rebekah and ,leah4 ,and upon the graves are inscriptions cut in stone2 upon the grave of ,abraham is engraved ,this is the grave of ,abraham2 upon that of ,isaac1 ,this is the grave of ,isaac1 the son of ,abraham our ,father2 upon that of ,jacob1 ,this is the grave of ,jacob1 the son of ,isaac1 the son of ,abraham our ,father2 and upon the others1 ,this is the grave of ,sarah1 ,this is the grave of ,rebekah1 and ,this is the grave of ,leah4 ,a lamp burns day and night upon the graves in the cave4 ,one finds there many casks filled with the bones of ,israelites1 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#hf4 p4#db ,beyond the field of ,machpelah is the house of ,abraham2 there is a well in front of the house1 but out of reverence for the ,patriarch ,abraham no one is allowed to build in the neighbourhood4 ,from ,hebron it is five parasangs to ,beit ,jibrin1 which is ,mareshah1 where there are but three ,jews#hg4 ,three parasangs further one reaches ,st4 ,samuel of ,shiloh4 ,this is the ,shiloh which is two parasangs from ,jerusalem4 ,when the ,christians captured ,ramlah1 the ,ramah of old1 from the ,mohammedans1 they found there the grave of ,samuel the ,ramathite close to a ,jewish synagogue4 ,the ,christians took the remains1 conveyed them unto ,shiloh1 and erected over them a large church1 and called it ,st4 ,samuel of ,shiloh unto this day#hh4 ,from there it is three parasangs to ,mahomerie-le-petit#hi1 which is ,gibeah of ,saul1 where there are no ,jews1 and this is ,gibeah of ,benjamin4 ,thence three parasangs to ,beit ,nuba#ij1 which is ,nob1 the city of priests4 p4#dc ,in the middle of the way are the two crags of ,jonathan1 the name of the one being ,bozez1 and the name of the other ,seneh#ia4 ,two ,jewish dyers dwell there4 ,thence it is three parasangs to ,rams1 or ,ramleh1 where there are remains of the walls from the days of our ancestors1 for thus it was found written upon the stones4 ,about #cjj ,jews dwell there4 ,it was formerly a very great city2 at a distance of two miles there is a large ,jewish cemetery#ib4 ,thence it is five parasangs to ,yafa or ,jaffa1 which is on the seaboard1 and one ,jewish dyer lives here4 ,from here it is five parasangs to ,ibelin or ,jabneh1 the seat of the ,academy1 but there are no ,jews there at this day4 ,thus far extends the territory of ,ephraim4 ,from there it is five parasangs to ,palmid1 which is ,ashdod of the ,philistines1 now in ruins2 no ,jews dwell there4 ,thence it is two parasangs to ,ashkelonah or ,new ,askelon1 which ,ezra the priest built by the sea4 p4#dd ,it was originally called ,bene ,berak4 ,the place is four parasangs distant from the ancient ruined city of ,askelon4 ,new ,askelon is a large and fair place1 and merchants come thither from all quarters1 for it is situated on the frontier of ,egypt4 ,about #bjj ,rabbanite ,jews dwell here1 at their head being ,r4 ,zemach1 ,r4 ,aaron1 and ,r4 ,solomon2 also about forty ,karaites1 and about #cjj ,cuthim4 ,in the midst of the city there is a well1 which they call ,bir ,abraham2 this the ,patriarch dug in the days of the ,philistines#ic4 ,from there it is a journey of a day to ,st4 ,george#id of ,ludd3 thence it is a day and a half to ,zerin or ,jezreel1 where there is a large spring4 ,one ,jewish dyer lives here4 ,three parasangs further is ,saffuriya or ,sepphoris4 ,here are the graves of ,rabbenu ,hakkadosh1 of ,rabban ,gamaliel1 and of ,r4 ,chiya1 who came up from ,babylon1 also of ,jonah the son of ,amittai2 they are all buried in the mountain#ie4 ,many other ,jewish graves are here4 p4#de ,thence it is five parasangs to ,tiberias1 which is situated upon the ,jordan1 which is here called the ,sea of ,chinnereth4 ,the ,jordan at this place flows through a valley between two mountains1 and fills the lake1 which is called the ,lake of ,chinnereth2 this is a large and broad piece of water like the sea4 ,the ,jordan flows between two mountains1 and over the plain which is the place that is called ,ashdoth ,hapisgah1 and thence continues its course till it falls into the ,sea of ,sodom1 which is the ,salt ,sea4 ,in ,tiberias there are about fifty ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,abraham the astronomer1 ,r4 ,muchtar1 and ,r4 ,isaac4 ,there are hot waters here1 which bubble up from the ground1 and are called the ,hot ,waters of ,tiberias4 ,near by is the ,synagogue of ,caleb ben ,jephunneh1 and ,jewish sepulchres4 ,r4 ,johanan ben ,zakkai and ,r4 ,jehudah ,halevi#if are buried here4 ,all these places are situated in ,lower ,galilee4 ,from here it is two days to ,tymin or ,timnathah1 where ,simon the ,just#ig and many ,israelites are buried1 and thence three parasangs to ,medon or ,meron4 ,in the neighbourhood there is a cave in which are the sepulchres of ,hillel and ,shammai4 ,here also are twenty sepulchres of disciples1 including the sepulchres of ,r4 ,benjamin ben ,japheth1 and of ,r4 ,jehudah ben ,bethera4 ,from ,meron it is two parasangs to ,almah1 where there are about fifty ,jews4 ,there is a large ,jewish cemetery here1 with the sepulchres of ,r4 ,eleazar ben ,arak1 of ,r4 ,eleazar ben ,azariah1 of ,chuni ,hamaagal1 of ,raban ,simeon ben ,gamaliel1 and of ,r4 ,jose ,hagelili#ih4 p4#df ,from here it is half a day's journey to ,kades1 or ,kedesh ,naphtali1 upon the ,jordan4 ,here is the sepulchre of ,barak the son of ,abinoam4 ,no ,jews dwell here4 ,thence it is a day's journey to ,banias1 which is ,dan1 where there is a cavern1 from which the ,jordan issues and flows for a distance of three miles1 when the ,arnon1 which comes from the borders of ,moab1 joins it#ii4 ,in front of the cavern may be discerned the site of the altar associated with the graven image of ,micah1 which the children of ,dan worshipped in ancient days4 ,this is also the site of the altar of ,jeroboam1 where the golden calf was set up4 ,thus far reaches the boundary of the land of ,israel towards the uttermost sea#ajj4 p4#dg ,two days' journey brings one to ,damascus1 the great city1 which is the commencement of the empire of ,nur-ed-din1 the king of the ,togarmim1 called ,turks4 ,it is a fair city of large extent1 surrounded by walls1 with many gardens and plantations1 extending over fifteen miles on each side1 and no district richer in fruit can be seen in all the world4 ,from ,mount ,hermon descend the rivers ,amana and ,pharpar2 for the city is situated at the foot of ,mount ,hermon4 ,the ,amana flows through the city1 and by means of aqueducts the water is conveyed to the houses of the great people1 and into the streets and market-places4 ,the ,pharpar flows through their gardens and plantations4 ,it is a place carrying on trade with all countries4 ,here is a mosque of the ,arabs called the ,gami of ,damascus2 there is no building like it in the whole world1 and they say that it was a palace of ,ben ,hadad4 ,here is a wall of crystal glass of magic workmanship1 with apertures according to the days of the year1 and as the sun's rays enter each of them in daily succession the hours of the day can be told by a graduated dial4 ,in the palace are chambers built of gold and glass1 and if people walk round the wall they are able to see one another1 although the wall is between them4 ,and there are columns overlaid with gold and silver1 and columns of marble of all colours#aja4 ,and in the court there is a gigantic head overlaid with gold and silver1 and fashioned like a bowl with rims of gold and silver4 ,it is as big as a cask1 and three men can enter therein at the same time to bathe4 ,in the palace is suspended the rib of one of the giants1 the length being nine cubits1 and the width two cubits2 and they say it belonged to the ,king ,anak of the giants of old1 whose name was ,abramaz#ajb4 p4#dh ,for so it was found inscribed on his grave1 where it was also written that he ruled over the whole world4 ,three thousand ,jews abide in this city1 and amongst them are learned and rich men#ajc4 ,the head of the ,academy of the land of ,israel resides here#ajd4 ,his name is ,r4 ,azariah1 and with him are his brother1 ,sar ,shalom1 the head of the ,beth ,din3 ,r4 ,joseph1 the fifth of the ,academy3 ,r4 ,mazliach1 the lecturer1 the head of the order3 ,r4 ,meir1 the crown of the scholars3 ,r4 ,joseph ben ,al ,pilath1 the pillar of the ,academy3 ,r4 ,heman1 the warden3 and ,r4 ,zedekiah1 the physician4 ,one hundred ,karaites dwell here1 also #djj ,cuthim1 and there is peace between them1 but they do not intermarry4 ,it is a day's journey to ,galid1 which is ,gilead1 and sixty ,israelites are there1 at their head being ,r4 ,zadok1 ,r4 ,isaac1 and ,r4 ,solomon4 ,it is a place of wide extent1 with brooks of water1 gardens1 and plantations4 ,thence it is half a day to ,salkat1 which is ,salchah of old#aje4 p4#di ,thence it is half a day's journey to ,baalbec1 which is ,baalath in the plains of ,lebanon1 and which ,solomon built for the daughter of ,pharaoh4 ,the palace is built of large stones1 each stone having a length of twenty cubits and a width of twelve cubits1 and there are no spaces between the stones4 ,it is said that ,ashmedai alone could have put up this building4 ,from the upper part of the city a great spring wells forth and flows into the middle of the city as a wide stream1 and alongside thereof are mills and gardens and plantations in the midst of the city4 ,at ,tarmod 7,tadmor7 in the wilderness1 which ,solomon built1 there are similar structures of huge stones4#ajf ,the city of ,tarmod is surrounded by walls2 it is in the desert far away from inhabited places1 and is four days' journey from ,baalath1 just mentioned4 ,and in ,tarmod there are about #b1jjj ,jews4 ,they are valiant in war and fight with the ,christians and with the ,arabs1 which latter are under the dominion of ,nur-ed-din the king1 and they help their neighbours the ,ishmaelites4 ,at their head are ,r4 ,isaac ,hajvani1 ,r4 ,nathan1 and ,r4 ,uziel4 ,from ,baalbec to ,karjaten1 which #as ,kirjathim1 is a distance of half a day2 no ,jews live there except one dyer4 ,thence it is a day's journey to ,emesa1 which is a city of the ,zemarites1 where about twenty ,jews dwell#ajg4 ,thence it is a day's journey to ,hamah1 which is ,hamath4 ,it lies on the river ,jabbok at the foot of ,mount ,lebanon#ajh4 p4#ej ,some time ago there was a great earthquake in the city1 and #be1jjj souls perished in one day1 and of about #bjj ,jews but seventy escaped4 ,at their head are ,r4 ,eli ,hacohen1 and the ,sheik ,abu ,galib and ,mukhtar4 ,thence it is half a day to ,sheizar1 which is ,hazor#aji1 and from there it is three parasangs to ,dimin 7,latmin74 p4#ea ,thence it is two days to ,haleb 7,aleppo7 or ,aram ,zoba1 which is the royal city of ,nur-ed-din4 ,in the midst of the city is his palace surrounded by a very high wall4 ,this is a very large place4 ,there is no well there nor any stream1 but the inhabitants drink rainwater1 each one possessing a cistern in his house#aaj4 ,the city has #e1jjj ,jewish inhabitants1 at their head being ,r4 ,moses el ,constantini and ,r4 ,seth4 ,thence it is two days to ,balis#aaa1 which is ,pethor on the river ,euphrates1 and unto this day there stands the turret of ,balaam1 which he built to tell the hours of the day4 ,about ten ,jews live here4 ,thence it is half a day to ,kalat ,jabar1 which is ,selah of the wilderness1 that was left unto the ,arabs at the time the ,togarmim took their land and caused them to fly into the wilderness4 ,about #b1jjj ,jews dwell there1 at their head being ,r4 ,zedekiah1 ,r4 ,chiya1 and ,r4 ,solomon4 ,thence it is one day's journey to ,rakka#aab1 or ,salchah1 which is on the confines of the land of ,shinar1 and which divides the land of the ,togarmim from that kingdom4 ,in it there are #gjj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,zakkai and ,r4 ,nedib1 who is blind1 and ,r4 ,joseph4 ,there is a synagogue here1 erected by ,ezra when he went forth from ,babylon to ,jerusalem4 ,at two days' distance lies ancient ,harran1 where twenty ,jews live#aac4 ,here is another synagogue erected by ,ezra1 and in this place stood the house of ,terah and ,abraham his son4 ,the ground is not covered by any building1 and the ,mohammedans honour the site and come thither to pray4 ,thence it is a journey of two days to ,ras-el-,ain#aad1 whence proceeds the river ,el ,khabur--the ,habor of old--which flows through the land of ,media1 and falls into the river ,gozan#aae4 ,here there are #bjj ,jews#aaf4 ,thence it is two days to ,geziret ,ibn ,omar1 which is surrounded by the river ,hiddekel 7,tigris71 at the foot of the mountains of ,ararat4 p4#eb ,it is a distance of four miles to the place where ,noah's ,ark rested1 but ,omar ben al ,khataab took the ark from the two mountains and made it into a mosque for the ,mohammedans#aag4 ,near the ark is the ,synagogue of ,ezra to this day1 and on the ninth of ,ab the ,jews come thither from the city to pray4 ,in the city of ,geziret ,omar are #d1jjj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,mubchar1 ,r4 ,joseph and ,r4 ,chiya4 ,thence it is two days to ,mosul1 which is ,assur the ,great1 and here dwell about #g1jjj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,zakkai the ,nasi of the seed of ,david1 and ,r4 ,joseph surnamed ,burhan-al-mulk1 the astronomer to the ,king ,sin-ed-din1 the brother of ,nur-ed-din1 ,king of ,damascus#aah4 ,mosul is the frontier town of the land of ,persia4 p4#ec ,it is a very large and ancient city1 situated on the river ,hiddekel 7,tigris71 and is connected with ,nineveh by means of a bridge4 ,nineveh is in ruins1 but amid the ruins there are villages and hamlets1 and the extent of the city may be determined by the walls1 which extend forty parasangs to the city of ,irbil#aai4 ,the city of ,nineveh is on the river ,hiddekel4 ,in the city of ,assur 7,mosul7 is the synagogue of ,obadiah1 built by ,jonah2 also the synagogue of ,nahum the ,elkoshite#abj4 ,thence it is a distance of three days to ,rahbah1 which is on the river ,euphrates4 ,here there are about #b1jjj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,hezekiah1 ,r4 ,tahor and ,r4 ,isaac4 ,it is a very fine city1 large and fortified1 and surrounded by gardens and plantations4 ,thence it is a day's journey to ,karkisiya which is ,carchemish1 on the river ,euphrates4 ,here there are about #ejj ,jews1 at their head being ,r4 ,isaac and ,r4 ,elhanan4 ,thence it is two days to ,el-,anbar which is ,pumbedita in ,nehardea#aba4 ,here reside #c1jjj ,jews1 and amongst them are learned men1 at their head being the chief rabbi ,r4 ,chen1 ,r4 ,moses and ,r4 ,jehoiakim4 ,here are the graves of ,rab ,jehuda and ,samuel1 and in front of the graves of each of them are the synagogues which they built in their lifetime4 ,here is also the grave of ,bostanai the ,nasi1 the head of the ,captivity1 and of ,r4 ,nathan and ,rab ,nachman the son of ,papa4 p4#ed ,thence it takes five days to ,hadara1 where about #ae1jjj ,jews dwell1 at their head being ,r4 ,zaken1 ,r4 ,jehosef and ,r4 ,nethanel#abb4 ,thence it takes two days to ,okbara1 the city1 which ,jeconiah the ,king built1 where there are about #aj1jjj ,jews1 and at their head are ,r4 ,chanan1 ,r4 ,jabin and ,r4 ,ishmael4 ,thence it is two days to ,bagdad1 the great city and the royal residence of the ,caliph ,emir al ,muminin al ,abbasi of the family of ,mohammed4 ,he is at the head of the ,mohammedan religion1 and all the kings of ,islam obey him2 he occupies a similar position to that held by the ,pope over the ,christians#abc4 ,he has a palace in ,bagdad three miles in extent1 wherein is a great park with all varieties of trees1 fruit-bearing and otherwise1 and all manner of animals4 ,the whole is surrounded by a wall1 and in the park there is a lake whose waters are fed by the river ,hiddekel4 ,whenever the king desires to indulge in recreation and to rejoice and feast1 his servants catch all manner of' birds1 game and fish1 and he goes to his palace with his counsellors and princes4 p4#ee ,there the great king1 ,al ,abbasi the ,caliph 7,hafiz7 holds his court1 and he is kind unto ,israel1 and many belonging to the people of ,israel are his attendants2 he knows all languages1 and is well versed in the law of ,israel4 ,he reads and writes the holy language 7,hebrew74 ,he will not partake of anything unless he has earned it by the work of his own hands4 ,he makes coverlets to which he attaches his seal2 his courtiers sell them in the market1 and the great ones of the land purchase them1 and the proceeds thereof provide his sustenance4 ,he is truthful and trusty1 speaking peace to all men4 ,the men of ,islam see him but once in the year4 ,the pilgrims that come from distant lands to go unto ,mecca which is in the land ,el-,yemen1 are anxious to see his face1 and they assemble before the palace exclaiming ,our ,lord1 light of ,islam and glory of our ,law1 show us the effulgence of thy countenance1 but he pays no regard to their words4 p4#ef ,then the princes who minister unto him say to him1 ,our ,lord1 spread forth thy peace unto the men that have come from distant lands1 who crave to abide under the shadow of thy graciousness1 and thereupon he arises and lets down the hem of his robe from the window1 and the pilgrims come and kiss it#abd1 and a prince says unto them ,go forth in peace1 for our ,master the ,lord of ,islam granteth peace to you4 ,he is regarded by them as ,mohammed and they go to their houses rejoicing at the salutation which the prince has vouchsafed unto them1 and glad at heart that they have kissed his robe4 ,each of his brothers and the members of his family has an abode in his palace1 but they are all fettered in chains of iron1 and guards are placed over each of their houses so that they may not rise against the great ,caliph4 ,for once it happened to a predecessor that his brothers rose up against him and proclaimed one of themselves as ,caliph2 then it was decreed that all the members of his family should be bound1 that they might not rise up against the ruling ,caliph4 ,each one of them resides in his palace in great splendour1 and they own villages and towns1 and their stewards bring them the tribute thereof1 and they eat and drink and rejoice all the days of their life#abe4 ,within the domains of the palace of the ,caliph there are great buildings of marble and columns of silver and gold1 and carvings upon rare stones are fixed in the walls4 p4#eg ,in the ,caliph's palace are great riches and towers filled with gold1 silken garments and all precious stones4 ,he does not issue forth from his palace save once in the year1 at the feast which the ,mohammedans call ,el-id-bed ,ramazan1 and they come from distant lands that day to see him4 ,he rides on a mule and is attired in the royal robes of gold and silver and fine linen2 on his head is a turban adorned with precious stones of priceless value1 and over the turban is a black shawl as a sign of his modesty1 implying that all this glory will be covered by darkness on the day of death4 ,he is accompanied by all the nobles of ,islam dressed in fine garments and riding on horses1 the princes of ,arabia1 the princes of ,togarma and ,daylam 7,gilan7 and the princes of ,persia1 ,media and ,ghuzz1 and the princes of the land of ,tibet1 which is three months' journey distant1 and westward of which lies the land of ,samarkand4 ,he proceeds from his palace to the great mosque of ,islam which is by the ,basrah ,gate4 p4#eh ,along the road the walls are adorned with silk and purple1 and the inhabitants receive him with all kinds of song and exultation1 and they dance before the great king who is styled the ,caliph4 ,they salute him with a loud voice and say1 ,peace unto thee1 our ,lord the ,king and ,light of ,islam6 ,he kisses his robe1 and stretching forth the hem thereof he salutes them4 ,then he proceeds to the court of the mosque1 mounts a wooden pulpit and expounds to them their ,law4 ,then the learned ones of ,islam arise and pray for him and extol his greatness and his graciousness1 to which they all respond4 ,afterwards he gives them his blessing1 and they bring before him a camel which he slays1 and this is their passover-sacrifice4 ,he gives thereof unto the princes and they distribute it to all1 so that they may taste of the sacrifice brought by their sacred king2 and they all rejoice4 ,afterwards he leaves the mosque and returns alone to his palace by way of the river ,hiddekel1 and the grandees of ,islam accompany him in ships on the river until he enters his palace4 ,he does not return the way he came2 and the road which he takes along the river-side is watched all the year through1 so that no man shall tread in his footsteps4 ,he does not leave the palace again for a whole year4 ,he is a benevolent man4 p4#ei ,he built1 on the other side of the river1 on the banks of an arm of the ,euphrates which there borders the city1 a hospital consisting of blocks of houses and hospices for the sick poor who come to be healed#abf4 ,here there are about sixty physicians' stores which are provided from the ,caliph's house with drugs and whatever else may be required4 ,every sick man who comes is maintained at the ,caliph's expense and is medically treated4 ,here is a building which is called ,dar-al-,maristan1 where they keep charge of the demented people who have become insane in the towns through the great heat in the summer1 and they chain each of them in iron chains until their reason becomes restored to them in the winter-time4 ,whilst they abide there1 they are provided with food from the house of the ,caliph1 and when their reason is restored they are dismissed and each one of them goes to his house and his home4 ,money is given to those that have stayed in the hospices on their return to their homes4 ,every month the officers of the ,caliph inquire and investigate whether they have regained their reason1 in which case they are discharged4 ,all this the ,caliph does out of charity to those that come to the city of ,bagdad1 whether they be sick or insane4 ,the ,caliph is a righteous man1 and all his actions are for good4 p4#fj ,in ,bagdad there are about #dj1jjj ,jews#abg1 and they dwell in security1 prosperity and honour under the great ,caliph1 and amongst them are great sages1 the heads of ,academies engaged in the study of the law4 ,in this city there are ten ,academies4 ,at the head of the great ,academy is the chief rabbi ,r4 ,samuel1 the son of ,eli4 ,he is the head of the ,academy ,gaon ,jacob4 ,he is a ,levite1 and traces his pedigree back to ,moses our teacher4 ,the head of the second ,academy is ,r4 ,hanania his brother1 warden of the ,levites2 ,r4 ,daniel is the head of the third ,academy2 ,r4 ,elazar the scholar is the head of the fourth ,academy2 and ,r4 ,elazar1 the son of ,zemach1 is the head of the order1 and his pedigree reaches to ,samuel the prophet1 the ,korahite4 ,he and his brethren know how to chant the melodies as did the singers at the time when the ,temple was standing4 ,he is head of the fifth ,academy4 ,r4 ,hisdai1 the glory of the scholars1 is head of the sixth ,academy4 ,r4 ,haggai is head of the seventh ,academy4 ,r4 ,ezra is the head of the eighth ,academy4 ,r4 ,abraham1 who is called ,abu ,tahir1 is the head of the ninth ,academy4 ,r4 ,zakkai1 the son of ,bostanai the ,nasi1 is the head of the ,sium#abh4 p4#fa ,these are the ten ,batlanim#abi1 and they do not engage in any other work than communal administration2 and all the days of the week they judge the ,jews their countrymen1 except on the second day of the week1 when they all appear before the chief rabbi ,samuel1 the head of the ,yeshiba ,gaon 7,jacob71 who in conjunction with the other ,batlanim judges all those that appear before him4 ,and at the head of them all is ,daniel the son of ,hisdai1 who is styled ,our ,lord the ,head of the ,captivity of all ,israel4 ,he possesses a book of pedigrees going back as far as ,david1 ,king of ,israel4 ,the ,jews call him ,our ,lord1 ,head of the ,captivity1 and the ,mohammedans call him ,saidna ben ,daoud1 and he has been invested with authority over all the congregations of ,israel at the hands of the ,emir al ,muminin1 the ,lord of ,islam#acj4 ,for thus ,mohammed commanded concerning him and his descendants2 and he granted him a seal of office over all the congregations that dwell under his rule1 and ordered that every one1 whether ,mohammedan or ,jew1 or belonging to any other nation in his dominion1 should rise up before him 7the ,exilarch7 and salute him1 and that any one who should refuse to rise up should receive one hundred stripes#aca4 p4#fb ,and every fifth day when he goes to pay a visit to the great ,caliph1 horsemen1 ,gentiles as well as ,jews1 escort him1 and heralds proclaim in advance1 ,make way before our ,lord1 the son of ,david1 as is due unto him1 the ,arabic words being ,amilu tarik la ,saidna ben ,daud4 ,he is mounted on a horse1 and is attired in robes of silk and embroidery with a large turban on his head1 and from the turban is suspended a long white cloth adorned with a chain upon which the cipher of ,mohammed is engraved4 ,then he appears before the ,caliph and kisses his hand1 and the ,caliph rises and places him on a throne which ,mohammed had ordered to be made for him1 and all the ,mohammedan princes who attend the court of the ,caliph rise up before him4 ,and the ,head of the ,captivity is seated on his throne opposite to the ,caliph1 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 feet1 until he come to ,shiloh3 and to him shall the gathering of the people be4 ,the authority of the ,head of the ,captivity extends over all the communities of ,shinar1 ,persia1 ,khurasan and ,sheba which is ,el-,yemen1 and ,diyar ,kalach 7,bekr7 and the land of ,aram ,naharaim 7,mesopotamia71 and over the dwellers in the mountains of ,ararat and the land of the ,alans#acb1 which is a land surrounded by mountains and has no outlet except by the iron gates which ,alexander made1 but which were afterwards broken4 ,here are the people called ,alani4 ,his authority extends also over the land of ,siberia1 and the communities in the land of the ,togarmim unto the mountains of ,asveh and the land of ,gurgan1 the inhabitants of which are called ,gurganim who dwell by the river ,gihon#acc1 and these are the ,girgashites who follow the ,christian religion4 ,further it extends to the gates of ,samarkand1 the land of ,tibet1 and the land of ,india4 ,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 authority4 p4#fc ,they bring him offerings and gifts from the ends of the earth4 ,he owns hospices1 gardens and plantations in ,babylon1 and much land inherited from his fathers1 and no one can take his possessions from him by force4 ,he has a fixed weekly revenue arising from the hospices of the ,jews1 the markets and the merchants1 apart from that which is brought to him from far-off lands4 ,the man is very rich1 and wise in the ,scriptures as well as in the ,talmud1 and many ,israelites dine at his table every day4 ,at his installation1 the ,head of the ,captivity gives much money to the ,caliph1 to the ,princes and the ,ministers4 ,on the day that the ,caliph performs the ceremony of investing him with authority1 he rides in the second of the royal equipages1 and is escorted from the palace of the ,caliph to his own house with timbrels and fifes4 ,the ,exilarch appoints the ,chiefs of the ,academies by placing his hand upon their heads1 thus installing them in their office#acd4 ,the ,jews of the city are learned men and very rich4 p4#fd ,in ,bagdad there are twenty-eight ,jewish ,synagogues1 situated either in the city itself or in ,al-,karkh on the other side of the ,tigris2 for the river divides the metropolis into two parts4 ,the great synagogue of the ,head of the ,captivity has columns of marble of various colours overlaid with silver and gold1 and on these columns are sentences of the ,psalms in golden letters4 ,and in front of the ark are about ten steps of marble2 on the topmost step are the seats of the ,head of the ,captivity and of the ,princes of the ,house of ,david4 ,the city of ,bagdad is twenty miles in circumference1 situated in a land of palms1 gardens and plantations1 the like of which is not to be found in the whole land of ,shinar4 ,people come thither with merchandise from all lands4 ,wise men live there1 philosophers who know all manner of wisdom1 and magicians expert in all manner of witchcraft4 ,thence it is two days to ,gazigan which is called ,resen4 ,it is a large city containing about #e1jjj ,jews4 ,in the midst of it is the ,synagogue of ,rabbah#ace--;a large one4 ,he is buried close to the ,synagogue1 and beneath his sepulchre is a cave where twelve of his pupils are buried4 p4#fe ,thence it is a day's journey to ,babylon1 which is the ,babel of old4 ,the ruins thereof are thirty miles in extent#acf4 ,the ruins of the palace of ,nebuchadnezzar are still to be seen there1 but people are afraid to enter them on account of the serpents and scorpions4 ,near at hand1 within a distance of a mile1 there dwell #c1jjj ,israelites who pray in the ,synagogue of the ,pavilion of ,daniel1 which is ancient and was erected by ,daniel4 ,it is built of hewn stones and bricks4 ,between the ,synagogue and the ,palace of ,nebuchadnezzar is the furnace into which were thrown ,hananiah1 ,mishael1 and ,azariah1 and the site of it lies in a valley#acg known unto all4 ,thence it is five parasangs to ,hillah1 where there are #aj1jjj ,israelites and four ,synagogues3 that of ,r4 ,meir1 who lies buried before it2 the ,synagogue of ,mar ,keshisha1 who is buried in front of it2 also the ,synagogue of ,rab ,zeiri1 the son of ,chama1 and the ,synagogue of ,r4 ,mari2 the ,jews pray there every day4 ,thence it is four miles to the ,tower of ,babel1 which the generation whose language was confounded built of the bricks called ,agur4 p4#ff ,the length of its foundation is about two miles1 the breadth of the tower is about forty cubits1 and the length thereof two hundred cubits4 ,at every ten cubits' distance there are slopes which go round the tower by which one can ascend to the top#ach4 ,one can see from there a view twenty miles in extent1 as the land is level4 ,there fell fire from heaven into the midst of the tower which split it to its very depths4 ,thence it is half a day to ,kaphri1 where there are about #bjj ,jews4 ,here is the ,synagogue of ,r4 ,isaac ,napcha1 who is buried in front of it4 ,thence it is three parasangs to the ,synagogue of ,ezekiel1 the prophet of blessed memory1 which is by the river ,euphrates#aci4 ,it is fronted by sixty turrets1 and between each turret there is a minor ,synagogue1 and in the court of the ,synagogue is the ark1 and at the back of the ,synagogue is the sepulchre of ,ezekiel4 ,it is surmounted by a large cupola1 and it is a very handsome structure4 ,it was built of old by ,king ,jeconiah1 king of ,judah1 and the #ce1jjj ,jews who came with him1 when ,evil-merodach brought him forth out of prison4 ,this place is by the river ,chebar on the one side1 and by the river ,euphrates on the other1 and the names of ,jeconiah and those that accompanied him are engraved on the wall3 ,jeconiah at the top1 and ,ezekiel at the bottom4 p4#fg ,this place is held sacred by ,israel as a lesser sanctuary unto this day1 and people come from a distance to pray there from the time of the ,new ,year until the ,day of ,atonement4 ,the ,israelites have great rejoicings on these occasions4 ,thither also come the ,head of the ,captivity1 and the ,heads of the ,academies from ,bagdad4 ,their camp occupies a space of about two miles1 and ,arab merchants come there as well4 ,a great gathering like a fair takes place1 which is called ,fera1 and they bring forth a scroll of the ,law written on parchment by ,ezekiel the ,prophet1 and read from it on the ,day of ,atonement4 ,a lamp burns day and night over the sepulchre of ,ezekiel2 the light thereof has been kept burning from the day that he lighted it himself1 and they continually renew the wick thereof1 and replenish the oil unto the present day4 ,a large house belonging to the sanctuary is filled with books1 some of them from the time of the first temple1 and some from the time of the second temple1 and he who has no sons consecrates his books to its use4 ,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 ,prophet4 ,the ,synagogue owns property1 lands and villages1 which belonged to ,king ,jeconiah1 and when ,mohammed came he confirmed all these rights to the ,synagogue of ,ezekiel#adj4 p4#fh ,distinguished ,mohammedans also come hither to pray1 so great is their love for ,ezekiel the ,prophet2 and they call it ,bar 7,dar7 ,melicha 7the ,dwelling of ,beauty74 ,all the ,arabs come there to pray#ada4 ,at a distance of about half a mile from the ,synagogue are the sepulchres of ,hananiah1 ,mishael1 and ,azariah1 and upon their sepulchres are large cupolas2 and even at times of disturbance no man would dare touch the ,mohammedan or ,jewish servants who attend at the sepulchre of ,ezekiel4 ,thence it is three miles to the city of ,kotsonath1 where there are #cjj ,jews4 ,here are the sepulchres of ,rab ,papa1 ,rab ,huna1 ,joseph ,sinai1 and ,rab ,joseph ben ,hama2 and before each of them is a ,synagogue where the ,israelites pray every day4 ,thence it is three parasangs to ,ain ,siptha1 where there is the sepulchre of the prophet ,nahum the ,elkoshite4 ,thence it is a day's journey to ,kefar ,al-,keram1 where are the sepulchres of ,rab ,chisdai1 ,r4 ,azariah1 ,r4 ,akiba1 and ,r4 ,dosa4 ,thence it is a half-day's journey to a village in the desert1 where there are buried ,r4 ,david and ,r4 ,jehuda and ,abaji1 ,r4 ,kurdiah1 ,rab ,sechora1 and ,rab ,ada4 p4#fi ,thence it is a day's journey to the river ,raga1 where there is the sepulchre of ,king ,zedekiah4 ,upon it is a large cupola4 ,thence it is a day's journey to the city of ,kufa1 where there is the sepulchre of ,king ,jeconiah4 ,over it is a big structure1 and in front thereof is a ,synagogue4 ,there are about #g1jjj ,jews here4 ,at this place is the large mosque of the ,mohammedans1 for here is buried ,ali ben ,abu ,talib1 the son-in-law of ,mohammed1 and the ,mohammedans come hither4444 ,thence it is a day and a half to ,sura1 which is ,mata ,mehasya1 where the ,heads of the ,captivity and the ,heads of the ,academies dwelt at first#adb4 ,here is the sepulchre of ,r4 ,sherira1 and of ,r4 ,hai his son of blessed memory1 also of ,r4 ,saadiah ,al-,fiumi1 and of ,rab ,samuel the son of ,hofni ,hacohen1 and of ,zephaniah the son of ,cushi the son of ,gedaliah1 the prophet1 and of the ,princes of the ,house of ,david1 and of the ,heads of the ,academies who lived there before the destruction of the town4#adc ,thence it is two days to ,shafjathib4 ,here is a ,synagogue which the ,israelites built from the earth of ,jerusalem and its stones1 and they called it ,shafjathib1 which is by ,nehardea4#add ,thence it is a day and a half's journey to ,el-,anbar1 which was ,pumbedita in ,nehardea4#ade ,about #c1jjj ,jews dwell there4 ,the city lies on the river ,euphrates4 ,here is the ,synagogue of ,rab and ,samuel1 and their house of study1 and in front of it are their graves4 p4#gj ,thence it is five days to ,hillah4 ,from this place it is a journey of twenty-one days by way of the deserts to the land of ,saba1 which is called the land ,el-,yemen1 lying at the side of the land of ,shinar which is towards the ,north4#adf ,here dwell the ,jews called ,kheibar1 the men of ,teima4 ,and ,teima is their seat of government where ,r4 ,hanan the ,nasi rules over them4 ,it is a great city1 and the extent of their land is sixteen days' journey4 ,it is surrounded by mountains--the mountains of the north4 ,the ,jews own many large fortified cities4 ,the yoke of the ,gentiles is hnot upon them4 ,they go forth to pillage and to capture booty from distant lands in conjunction with the ,arabs1 their neighbours and allies4 ,these ,arabs dwell in tents1 and they make the desert their home4 ,they own no houses1 and they go forth to pillage and to capture booty in the land of ,shinar and ,el-,yemen4 ,all the neighbours of these ,jews go in fear of them4 ,among them are husbandmen and owners of cattle2 their land is extensive1 and they have in their midst learned and wise men4 ,they give the tithe of all they possess unto the scholars who sit in the house of learning1 also to poor ,israelites and to the recluses1 who are the mourners of ,zion and ,jerusalem1 and who do not eat meat nor taste wine1 and sit clad in garments of black4 p4#ga ,they dwell in caves or underground houses1 and fast each day with the exception of the ,sabbaths and ,festivals1 and implore mercy of the ,holy ,one1 blessed be ,he1 on account of the exile of ,israel1 praying that ,he may take pity upon them1 and upon all the ,jews1 the men of ,teima1 for the sake of ,his great ,name1 also upon ,tilmas the great city1 in which there are about #ajj1jjj ,jews#adg4 ,at this place lives ,salmon the ,nasi1 the brother of ,hanan the ,nasi2 and the land belongs to the two brothers1 who are of the seed of ,david1 for they have their pedigree in writing4 ,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 exile4 ,there are here about forty large towns and #bjj hamlets and villages4 ,the principal city is ,tanai1 and in all the districts together there are about #cjj1jjj ,jews4 ,the city of ,tanai is well fortified1 and in the midst thereof the people sow and reap4 ,it is fifteen miles in extent4 ,here is the palace of the ,nasi called ,salmon4 ,and in ,teima dwells ,hanan the ,nasi1 his brother4 ,it is a beautiful city1 and contains gardens and plantations4 p4#gb ,and ,tilmas is likewise a great city2 it contains about #ajj1jjj ,jews4 ,it is well fortified1 and is situated between two high mountains4 ,there are wise1 discreet1 and rich men amongst the inhabitants4 ,from ,tilmas to ,kheibar it is three days' journey4 ,people say that the men of ,kheibar belong to the tribes of ,reuben1 ,gad1 and ,manasseh1 whom ,shalmaneser1 king of ,assyria1 led hither into captivity4 ,they have built strongly-fortified cities1 and make war upon all other kingdoms4 ,no man can readily reach their territory1 because it is a march of eighteen days' journey through the desert1 which is altogether uninhabited1 so that no one can enter the land4 ,kheibar is a very large city with #ej1jjj ,jews#adh4 ,in it are learned men1 and great warriors1 who wage war with the men of ,shinar and of the land of the north1 as well as with the bordering tribes of the land of ,el-,yemen near them1 which latter country is on the confines of ,india#adi4 ,returning from their land1 it is a journey of twenty-five days to the river ,virae1 which is in the land of ,el-,yemen1 where about #c1jjj ,jews dwell#aej1 and amongst them are many a ,rabbi and ,dayan4 p4#gc ,thence it takes five days to ,basra 7,bassorah7 which lies on the river ,tigris4 ,here there are #aj1jjj ,jews1 and among them are scholars and many rich men4 ,thence it is two days to the river ,samara1 which is the commencement of the land of ,persia4 #a1ejj ,jews live near the sepulchre of ,ezra1 the priest1 who went forth from ,jerusalem to ,king ,artaxerxes and died here4 ,in front of his sepulchre is a large synagogue4 ,and at the side thereof the ,mohammedans erected a house of prayer out of their great love and veneration for him1 and they like the ,jews on that account4 ,and the ,mohammedans come hither to pray#aea4 ,thence it is four days to ,khuzistan1 which is ,elam4 ,this province is not inhabited in its entirety1 for part of it lies waste4 ,in the midst of its ruins is ,shushan 7,susa71 the capital1 the site of the palace of ,king ,ahasuerus4 ,here are the remains of a large structure of great antiquity4 ,the city contains about #g1jjj ,jews and fourteen synagogues4 p4#gd ,in front of one of the synagogues is the sepulchre of ,daniel of blessed memory4 ,the river ,tigris divides the city1 and the bridge connects the two parts4 ,on the one side where the ,jews dwell is the sepulchre of ,daniel4 ,here the market-places used to be1 containing great stores of merchandise1 by which the ,jews became enriched4 ,on the other side of the bridge they were poor1 because they had no market-places nor merchants there1 only gardens and plantations4 ,and they became jealous1 and said ,all this prosperity enjoyed by those on the other side is due to the merits of ,daniel the prophet who lies buried there4 ,then the poor people asked those who dwelt on the other side to place the sepulchre of ,daniel in their midst1 but the others would not comply4 ,so war prevailed between them for many days1 and no one went forth or came in on account of the great strife between them4 ,at length both parties growing tired of this state of things took a wise view of the matter1 and made a compact1 namely1 that the coffin of ,daniel should be taken for one year to the one side and for another year to the other side4 ,this they did1 and both sides became rich4 ,in the course of time ,sinjar ,shah-ben-,shah1 who ruled over the kingdom of ,persia and had forty-five kings subject to his authority1 came to this place4 p4#ge ,he is called ,sultan-al-,fars-al-,khabir in ,arabic 7the mighty ,sovereign of ,persia71 and it is he who ruled from the river ,samara unto the city of ,samarkand1 and unto the river ,gozan and the cities of ,media and the mountains of ,chafton#aeb4 ,he ruled also over ,tibet1 in the forests whereof one finds the animals from which the musk is obtained#aec4 ,the extent of his ,empire is a journey of four months4 ,when this great ,emperor ,sinjar1 king of ,persia1 saw that they took the coffin of ,daniel from one side of the river to the other1 and that a great multitude of ,jews1 ,mohammedans and ,gentiles1 and many people from the country were crossing the bridge1 he asked the meaning of this proceeding1 and they told him these things4 ,he said1 ,it is not meet to do this ignominy unto ,daniel the prophet1 but ,i command you to measure the bridge from both sides1 and to take the coffin of ,daniel and place it inside another coffin of crystal1 so that the wooden coffin be within that of crystal1 and to suspend this from the middle of the bridge by a chain of iron2 at this spot you must build a synagogue for all comers1 so that whoever wishes to pray there1 be he ,jew or ,gentile1 may do so4 ,and to this very day the coffin is suspended from the bridge4 ,and the king commanded that out of respect for ,daniel no fisherman should catch fish within a mile above or a mile below4#aed p4#gf ,thence it takes three days to ,rudbar where there are about #bj1jjj ,israelites1 and among them are learned and rich men4 ,but the ,jews live there under great oppression4 ,thence it is two days to ,nihawand1 where there are #d1jjj ,israelites4 ,thence it is four days to the land of ,mulahid4 ,here live a people who do not profess the ,mohammedan religion1 but live on high mountains1 and worship the ,old ,man of the land of the ,hashishim#aee4 ,and among them there are four communities of ,israel who go forth with them in war-time4 ,they are not under the rule of the king of ,persia1 but reside in the high mountains1 and descend from these mountains to pillage and to capture booty1 and then return to the mountains1 and none can overcome them4 ,there are learned men amongst the ,jews of their land4 p4#gg ,these ,jews are under the authority of the ,head of the ,captivity in ,babylon4 ,thence it is five days to ,amadia where there are about #be1jjj ,israelites#aef4 ,this is the first of those communities that dwell in the mountains of ,chafton1 where there are more than #ajj ,jewish communities4 ,here is the commencement of the land of ,media4 ,these ,jews belong to the first captivity which ,king ,shalmanezar led away2 and they speak the language in which the ,targum is written4 ,amongst them are learned men4 ,the communities reach from the province of ,amadia unto the province of ,gilan1 twenty-five days distant1 on the border of the kingdom of ,persia4 ,they are under the authority of the king of ,persia1 and he raises a tribute from them through the hands of his officer1 and the tribute which they pay every year by way of poll tax is one gold amir1 which is equivalent to one and one-third maravedi4 ,this tax has to be paid by all males in the land of ,islam who are over the age of fifteen4 ,at this place 7,amadia71 there arose this day ten years ago1 a man named ,david ,alroy of the city of ,amadia#aeg4 ,he studied under ,chisdai the ,head of the ,captivity1 and under the ,head of the ,academy ,gaon ,jacob1 in the city of ,bagdad1 and he was well versed in the ,law of ,israel1 in the ,halachah1 as well as in the ,talmud1 and in all the wisdom of the ,mohammedans1 also in secular literature and in the writings of magicians and soothsayers4 p4#gh ,he conceived the idea of rebelling against the king of ,persia1 and of collecting the ,jews who live in the mountains of ,chafton to go forth and to fight against all the nations1 and to march and capture ,jerusalem4 ,he showed signs by pretended miracles to the ,jews1 and said1 ,the ,holy ,one1 blessed be ,he1 sent me to capture ,jerusalem and to free you from the yoke of the ,gentiles4 ,and the ,jews believed in him and called him their ,messiah4 ,when the king of ,persia heard of it he sent for him to come and speak with him4 ,alroy went to him without fear1 and when he had audience of the king1 the latter asked him1 ,art thou the king of the ,jews8 ,he answered1 ,i am4 ,then the king was wrath1 and commanded that he should be seized and placed in the prison of the king1 the place where the king's prisoners were bound unto the day of their death1 in the city of ,tabaristan which is on the large river ,gozan4 ,at the end of three days1 whilst the king was sitting deliberating with his princes concerning the ,jews who had rebelled1 ,david suddenly stood before them4 ,he had escaped from the prison without the knowledge of any man4 p4#gi ,and when the king saw him1 he said to him1 ,who brought thee hither1 and who has released thee8 ,my own wisdom and skill1 answered the other2 for ,i am not afraid of thee1 nor of any of thy servants4 ,the king forthwith loudly bade his servants to seize him1 but they answered1 ,we cannot see any man1 although our ears hear him4 ,then the king and all his princes marvelled at his subtlety2 but he said to the king ,i will go my way2 so he went forth4 ,and the king went after him2 and the princes and servants followed their king until they came to the river-side4 ,then ,alroy took off his mantle and spread it on the face of the water to cross thereon4 ,when the servants of the king saw that he crossed the water on his mantle1 they pursued him in small boats1 wishing to bring him back1 but they were unable1 and they said1 ,there is no wizard like this in the whole world4 ,that self-same day he went a journey of ten days to the city of ,amadia by the strength of the ineffable ,name1 and he told the ,jews all that had befallen him1 and they were astonished at his wisdom4 p4#hj ,after that the king of ,persia sent word to the ,emir ,al-,muminin1 the ,caliph of the ,mohammedans at ,bagdad1 urging him to warn the ,head of the ,exile1 and the ,head of the ,academy ,gaon ,jacob1 to restrain ,david ,alroy from executing his designs4 ,and he threatened that he would otherwise slay all the ,jews in his ,empire4 ,then all the congregations of the land of ,persia were in great trouble4 ,and the ,head of the ,captivity1 and the ,head of the ,academy ,gaon ,jacob1 sent to ,alroy1 saying1 ,the time of redemption is not yet arrived2 we have not yet seen the signs thereof2 for by strength shall no man prevail4 ,now our mandate is1 that thou cease from these designs1 or thou shalt surely be excommunicated from all ,israel4 ,and they sent unto ,zakkai the ,nasi in the land of ,assur 7,mosul7 and unto ,r4 ,joseph ,burhan-al-mulk the astronomer there1 bidding them to send on the letter to ,alroy1 and furthermore they themselves wrote to him to warn him1 but he would not accept the warning4 p4#ha ,then there arose a king of the name of ,sin-ed-din1 the king of the ,togarmim1 and a vassal of the king of ,persia1 who sent to the father-in-law of ,david ,alroy1 and gave him a bribe of #aj1jjj gold pieces to slay ,alroy in secret#aeh4 ,so he went to ,alroy's house1 and slew him whilst he was asleep on his bed4 ,thus were his plans frustrated4 ,then the king of ,persia went forth against the ,jews that lived in the mountain2 and they sent to the ,head of the ,captivity to come to their assistance and to appease the king4 ,he was eventually appeased by a gift of #ajj talents of gold1 which they gave him1 and the land was at peace thereafter#aei4 ,from this mountain it is a journey of twenty days to ,hamadan1 which is the great city of ,media1 where there are #cj1jjj ,israelites4 ,in front of a certain synagogue1 there are buried ,mordecai an ,esther#afj4 p4#hb ,from thence 7,hamadan#afa7 it takes four days to ,tabaristan1 which is situated on the river ,gozan4 ,some four thousand ,jews live there#afb4 ,thence it is seven days to ,ispahan the great city and the royal residence4 ,it is twelve miles in circumference1 and about #ae1jjj ,israelites reside there#afc4 ,the ,chief ,rabbi is ,sar ,shalom1 who has been appointed by the ,head of the ,captivity to have jurisdiction over all the ,rabbis that are in the kingdom of ,persia4 ,four days onward is ,shiraz1 which is the city of ,fars1 and #aj1jjj ,jews live there#afd4 ,thence it is seven days to ,ghaznah the great city on the river ,gozan1 where there are about #hj1jjj ,israelites#afe4 ,it is a city of commercial importance2 people of all countries and tongues come thither with their wares4 ,the land is extensive4 ,thence it is five days to ,samarkand1 which is the great city on the confines of ,persia4 ,in it live some #ej1jjj ,israelites1 and ,r4 ,obadiah the ,nasi is their appointed head4 ,among them are wise and very rich men4 p4#hc ,thence it is four days' journey to ,tibet1 the country in whose forests the musk is found4 ,thence it takes twenty-eight days to the mountains of ,naisabur by the river ,gozan4 ,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 dwell1 namely1 the tribe of ,dan1 the tribe of ,zebulun1 the tribe of ,asher1 and the tribe of ,naphtali1 who were included in the first captivity of ,shalmaneser1 king of ,assyria1 as it is written 7#b ,kings xviii4 #aa73 ,and he put them in ,halah and in ,habor by the river of ,gozan and in the cities of the ,medes#aff4 ,the extent of their land is twenty days' journey1 and they have cities and large villages in the mountains2 the river ,gozan forms the boundary on the one side4 ,they are not under the rule of the ,gentiles1 but they have a prince of their own1 whose name is ,r4 ,joseph ,amarkala the ,levite4 ,there are scholars among them4 ,and they sow and reap and go forth to war as far as the land of ,cush by way of the desert#afg4 ,they are in league with the ,kofar-al-,turak1 who worship the wind and live in the wilderness1 and who do not eat bread1 nor drink wine1 but live on raw uncooked meat4 p4#hd ,they have no noses1 and in lieu thereof they have two small holes1 through which they breathe4 ,they eat animals both clean and unclean1 and they are very friendly towards the ,israelites4 ,fifteen years ago they overran the country of ,persia with a large army and took the city of ,rayy#afh2 they smote it with the edge of the sword1 took all the spoil thereof1 and returned by way of the wilderness4 ,such an invasion had not been known in the land of ,persia for many years4 ,when the king of ,persia heard thereof his anger was kindled against them1 and he said1 ,not in my days nor in the days of my fathers did an army sally forth from this wilderness4 ,now ,i will go and cut off their name from the earth4 ,a proclamation was made throughout his ,empire1 and he assembled all his armies2 and he sought a guide who might show him the way to their encampment4 ,and a certain man said that he would show him the way1 as he was one of them4 ,and the king promised that he would enrich him if he did so4 ,and the king asked him as to what provisions they would require for the march through the wilderness4 p4#he ,and he replied1 ,take with you bread and wine for fifteen days1 for you will find no sustenance by the way1 till you have reached their land4 ,and they did so1 and marched through the wilderness for fifteen days1 but they found nothing at all4 ,and their food began to give out1 so that man and beast were dying of hunger and thirst4 ,then the king called the guide1 and said to him1 ,where is your promise to us that you would find our adversaries8 ,to which the other replied1 ,i have mistaken the way4 ,and the king was wroth1 and commanded that his head should be struck off4 ,and the king further gave orders throughout the camp that every man who had any food should divide it with his neighbour4 ,and they consumed everything they had including their beasts4 ,and after a further thirteen days' march they reached the mountains of ,naisabur1 where ,jews lived4 ,they came there on the ,sabbath1 and encamped in the gardens and plantations and by the springs of water which are by the side of the river ,gozan4 ,now it was the time of the ripening of the fruit1 and they ate and consumed everything4 ,no man came forth to them1 but on the mountains they saw cities and many towers4 p4#hf ,then the king commanded two of his servants to go and inquire of the people who lived in the mountains1 and to cross the river either in boats or by swimming4 ,so they searched and found a large bridge1 on which there were three towers1 but the gate of the bridge was locked4 ,and on the other side of the bridge was a great city4 ,then they shouted in front of the bridge till a man came forth and asked them what they wanted and who they were4 ,but they did not understand him till an interpreter came who understood their language4 ,and when he asked them1 they said1 ,we are the servants of the king of ,persia1 and we have come to ask who you are1 and whom you serve4 ,to which the other replied3 ,we are ,jews2 we have no king and no ,gentile prince1 but a ,jewish prince rules over us4 ,they then questioned him with regard to the infidels1 the sons of ,ghuz of the ,kofar-al-,turak1 and he answered3 ,truly they are in league with us1 and he who seeks to do them harm seeks our harm4 ,then they went their way1 and told the king of ,persia1 who was much alarmed4 ,and on a certain day the ,jews asked him to join combat with them1 but he answered3 ,i am not come to fight you1 but the ,kofar-al-,turak1 my enemy1 and if you fight against me ,i will be avenged on you by killing all the ,jews in my ,empire2 ,i know that you are stronger than ,i am in this place1 and my army has come out of this great wilderness starving and athirst4 ,deal kindly with me and do not fight against me1 but leave me to engage with the ,kofar-al-,turak1 my enemy1 and sell me also the provisions which ,i require for myself and my army4 p4#hg ,the ,jews then took counsel together1 and resolved to propitiate the king on account of the ,jews who were in exile in his ,empire4 ,then the king entered their land with his army1 and stayed there fifteen days4 ,and they showed him much honour1 and also sent a dispatch to the ,kofar-al-,turak their allies1 reporting the matter to them4 ,thereupon the latter occupied the mountain passes in force with a large army composed of all those who dwelt in that desert1 and when the king of ,persia went forth to fight with them1 they placed themselves in battle array against him4 ,the ,kofar-al-,turak army was victorious and slew many of the ,persian host1 and the king of ,persia fled with only a few followers to his own country#afi4 p4#hh ,now a horseman1 one of the servants of the king of ,persia1 enticed a ,jew1 whose name was ,r4 ,moses1 to come with him1 and when he came to the land of ,persia this horseman made the ,jew his slave4 ,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 ,r4 ,moses4 ,then the king inquired of him by means of an interpreter who knew his language1 and he related all that the horseman had done to him4 ,thereupon the king at once granted him his liberty1 had him clad in robes of silk1 gave him gifts1 and said to him1 ,if thou wilt embrace our religion1 ,i will make thee a rich man and steward of my house1 but he answered1 ,my lord1 ,i cannot do this thing4 ,then the king took him and placed him in the house of the ,chief ,rabbi of the ,ispahan community1 ,sar ,shalom1 who gave him his daughter to wife4 ,this same ,r4 ,moses told me all these things4 ,thence one returns to the land of ,khuzistan which is by the river ,tigris1 and one goes down the river which falls into the ,indian ,ocean unto an island called ,kish#agj4 ,it is a six days' journey to reach this island4 p4#hi ,the inhabitants neither sow nor reap4 ,they possess only one well1 and there is no stream in the whole island1 but they drink rain-water4 ,the merchants who come from ,india and the islands encamp there with their wares4 ,moreover1 men from ,shinar1 ,el-,yemen and ,persia bring thither all sorts of silk1 purple and flax1 cotton1 hemp1 worked wool1 wheat1 barley1 millet1 rye1 and all sorts of food1 and lentils of every description1 and they trade with one another1 whilst the men from ,india bring great quantities of spices thither4 ,the islanders act as middlemen1 and earn their livelihood thereby4 ,there are about #ejj ,jews there4 ,thence it is ten days' journey by sea to ,katifa1 where there are about #e1jjj ,jews4 ,here the bdellium is to be found#aga4 ,on the twenty-fourth of ,nisan rain falls upon the water1 upon the surface of which certain small sea-animals float which drink in the rain and then shut themselves up1 and sink to the bottom4 p4#ij ,and about the middle of ,tishri men descend to the bed of the sea by ropes1 and collect these shell-fish1 then split them open and extract the pearls4 ,this pearl-fishery belongs to the ,king of the country1 but is controlled by a ,jewish official4 ,thence it is seven days' journey to ,khulam which is the beginning of the country of the ,sun-worshippers#agb4 ,these are the sons of ,cush1 who read the stars1 and are all black in colour4 ,they are honest in commerce4 ,when merchants come to them from distant lands and enter the harbour1 three of the ,king's secretaries go down to them and record their names1 and then bring them before the ,king1 whereupon the ,king makes himself responsible even for their property which they leave in the open1 unprotected4 ,there is an official who sits in his office1 and the owner of any lost property has only to describe it to him when he hands it back4 ,this custom prevails in all that country4 ,from ,passover to ,new ,year1 that is all during the summer1 no man can go out of his house because of the sun1 for the heat in that country is intense1 and from the third hour of the day onward1 everybody remains in his house till the evening4 ,then they go forth and kindle lights in all the market places and all the streets1 and then do their work and business at night-time4 p4#ia ,for they have to turn night into day in consequence of the great heat of the sun4 ,pepper is found there4 ,they plant the trees thereof in the fields1 and each man of the city knows his own plantation4 ,the trees are small1 and the pepper is as white as snow4 ,and when they have collected it1 they place it in saucepans and pour boiling water over it1 so that it may become strong4 ,they then take it out of the water and dry it in the sun1 and it turns black4 ,calamus and ginger and many other kinds of spice are found in this land4 ,the people of this country do not bury their dead1 but embalm them by means of various spices1 after which they place them on chairs and cover them with fine linen4 ,and each family has a house where it preserves the embalmed remains of its ancestors and relations4 ,the flesh hardens on the bones1 and the embalmed bodies look like living beings1 so that every man can recognize his parents1 and the members of his family for many years4 p4#ib ,they worship the sun1 and they have high places everywhere outside the city at a distance of about half a mile4 ,and every morning they run forth to greet the sun1 for on every high place a solar disc is made of cunning workmanship and as the sun rises the disc rotates with thundering noise1 and all1 both men and women1 offer incense to the sun with censers in their hands4 ,such are their superstitious practices4 ,and throughout the island1 including all the towns there1 live several thousand ,israelites4 ,the inhabitants are all black1 and the ,jews also4 ,the latter are good and benevolent4 ,they know the law of ,moses and the prophets1 and to a small extent the ,talmud and ,halacha4 ,thence it is twenty-three days by sea to ,ibrig#agc1 and the inhabitants are fire-worshippers1 and are called ,duchbin4 ,among them are about #c1jjj ,jews1 and these ,duchbin have priests in their several temples who are great wizards in all manner of witchcraft1 and there are none like them in all the earth4 ,in front of the high place of their temple there is a deep trench1 where they keep a great fire alight all the year1 and they call it ,elahutha4 p4#ic ,and they cause their sons and daughters to pass through the fire1 and even their dead they throw into it4 ,some of the great men of the country make a vow to die by fire4 ,in such cases the man communicates his intention to the members of his household and his relations1 and says3--,i have vowed to throw myself in the fire whilst ,i am yet alive1 then they answer1 saying3 ,happy art thou4 ,and when the day of the performance of his vow arrives1 they prepare for him a grand banquet1 and if he is rich he rides on horseback1 if poor he goes on foot to the border of the trench and throws himself into the fire4 ,and all the members of his family shout to the accompaniment of timbrels and dancing until the body is entirely consumed4 ,at the end of three days two of their high priests come to his house and to his children and say unto them3 ,arrange the house1 for this day your father will come to give his last directions as to what ye shall do4 ,and they bring witnesses from the city4 ,then ,satan is made to appear in the likeness of the deceased1 and when his widow and children ask him how he fares in the other world he answers3 ,i went to my companions1 but they would not receive me until ,i had discharged my obligations to the members of my house and to my neighbours4 p4#id ,then he makes his will and divides his property among his children1 and gives directions that all his creditors should be paid and that his debts should be collected4 ,then the witnesses write out the will1 and he goes his way and is seen no more4 ,and by means of this trickery and witchcraft which these priests practise1 the people are confirmed in their errors and assert that there is none in all the land like their priests4 ,thence to cross over to the land of ,zin 7,china7 is a voyage of forty days4 ,zin is in the uttermost ,east1 and some say that there is the ,sea of ,nikpa 7,ning-po871 where the star ,orion predominates and stormy winds prevail#agd4 ,at times the helmsman cannot govern his ship1 as a fierce wind drives her into this ,sea of ,nikpa1 where she cannot move from her place2 and the crew have to remain where they are till their stores of food are exhausted and then they die4 ,in this way many a ship has been lost1 but men eventually discovered a device by which to escape from this evil place4 ,the crew provide themselves with hides of oxen4 p4#ie ,and when this evil wind blows which drives them into the ,sea of ,nikpa1 they wrap themselves up in the skins1 which they make waterproof1 and1 armed with knives1 plunge into the sea4 ,a great bird called the griffin spies them out1 and in the belief that the sailor is an animal1 the griffin seizes hold of him1 brings him to dry land1 and puts him down on a mountain or in a hollow in order to devour him4 ,the man then quickly thrusts at the bird with a knife and slays him4 ,then the man issues forth from the skin and walks till he comes to an inhabited place4 ,and in this manner many a man escapes#age4 p4#if ,thence to ,al-,gingaleh is a voyage of fifteen days1 and about #a1jjj ,israelites dwell there4 ,thence by sea to ,chulan is seven days2 but no ,jews live there4 ,from there it is twelve days to ,zebid1 where there are a few ,jews4 ,from there it is eight days' journey to ,india which is on the mainland1 called the land of ,aden1 and this is the ,eden which is in ,thelasar#agf4 ,the country is mountainous4 ,there are many ,israelites here1 and they are not under the yoke of the ,gentiles1 but possess cities and castles on the summits of the mountains1 from which they make descents into the plain-country called ,lybia1 which is a ,christian ,empire4 ,these are the ,lybians of the land of ,lybia1 with whom the ,jews are at war4 ,the ,jews take spoil and booty and retreat to the mountains1 and no man can prevail against them4 ,many of these ,jews of the land of ,aden come to ,persia and ,egypt#agg4 ,thence to the land of ,assuan is a journey of twenty days through the desert4 ,this is ,seba on the river ,pishon 7,nile7 which descends from the land of ,cush#agh4 ,and some of these sons of ,cush have a king whom they call the ,sultan ,al-,habash4 ,there is a people among them who1 like animals1 eat of the herbs that grow on the banks of the ,nile and in the fields4 ,they go about naked and have not the intelligence of ordinary men4 ,they cohabit with their sisters and any one they find4 ,the climate is very hot4 ,when the men of ,assuan make a raid into their land1 they take with them bread and wheat1 dry grapes and figs1 and throw the food to these people1 who run after it4 p4#ig ,thus they bring many of them back prisoners1 and sell them in the land of ,egypt and in the surrounding countries4 ,and these are the black slaves1 the sons of ,ham4 ,from ,assuan it is a distance of twelve days to ,heluan where there are about #cjj ,jews4 ,thence people travel in caravans a journey of fifty days through the great desert called ,sahara1 to the land of ,zawilah1 which is ,havilah in the land of ,gana#agi4 ,in this desert there are mountains of sand1 and when the wind rises1 it covers the caravans with the sand1 and many die from suffocation4 ,those that escape bring back with them copper1 wheat1 fruit1 all manner of lentils1 and salt4 ,and from thence they bring gold1 and all kinds of jewels4 ,this is in the land of ,cush which is called ,al-,habash on the western confines#ahj4 ,from ,heluan it is thirteen days' journey to ,kutz which is ,kus1 and this is the commencement of the land of ,egypt4 ,at ,kutz there are #cjj ,jews#aha4 ,thence it is #cjj miles to ,fayum1 which is ,pithom1 where there are #bjj ,jews2 and unto this very day one can see ruins of the buildings which our forefathers erected there#ahb4 ,thence to ,mizraim is a journey of four days4 p4#ih ,this ,mizraim is the great city situated on the banks of the ,nile1 which is ,pison or ,al-,nil#ahc4 ,the number of ,jewish inhabitants is about #g1jjj4 ,two large synagogues are there1 one belonging to the men of the land of ,israel and one belonging to the men of the land of ,babylon4 ,the synagogue of the men of the land of ,israel is called ,kenisat-al-,schamiyyin1 and the synagogue of the men of ,babylon is called ,kenisat-al-,irakiyyin4 ,their usage with regard to the portions and sections of the ,law is not alike2 for the men of ,babylon are accustomed to read a portion every week1 as is done in ,spain1 and is our custom1 and to finish the ,law each year2 whilst the men of ,palestine do not do so1 but divide each portion into three sections and finish the ,law at the end of three years4 ,the two communities1 however1 have an established custom to unite and pray together on the day of the ,rejoicing of the ,law1 and on the day of the ,giving of the ,law#ahd4 ,among the ,jews is ,nethanel the ,prince of ,princes and the head of the ,academy1 who is the head of all the congregations in ,egypt#ahe2 he appoints ,rabbis and officials1 and is attached to the court of the great ,king1 who lives in his palace of ,zoan el-,medina1 which is the royal city for the ,arabs4 p4#ii ,here resides the ,emir al ,muminin1 a descendant of ,abu ,talib4 ,all his subjects are called ,alawiyyim#ahf1 because they rose up against the ,emir al ,muminin al ,abbasi 7the ,abbaside ,caliph7 who resides at ,bagdad4 ,and between the two parties there is a lasting feud1 for the former have set up a rival throne in ,zoan 7,egypt74 ,twice in the year the ,egyptian monarch goes forth1 once on the occasion of the great festival1 and again when the river ,nile rises4 ,zoan is surrounded by a wall1 but ,mizraim has no wall1 for the river encompasses it on one side4 ,it is a great city1 and it has market-places as well as inns in great number4 ,the ,jews that dwell there are very rich4 ,no rain falls1 neither is ice or snow ever seen4 ,the climate is very hot4 ,the river ,nile rises once a year in the month of ,elul2 it covers all the land1 and irrigates it to a distance of fifteen days' journey4 ,the waters remain upon the surface of the land during the months of ,elul and ,tishri1 and irrigate and fertilize it4 ,the inhabitants have a pillar of marble1 erected with much skill1 in order to ascertain the extent of the rise of the ,nile4 ,it stands in the front of an island in the midst of the water1 and is twelve cubits high#ahg4 p4#ajj ,when the ,nile rises and covers the column1 they know that the river has risen and has covered the land for a distance of fifteen days' journey to its full extent4 ,if only half the column is covered1 the water only covers half the extent of the land4 ,and day by day an officer takes a measurement on the column and makes proclamation thereof in ,zoan and in the city of ,mizraim1 proclaiming3 ,give praise unto the ,creator1 for the river this day has risen to such and such a height2 each day he takes the measurement and makes his proclamation4 ,if the water covers the entire column1 there will be abundance throughout ,egypt4 ,the river continues to rise gradually till it covers the land to the extent of fifteen days' journey4 ,he who owns a field hires workmen1 who dig deep trenches in his field1 and fish come with the rise of the water and enter the trenches4 ,then1 when the waters have receded1 the fish remain behind in the trenches1 and the owners of the fields take them and either eat them or sell them to the fishmongers1 who salt them and deal in them in every place4 ,these fish are exceedingly fat and large1 and the oil obtained from them is used in this land for lamp-oil4 ,though a man eat a great quantity of these fish1 if he but drink ,nile water afterwards they will not hurt him1 for the waters have medicinal properties4 p4#aja ,people ask1 what causes the ,nile to rise8 ,the ,egyptians say that up the river1 in the land of ,al-,habash 7,abyssinia71 which is the land of ,havilah1 much rain descends at the time of the rising of the river1 and that this abundance of rain causes the river to rise and to cover the surface of the land#ahh4 ,if the river does not rise1 there is no sowing1 and famine is sore in the land4 ,sowing is done in the month of ,marheshwan1 after the river has gone back to its ordinary channel4 ,in the month of ,adar is the barley-harvest1 and in the month of ,nisan the wheat-harvest4 ,in the month of ,nisan they have cherries1 pears1 cucumbers1 and gourds in plenty1 also beans1 peas1 chickpeas1 and many kinds of vegetables1 such as purslane1 asparagus1 pulse1 lettuce1 coriander1 endive1 cabbage1 leek1 and cardoon4 ,the land is full of all good things1 and the gardens and plantations are watered from the various reservoirs and by the river-water4 ,the river ,nile1 after flowing past 7the city of7 ,mizraim1 divides into four heads3 one channel proceeds in the direction of ,damietta1 which is ,caphtor#ahi1 where it falls into the sea4 p4#ajb ,the second channel flows to the city of ,reshid 7,rosetta71 which is near ,alexandria1 and there falls into the sea2 the third channel goes by way of ,ashmun1 where it falls into the sea2 and the fourth channel goes as far as the frontier of ,egypt#aij4 ,along both banks of these four river-heads are cities1 towns and villages1 and people visit these places either by ship or by land4 ,there is no such thickly-populated land as this elsewhere4 ,it is extensive too and abundant in all good things4 ,from ,new ,mizraim unto ,old ,mizraim is a distance of two parasangs4 ,the latter is in ruins1 and the place where walls and houses stood can be seen to the present day4 ,the store-houses also of ,joseph of blessed memory are to be found in great numbers in many places4 ,they are built of lime and stone1 and are exceedingly strong#aia4 ,a pillar is there of marvellous workmanship1 the like of which cannot be seen throughout the world4 ,outside the city is the ancient synagogue of ,moses our master1 of blessed memory1 and the overseer and clerk of this place of worship is a venerable old man2 he is a man of learning1 and they call him ,al ,sheik ,abu al-,nazr#aib4 ,the extent of ,mizraim1 which is in ruins1 is three miles4 p4#ajc ,thence to the land of ,goshen is eight parasangs2 here is ,bilbais#aic4 ,there are about #cjj ,jews in the city1 which is a large one4 ,thence it is half a day's journey to ,ain-al-,shams or ,ramses1 which is in ruins4 ,traces are there to be seen of the buildings which our fore-fathers raised1 namely1 towers built of bricks4 ,from here it is a day's journey to ,al ,bubizig1 where there are about #bjj ,jews4 ,thence it is half a day to ,benha1 where there are about #fj ,jews4 ,thence it takes half a day to ,muneh ,sifte1 where there are #ejj ,jews#aid4 ,from there it is half a day's journey to ,samnu1 where there are about #bjj ,jews4 ,thence it is four parasangs to ,damira1 where there are about #gjj ,jews4 ,from there it is five days to ,lammanah1 where there are about #ejj ,jews#aie4 ,two days' journey takes one to ,alexandria of ,egypt1 which is ,ammon of ,no2 but when ,alexander of ,macedon built the city1 he called it after his own name1 and made it exceedingly strong and beautiful#aif4 ,the houses1 the palaces1 and the walls are of excellent architecture4 ,outside the town is the academy of ,aristotle1 the teacher of ,alexander4 ,this is a large building1 standing between other academies to the number of twenty1 with a column of marble between each4 ,people from the whole world were wont to come hither in order to study the wisdom of ,aristotle the philosopher4 p4#ajd ,the city is built over a hollow by means of arches4 ,alexander built it with great understanding4 ,the streets are wide and straight1 so that a man can look along them for a mile from gate to gate1 from the gate of ,reshid to the gate by the sea4 ,alexander also built for the harbour of ,alexandria a pier1 a king's highway running into the midst of the sea4 ,and there he erected a large tower1 a lighthouse1 called ,manar al ,iskandriyyah in ,arabic4 ,on the top of the tower there is a glass mirror4 ,any ships that attempted to attack or molest the city1 coming from ,greece or from the ,western lands1 could be seen by means of this mirror of glass at a distance of twenty days' journey1 and the inhabitants could thereupon put themselves on their guard4 ,it happened once1 many years after the death of ,alexander1 that a ship came from the land of ,greece1 and the name of the captain was ,theodoros1 a ,greek of great cleverness4 ,the ,greeks at that time were under the yoke of ,egypt4 ,the captain brought great gifts in silver and gold and garments of silk to the ,king of ,egypt1 and he moored his ship in front of the lighthouse1 as was the custom of all merchants4 p4#aje ,every day the guardian of the lighthouse and his servants had their meals with him1 until the captain came to be on such friendly terms with the keeper that he could go in and out at all times4 ,and one day he gave a banquet1 and caused the keeper and all his servants to drink a great deal of wine4 ,when they were all asleep1 the captain and his servants arose and broke the mirror and departed that very night4 ,from that day onward the ,christians began to come thither with boats and large ships1 and eventually captured the large island called ,crete and also ,cyprus1 which are under the dominion of the ,greeks4 ,the other ,,mss4 add here3 ,ever since then1 the men of the ,king of ,egypt have been unable to prevail over the ,greeks4 ,to this day the lighthouse is a landmark to all seafarers who come to ,alexandria2 for one can see it at a distance of #ajj miles by day1 and at night the keeper lights a torch which the mariners can see from a distance1 and thus sail towards it#aig4 p4#ajf ,alexandria is a commercial market for all nations4 ,merchants come thither from all the ,christian kingdoms3 on the one side1 from the land of ,venetia and ,lombardy1 ,tuscany1 ,apulia1 ,amalfi1 ,sicilia1 ,calabria1 ,romagna1 ,khazaria1 ,patzinakia1 ,hungaria1 ,bulgaria1 ,rakuvia 7,ragusa871 ,croatia1 ,slavonia1 ,russia1 ,alamannia 7,germany71 ,saxony1 ,danemark1 ,kurland8 ,ireland8 ,norway 7,norge871 ,frisia1 ,scotia1 ,angleterre1 ,wales1 ,flanders1 ,hainault8 ,normandy1 ,france1 ,poitiers1 ,anjou1 ,burgundy1 ,maurienne1 ,provence1 ,genoa1 ,pisa1 ,gascony1 ,aragon1 and ,navarra#aih1 and towards the west under the sway of the ,mohammedans1 ,andalusia1 ,algarve1 ,africa and the land of the ,arabs3 and on the other side ,india1 ,zawilah1 ,abyssinia1 ,lybia1 ,el-,yemen1 ,shinar1 ,esh-,sham 7,syria72 also ,javan1 whose people are called the ,greeks1 and the ,turks4 ,and merchants of ,india bring thither all kinds of spices1 and the merchants of ,edom buy of them4 ,and the city is a busy one and full of traffic4 ,each nation has an inn of its own4 ,by the sea-coast there is a sepulchre of marble on which are engraved all manner of beasts and birds2 an effigy is in the midst thereof1 and all the writing is in ancient characters1 which no one knows now4 p4#ajg ,men suppose that it is the sepulchre of a king who lived in early times before the ,deluge4 ,the length of the sepulchre is fifteen spans1 and its breadth is six spans4 ,there are about #c1jjj ,jews in ,alexandria4 ,thence it is two days' journey to ,damietta which is ,caphtor1 where there are about #bjj ,jews1 and it lies upon the sea4 ,thence it is one day's journey to ,simasim2 it contains about #ajj ,jews4 ,from there it is half a day to ,sunbat2 the inhabitants sow flax and weave linen1 which they export to all parts of the world#aii4 ,thence it is four days to ,ailam1 which is ,elim#bjj4 ,it belongs to the ,arabs who dwell in the wilderness4 ,thence it is two days' journey to ,rephidim where the ,arabs dwell1 but there are no ,jews there#bja4 ,a day's journey from thence takes one to ,mount ,sinai4 ,on the top of the mountain is a large convent belonging to the great monks called ,syrians#bjb4 ,at the foot of the mountain is a large town called ,tur ,sinai2 the inhabitants speak the language of the ,targum 7,syriac74 ,it is close to a small mountain1 five days distant from ,egypt4 ,the inhabitants are under ,egyptian rule4 ,at a day's journey from ,mount ,sinai is #bjcthe ,red ,sea1 which is an arm of the ,indian ,ocean4 ,we return to ,damietta4 ,from there it is a day's journey to ,tanis1 which is ,hanes1 where there are about #dj ,jews4 ,it is an island in the midst of the sea#bjd4 p4#ajh ,thus far extends the empire of ,egypt4 ,thence it takes twenty days by sea to ,messina1 which is the commencement of ,sicily and is situated on the arm of the sea that is called ,lipar#bje1 which divides it from ,calabria4 ,here about #bjj ,jews dwell4 ,it is a land full of everything good1 with gardens and plantations4 ,here most of the pilgrims assemble to cross over to ,jerusalem1 as this is the best crossing4 ,thence it is about two days' journey to ,palermo1 which is a large city4 ,here is the palace of ,king ,william4 ,palermo contains about #a1ejj ,jews and a large number of ,christians and ,mohammedans#bjf4 ,it is in a district abounding in springs and brooks of water1 a land of wheat and barley1 likewise of gardens and plantations1 and there is not the like thereof in the whole island of ,sicily4 ,here is the domain and garden of the king1 which is called ,al ,harbina 7,al ,hacina7#bjg1 containing all sorts of fruit-trees4 ,and in it is a large fountain4 ,the garden is encompassed by a wall4 ,and a reservoir has been made there which is called ,al ,buheira#bjh1 and in it are many sorts of fish4 ,ships overlaid with silver and gold are there1 belonging to the king1 who takes pleasure-trips in them with his women#bji4 p4#aji ,in the park there is also a great palace1 the walls of which are painted1 and overlaid with gold and silver2 the paving of the floors is of marble1 picked out in gold and silver in all manner of designs4 ,there is no building like this anywhere4 ,and this island1 the commencement of which is ,messina1 contains all the pleasant things of this world4 ,it embraces ,syracuse1 ,marsala1 ,catania1 ,petralia1 and ,trapani1 the circumference of the island being six days' journey4 ,in ,trapani coral is found1 which is called ,al ,murgan#baj4 ,thence people pass to the city of ,rome in ten days4 ,and from ,rome they proceed by land to ,lucca1 which is a five days' journey4 ,thence they cross the mountain of ,jean de ,maurienne1 and the passes of ,italy4 ,it is twenty days' journey to ,verdun1 which is the commencement of ,alamannia1 a land of mountains and hills4 ,all the congregations of ,alamannia are situated on the great river ,rhine1 from the city of ,cologne1 which is the principal town of the ,empire1 to the city of ,regensburg1 a distance of fifteen days' journey at the other extremity of ,alamannia1 otherwise called ,ashkenaz4 p4#aaj ,and the following are the cities in the land of ,alamannia1 which have ,hebrew congregations3 ,metz1 ,treves on the river ,moselle1 ,coblenz1 ,andernach1 ,bonn1 ,cologne1 ,bingen1 ,muenster1 ,worms1#baa ,all ,israel is dispersed in every land1 and he who does not further the gathering of ,israel will not meet with happiness nor live with ,israel4 ,when the ,lord will remember us in our exile1 and raise the horn of his anointed1 then every one will say1 ,i will lead the ,jews and ,i will gather them4 ,as for the towns which have been mentioned1 they contain scholars and communities that love their brethren1 and speak peace to those that are near and afar1 and when a wayfarer comes they rejoice1 and make a feast for him1 and say1 ,rejoice1 brethren1 for the help of the ,lord comes in the twinkling of an eye4 ,if we were not afraid that the appointed time has not yet arrived nor been reached1 we would have gathered together1 but we dare not do so until the time for song has arrived1 and the voice of the turtle-dove 7is heard in the land71 when the messengers will come and say continually1 ,the ,lord be exalted4 p4#aaa ,meanwhile they send missives one to the other1 saying1 ,be ye strong in the law of ,moses1 and do ye mourners for ,zion and ye mourners for ,jerusalem entreat the ,lord1 and may the supplication of those that wear the garments of mourning be received through their merits4 ,in addition to the several cities which we have mentioned there are besides ,strassburg1 ,wuerzburg1 ,mantern1 ,bamberg1 ,freising1 and ,regensburg at the extremity of the ,empire#bab4 ,in these cities there are many ,israelites1 wise men and rich4 ,thence extends the land of ,bohemia1 called ,prague#bac4 ,this is the commencement of the land of ,slavonia1 and the ,jews who dwell there call it ,canaan1 because the men of that land 7the ,slavs7 sell their sons and their daughters to the other nations4 ,these are the men of ,russia1 which is a great empire stretching from the gate of ,prague to the gates of ,kieff1 the large city which is at the extremity of that empire#bad4 ,it is a land of mountains and forests1 where there are to be found the animals called vair#bae1 ermine1 and sable4 p4#aab ,no one issues forth from his house in winter-time on account of the cold4 ,people are to be found there who have lost the tips of their noses by reason of the frost4 ,thus far reaches the empire of ,russia4 ,the kingdom of ,france1 which is ,zarfath1 extends from the town of ,auxerre#baf unto ,paris1 the great city--a journey of six days4 ,the city belongs to ,king ,louis4 ,it is situated on the river ,seine4 ,scholars are there1 unequalled in the whole world1 who study the ,law day and night4 ,they are charitable and hospitable to all travellers1 and are as brothers and friends unto all their brethren the ,jews4 ,may ,god1 the ,blessed ,one1 have mercy upon us and upon them6 ,finished and completed4 ,,index ,the references in this ,index are made to the pages of ,asher's ,edition1 which are marked in the margin of the foregoing ,english translation4 ,,footnotes3 ,footnote #a3 ,tudela was called in ,benjamin's time ,tuteila4 ,sepharad is ,spain4 ,footnote #b3 ,there is a considerable difference of opinion as to the exact dates at which ,benjamin began and completed his journey4 ,in my opinion1 the period can be placed within a very narrow compass4 ,early in his journey he visited ,rome1 where he found ,r4 ,jechiel to be the steward of the household of ,pope ,alexander4 ,this can be no other than ,pope ,alexander ,,iii1 who played so important a part in the struggle between ,king ,henry ,,ii and ,thomas a ,becket4 ,the ,german ,emperor1 ,frederick ,barbarossa1 supported the anti-,pope ,victor ,,iv1 and in consequence ,alexander had to leave ,rome soon after his election in #aaei and before his consecration4 ,he did not return to settle down permanently in ,rome until ,november #bc1 #aafe1 but was forced to leave again in #aafg4 ,consequently ,benjamin must have been in ,rome between the end of #aafe and #aafg4 ,benjamin terminated his travels by passing from ,egypt to ,sicily and ,italy1 then crossing the ,alps and visiting ,germany4 ,in ,cairo he found that the ,fatimite ,caliph was the acknowledged ruler4 ,the ,caliph here referred to must have been ,el-',adid1 who died on ,monday1 ,september #ac1 #aaga--;being the last of the ,fatimite line4 ,a short time before his death1 ,saladin had become the virtual ruler of ,egypt1 and had ordered the ,khotba to be read in the name of the ,abbaside ,caliph el-,mostadi of ,bagdad4 7,see the ,life of ,saladin1 by ,bohadin3 ,palestine ,pilgrims' ,text ,society1 p4 #fa47 ,it is clear1 therefore1 that ,benjamin's absence from ,europe must be placed between the years #aaff and #aaga4 ,benjamin on his return journey passed through ,sicily when the island was no longer governed by a viceroy4 ,king ,william ,,ii 7the ,good7 attained his majority in #aafi1 and ,benjamin's visit took place subsequently4 ,it will be found in the course of the narrative that not a single statement by ,benjamin is inconsistent with this determination of date2 see p4 #c1 n4 #d2 p4 #i1 n4 #b2 p4 #ae1 n4 #d2 p4 #fa1 n4 #a2 and p4 #gi1 n4 #b4 ,footnote #c3 ,saragossa was called in ,benjamin's time ,sarakosta 7 ,caesar-,augusta74 ,charisi1 in ,tachkemoni1 #df1 refers to some of the ,rabbis4 ,footnote #d3 ,the imposing ruins at ,tarragona comprise prehistoric walls of enormous unhewn blocks of stone1 as well as the remains of ,roman aqueducts1 tombs1 amphitheatres1 c4 ,here and generally in this narrative the letter ,r is used as an abbreviation for ,rabbi4 ,footnote #e3 ,see ,graetz1 ,geschichte der ,juden1 vol4 ,,vi1 pp4 #bcj et seq42 also notes #a and #aj at the end of vol4 ,,vi4 ,footnote #f3 ,the ancient name of ,gerona was ,gerunda4 ,footnote #g3 ,see ,geiger's ,juedische ,zeitschrift fuer ,wissenschaft und ,leben1 p4 #bha4 ,the ,records of ,narbonne bear evidence of sales of lands standing in the name of ,r4 ,kalonymos 7,archives ,israelites1 #ahfa1 p4 #ddi74 ,his ancestor1 ,r4 ,machir1 came to ,europe in the time of ,charlemagne4 ,footnote #h3 ,r4 ,abraham ben ,isaac 7,rabad ,,ii7 was author of the ,rabbinic code2 ,ha-,eshkol1 and was one of the intermediaries between the ,talmudists of ,france and the ,scholars of ,spain4 ,he died #aagh4 ,footnote #i3 ,a parasang is about #c-b_/e ,english miles1 and the distance from ,narbonne to ,beziers is correctly given4 #aj parasangs make a day's journey4 ,footnote #aj3 ,the ,king of ,portugal is even now styled ,king of the ,algarves4 ,footnote #aa3 ,cf4 ,graetz1 ,,vi1 p4 #bdj1 also ,joseph ,jacob's ,angevin ,jews1 p4 #aaa4 ,r4 ,asher was one of a group of pious ,rabbis known as ,perushim--who might be styled ,jewish monks4 ,his father1 ,rabbenu ,meshullam1 died #aagj4 ,footnote #ab3 ,he is referred to in ,tosafoth ,temurah1 fol4 #ab;a and b4 ,footnote #ac3 ,this eminent ,talmudist1 known as the ,rabad1 was son-in-law of the ,r4 ,abraham of ,narbonne before referred to4 ,see ,graetz1 ,,vi1 #bdc4 ,footnote #ad3 ,the ,abbey of ,st4 ,aegidius was much resorted to in the ,middle ,ages4 ,the ,jews of ,beaucaire1 and the neighbourhood1 enjoyed the patronage of ,raymond ,v1 ,count of ,toulouse1 called by the ,troubadour poets the good ,duke4 ,see ,graetz1 ,,vi1 note ,i1 p4 #dja4 ,it is impossible to enlarge in these notes upon the several ,jewish scholars referred to by ,benjamin4 ,an interesting article by ,professor ,israel ,levi on the ,jews in ,mediaeval ,france1 and other articles1 in the ,jewish ,encyclopaedia1 also ,gross1 ,gallia ,judaica1 might be consulted with advantage4 ,footnote #ae3 ,the ,,bm4 ,,ms4 calls ,r4 ,abba ,mari dead1 which statement1 unless qualified1 as in a few other instances1 by the insertion of the word since1 would be unintelligible4 ,footnote #af3 ,asher's ,text and ,epstein's ,,ms4 give the distance between ,arles and ,marseilles as three days' journey4 ,the actual distance is about fifty-three ,english miles4 ,probably the ,roman roads were still in use4 ,footnote #ag3 ,r4 ,isaac1 son of ,abba ,mari1 is the celebrated author of ,baal ,haittur2 he wrote this work at ,marseilles1 #aagi4 ,it is doubtful whether he was the son of ,count ,raymond's bailiff4 ,footnote #ah3 ,his full name is ,r4 ,jacob ,perpignano4 ,see ,graetz1 ,,vi1 note #a1 p4 #cii4 ,footnote #ai3 ,the meaning of course is that the ,genoese pillage ,christian and ,mohammedan places alike4 ,footnote #bj3 ,see ,dr4 ,h4 ,berliner's work ,die ,geschichte der ,juden in ,rom4 ,his derivation of the ,hebrew word used for ,pope1 ,hebrew3 from ,peter1 is questionable4 ,it is the ,greek ,greek3 hepiphoros4 ,see ,talmud1 ,aboda ,zarah1 #aa a4 ,footnote #ba3 ,the great work alluded to is the ,talmudical ,dictionary1 completed in #aaja4 ,see ,graetz1 ,,vi1 p4 #bha4 ,footnote #bb3 ,the palace of the ,caesars on the ,palatine ,hill is no doubt here referred to4 ,footnote #bc3 ,hebrew31 quoted by ,e and ,asher1 is a corrupt reading for ,hebrew34 ,footnote #bd3 ,this is ,josippon's story4 ,benjamin occasionally embodies in his work fantastic legends told him1 or recorded by his predecessors4 ,his authorities lived in the darkest period of the ,middle ,ages4 ,josippon1 ,book ,i1 ,chap1 iv1 speaks of #cbj senators4 ,i have followed ,breithaupt1 and rendered ,hebrew3 consul4 ,footnote #be3 ,having regard to the various readings1 it is possible that the ,thermae of ,diocletian or more probably the ,flavian amphitheatre1 which early in the ,middle ,ages began to be called the ,colosseum1 is here referred to4 ,it had four stories1 each floor composed of arcades containing eighty separate compartments1 making #cbj in all4 ,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 year4 ,footnote #bf3 ,i4 ,heilprin1 the author of ,seder ,hadoroth 7,warsaw1 #ahig edition1 p4 #aeg7 as well as ,zunz1 appear to have here fallen into error1 assuming as they do that ,benjamin refers to the ten teachers of the ,mishna1 ,r4 ,gamaliel1 ,r4 ,akiba and the other sages who suffered martyrdom in ,palestine at the hands of the ,roman ,emperors4 ,the ten martyrs here alluded to are those referred to in the ,preface to ,hakemoni1 published by ,geiger in ,hebrew31 ,berlin1 #ahdj1 and ,hebrew31 ,berlin edition1 fols4 #aea-b ,hebrew3 ,rome1 as so many other cities1 had its own martyrs4 ,footnote #bg3 ,this is the statue of ,marcus ,aurelius now before the ,capitol4 ,footnote #bh3 ,even in ,benjamin's time the ,campagna was noted for malaria4 ,footnote #bi3 ,professor ,ray ,lankester1 in a lecture given on ,dec4 #bi1 #aijc1 at the ,royal ,institution1 illustrated changes in the disposition of land and water by pointing to the identical ruined ,temple referred to by ,benjamin4 ,it now stands high above the sea1 and did so in the second and third centuries of the present era1 but in the eighth and ninth centuries was so low1 owing to the sinking of the land1 that the lower parts of its marble pillars stood in the sea1 and sea-shells grew in the crevices4 ,footnote #cj3 ,josippon gives these legends in ,book ,i1 chaps4 iii and iv1 when speaking of ,zur1 whom he associates with ,sorrento4 ,benjamin had few other sources of information4 ,in the immediate neighbourhood of ,pozzuoli is ,solfatara1 where sulphur is found4 ,a destructive eruption from the crater took place in #aaih4 ,hot springs abound1 and the baths at ,bagnoli are much frequented to the present day4 ,the underground road is the ,piedi grotta of ,posilipo1 constructed by ,augustus4 ,footnote #ca3 ,r4 ,isaac1 the father of ,r4 ,judah1 must be the ,greek ,locust against whom ,ibn ,ezra directed his satire when visiting ,salerno some twenty years before ,r4 ,benjamin4 ,see ,graetz1 ,,vi1 p4 #dda4 ,footnote #cb3 ,cf4 ,isaiah lxvi4 #ai4 ,footnote #cc3 ,this city was destroyed by ,william the ,bad in #aaef4 ,it was ordered to be restored by ,william the ,good in #aafi1 so that ,benjamin must have visited ,bari before that date4 ,see p4 #gi1 note #b4 ,we have here another clue as to the date of ,benjamin's travels4 ,footnote #cd3 ,see ,h4,m4 ,adler's article on ,jews in ,southern ,italy1 ,j4,q4,r41 ,,xiv1 p4 #aaa4 ,gibbon1 ,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire1 chap4 lvi1 describing the reconquest of the southern provinces of ,italy by the ,byzantine ,emperor ,manuel1 #aaee1 says4 ,the natives of ,calabria were still attached to the ,greek language and worship4 ,footnote #ce3 ,the river ,achelous falls into the ,ionian ,sea opposite to ,ithaca4 ,footnote #cf3 ,anatolica is now known as ,aetolicum4 ,footnote #cg3 ,patras1 the ancient ,patrae1 was founded long before the time of ,antipater4 ,josippon1 ,,ii1 chap4 xxiii1 is again the questionable authority on which ,benjamin relied4 ,footnote #ch3 ,lepanto in the early ,middle ,ages was called ,naupactus or ,epacto1 and to reach it from ,patras the ,gulf of ,corinth had to be crossed4 ,footnote #ci3 ,chalcis1 the capital of ,euboea or ,negroponte1 is even now called ,egripo4 ,it is situated on the ,straits of ,euripus4 ,footnote #dj3 ,some twenty years later the ,wallachians were in open revolt and became independent of the ,byzantine ,empire4 ,gibbon1 chap4 lx4 ,footnote #da3 ,see ,gibbon1 chap4 liii4 ,he often quotes ,benjamin4 ,footnote #db3 ,the ,grand ,duchy of ,kieff was called ,russia4 ,see page #ha4 ,footnote #dc3 ,the ,petchinegs1 as well as the ,khazars1 ,bulgarians1 ,hungarians1 and ,turks1 are called by ,josippon1 ,i1 chap4 i1 descendants of ,togarma4 ,patzinakia was the country from the ,danube to the ,dnieper1 and corresponds with ,dacia of classical times4 ,footnote #dd3 ,the readings of ,e and ,a are corrupt4 ,r has ,hebrew31 and ,,bm4 has ,hebrew31 the southern provinces of ,russia were spoken of as the land of the ,khazars1 especially by ,jewish writers1 long after the ,russian conquest about the year #ajjj1 and the ,crimea was known to ,european travellers as ,gazaria4 ,it took ,rabbi ,pethachia eight days to pass through the land of the ,khazars4 ,see ,dr4 ,a4 ,benisch1 ,translation of ,petachia's ,travels4 ,in note #c1 p4 #gj1 he gives a short sketch of their history4 ,the ruling dynasty and most of the inhabitants embraced the ,jewish religion4 ,footnote #de3 ,procopius1 vol4 ,i 7,palestine ,pilgrims' ,text ,society71 gives a full description of ,constantinople4 ,footnote #df3 ,the commentator1 wrongly supposed to be ,rashi1 gives an interesting note upon the passage in ,i ,chron4 xx4 #b1 where it is mentioned that ,david took the crown of the king of the children of ,ammon1 and found it to weigh a talent of gold1 and it was set upon ,david's head4 ,rashi states that the meaning of the passage must be that this crown was hung above ,david's throne1 and adds that he heard in ,narbonne that this practice was still kept up by the kings in the ,east4 ,footnote #dg3 ,see for a full account of these powerful ,seljuk ,sultans ,f4 ,lebrecht's ,essay on the ,caliphate of ,bagdad during the latter half of the twelfth century4 ,vol4 ,,ii of ,a4 ,asher's ,itinerary of ,rabbi ,benjamin4 ,footnote #dh3 ,ibn ,verga1 ,shevet ,jehuda1 ,,xxv1 states that a predecessor of the ,emperor ,manuel ,comnenus issued an edict prohibiting the ,jews from residing elsewhere than in ,pera1 and restricting their occupation to tanning and shipbuilding4 ,footnote #di3 ,this place is mentioned by ,procopius1 p4 #aai1 as having been fortified by ,justinian4 ,it is now known as ,rodosto4 ,footnote #ej3 ,ibn ,ezra visited ,cyprus before his arrival in ,london in #aaeh1 when he wrote the ,sabbath ,epistle4 ,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 alludes1 and induced him to compose the pamphlet in defence of the traditional mode of observance of the ,sabbath day4 ,this supposition is not inconsistent with ,graetz's theory1 vol4 ,,vi1 p4 #ddg4 ,see also ,dr4 ,friedlander1 ,ibn ,ezra in ,england1 ,j4,q4,r41 ,,viii1 p4 #adj1 and ,joseph ,jacobs1 ,the ,jews of ,angevin ,england1 p4 #ce4 ,footnote #ea3 ,see ,gibbon1 chaps1 lviii and lix2 ,charles ,mills1 ,history of the ,crusades1 ,i1 p4 #aei2 ,c4,r4 ,conder1 ,latin ,kingdom of ,jerusalem1 p4 #ci4 ,footnote #eb3 ,the several ,,mss4 give different readings4 ,the kingdom reached to the ,taurus mountains and the ,sultanate of ,rum or ,iconium4 ,footnote #ec3 ,beazley remarks that ,benjamin must have passed along this coast before #aafg1 when ,thoros died at peace and on terms of vassalage to the ,emperor ,manuel ,comnenus4 ,malmistras is forty-five miles from ,tarsus4 ,both had been recaptured by ,manuel in #aaee4 ,josippon1 ,i1 chap4 i1 identifies ,tarshish with ,tarsus4 ,footnote #ed3 ,no doubt the river ,fer1 otherwise ,orontes1 is here referred to4 ,ancient ,antioch lies on the slope of ,mount ,silpius1 and the city-wall erected by ,justinian extended from the river up to the hill-plateau4 ,abulfeda says3 ,the river of ,hamah is also called ,al ,urunt or the ,nahr al ,maklub 7the ,overturned7 on account of its course from south to north2 or1 again1 it is called ,al' ,asi 7the ,rebel71 for the reason that though most rivers water the lands on their borders without the aid of water-wheels1 the river of ,hamah will not irrigate the lands except by the aid of machines for raising its waters4 7,guy le ,strange1 ,palestine under the ,moslems1 p4 #ei47 ,it is strange that ,r4 ,benjamin should call the ,orontes the river ,jabbok1 but he always takes care to add that it rises in the ,lebanon1 to avoid any misconception that the ,jabbok which falls into the ,jordan is meant4 ,footnote #ee3 ,boemond ,,iii1 surnamed le ,baube 7the ,stammerer71 succeeded his mother in #aafc4 ,we owe the doubtless correct rendering of this passage to the ingenuity of the late ,joseph ,zedner4 ,benjamin visited ,antioch before #aagj1 when a fearful earthquake destroyed a great part of the city4 ,footnote #ef3 ,it must be inferred from the context here1 as well as from other passages1 that when ,benjamin mentions the number of ,jews residing at a particular place he refers to the heads of families4 ,footnote #eg3 ,gebal is the ,gabala of ancient geographers4 ,see ,schechter1 ,saadyana1 p4 #be4 ,many travellers1 among them ,robinson1 identify ,baal-,gad with ,banias1 others suppose it to be ,hasbeya4 ,footnote #eh3 ,hashishim--hemp-smokers--hence is derived the word assassin4 ,see ,socin1 ,palestine and ,syria1 pp4 #fh and #ii4 ,ibn ,batuta and other ,arabic writers have much to say about the ,assassins or ,mulahids1 as they call them4 ,they are again referred to by ,benjamin on p4 #ed1 where he states that in ,persia they haunted the mountainous district of ,mulahid1 under the sway of the ,old ,man of the ,mountain4 ,the manner in which the ,sheik acquired influence over his followers is amusingly described by ,marco ,polo 7,the ,book of ,ser ,marco ,polo3 translated and edited by ,colonel ,sir ,henry ,yule2 third edition1 ,london1 ,john ,murray1 #aijc73 ,in a fertile and sequestered valley he placed every conceivable thing pleasant to man--luxurious palaces1 delightful gardens1 fair damsels skilled in music1 dancing1 and song1 in short1 a veritable paradise6 ,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 valley4 ,but it was not for many days that they were allowed to revel in the joys of paradise4 ,another potion was given to them1 and when the young men awoke they found themselves in the presence of the ,old ,man of the ,mountain4 ,in the hope of again possessing the joys of paradise they were ready to embark upon any desperate errand commanded by the ,old ,man4 ,marco ,polo mentions that the ,old ,man found crafty deputies1 who with their followers settled in parts of ,syria and ,kurdistan4 ,he adds that1 in the year #abeb1 ,alaue1 lord of the ,tartars of the ,levant1 made war against the ,old ,man1 and slaughtered him with many of his followers4 ,yule gives a long list of murders or attempts at murder ascribed to the ,assassins4 ,saladin's life was attempted in #aagd-f4 ,prince ,edward of ,england was slain at ,acre in #aagb4 ,the sect is not quite extinct4 ,they have spread to ,bombay and ,zanzibar1 and number in ,western ,india over #ej1jjj4 ,the mention of the ,old ,man of the ,mountain will recall to the reader the story of ,sinbad the ,sailor in ,the ,arabian ,nights4 ,footnote #ei3 ,see ,parchi1 ,caphtor wa-pherach1 an exhaustive work on ,palestine written #acbb1 especially chap4 xi4 ,the author spent over seven years in exploring the country4 ,footnote #fj3 ,socin1 the author of ,baedeker's ,handbook to ,palestine and ,syria1 p4 #eeg1 gives the year of the earthquake #aaeg4 ,it is referred to again p4 #ca4 ,there was a very severe earthquake in this district also in #aagj1 and the fact that ,benjamin does not refer to it furnishes us with another terminus ad quem4 ,footnote #fa3 ,see the narrative of ,william of ,tyre4 ,footnote #fb3 ,gubail1 the ancient ,gebal1 was noted for its artificers and stonecutters4 ,cf4 ,i ,kings v4 #cb2 ,ezek4 xxvii4 #i4 ,the ,greeks named the place ,byblos1 the birthplace of ,philo4 ,the coins of ,byblos have a representation of the ,temple of ,astarte4 ,all along the coast we find remains of the worship of ,baal ,kronos and ,baaltis1 of ,osiris and ,isis1 and it is probable that the worship of ,adonis and ,jupiter-,ammon led ,benjamin to associate therewith the ,ammonites4 ,the reference to the children of ,ammon is based on a misunderstanding1 arising perhaps out of ,ps4 lxxxiii4 #h4 ,footnote #fc3 ,the ,quarterly ,statements of the ,palestine ,exploration ,fund for #ahhf and #ahhi give a good deal of information concerning the religion of the ,druses4 ,their morality is there described as having been much maligned4 ,footnote #fd3 ,tyre was noted for its glass-ware and sugar factories up to #abia1 when it was abandoned by the ,crusaders1 and destroyed by the ,moslems4 ,footnote #fe3 ,this name is applied to the ,kishon1 mentioned further on1 celebrated in ,deborah's song 7,judg4 v4 #ba71 but it is about five miles south of ,acre1 the river nearest to the town being the ,belus1 noted for its fine sand suitable for glass-making4 ,it is not unlikely that ,r4 ,benjamin alludes to the celebrated ox-spring of which ,arab writers have much to say4 ,mukkadasi writes in #ihe3 ,outside the eastern city gate is a spring4 ,this they call ,ain al ,bakar1 relating how it was ,adam--peace be upon him6--who discovered this spring1 and gave his oxen water therefrom1 whence its name4 ,footnote #ff3 ,gath-,hepher1 the birthplace of ,jonah1 near ,kefr ,kenna1 in the territory of ,zebulon 7,joshua xix4 #ac71 is not here referred to1 but the land of ,hepher1 ,i ,kings iv4 #aj is probably meant4 ,footnote #fg3 ,in ,benjamin's time hermits1 who eventually founded the ,carmelite order of monks1 occupied grottoes on ,mount ,carmel4 ,footnote #fh3 ,benjamin travelled along the coast to ,caesarea4 ,mr4 ,guy ,le ,strange 7,palestine under the ,moslems1 #ahij1 p4 #dgg7 writes3 ,tall ,kanisah1 or ,al ,kunaisah1 the ,little ,church1 is the mound a few miles north of ,athlith1 which the ,crusaders took to be the site of ,capernaum4 ,benjamin must have known very well that ,maon1 which was contiguous to another ,carmel 7referred to in ,joshua xv4 #ee71 belonged to ,judah1 and was not in the north of ,palestine4 ,here1 as in the case of ,gath and elsewhere1 he quotes what was the hearsay identification current at the time he visited these places4 ,see an article by ,c4,r4 ,conder on ,early ,christian ,topography in the ,quarterly ,statements of the ,palestine ,exploration ,fund for #ahgf1 p4#af4 ,cf4 ,the ,ancient ,hebrew ,tradition1 by ,prof4 ,fr4 ,hommel1 p4 #bdc4 ,footnote #fi3 ,in the time of the ,crusaders ,gath was supposed to be near ,jamnia1 but nothing definite is known as to its site4 7,baedeker1 ,handbook to ,palestine and ,syria1 #ahgf1 p4 #cag47 ,footnote #gj3 ,it lies between ,caesarea and ,lydda4 ,see ,conder's ,latin ,kingdom of ,jerusalem4 ,munk's ,palestine might also be consulted with advantage4 ,footnote #ga3 ,the tomb of ,st4 ,george is still shown in the ,greek church at ,lydda4 ,footnote #gb3 ,mr4 ,a4 ,cowley in an article on the ,samaritan ,liturgy in ,j4 ,q4,r41 ,,vii1 #abe1 states that the ,house of ,aaron died out in #afbd4 ,the office then went to another branch1 the priest being called ,hebrew31 the ,levite ,cohon4 ,cf4 ,adler and ,seligsohn's ,une nouvelle chronique ,samaritaine4 7,paris3 ,durlacher1 #aijc47 ,footnote #gc3 ,the small square building known as ,joseph's tomb lies a short distance north of ,jacob's well1 at the eastern entrance to the vale of ,nablous4 ,footnote #gd3 ,cf4 ,guy ,le ,strange1 ,palestine1 #cha1 and ,rapoport's ,note #aff1 ,asher's ,benjamin1 vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #hg4 ,footnote #ge3 ,the ,,mss4 are defective here2 starting from ,shechem1 ,mount ,gilboa1 which to this day presents a bare appearance1 is in a different direction to ,ajalon4 ,it is doubtful whether ,benjamin personally visited all the places mentioned in his ,itinerary4 ,his visit took place not long after the second great ,crusade1 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 generals4 ,benjamin could at best visit the places of note only when the opportunity offered4 ,footnote #gf3 ,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 ,fund1 ,the ,survey of ,western ,palestine4 ,our author's statements are carefully examined1 and ,colonel ,conder1 after expatiating upon the extraordinary mistakes made by writers in the time of the ,crusaders1 some of whom actually confounded the sea of ,galilee with the ,mediterranean1 says3 ,the mediaeval ,jewish pilgrims appear as a rule to have had a much more accurate knowledge both of the country and of the ,bible4 ,their assertions are borne out by existing remains1 and are of the greatest value4 ,footnote #gg3 ,king ,baldwin ,,iii died in #aafb1 and was succeeded by his brother ,almaric4 ,footnote #gh3 ,the reading of the ,roman ,,ms4 that there were but four ,jewish inhabitants at ,jerusalem is in conformity with ,r4 ,pethachia1 who passed through ,palestine some ten or twenty years after ,r4 ,benjamin1 and found but one ,jew there4 ,the ,hebrew3 daleth meaning four would easily be misread for ,hebrew3 resh meaning #bjj4 ,footnote #gi3 ,the ,knights of the ,hospital of ,st4 ,john and the ,templars are here referred to4 ,see ,gibbon1 ,decline and ,fall of the ,roman ,empire2 ,charles ,mills1 ,history of the ,crusades1 #dth edition1 vol4 ,i1 p4 #cdb1 and ,besant and ,palmer's ,jerusalem1 chap4 ix4 ,footnote #hj3 ,cf4 the writings of ,mukaddasi the ,hierosolomite1 one of the publications of the ,palestine ,pilgrims' ,text ,society4 ,see also ,edrisi's and ,ali of ,herat's works4 ,chap4 iii of ,guy ,le ,strange's ,palestine gives full extracts of ,edrisi's account written in #aaed and ,ali's in #aagc4 ,see also five plans of ,jerusalem designed between #aafj and #aahj1 vol4 ,,xv1 ,zeitschrift des ,deutschen ,palaestina-,vereins4 ,footnote #ha3 ,ezek4 xx4 #ce4 ,the idea that the ,gorge of ,jehoshaphat will be the scene of the last judgment is based upon ,joel iv4 #b4 ,cf4 ,m4,n4 ,adler1 ,temple at ,jerusalem and ,sir ,charles ,warren's ,comments4 ,footnote #hb3 ,in memory of ,absalom's disobedience to his father1 it is customary with the ,jews to pelt this monument with stones to the present day4 ,the adjoining tomb is traditionally known as that of ,zechariah1 #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #bj1 ,king ,uzziah1 otherwise ,azariah1 was buried on ,mount ,zion1 close to the other kings of ,judah1 #b ,kings xv4 #g4 ,cf4 ,p4,e4 ,f41 ,jerusalem1 as to identification of sites4 ,sir ,charles ,wilson1 ,picturesque ,palestine1 gives excellent illustrations of the holy places1 and his work might be consulted with advantage4 ,footnote #hc3 ,pillars of salt are to be met with elsewhere1 for instance at ,hammam ,meskutim in ,algeria4 ,they are caused by spouts of water1 in which so great a quantity of salt is contained as at times to stop up the aperture of the spring4 ,the latter1 however1 is again unsealed through cattle licking off the salt near the aperture1 and the same process of filling up and unstopping goes on continually4 ,cf4 ,talmud ,berachot1 #ed a4 ,footnote #hd3 ,see ,baedeker's ,palestine and ,syria1 pp4 #bcc1 #bcf2 also ,schwartz1 ,palestine1 #aheb1 p4 #bcj and ,dr4 ,robinson's ,palestine1 ,i1 p4 #eaf4 ,footnote #he3 ,edrisi in #aaed writes3 ,the tomb is covered by twelve stones1 and above it is a dome vaulted over with stones4 ,footnote #hf3 ,compare ,r4 ,pethachia's account of his visit 7,travels of ,rabbi ,petachia3 translated by ,dr4 ,a4 ,benisch2 ,london1 ,truebner ,co41 #ahef1 p4 #fc74 ,see papers by ,professors ,goldziher and ,guthe 7,zeitschrift des ,deutschen ,palaestina-,vereins1 ,,xvii1 pp4 #aae and #bch7 for an account of the opening of the tombs at ,hebron in #aaai1 as given in a presumably contemporaneous ,,ms4 found by ,count ,riant4 ,fifteen earthenware vessels filled with bones1 perhaps those referred to by ,benjamin1 were found4 ,it is doubtful whether the actual tombs of the ,patriarchs were disturbed1 but it is stated that the ,abbot of ,st4 ,gallen paid in #aahj ten marks of gold 7equal to about ,l#e1bdj sterling7 for relics taken from the altar of the church at ,hebron4 ,the ,,ms4 of ,count ,riant further mentions that before the occupation of ,hebron by the ,arabs1 the ,greeks had blocked up and concealed the entrance to the caves4 ,the ,jews subsequently disclosed the place of the entrance to the ,moslems1 receiving as recompense permission to build a synagogue close by4 ,this was no doubt the ,jewish place of worship referred to by ,benjamin4 ,shortly after ,benjamin's visit in #aafg the ,crusaders established a bishopric and erected a church in the southern part of the ,haram4 ,see also ,conder's account of the visit of ,his ,majesty the ,king1 when ,prince of ,wales1 to the ,haram at ,hebron4 7,palestine ,exploration ,fund's ,quarterly ,statement1 #ahhb47 ,footnote #hg3 ,beit ,jibrin was fortified by ,king ,fulk in #aacd4 ,see ,baedeker's ,palestine and ,syria1 p4 #cji2 ,rapoport's ,erech ,milin1 p4 #ed2 also a preliminary notice on the ,necropolis of ,maresha in ,p4,e4,f4,q4,s41 ,oct41 #aijb1 p4 #cic4 ,the text has ,hebrew31 but it should be ,hebrew34 ,inscriptions on tombs near ,beit ,jibrin show that the town1 to which those buried belonged1 was called ,mariseh4 ,the passage in ,a and all printed editions as to ,shunem and ,toron de ,los ,caballeros is corrupt4 ,shunem was a small place in ,galilee1 and is not likely to have had #cjj ,jews at the time of the ,crusaders1 still less so ,toron the present ,latrun4 ,footnote #hh3 ,shiloh1 at the time of the ,crusaders1 was considered to occupy the site of ,mizpeh1 the highest mountain near ,jerusalem1 where the national assemblies were held at the time of the ,judges4 ,the present mosque is dilapidated1 but the substructure1 which dates from the ,frank period1 is beautifully jointed4 ,the apse is raised4 ,the reputed tomb of ,samuel is on the western side of the church4 ,it is still called ,nebi ,samwil1 venerated alike by ,jew and ,moslem4 ,footnote #hi3 ,this and ,mahomerie-le-grand1 already mentioned1 are ,crusaders' churches4 ,see ,rey1 ,les ,colonies franques de ,syrie aux ,,xii'e et ,,xiii'e siecles1 p4 #chg2 also ,conder1 ,the ,latin ,kingdom of ,jerusalem4 ,footnote #ij3 ,beit-,nuba near ,ramleh has been identified without proof with ,nob4 ,richard ,coeur-de-,lion encamped here some twenty-five years after ,benjamin's visit4 ,he with the army of the ,crusaders passed through ,ibelin on his way to ,askelon4 ,cf4 ,vinsauf's ,itinerarium ,regis ,ricardi4 ,footnote #ia3 ,see an interesting ,paper1 ,der ,pass von ,michmas1 by ,prof4 ,d4,g4 ,dalman1 ,z4,d4,p4,v41 #aijd1 vol4 ,,xxvii1 p4 #afa4 ,footnote #ib3 ,asher renders ,hebrew3 ,ramleh1 for which there is some justification4 ,ramleh did not exist in ,bible times--it was founded in #gaf4 ,it prospered to such an extent that it became as large as ,jerusalem4 ,it was a good deal damaged by an earthquake in #ajcc4 ,ramleh had a large ,moslem population1 and the ,jews there remained comparatively unmolested by the ,crusaders4 ,this latter fact accounts for the somewhat large number of ,jews residing there4 ,asher's reading1 and that of all the printed editions1 is about three ,jews dwell there4 ,this is obviously wrong4 ,probably the copyist is to blame in taking ,hebrew3 to be an abbreviation for ,hebrew3 ,the reports of contemporary ,arabic authors will be found in ,guy ,le ,strange's ,palestine1 pp4 #cjc-h4 ,footnote #ic3 ,ali of ,herat1 ,benjamin's contemporary1 writes3 ,askelon is a fine and beautiful city4 ,there is near here the well of ,abraham1 which they say he dug with his own hand4 ,bohadin1 in his ,life of ,saladin1 gives a detailed account of the demolition of the city in #aaib1 after the conclusion of peace between ,king ,richard ,i and ,saladin4 ,ibn ,batutah in #acee found the town in ruins1 but gives a detailed account of the well4 7,guy ,le ,strange1 pp4 #djb-c2 cf4 ,dr4 ,h4 ,hildesheimer1 ,beitraege zur ,geographie ,palaestinas47 ,footnote #id3 ,the cathedral at ,lydda with the tomb of ,st4 ,george was destroyed when ,saladin captured the place in #aaia4 ,it was rebuilt by a ,king of ,england in the seventeenth century4 ,footnote #ie3 ,a4,m4 ,lunez in his ,year-book for #ahha1 pp4 #ga-afe1 gives a complete list of the reputed ,jewish tombs in ,palestine4 ,there are many records of the graves of ,jewish worthies in our literature1 but it is not easy to reconcile the different versions4 ,see ,jacob ben ,nethanel's ,itinerary given in ,lunez's ,jerusalem1 #aijf1 ,,vii1 p4 #hg4 ,footnote #if3 ,both ,,bm4 and ,r have ,hebrew31 whilst ,e and ,a have the faulty reading ,hebrew34 ,the ,seder ,hadoroth has the same reading as ,e and ,a4 ,jehuda ,halevi died about thirty years before ,benjamin's visit1 and the question of the burial-place of our great national poet is thus finally settled4 ,footnote #ig3 ,the common belief is that ,simon the ,just was buried near ,jerusalem1 on the road to ,nablous1 about a mile from the ,damascus ,gate4 ,footnote #ih3 ,cf4 ,schechter's ,saadyana1 p4 #hi4 ,footnote #ii3 ,the passage referring to the ,arnon is evidently out of place4 ,footnote #ajj3 ,see ,deut4 xi4 #bd4 ,footnote #aja3 ,for a description of the city and its great mosque1 see ,baedeker1 also ,guy ,le ,strange1 ,palestine under the ,moslems1 chap4 vi4 ,the most eastern dome of the mosque is to this day called ,kubbet-es-,saa1 the ,dome of ,hours4 ,mukaddasi gives an elaborate description of the mosaics and other features of this mosque4 ,footnote #ajb3 ,cf4 ,midrash ,raba1 chap1 xiv3 ,hebrew32 also ,josephus1 ,ant4 ,i1 vii1 #b who quotes ,nicolaus of ,damascus in the words ,in ,damasco regnarit ,abramus4 ,footnote #ajc3 ,pethachia estimates the ,jewish population at #ai1jjj4 ,this confirms the opinion already given 7p4 #bf7 that ,benjamin refers to heads of families4 ,footnote #ajd3 ,dr4 ,w4 ,bacher with justice observes that1 at the time of the ,crusades1 the traditions of the ,palestinian ,gaonate seem to have survived at ,damascus4 ,see ,j4 ,q4,r41 ,,xv1 pp4 #gi-if4 ,footnote #aje3 ,galid as a city cannot be identified4 ,salchah is in the ,eastern ,hauran1 half a day's journey from ,bosra1 and is spoken of in ,scripture as a frontier city of ,bashan4 7,deut4 iii4 #aj2 ,joshua xii4 #e47 ,it lies a long way to the south of ,damascus1 whilst ,baalbec lies to the north4 ,footnote #ajf3 ,tarmod is ,tadmor or ,palmyra4 ,footnote #ajg3 ,the important city ,emesa1 now called ,homs1 is here probably indicated4 ,in scripture1 ,gen4 x4 #ah1 the ,zemarite and the ,hamathite are grouped together among the ,canaanite families4 ,in this district is the intermittent spring of ,fuwar ed-,der1 the ,sabbatio ,river of antiquity1 which ,titus visited after the destruction of ,jerusalem4 ,josephus 7,wars of the ,jews1 ,book ,,vii1 sec4 #e7 describes it as follows3 ,its current is strong and has plenty of water2 after which its springs fail for six days together and leave its channels dry1 as any one may see2 after which days it runs on the seventh day as it did before1 and as though it had undergone no change at all3 it has also been observed to keep this order perpetually and exactly4 ,the intermittent action is readily accounted for by the stream having hollowed out an underground duct1 which acts as a syphon4 ,footnote #ajh3 ,hamath is often mentioned in ,scripture1 situated at no great distance from the ,orontes4 ,in the troublous time after the first crusade it was taken by the ,ismailians or ,assassins4 ,the earthquake of #aaeg caused great damage4 ,twenty years later the place was captured by ,saladin4 ,footnote #aji3 ,robinson and ,conder identify ,hazor with a site near ,kedesh ,naftali1 but ,sheiza is doubtless ,sheizar1 the ancient ,larissa4 ,having regard to the readings of the other ,,mss41 there is no doubt that ,latmin1 the next stage on the way to ,aleppo1 is the correct name of the place4 ,see ,m4 ,hartmann's articles1 ,beitraege zur ,kenntuis der ,syrischen ,steppe1 ,z4,d4,p4,v41 vols4 ,,xxii and ,,xxiii1 #aijj ,i4 ,cf4 the article on the ,boundaries of ,palestine and ,syria by ,m4 ,friedmann1 ,luncz's ,jerusalem1 vol4 ,,ii4 ,footnote #aaj3 ,edrisi writes that there was abundance of water at ,aleppo1 but there is no discrepancy between ,benjamin's and ,edrisi's statements1 as ,asher supposes4 ,the old waterworks were restored by ,malek about the year #abjj1 some thirty years after ,benjamin's visit4 ,footnote #aaa3 ,edrisi and ,abulfeda speak of ,balis and ,kalat ,jabar4 ,see ,guy ,le ,strange1 p4 #dag4 ,zengy the ,atabeg was slain at ,kalat ,jabar4 ,footnote #aab3 ,rakka is on the left bank of the ,euphrates4 ,it was an important city of ,upper ,mesopotamia1 commanding the ,syrian frontier4 ,salchah is in the ,hauran4 ,see p4 #cj1 note #e4 ,on the right bank of the ,euphrates1 nearly opposite to ,rakka1 was ,thapsacus4 ,here ,cyrus forded the river1 and here ,alexander crossed in pursuit of ,darius4 ,footnote #aac3 ,harran1 the city of ,nahor1 is twenty-four miles ,,sse4 of ,edessa on the ,balikh4 ,mustawfi tells us of ,abraham's ,shrine4 ,footnote #aad3 ,ras-el-,ain1 probably ,rhesaina4 ,the river ,khabur--the ,araxes of ,xenophon--flows from the ,kurdistan mountains southwards1 and runs into the ,euphrates4 ,footnote #aae3 ,the ,gozan river cannot be1 as tacitly assumed by ,asher1 the ,kizil ,uzun 7also known as the ,araxes74 ,the ,kizil ,uzun is on the right of the watershed of the mountains of ,kurdistan1 and falls into the ,caspian ,sea4 ,the ,khabur above referred to flows through ,mesopotamia1 not through ,media4 ,the misconception arises probably from the author being too mindful of the passage occurring repeatedly in ,scripture1 e4 g4 #b ,kings xvii4 #f3 444 and placed them in ,halah and in ,habor by the river of ,gozan1 and in the cities of the ,medes4 ,footnote #aaf3 ,all the ,,mss4 except ,,bm4 have here3 ,thence it is two days to the city of ,nisibis 7,nasibin74 ,this is a great city with rivulets of water1 and contains about #a1jjj ,jews4 ,footnote #aag3 ,josephus 7,antiquities1 ,i1 #c7 mentions that ,noah's ,ark still existed in his day4 ,rabbi ,pethachia1 who travelled through ,armenia within twenty years after ,benjamin1 speaks of four mountain peaks1 between which the ,ark became fixed and from which it could not get free4 ,arab writers tell us that ,jabal ,judi 7,koran1 ch4 xi1 ver4 #df7 with the ,mosque of ,noah on the summit1 could be seen from ,geziret4 ,see also ,marco ,polo1 ,bk4 ,i4 ch4 #c4 ,footnote #aah3 ,see ,lebrecht's ,essay ,on the ,state of the ,caliphate at ,bagdad4 ,sin-ed-din1 otherwise known as ,seif-ed-din1 died #aadi1 some twenty years before ,benjamin's visit1 and ,graetz 7vol4 ,,vi1 note #aj7 suggests that the appointment of ,astronomer ,royal must have been made by ,nur-ed-din's nephew4 ,none of the ,,mss4 have this reading1 nor is such a correction needed4 ,r4 ,joseph may have been appointed by ,nur-ed-din's brother1 and would naturally retain the office during the reign of his successor4 ,footnote #aai3 ,irbil1 or ,arbela1 is two days' journey from ,mosul4 ,see ,saadyana1 ,j4 ,q4,r41 vol4 ,,xiv1 p4 #ejc1 and ,w4 ,bacher's note1 p4 #gda4 ,footnote #abj3 ,for a full account of ,mosul and other places here referred to1 see ,mr4 ,guy ,le ,strange's ,the ,lands of the ,eastern ,caliphate1 #aije1 also ,layard's ,nineveh and its ,remains and ,nineveh and ,babylon4 ,layard carefully examined ,nebbi ,junus1 which is held in great veneration by the ,mussulmans1 and came to the conclusion that the tradition which places ,jonah's tomb on this spot is a mere fable 7p4 #eif74 ,it will be seen that ,benjamin speaks of the ,shrine as a ,synagogue4 ,at ,alkush near ,mosul the tomb of ,nahum is pointed out1 and the ,arabs say that after ,jonah had fulfilled his mission to the people of ,nineveh they relapsed into idolatry4 ,then ,nahum denounced the city and was slain by the populace1 who proclaimed him and ,jonah to be false prophets1 since the doom the latter foretold does not come to pass1 ,see ,schwarz1 ,das ,heilige ,land1 #aheb1 p4 #bei1 identifying ,kefar ,tanchum near ,tiberias with ,nahum's burialplace ,footnote #aba3 ,as to ,jewish seats of learning in ,babylon refer to ,dr4 ,krauss's ,article ,babylonia in the ,jewish ,encyclopaedia2 see also ,guy ,le ,strange1 p4 #gd1 who suggests that ,pumbedita means mouth of the ,badat canal4 ,cf4 ,j4 ,q4 ,r41 ,,xvii1 p4 #gef4 ,footnote #abb3 ,hadara goes under the name ,alhathr or ,hatra4 ,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 of1 till he comes to ,egypt4 ,up to this point the ,traveller has always appeared to under-estimate the ,jewish population4 ,henceforth it will be found that he gives apparently exaggerated figures1--and this lends colour to the view that ,benjamin did not proceed beyond ,ispahan1 but found his way thence direct to ,egypt4 ,the statements concerning the intervening places must therefore be taken to have been based upon hearsay information4 ,pethachia's remarks are significant3 ,in the land of ,cush and ,babel are more than sixty myriads of ,jews2 as many are in the land of ,persia4 ,but in ,persia the ,jews are subject to hard bondage and suffering4 ,therefore ,rabbi ,pethachia visited only one city in ,persia4 7,dr4 ,benisch's edition1 p4 #ai47 ,footnote #abc3 ,the ,caliphs of the ,abbaside ,dynasty traced their descent from ,mohammed4 ,benjamin here refers to the ,caliph ,el ,mostanshed4 ,the ,caliph is aptly compared to the ,pope4 ,in addition to his temporal authority at ,bagdad1 he exercised as ,leader of the ,faithful--,emir al-,muminin--religious authority over all ,mohammedans from ,spain to ,india4 ,at a later time the vizier arrogated all authority to himself1 and the ,caliph spent his time either in the mosque or in the seraglio4 ,footnote #abd3 ,lebrecht1 p4 #cia1 states that this was a scarf of black velvet1 generally a portion of the hangings of the mosque of ,mecca1 which was suspended from a balcony of the ,palace and was called the ,sleeve of the ,caliph4 ,footnote #abe3 ,the statements here made are strangely contradictory2 see a suggestive article by ,dr4 ,goldziher in ,z4,d4,p4,g41 #aije1 p4 #aea4 ,footnote #abf3 ,a valuable work1 ,bagdad during the ,abbaside ,caliphate1 from ,contemporary ,arabic and ,persian ,sources1 appeared in #aijj1 written by ,mr4 ,guy ,le ,strange1 which helps to explain ,benjamin's account of the ,moslem metropolis4 ,the ,caliph ,mansur in #gfb selected it as the ,capital of the ,empire4 ,numerous references in the ,talmud prove that a ,jewish settlement was there long before4 ,mansur built a double-walled ,round ,city two miles in diameter on the western side of the ,tigris4 ,it formed the nucleus of suburbs1 which spread over both banks of the ,tigris4 ,a very fair idea of the metropolis may be obtained if we imagine the ,round ,city as situated on the ,surrey side of the ,thames1 having the ,elephant and ,castle for its centre4 ,at this spot stood the great ,mosque of ,mansur1 where the ,friday services were held1 and where the ,caliph took a prominent part in the service on the ,bairam1 at the close of the ,ramazan fast4 ,the ,round ,city being subject to periodical inundations1 the government buildings were gradually transferred to the eastern side of the river4 ,the ,royal ,palaces1 in the grounds called the ,harim1 which were fully three miles in extent1 occupied the site similar to that from ,westminster to the ,city4 ,at one time there were as many as twenty-three palaces within the royal precincts4 ,the ,caliph1 when visiting the ,mosque in state1 left the palace grounds1 and proceeded over the main bridge1 corresponding to ,westminster ,bridge1 along a road which in ,benjamin's time led to the ,basrah ,gate quarter4 ,at the close of the ceremony in the ,mosque1 the ,caliph returned1 crossing the bridge of boats1 and proceeded to his palace by a road corresponding to the ,thames ,embankment4 ,the members of his court and the nobles entered barges and escorted him alongside the river4 ,the ,arab writers mention that certain palaces were used as state prisons1 in which the ,caliphs kept their nearer relations in honourable confinement4 ,they were duly attended by numerous servants1 and amply supplied with every luxury1 but forbidden under pain of death to go beyond the walls4 ,lebrecht1 p4 #cha1 explains the circumstances under which the ,caliph ,moktafi imprisoned his brother and several of his kinsmen4 ,there were large hospitals in ,bagdad3 the one to which ,benjamin alludes is the ,birmaristan of the ,mustansiriyah1 in ,western ,bagdad1 which for three centuries was a great school of medical science4 ,its ruins1 close to the present bridge of boats1 are still to be seen4 ,the reader must bear in mind that at the time when ,benjamin visited ,bagdad1 the ,seljuk ,sultans had been defeated1 and the ,caliphs stood higher than ever in power4 ,they1 however1 took little interest in political affairs1 which were left entirely in the hands of their viziers4 ,footnote #abg3 ,asher and the other printed editions give the ,jewish population at #a1jjj4 ,pethachia makes the same estimate1 which1 however1 is inconsistent with his statement1 that the ,head of the ,academy had #b1jjj disciples at one time1 and that more than #ejj surrounded him4 ,the ,british ,museum and ,casanatense ,,mss4 solve the difficulty2 they have the reading forty thousand4 ,it would be wearisome to specify in these notes all the places where a superior reading is presented by these ,,mss42 the student will1 however1 find that not a few anomalies which confronted ,asher are now removed4 ,footnote #abh3 ,the last or tenth ,academy4 ,footnote #abi3 ,this appellation is applied in the ,talmud to scholars who uninterruptedly apply themselves to communal work4 ,footnote #acj3 ,the first line of ,exilarchs1 which ended with ,hezekiah in the year #ajdj1 traced their descent from ,david through ,zerubbabel4 ,hisdai's pedigree was through ,hillel1 who sprang from a female branch of the ,royal line 7see ,graetz1 vol4 ,,vi1 note #aj74 ,pethachia writes 7p4 #ag7 that a year before his arrival at ,bagdad ,daniel died4 ,a nephew1 ,david1 became ,exilarch jointly with ,r4 ,samuel1 the ,head of the great ,academy1 whose authority over all the communities in ,asia became paramount4 ,samuel had an only daughter1 who was learned in the ,scriptures and the ,talmud4 ,she gave instruction through a window1 remaining in the house1 whilst the disciples were below1 unable to see her4 ,footnote #aca3 ,the office of ,exilarch had but recently been revived1 and the ,mohammed here referred to may have been ,mohammed ,el ,moktafi1 the ,caliph ,mostanshed's predecessor4 ,footnote #acb3 ,the ,alans throughout the ,middle ,ages occupied ,georgia and the regions of the ,caucasus4 ,as to the ,iron ,gates which ,alexander made1 ,yule in commenting on ,marco ,polo's text 7,travels of ,ser ,marco ,polo3 edited by ,sir ,henry ,yule1 #crd edition1 ,london1 ,john ,murray1 chap1 iii7 says that ,benjamin was the first ,european traveller to mention this pass4 ,benjamin and ,marco ,polo both record the general belief currrent at the time that the ,pass of ,derbend was traversed by ,alexander4 ,it is still called in ,turkish ,demis-,kapi or the ,iron ,gate1 and the ,persians designate it ,sadd-i-,iskandar--the ,rampart of ,alexander4 ,lord ,curzon1 however1 in his valuable work ,persia and the ,persians1 vol4 #a1 p4 #bic1 proves conclusively that the pass through which ,alexander's army marched when pursuing ,darius after the battle of ,arbela could not have been at ,derbend4 ,arrian1 the historian of ,alexander's expeditions1 writes that the pass was one day's journey from ,rages 7the noted city mentioned in the ,book of ,tobit7 for a man marching at the pace of ,alexander's army4 ,but ,derbend is fully #ejj miles from ,rages4 ,in ,lord ,curzon's opinion1 confirmed by ,spiegel1 ,droysen and ,schindler1 the ,sirdara ,pass1 some forty miles from ,teheran on the way to ,meshed1 must have been the defile which ,alexander's army forced4 ,i think it will be found that ,marco ,polo's geography is less reliable than that of ,benjamin4 ,in the third chapter referred to above1 ,marco ,polo speaks of the ,euphrates falling into the ,caspian ,sea4 ,footnote #acc3 ,probably the ,oxus1 called by the ,arabs ,gaihun4 ,rabad ,i1 a contemporary of ,benjamin1 speaks of the land of ,gurgan in his ,sefer ,hakabalah4 ,the ,nestorian ,christians are probably here referred to4 ,footnote #acd3 ,it is interesting to compare this account with that of the ,installation of the ,egyptian ,nagid 7,j4,q4,r41 ,,ix1 p4 #gag74 ,footnote #ace3 ,this is a well-known sage1 whose name often occurs in the ,talmud4 ,footnote #acf3 ,the ,babel of ,bible times was captured by ,sennacherib2 after stopping up a dam of the ,euphrates1 the country was placed under water and the city destroyed4 ,nebuchadnezzar restored the city2 he also erected a magnificent palace for himself--the ,kasr--also the ,temple of ,bel4 ,herodotus1 ,book ,i1 chaps4 #agh-hi1 fully describes these edifices1 and dwells upon the huge extent of the metropolis1 which was estimated to have a circuit of fifty miles4 ,xerxes destroyed the city4 ,alexander the ,great contemplated the restoration of ,bel's ,temple1 but as it would have taken two months for #aj1jjj men merely to remove the rubbish1 he abandoned the attempt4 ,the ruins have been recently explored by ,germans4 ,the embankments which regulated the flow of the ,euphrates and ,tigris have given way1 and at the present time the whole region round ,babylon is marshy and malarious4 ,in the words of ,jeremiah1 li4 #dc1 ,her cities are a desolation1 a sterile land1 and a wilderness1 a place wherein no man dwelleth4 ,footnote #acg3 ,the ,valley of ,dura mentioned in ,daniel iii4 is here referred to4 ,see ,dr4 ,berliner's ,beitraege zur ,geographie und ,ethnographie ,babyloniens2 also ,layard's ,nineveh and ,babylon1 p4 #dfi4 ,cf4 ,berachot1 #eg b4 ,footnote #ach3 ,bereshith ,rabba1 chap1 xxxviii1 says the tower was at ,borsippa1 and the ruins here spoken of are probably those of the ,birs ,nimroud1 fully described by ,layard1 ,nineveh and ,babylon1 chap1 xxii1 p4 #dif4 ,he says3 ,the mound rises abruptly to the height of #aih feet1 and has on its summit a compact mass of brickwork #cg feet high by #bh broad4444 ,on one side of it1 beneath the crowning masonry1 lie huge fragments torn from the pile itself4 ,the calcined and vitreous surface of the bricks1 fused into rock-like masses1 show that their fall may have been caused by lightning4 ,the ruin is rent almost from top to bottom4 ,no traces whatever now remain of the spiral passage spoken of by the ,jewish traveller4 ,cf4 ,professor ,t4,k4 ,cheyne's article1 ,the ,tower of ,babel1 in the new ,biblical ,cyclopaedia4 ,nebuchadnezzar1 in his ,borsippa inscription1 records that the tower1 which had never originally been completed1 had fallen into decay1 and that the kiln-bricks had split4 ,these are the ,agur bricks mentioned by ,benjamin2 cf4 ,isaiah xxvii4 #i4 ,al-ajur is the word still used by the ,arabs for kiln-burnt bricks4 ,footnote #aci3 ,niebuhr1 vol4 ,,ii1 #baf1 gives a full account of his visit to the tomb4 ,layard1 speaking of ,birs ,nimroud1 says3 ,to the south-west in the extreme distance rise the palm-trees of ,kifil1 casting their scanty shade over a small dome1 the tomb of ,ezekiel4 ,to this spot occasionally flock in crowds1 as their forefathers have done for centuries1 the ,jews of ,bagdad1 ,hillah1 and other cities of ,chaldea4444 ,it is now but a plain building1 despoiled of the ornaments and ,,mss4 which it once appears to have contained 7,nineveh and ,babylon1 p4 #ejj74 ,alcharizi composed a beautiful ode when visiting this tomb 7chap1 xxxv1 also chap4 ,l74 ,footnote #adj3 ,this ,mohammed1 as in the case referred to p4 #dj1 must have been a predecessor of the reigning ,caliph1 as the ,prophet was never in ,babylonia1 and in no case would he have granted favours to the ,jews4 ,it should be noted that the ,british ,museum ,,ms4 on which our text is based1 as well as the ,casanatense ,,ms41 generally styles the ,prophet ,hebrew4 ,the ,,ms41 on which the ,constantinople editio princeps is based1 had probably all passages where this epithet or other objectionable remarks were used excised by the censor1 and it will be seen that the passage before us1 with reference to the grant of land by ,mohammed1 as well as that further on1 referring to ,ali1 the son-in-law of ,mohammed1 do not appear in any of the printed editions4 ,dr4 ,hirschfeld is of opinion that1 on the one hand1 the epithet is the translation of the ,arabic majnun1 a term against which ,mohammed protested several times in the ,koran1 because it means he was possessed by a jinn1 like a soothsayer4 ,on the other hand1 the word was chosen having regard to ,hosea ix4 #g4 ,this was done long before ,benjamin's time1 by ,jafeth and others4 ,footnote #ada3 ,see picture of the traditional tomb of ,ezekiel in the ,jewish ,encyclopaedia1 vol4 ,v1 p4 #cae4 ,footnote #adb3 ,the ,talmud 7,sabbath1 ,,ii a7 speaks of the destruction of ,mata ,mehasya4 ,sura took its place as a centre of learning4 ,footnote #adc3 ,see ,berliner1 pp4 #de1 #dg1 #ed1 and #eg1 for particulars derived from the ,talmud and ,midrash as to the several centres of ,jewish learning in ,babylonia4 ,footnote #add3 ,this synagogue is repeatedly mentioned in the ,talmud4 ,zunz 7,note #bee7 omits mentioning ,aboda ,zarah1 #dc b1 where ,rashi explains that ,shafjathib was a place in the district of ,nehardea1 and that ,jeconiah and his followers brought the holy earth thither1 giving effect to the words of the ,psalmist3 ,for thy servants take pleasure in her stones1 and favour the dust thereof 7,ps4 cii4 #ad74 ,footnote #ade3 ,benjamin visited the various seats of learning in the neighbourhood1 and thus came again to ,nehardea1 which has been already mentioned on p4 #cd4 ,rab ,jehuda1 not ,rab1 is there associated with ,samuel4 ,footnote #adf3 ,asher1 at this stage of ,benjamin's narrative1 has the following note3 ,for the illustration of that portion of our text which treats of ,arabia1 we refer the reader to the ,rev4 ,s4,l4 ,rapoport's paper1 ',independent ,jews of ,arabia1' which will be found at the end of these notes4 ,no such account appeared in the work1 but in the ,bikkure ,haittim for the year #ahbd1 p4 #ea1 there appears an interesting essay in ,hebrew on the subject by ,rapoport1 to which the reader is referred4 ,it is a matter of history that the powerful independent ,jewish communities which were settled at ,yathrib1 afterwards called ,medina1 and in the volcanic highlands of ,kheibar and ,teima called the ,harrah1 were crushed by ,mohammed4 ,dr4 ,hirschfeld1 in the ,jewish ,quarterly ,review1 vol4 ,,xv1 p4 #agj1 gives us the translation of a letter found in the ,cairo ,genizah1 addressed by ,mohammed to the people of ,kheibar and ,maqna1 granting them certain privileges from which the ,jews1 who were allowed to remain in their homes1 benefited4 ,omar1 the second ,caliph1 broke the compact1 but allowed them to settle at ,kufa on the ,euphrates4 ,although pilgrims pass annually up and down the caravan tracks to ,mecca1 the information respecting the old ,jewish sites in the ,harrah is most meagre4 ,edrisi and ,abulfeda throw no light on ,benjamin's account4 ,in the year #aijd an able work by ,mr4 ,d4,g4 ,hogarth appeared under the title of ,the ,penetration of ,arabia1 being a record of the development of ,western knowledge concerning the ,arabian ,peninsula4 ,he gives a full account of the ,european travellers who have described the country4 ,niebuhr1 who visited ,yemen in #agfb1 repeated the statement made by the ,italian traveller ,varthema that there were still wild ,jews in ,kheibar4 ,the missionary ,joseph ,woolf visited ,arabia in #ahcf1 and he gives us an account of an interview he had with some of the ,rechabites4 ,no weight1 however1 can be attached to his fantastic stories4 ,w4,g4 ,palgrave1 who resided for some years in ,syria as a ,jesuit1 where he called himself ,father ,michael 7,cohen71 was entrusted in #ahfb with a mission to ,arabia by ,napoleon ,,iii in connexion with the projected ,suez ,canal2 he was one of the few visitors to the ,harrah1 but he makes no special reference to the ,jews4 ,joseph ,halevi made many valuable discoveries of inscriptions in ,south ,arabia1 which he traversed in #ahfi4 ,he visited the oppressed ,jewish community at ,sanaa in ,yemen2 he further discovered traces of the ancient ,minaean kingdom1 and found that the ,jews in the ,nejran were treated with singular tolerance and even favour2 but he was not able to tell us anything respecting the ,jews of the ,harrah4 ,c4,m4 ,doughty was1 however1 more successful when visiting this district in #ahge4 ,of ,kheibar he says that it is now a poor village whose inhabitants are a terrible kindred1 ,moslems outwardly1 but1 in secret1 cruel ,jews that will suffer no stranger to enter among them4 ,see ,c4,m4 ,doughty's ,arabia ,deserta1 vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #abi4 ,teima is a ,nejd colony of ,shammar2 their fathers came to settle there not above #bjj years past4 ,old ,teima of the ,jews1 according to their tradition1 had been 7twice7 destroyed by flood4 ,from those times there remain some great rude stone buildings4 ,it is now a prosperous open place 7vol4 ,i1 p4 #bhf74 ,the only writer that casts any doubt upon ,benjamin's record as to independent ,jewish tribes in ,arabia is ,r4 ,jacob ,safir1 who visited ,yemen and other ,arabian ports in the ,red ,sea in the year #ahfd4 ,see chaps4 xv and xliii of ,iben ,safir1 ,lyck1 #ahff4 ,dr4 ,l4 ,gruenhut1 in his introduction1 ,die ,reisebeschreibungen des ,r4 ,benjamin von ,tudela1 ,jerusalem1 #aijc1 p4 #af1 refutes ,safir's statements4 ,in ,hogarth's work1 p4 #bhb1 is shown a print of the ,teima stone1 with its ,aramaic inscription1 considered to belong to the fourth or fifth century ,b4,c41 and on p4 #bhe will be found ,doughty's interesting sketch of ,kheibar4 ,footnote #adg3 ,it is clear that1 when speaking of the population of some of these places1 the whole oasis or district is intended1 and not a particular town4 ,footnote #adh3 ,in reading through the foregoing account of the ,jews in ,arabia1 it is quite clear that ,benjamin never visited the country1 nor did he pretend to have done so4 ,in the words of ,mr4 ,c4,e4 ,beazley 7,the ,dawn of ,modern ,geography1 p4 #beb71 ,it is no longer1 for the most part1 a record of personal travel2 it is rather an attempt to supplement the first part 'of things seen' by a second 'of things heard4' ,but ,beazley is wrong when he characterizes as wild the account of the ,jews of ,southern ,arabia who were ,rechabites4 ,does ,benjamin say so8 ,there is no such reading in the ,,ms4 of the ,british ,museum4 ,the student1 it is thought1 will by this time have come to the conclusion that it is the oldest and most trustworthy of our available authorities4 ,the whole misconception has arisen from the fact that the unreliable ,,ms4 ,e and all the printed editions have transposed the letters of ,hebrew3 and made ,hebrew3 of it4 ,rapoport1 in the article already referred to1 seems to suspect the faulty reading3 to justify it1 he connects the men of ,kheibar with the ,rechabites and the sons of ,heber the ,kenite1 basing his argument upon ,jer4 xxxv1 ,judges i4 #af1 ,i ,sam4 xxvii4 #aj1 and ,i ,chron4 ii4 #ee4 ,neither ,zunz nor ,asher makes any comments upon this chapter of the itinerary4 ,graetz gives an abstract of ,benjamin's account2 he1 as well as all other writers1 is unable to identify ,tilmas1 but is of opinion that ,tanai must be ,sanaa1 the capital of ,yemen1 which1 however1 is twenty-five days' journey beyond ,kheibar4 ,it is well known that ,yemen has1 since ,bible times1 harboured a ,jewish population1 who--notwithstanding all oppression1 intensified under ,turkish rule--inhabit many of its towns and villages to the present day4 ,it is comparatively accessible1 owing to its proximity to the sea4 ,we must cherish the hope that ,great ,britain1 now that it claims the ,hinterland of ,aden1 will extend its protection to the ,jews4 ,the volcanic highlands 7,harrah7 of ,kheibar were always inaccessible1 owing to their being surrounded by waterless deserts and fanatic ,bedouin tribes4 ,r4 ,abraham ,farissol1 who flourished at the beginning of the sixteenth century1 writes that there was a large number of ,jews in the district1 who lived in tents and in wooden houses or huts4 ,his contemporary1 ,david ,reubeni1 who crossed from ,arabia to ,abyssinia and came to ,europe in #aebd1 pretended to be brother of ,joseph1 king of the tribes of ,reuben1 ,gad1 and half-,manasseh in the desert of ,chabor 7,kheibar74 ,benjamin takes care to qualify his statement as to the origin of the ,jews of ,kheibar by adding ,hebrew3 people say they belong to the tribes of ,reuben1 ,gad1 and the half-tribe of ,manasseh1 whom ,salmanesser1 ,king of ,assyria1 led hither into captivity4 ,i would here mention an interesting work of ,dr4 ,r4 ,dozy1 ,professor of ,history and ,oriental ,languages at ,leyden1 ,die ,israeliten in ,mecca1 #ahfd4 ,by a series of ingenious inferences from ,bible texts 7#a ,sam4 xxx1 #a ,chron4 iv4 #bd-dc1 c47 he essays to establish that the tribe of ,simeon1 after ,david had dispersed the ,amalekites who had already been weakened by ,saul1 entered ,arabia and settled all along in the land of the ,minaeans and at ,mecca1 where they established the worship at the ,kaaba and introduced practices which have not been altogether abandoned up to the present day4 ,dr4 ,dozy further contends that after ,hezekiah's reign numerous ,jewish exiles came to ,arabia4 ,hommel1 in two articles in ,ersch and ,gruber's ,encyclopaedia1 under ,bedouins and ,anzah1 gives full particulars respecting the ,anizeh1 otherwise ,anaessi1 tribe--that they were in the habit of joining the ,wahabees and other ,bedouin tribes in attacking caravans and levying blackmail4 ,the ,turkish ,pasha at ,damascus had to pay annually passage-money to ensure the safety of the pilgrims to ,mecca4 ,on one occasion two of the ,bedouin sheiks were decoyed by the ,turks and killed2 but the ,anaessi1 aided by other tribes to the number of #hj1jjj1 took ample revenge by pillaging the ,mecca caravan on its return4 ,they seized a quantity of pearls1 and the women were said to have attempted boiling them with the rice4 ,seetzen 7,journey through ,syria1 c41 ,i1 ch4 i1 p4 #cef7 says1 ,in ,kheibar are no ,jews now1 only ,anaessi4 ,layard and other modern writers often refer to the ,anizeh ,bedouins4 ,travellers go in dread of them in the ,syrian desert and all along the ,euphrates4 ,doughty mentions that they1 more than any other tribe1 resemble the ,jews both in appearance and disposition4 ,ritter 7,geographie1 vol4 ,,xii71 in quoting ,niebuhr1 makes mention of the widespread ,anizeh tribe of ,bedouins who were anciently known to be ,jews4 ,he further states that the ,jews of ,damascus and ,aleppo shun them as they are non-observant ,jews1 considered by some to be ,karaites4 ,does all this give ground for any presumption that they are or were crypto-,jews1 the descendants of the former ,kheibar ,jews1 possibly also of those whom ,omar allowed to settle at ,kufa8 ,this lengthy note may be closed fitly with the following mysterious remark in ,doughty's usual quaint style 7vol4 ,i1 p4 #abg71 in connexion with the murder of a ,bagdad ,jew who tried to reach ,kheibar3 ,but let none any more jeopardy his life for ,kheibar6 ,i would that these leaves might save the blood of some3 and ,god give me this reward of my labour6 for who will1 he may read in them all the tale of ,kheibar4 ,footnote #adi3 ,it will be seen further on 7p4 #fg7 that ,benjamin speaks of ,aden as being in ,india1 which is on the mainland4 ,it is well known that ,abyssinia and ,arabia were in the ,middle ,ages spoken of as ,middle ,india4 ,it has been ascertained that in ancient times the ,arabs extensively colonized the western sea-coast of the ,east ,indies4 ,cf4 the article ,arabia1 in the ninth edition of the ,encyclopaedia ,britannica and ,supplement4 ,footnote #aej3 ,the ,casanatense ,,ms4 here interpolates3 ,thence it takes seven days to ,lusis1 where there are #b1jjj ,israelites4 ,asher substitutes for ,lusis ,wasit1 a place near the ,tigris4 ,i am unable to identify the river ,virae1 and the words which is in the land of ,al ,yemen are evidently out of place4 ,footnote #aea3 ,see ,dr4 ,hartwig ,hirschfeld's account of a ,fragment of a ,work by ,judah ,al-harizi1 being a description of a pilgrimage through ,mesopotamia with a view to visit ,ezra's grave4 ,the ,arab geographer ,yakut locates the grave in the village ,maisan on the river ,samara near the place where the ,euphrates and ,tigris unite 7,j4 ,q4,r41 vol4 ,,xv1 #fhc74 ,layard writes as follows3--,we stopped at the so-called tomb of the prophet ,ezra1 about twenty-five miles from the junction of the ,tigris and ,euphrates1 at ,korna4 ,the building1 which is of a comparatively modern date1 consisted of two chambers1 an outer one which was empty1 and an inner one containing the tomb built of bricks1 covered with white stucco and enclosed in a wooden case1 over which was thrown a large blue cloth fringed with yellow tassels with the name of the donor embroidered on it in ,hebrew characters4 ,no trace of either the large synagogue or of the mosque mentioned by ,benjamin now exists1 and it may be doubted whether the present building covers the tomb which was seen by the ,hebrew traveller4 ,we could find no ancient remains near it1 as the ,tigris is constantly changing its course1 and was still eating away the bank of alluvial soil1 upon the edge of which the building stood4 ,it is highly probable that the tomb seen by ,benjamin of ,tudela had long before been carried away by the river4 ,layard's ,early ,adventures in ,persia1 ,susiana1 and ,babylonia1 vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #bad4 ,see also an elaborate note of ,dr4 ,benisch1 p4 #ia of his edition of ,pethachia's ,travels1 and ,i4,j4 ,benjamin ,,ii1 ,eight ,years in ,asia and ,africa1 p4 #afg4 ,footnote #aeb3 ,as for the river ,gozan see p4 #cc1 n4 #c1 and p4 #eh1 n4 #d4 ,the mountains of ,chafton1 referred to also in pp4 #ed1 #ee1 would seem to include not only the ,zagros range1 but also the highlands of ,kurdistan4 ,footnote #aec3 ,marco ,polo1 book ,,ii1 chap1 xlv1 says of ,tibet3 ,in this country there are many of the animals that produce musk4 ,the ,tartars have great numbers of large and fine dogs which are of great service in catching the musk-beasts1 and so they procure a great abundance of musk4 ,footnote #aed3 ,the reputed sepulchre of ,daniel is situated between ,schuster and ,dizful in ,persia1 close by the river ,shaour1 an affluent of the ,karun river1 which is supposed to be the ,ulai of the ,bible1 ,dan4 viii4 #b4 ,it is within sight of the vast mound which denotes the site of ,susa1 the ancient ,shushan4 ,here ,mme4 ,dieulafoy in #ahha made extensive excavations of the palace of the ,persian kings1 many relics of which are now on view at the ,louvre in ,paris4 ,the tomb of ,daniel has been fully described by ,layard--see ,early ,adventures1 vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #bie4 ,it is of comparatively recent date1 not unlike the shrines of ,mussulman saints1 and is surmounted by a high conical dome of irregular brickwork1 somewhat resembling in shape a pine cone4 ,the reader is referred to the beautiful pictorial illustrations of ,daniel's reputed tomb1 of the ruins of ,susa1 and of ,schuster and its bridges in ,mme4 ,dieulafoy's ,la ,perse1 la ,chaldee et la ,susiane1 ,paris1 #ahhg4 ,there is nothing to connect the building on the banks of the ,shaour with the tomb of ,daniel save the ,mussulman tradition4 ,there are many legends connected with the reputed sepulchre1 one of which is to the effect that the men of ,susa diverted the river in order to bury ,daniel's coffin in its bed4 ,see ,guy ,le ,strange1 p4 #bdj4 ,e4,n4 ,adler1 in his recent work ,jews in many ,lands1 ,jewish ,historical ,society of ,england1 p4 #bbd1 in describing ,samarkand1 writes as follows3 ,tradition has it that ,tamerlane had seen the tomb at ,susa in ,persia1 with a warning inscribed thereon1 that none should open its door2 and so he broke it open from behind1 and found it written that ,nebi ,daniel was there buried4 ,the impetuous conqueror had the sarcophagus removed with all reverence1 and carried it with him to his own capital to be its palladium4 ,the sarcophagus is over twenty yards long as beseems a prophet's stature4 ,it has been recently covered by a brick chapel with three cupolas1 but photographs of the ancient structure can be had in ,samarkand4 ,it is grandly placed at the edge of a cliff overhanging the rapid river ,seop4 ,the local ,jews do not believe the story1 nor do they quite disbelieve it1 for ,i went with two who prayed there at the grave of the righteous4 ,footnote #aee3 ,the reader will recollect that reference to this sect has already been made on page #af4 ,see ,guy ,le ,strange1 p4 #bbj and p4 #ced4 ,footnote #aef3 ,amadia 7,imadiyah7 is a city in ,kurdistan in a mountainous district1 north of ,mosul4 ,ben ,virga and ,r4 ,joseph ,hacohen1 the author of ,emek ,habacha1 state that #a1jjj ,jewish families lived in the city at that time4 ,it is strange that in all the ,,mss41 including ,asher's text1 this city is called ,amaria instead of ,amadia4 ,the mistake doubtless arose from the fact that the copyists mistook the ,hebrew letter 'resh' for a ,hebrew letter 'daleth'4 ,the scribe of the ,british ,museum ,,ms4 had made other errors of this kind1 writing ,hebrew3 for ,hebrew31 ,hebrew3 for ,hebrew31 c4 ,see ,guy ,le ,strange1 p4 #ib4 ,footnote #aeg3 ,the author of ,emek ,habacha gives the date of the ,alroy tragedy as #aafc4 ,it should1 however1 be antedated by a few years4 ,benjamin must have passed through ,egypt on his return journey some time before ,sept41 #aaga4 ,see note #b1 p4 #a4 ,he here tells us that the ,alroy catastrophe took place just ten years before his visit to ,bagdad and the neighbourhood4 ,it is clear therefore that #aafj is the latest date when this event could have taken place4 ,footnote #aeh3 ,this ,turkoman may have been the ,prince of ,arbela who in #aafg joined ,saladin in his successful invasion of ,egypt4 ,he was remarkable for his great strength and courage 7see ,bohadin's ,life of ,saladin1 ,palestine ,pilgrims' ,text ,society1 p4 #ea74 ,footnote #aei3 ,the accounts given by ,ben ,virga in ,sheret ,jehudah1 and by ,joseph ,hacohen in ,emek ,habacha1 are evidently based upon ,benjamin's record1 and throw no fresh light on this ,messianic movement4 ,asher1 vol4 ,,ii1 note #cjj1 promises but fails to give the contents of an ,arabic document written by a contemporary1 the renegade ,samuel ,ibn ,abbas1 which the savant ,s4 ,munk had discovered in the ,paris library2 a ,german translation of this document appears in ,dr4 ,wiener's ,emek ,habacha1 #aheh1 p4 #afi4 ,the name of the pseudo-,messiah is given as ,menahem1 surnamed ,al-,ruhi1 but ,munk satisfactorily proves that he is identical with our ,david ,alroy4 ,being a young man of engaging appearance and great accomplishments1 he gained considerable influence with the governor of ,amadia1 and had a considerable following among the ,jews of ,persia4 ,with the intention of occupying the castle1 he introduced a number of his armed adherents into the town1 who were careful1 however1 to conceal their weapons4 ,the governor detected the conspiracy1 and put ,alroy to death4 ,the excitement among the ,jews lasted for a considerable time4 ,two impostors1 with letters purporting to emanate from ,alroy1 came to ,bagdad1 and worked upon the credulity of the community4 ,men and women parted with their money and jewellery1 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 ,jerusalem4 ,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 flight4 ,at daybreak the fraud was discovered1 but the impostors had meanwhile decamped with their treasure4 ,the chronicler adds that the year in which this occurred was called ,the ,year of ,flight4 ,de ,sacy1 in his ,chrestomathie ,arabe1 ,i1 p4 #cfc1 gives a similar story1 the authorship of which he ascribes to ,schahristani4 ,footnote #afj3 ,asher1 vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #afg1 n4 #cjd1 gives expression to a keen desire for further particulars as to this tomb4 ,dr4 ,j4,e4 ,polak1 formerly ,physician to the late ,shah of ,persia1 gives the desired information1 on p4 #bf1 in an interesting work on ,persia4 ,he writes as follows3 ,the only national monument which the ,jews in ,persia possess is the tomb of ,esther at ,hamadan1 the ancient ,ecbatana1 whither they have made pilgrimages from time immemorial4 ,in the centre of the ,jewish quarter there is to be seen a low building with a cupola1 on the top of which a stork has built its nest4 ,the entrance is walled up for the greater part2 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 attacks1 which are not uncommon4 ,in the entrance hall1 which has but a low ceiling1 are recorded the names of pilgrims2 also the year when the building was restored4 ,thence one gains access into a small four-cornered chamber in which there are two high sarcophagi made of oak1 which are the monuments of ,esther and ,mordecai4 ,on both of them are inscribed in ,hebrew the words of the last chapter of the ,book of ,esther1 as well as the names of three ,physicians at whose expense the tomb was repaired4 ,dr4 ,polak states that in the ,middle ,ages the ,jewish population of ,persia was very large1 especially in the southern provinces4 ,in recent years it has greatly diminished in consequence of dire persecution4 ,he was assured that not more than #b1jjj ,jewish families remained in the country4 ,eighty years ago the entire community at ,meshed were forcibly converted to ,islam4 ,cf4 ,e4,n4 ,adler1 ,jews in ,many ,lands1 p4 #bad4 ,footnote #afa3 ,referring to ,benjamin's statement that ,mordecai and ,esther are buried at ,hamadan1 an interesting article by ,mr4 ,israel ,abrahams upon the subject1 with an illustration of the traditional tomb1 as well as a picture of ancient ,susa1 will be found in the ,jewish ,chronicle of ,march #ai1 #ahig4 ,in the issue of ,march #d1 #ahih1 ,mr4 ,morris ,cohen1 of ,bagdad1 furnished a full copy of the inscriptions in the ,mausoleum1 but they possess no historical value4 ,the reputed ,prayer of ,esther seen there by former travellers is no longer extant4 ,the statement of ,e4 ,jehiel ,heilprin1 in the ,seder ,hadoroth1 that ,mordecai and ,esther are buried at ,shomron is devoid of foundation1 and may have arisen through reading here ,hebrew3 for ,hebrew34 ,for information derived from the works of mediaeval ,arab writers respecting ,persia and the adjacent countries the reader should consult ,mr4 ,guy ,le ,strange's book1 ,the ,lands of the ,eastern ,caliphate4 ,the maps will be found most useful4 ,footnote #afb3 ,the ,british ,museum version omits this passage4 ,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 ,ispahan4 ,footnote #afc3 ,the great extent of ,ispahan is accounted for by the fact that it consisted of two towns2 the one called ,jay1 measured half a league across2 the other1 ,al ,yahudiyah1 the ,jew ,town two miles to the westward1 was double the size of ,jay4 ,mukadassi states that the city had been originally founded by the ,jews in the time of ,nebuchadnezzar1 because its climate resembled that of ,jerusalem4 ,le ,strange1 p4 #bjc4 ,footnote #afd3 ,lord ,curzon1 in his work on ,persia1 devotes chap4 xix in vol4 ,,ii to a description of the ,city of ,ispahan1 and of his journey there4 ,chap4 xx contains an account of his journey from ,ispahan to ,shiraz4 ,the distance between the two cities is #ha parasangs1 equivalent to #cab miles4 ,it will be seen that here1 as well as in the cases of ,ghaznah1 ,samarkand1 and ,tibet1 ,benjamin altogether under-estimates the true distances4 ,footnote #afe3 ,asher1 following the printed editions1 quotes the ,jewish population of this place as #h1jjj1 and assumes1 without any justification1 that ,khiva is here referred to4 ,he also substitutes ,oxus for ,gozan4 ,in the ,middle ,ages the ,oxus was known under the name of ,jayhun or ,gihon 7,gen4 ii4 #ac74 ,the name of the city according to our text is ,ghaznah1 which eight hundred years ago was the capital of ,afghanistan4 ,ibn ,batuta says it was ten stages from ,kandahar on the way to ,herat4 ,le ,strange 7p4 #cdh7 writes as follows3 ,ghaznah became famous in history at the beginning of the eleventh century as the capital of the great ,mahmud of ,ghaznah1 who at one time was master both of ,india on the east and ,bagdad on the west4 ,istakhri says3 ,no city of this countryside was richer in merchants and merchandise1 for it was as the port of ,india4 ,the river ,gozan1 on which we are told ,ghaznah lies1 must appear to the reader to be ubiquitous4 ,on p4 #cc we find the ,habor of ,kurdistan is its affluent2 on p4 #ee it is at ,dabaristan2 on p4 #ei in ,khorasan4 ,there is a simple solution of the difficulty4 ,in each of the localities ,benjamin was told that the river was called ,gozan2 for in the ,mongolian language ,usun is the name for water or river4 ,thus ,kisil-,usun means ,red ,river4 ,the addition of a g before a u or w is quite a common feature in language2 it occurs1 for instance1 in the ,romance and ,keltic languages4 ,footnote #aff3 ,the ,british ,museum text has3 ,and he put them in ,halah and in ,habor and the mountains of ,gozan and the mountains of the ,medes4 ,having regard to the passages #b ,kings xix4 #ab and ,isaiah xxxvii4 #ab1 ,noeldeke maintains that there was a tract of land watered by the river ,gozan1 known as ,gozanitis1 which ,scripture refers to4 ,see ,j4 ,q4,r41 vol4 ,i1 p4 #ahf4 ,naisabur is a city near ,meshed1 and close to high mountains which are a continuation of the ,elburz mountain range4 ,we draw attention to the cautious manner in which ,benjamin speaks here and elsewhere when alluding to the whereabouts of any of the ten tribes4 ,the tradition is widespread that independent ,jewish tribes were to be found in ,khorasan until recent times4 ,mr4 ,e4,n4 ,adler was told that in an ,armenian monastery near ,kutais1 ancient records are preserved which conclusively prove that the ,jews were paramount in certain districts three or four centuries ago2 ,jews in many ,lands1 p4 #agh4 ,cf4 ,wo waeren die zehn ,staemme ,israels zu suchen8 ,dr4 ,m4 ,lewin1 ,frankfort1 #aija4 ,footnote #afg3 ,it should be remembered that ,cush in ancient ,jewish literature does not always signify ,ethiopia1 but also denotes parts of ,arabia1 especially those nearest to ,abyssinia4 ,the name ,cush is also applied to countries east of the ,tigris1 see p4 #fc4 ,footnote #afh3 ,rayy is the ancient city of ,rages1 spoken of in the ,book of ,tobit i4 #ad4 ,the ruins are in the neighbourhood of ,teheran4 ,footnote #afi3 ,the incidents here related are fully gone into by ,dr4 ,neubauer in the third of his valuable articles ,where are the ten tribes8 7,j4 ,q4,r41 vol4 ,i1 p4 #ahe74 ,there can be little doubt that the ,kofar-al-,turak1 a people belonging to the ,tartar stock1 are identical with the so-called subjects of ,prester ,john1 of whom so much was heard in the ,middle ,ages4 ,they defeated ,sinjar in the year #aada2 this was1 however1 more than fifteen years prior to ,benjamin's visit4 ,to judge from the above passage1 where the allies of the ,jews are described as infidels1 the sons of ,ghuz of the ,kofar-al-,turak1 ,benjamin seems to confound the ,ghuzes with the ,tartar hordes4 ,now the ,ghuzes belonged to the ,seldjuk clans who had become ,mohammedans more than #ajj years before1 and1 as such1 ,benjamin would never have styled them infidels4 ,these ,ghuzes waged war with ,sinjar in #aaec1 when he was signally defeated1 and eventually made prisoner4 ,it is to this battle that ,benjamin must have made reference1 when he writes that it took place fifteen years ago4 ,see ,dr4 ,a4 ,mueller's ,islam1 also ,dr4 ,g4 ,oppert's ,presbyter ,johannes in ,sage und ,geschichte1 #ahfd4 ,footnote #agj3 ,it will be noted that ,benjamin uses here the terms ,hebrew3 evidently implying that he himself did not go to sea4 ,in the ,middle ,ages the island of ,kish or ,kis was an important station on the trade route from ,india to ,europe4 ,le ,strange writes1 p4 #beg1 that in the course of the twelfth century it became the trade centre of the ,persian ,gulf4 ,a great walled city was built in the island1 where water-tanks had been constructed1 and on the neighbouring sea-banks was the famous pearl-fishery4 ,ships from ,india and ,arabia crowded the port4 ,kish was afterwards supplanted by ,ormuz and ,bandar-,abbas2 ,england held possession of the island from #ahbj to #ahgi1 and it has recently been visited officially by ,lord ,curzon4 ,for a description of the island see ,the ,times1 ,jan4 #ah1 #aijd4 ,footnote #aga3 ,katifa or ,el-,katif lies on the ,persian ,gulf1 on the ,east coast of ,arabia1 near ,bahrein4 ,bochart is of opinion that this part of ,arabia is the land of ,havilah1 where1 according to ,gen4 ii4 #aa and #ab1 there is gold1 bdellium1 and the onyx stone4 ,jewish authorities are divided in opinion as to whether ,hebrew is a jewel1 or the fragrant gum exuded by a species of balsam-tree4 ,benjamin follows ,saadia ,gaon1 who in his ,arabic translation of the ,bible renders it ,hebrew1 the very word used by our author here for pearls4 ,masudi is one of the earliest ,arabic writers who gives us a description of the pearl-fisheries in the ,persian ,gulf1 and it very much accords with ,benjamin's account4 ,see ,sprenger's translation of ,masudi's ,meadows of ,gold1 p4 #cdd4 ,at the present time more than #e1jjj boats are engaged in this industry along this coast1 and it yields an annual income of ,l#a1jjj1jjj4 ,see ,p4,m4 ,sykes1 ,ten ,thousand ,miles in ,persia1 #aijb4 ,footnote #agb3 ,khulam1 now called ,quilon1 was a much frequented seaport in the early ,middle ,ages where ,chinese shippers met the ,arab traders4 ,it afterwards declined in importance1 being supplanted by ,calicut1 ,goa1 and eventually by ,bombay4 ,it was situated at the southern end of the coast of ,malabar4 ,renaudot in a translation of ,the ,travels of ,two ,mohammedan ,traders1 who wrote as far back as #hea and #iae respectively1 has given us some account of this place2 ,ibn ,batuta and ,marco ,polo give us interesting details4 ,ritter1 in the fifth volume of his ,geography1 dilates on the cultivation of the pepper-plant1 which is of indigenous growth4 ,in ,benjamin's time it was thought that white pepper was a distinct species1 but ,ritter explains that it was prepared from the black pepper1 which1 after lying from eight to ten days in running water1 would submit of being stripped of its black outer covering4 ,ritter devotes a chapter to the fire-worship of the ,guebers1 who1 as ,parsees1 form an important element at the present day in the population of the ,bombay ,presidency4 ,another chapter is devoted to the ,jewish settlement to which ,benjamin refers4 ,see ,die juedischen ,colonien in ,indien1 ,dr4 ,gustav ,oppert2 also ,semitic ,studies1 7,berlin1#ahig71 pp4 #cif-dai4 ,under the heading of ,cochin1 the ,jewish ,encyclopaedia gives an account of the ,white and ,black ,jews of ,malabar4 ,by way of supplementing the ,article1 it may be well to refer to a ,,ms41 ,no4 #dbch of the ,merzbacher ,library formerly at ,munich4 ,it is a document drawn up in reply to eleven questions addressed by ,tobias ,boas on the #ab ,ellul #eebg 7 #agfg7 to ,r4 ,jeches ,kel ,rachbi of ,malabar4 ,from this ,,ms4 it appears that #aj1jjj exiled ,jews reached ,malabar ,a4,c4 #fh 7i4 e4 about the time of the destruction of the ,second ,temple7 and settled at ,cranganor1 ,dschalor1 ,madri and ,plota4 ,an extract of this ,,ms4 is given in ,winter and ,wuensche's ,juedische ,literatur1 vol ,,iii1 p4 #dei4 ,cf4 article on the ,beni-,israel of ,india by ,samuel ,b4 ,samuel1 ,the ,jewish ,literary ,annual1 #aije4 ,footnote #agc3 ,the ,british ,museum text has ,ibrig1 and the ,casanatense has ,ibriag3 neither can be identified4 ,the printed editions have ,hebrew3 the islands of ,candig1 which ,asher thinks may be taken to refer to ,ceylon1 having regard to the name of the capital1 ,kandy4 ,it was not the capital in ,benjamin's time4 ,the difficulty still remains that it does not take twenty-three days1 but about four days1 to reach ,ceylon from ,quilon4 ,renaudot states that in the tenth century a multitude of ,jews resided in the island1 and that they took part in the municipal government as well as other sects1 as the ,king granted the utmost religious liberty4 ,see ,pinkerton's ,travels1 vol4 ,,vii1 p4 #bag4 ,a full description is also given of the ceremonial when any notability proceeds to immolate himself by committing himself to the flames4 ,footnote #agd3 ,benjamin's statements as to ,india and ,china are of course very vague1 but we must remember he was the first ,european who as much as mentions ,china4 ,having regard to the full descriptions of other countries of the old ,world by ,arabic writers of the ,middle ,ages1 and to the fact that the trade route then was principally by sea on the route indicated by ,benjamin1 it is surprising that we have comparatively little information about ,india and ,china from ,arabic sources4 ,in none of their records is the ,sea of ,nikpa named1 and it is not improbable that ,benjamin coined this name himself from the root ,hebrew3 which occurs in the ,bible four times2 in the ,song of ,moses 7,exod4 xv4 #h73 ,hebrew3 ,the depths were curdled in the heart of the sea 7not congealed as the ,version has it71 ,job x4 #aj3 ,hebrew3 curdled me like cheese2 and in ,zeph4 i4 #ab and ,zech4 xiv4 #f4 ,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 year4 ,footnote #age3 ,marco ,polo has much to say about the bird gryphon when speaking of the sea-currents which drive ships from ,malabar to ,madagascar4 ,he says1 vol4 ,,ii1 book ,,iii1 chap4 #cc3 ,it is for all the world like an eagle1 but one indeed of enormous size4 ,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 pieces2 having so killed him1 the gryphon swoops down on him and eats him at leisure4 ,the people of those isles call the bird ',rukh4' ,yule has an interesting note 7vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #cdh7 showing how old and widespread the fable of the ,rukh was1 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 island4 ,professor ,sayce states that the ,rukh figures much--not only in ,chinese folk-lore--but also in the old1 ,babylonian literature4 ,the bird is of course familiar to readers of ,the ,arabian ,nights4 ,footnote #agf3 ,neither ,al-,gingaleh nor ,chulan can be satisfactorily identified4 ,benjamin has already made it clear that to get from ,india to ,china takes sixty-three days1 that is to say twenty-three days from ,khulam to ,ibrig1 and thence forty days to the sea of ,nikpa4 ,the return journey1 not merely to ,india but to ,zebid1 which ,abulfeda and ,alberuni call the principal port of ,yemen1 seems to take but thirty-four days4 ,with regard to ,aden1 the port long in ,england's possession1 and the so-called first outpost of the ,indian ,empire1 it has already been explained 7p4 #ej7 that this part of ,arabia as well as ,abyssinia on the other side of the ,red ,sea were considered part of ,middle ,india4 ,ibn ,batuta says about ,aden3 ,it is situated on the sea-shore and is a large city1 but without either seed1 water1 or tree4 ,they have reservoirs in which they collect the rain for drinking4 ,some rich merchants reside here1 and vessels from ,india occasionally arrive4 ,a ,jewish community has been there from time immemorial4 ,the men until recent times used to go about all day in their ,tephillin4 ,jacob ,saphir devotes vol4 ,,ii1 chaps1 i-x of his ,eben ,saphir1 to a full account of the ,jews of ,aden4 ,footnote #agg3 ,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 ,abyssinia4 ,j4 ,lelewel1 in a series of letters addressed to ,e4 ,carmoly1 entitled ,examen geographique des ,voyages de ,benjamin de ,tudele 7,bruxelles1 #aheb71 takes great pains to locate the land of ,hommatum ,hebrew3 in lieu of which our text reads ,hebrew3 the land of the ,plains2 but he quite fails in this and in many other attempts at identification4 ,the ,jews coming from ,aden had to encounter the forces of the ,christian sovereign of ,abyssinia1 and sought safety in the mountainous regions of that country4 ,here they were heard of later under the name of ,falasha ,jews4 ,cf4 ,marco ,polo1 vol4 ,,iii1 chap4 xxxv4 ,the reader is referred to ,colonel ,yule's valuable notes to this chapter4 ,he quotes ,bruce's ,abstract of ,abyssinian ,chronicles with regard to a ,jewish dynasty which superseded the royal line in the tenth century4 ,see also ,dr4 ,charles ,singer's interesting communication in ,j4 ,q4,r41 ,,xvii1 p4 #adb1 and ,j4 ,halevy's ,travels in ,abyssinia 7,miscellany of ,hebrew ,literature3 #bnd ,series1 p4 #age74 ,footnote #agh3 ,assuan1 according to ,makrizi1 was a most flourishing town prior to #adjc1 when more than #bj1jjj of its inhabitants perished4 ,seba cannot be identified4 ,no doubt our author alludes to ,seba1 a name repeatedly coupled in ,scripture with ,egypt1 ,cush and ,havilah4 ,footnote #agi3 ,heluan is the present ,helwan1 fourteen miles from ,cairo1 which was greatly appreciated by the early ,caliphs for its thermal sulphur springs4 ,stanley ,lane ,poole1 in ,the ,story of ,cairo1 p4 #fa1 tells us of its edifices1 and adds3 ,it is curious to consider how nearly this modern health-resort became the capital of ,egypt4 ,heluan is situated on the right bank of the ,nile4 ,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 ,nile2 but we must remember that ancient ,memphis1 which stood on the left bank and faced ,heluan1 had been abandoned long before ,benjamin's time4 ,edrisi and ,abulfeda confirm ,benjamin's statement respecting ,zawila or ,zaouyla1 which was the capital of ,gana--the modern ,fezzan--a large oasis in the ,sahara ,desert1 south of ,tripoli4 ,footnote #ahj3 ,this sentence is out of place1 and should follow the sentence in the preceding paragraph which speaks of the ,sultan ,al-,habash4 ,footnote #aha3 ,kutz1 the present ,kus1 is halfway between ,keneh and ,luxor4 ,the old town1 now entirely vanished1 was second in size to ,fostat1 and was the chief centre of the ,arabian trade4 ,the distance of ,kus from ,fayum is about #cjj miles4 ,the letter ,hebrew3 ',sin' denotes #cjj1 not #c4 ,footnote #ahb3 ,in the ,middle ,ages the ,fayum was wrongly called ,pithom4 ,e4 ,naville has identified the ruins of ,tell-el-,maskhuta near ,ismailieh with ,pithom1 the treasure city mentioned in ,exodus i4 #aa4 ,among the buildings1 grain-stores have been discovered in the form of deep rectangular chambers without doors1 into which the corn was poured from above4 ,these are supposed to date from the time of ,rameses ,,ii4 ,see ,the ,store ,city of ,pithom and the ,route of the ,exodus3 ,a ,memoir of the ,egypt ,exploration ,fund4 ,e4 ,naville1 #ahhe4 ,the ,fayum1 or ,marsh-district1 owes its extraordinary fertility to the ,bahr ,yussuf 7,joseph's ,canal74 ,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 task1 viz4 to double the revenues of the province within a few years4 ,joseph accomplished the task by artificially adapting a natural branch of the ,nile so as to give the district the benefit of the yearly overflow4 ,the canal thus formed1 which is #bjg miles in length1 was called after ,joseph4 ,the storehouses of ,joseph are repeatedly mentioned by ,arabic writers4 ,cf4 ,koran xii4 #ee1 ,jacut1 ,,iv1 #icc and ,makrizi1 ,i1 #bda4 ,footnote #ahc3',mr4 ,israel ,abrahams1 in ,j4 ,q4,r41 ,,xvii1 #dbg sqq41 and ,mr4 ,e4,j4 ,worman1 vol4 ,,xviii1 #a1 give us very interesting information respecting ,fostat and ,cairo1 as derived from ,geniza documents1 but to comprehend fully ,benjamin's account1 we must remember that at the time of his visit the metropolis was passing through a crisis4 ,since ,march1 #aafi1 ,saladin had virtually become the ruler of ,egypt1 although nominally he acted as ,vizier to the ,caliph ,el-,adid1 who was the last of the ,fatimite line1 and who died ,sept4 #ac1 #aaga1 three days after his deposition4 ,the student is referred to the biography of ,saladin by ,mr4 ,stanley ,lane ,poole1 #ahgh4 ,chap1 viii gives a full account of ,cairo as at #aagj and is accompanied by a map4 ,the well-known citadel of ,cairo1 standing on the spurs of the ,mukattam ,hills1 was erected by ,saladin seven years later4 ,the ,cairo of #aagj1 which was styled ,el ,medina1 and was called by ,benjamin ,hebrew31 was founded in #ifi1 and consisted of an immense palace for the ,caliph and his large household4 ,it was surrounded by quarters for a large army1 and edifices for the ministers and government offices4 ,the whole was protected by massive walls and imposing ,norman-like gates4 ,the civil population--more particularly the ,jews--dwelt in the old ,kasr-esh-,shama quarter round the so-called ,castle of ,babylon1 also in the city of ,fostat1 founded in #fda1 and in the ,el-,askar quarter1 which was built in #gea4 ,these suburbs went under the name of ,misr or ,masr1 but are called by ,benjamin ,mizraim4 ,fostat was set on fire on ,nov4 #ab1 #aafh1 by the order of the ,vizier ,shawar1 in order that it might not give shelter to the ,franks who had invaded ,egypt1 but was soon rebuilt in part4 ,it now goes under the name ,masr-el-,atika1 and is noted at the present day for its immense rubbish heaps4 ,see ,stanley ,lane ,poole's ,cairo1 p4 #cd4 ,footnote #ahd3 ,cf4 two elaborate papers by ,dr4 ,a4 ,buechler1 ,the ,reading of the ,law and ,prophets in a ,triennial ,cycle1 ,j4 ,q4,r41 ,v1 #dbj1 ,,vi1 ,i1 and ,e4,n4 ,adler1 ib4 ,,viii1 #ebi4 ,for details as to synagogues1 see ,j4 ,q4,r41 ,,xviii1 #aa2 ,letter ,i of ,r4 ,obadja da ,bertinoro2 ,miscellany of ,hebrew ,literature1 p4 #acc2 ,joseph ,sambari's ,chronicle in ,dr4 ,neubauer's ,anecdota ,oxoniensia1 p4 #aah4 ,sambari must have had ,benjamin's ,itinerary before him1 as has been pointed out by ,mr4 ,i4 ,abrahams1 ,j4 ,q4,r41 ,,ii1 #ajg4 ,footnote #ahe3 ,zunz was the first to put forward the supposition that ,r4 ,nethanel is identical with ,hibet ,allah ibn al ,jami1 who later on became ,saladin's physician 7,asher1 vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #bec74 ,graetz1 vol4 ,,vi1 p4 #cjg1 inclines to the same view4 ,dr4 ,steinschneider1 ,die arabische ,literatur der ,juden1 #aijb1 p4 #agh1 confirms this opinion1 and gives a detailed account of ,hibet ,allah's medical and philosophical works4 ,dr4 ,neubauer1 in an article1 ,j4,q4,r41 ,,viii1 #eda1 draws attention to a ,geniza fragment which contains a marriage contract dated #aafj1 wherein ,r4 ,nethanel is called a ,levite4 ,benjamin does not style him so here4 ,the same article contains the so-called ,suttah ,megillah1 on which ,professor ,kaufmann comments1 ,j4,q4,r41 ,x1 p4 #aga4 ,it would appear that ,r4 ,nethanel never attained the dignity of ,nagid4 ,during ,benjamin's visit to ,egypt ,sutta1 in his capacity of ,chief ,collector of ,taxes1 filled nominally that office4 ,later on1 after ,sutta's fall1 the dignity of ,nagid was offered to ,moses ,maimonides1 but was not accepted by him4 ,footnote #ahf3 ,this term 7which is not given in the printed editions7 means that the people were followers of ,ali1 the son-in-law of ,mohammed1 founder of the ,shiite sect4 ,footnote #ahg3 ,this same ,nilometer is readily shown to the visitor at the south end of the ,island of ,roda1 which is accessible by means of a ferry-boat from the ,kasr-esh ,shama1 not far from the ,kenisat ,eliyahu1 where the ,geniza manuscripts were found4 ,see ,e4,n4 ,adler's ,jews in ,many ,lands1 p4 #bh1 also ,j4,q4,r41 ,,ix1 #ffi4 ,the ,nilometer is in a square well #af feet in diameter1 having in the centre a graduated octagonal column with ,cufic inscriptions1 and is #ag cubits in height1 the cubit being #ba-a_/c inches4 ,the water of the ,nile1 when at its lowest1 covers #g cubits of the ,nilometer1 and when it reaches a height of #ae-b_/c cubits the ,sheikh of the ,nile proclaims the ,wefa1 i4e41 that the height of the water necessary for irrigating every part of the ,nile valley has been attained4 ,the signal is then given for the cutting of the embankment4 ,we know that the column of the ,nilometer has been frequently repaired1 which fact explains the apparent discrepancy between the height of the gauge as given in ,benjamin's narrative and the figures just mentioned4 ,footnote #ahh3 ,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 ,africa1 inasmuch as this outflow is quite lost in the marshy land south of ,fashoda4 ,moreover1 the river is absolutely blocked by the accumulation of the ,papyrus weed1 known as ,sudd1 the ,hebrew3 eis of ,scripture1 ,exod4 ii4 #c-e4 ,the inundations are brought about purely by the excessive rains in the highlands of ,abyssinia1 which cause the flooding of the ,blue ,nile and the ,atbara in ,june and ,july and of the lower ,nile in ,august and ,september4 ,footnote #ahi3 ,in a ,geniza fragment ,c quoted by ,dr4 ,neubauer in ,j4,q4,r41 ,,ix1 p4 #cf1 this city is called ,hebrew34 ,probably the first two letters denote that it is an island4 ,compare the passage in ,schechter's ,saadyana1 pp4 #ij1 #ia1 ,hebrew34 ,footnote #aij3 ,ashmun is described by ,abulfeda as a large city4 ,we read in a ,geniza fragment that ,david ben ,daniel1 a descendant of the ,exilarch1 passed through this place on the way to ,fostat1 ,j4,q4,r41 ,,xv1 #hg4 ,the fourth channel is the ,tanitic branch4 ,see p4 #gh1 n4 #b4 ,footnote #aia3 ,see ,koran xii4 #ee4 ,sambari1 who being a native of ,egypt knew ,cairo well1 explains very fully1 p4 #aai1 that ,masr-el-,atika is not here referred to1 but ancient ,memphis1 the seat of royalty in ,joseph's time4 ,he explains that it was situated on the left side of the ,nile1 two parasangs distant from ,cairo4 ,see ,reinaud's ,abulfeda1 vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #adj4 ,footnote #aib3 ,see ,makrizi1 vol4 ,,ii1 #dfd1 and ,j4,q4,r41 ,,xv1 p4 #ge2 also ,,xix1 #ejb4 ,footnote #aic3 ,e4 ,naville in his ,essay on the ,land of ,goshen1 being the fifth ,memoir of the ,egypt ,exploration ,fund1 #ahhg1 comes to the conclusion that the land of ,goshen comprised the triangle formed by ,bilbais1 ,zakazig1 and ,tel-el-,kebir4 ,he is of opinion that the land of ,ramses included the land of ,goshen1 and is that part of the ,delta which lies to the eastward of the ,tanitic branch of the ,nile4 ,the capital of the province--the ,egyptian nome of ,arabia--was the ,phakusa of the ,greeks4 ,a small railway station is now on the spot1 which bears the name ,ramses4 ,cf4 ,gen4 xlvii4 #aa4 ,footnote #aid3 ,ain-al-,shams was situated three parasangs from ,fostat1 according to ,jacut 7,,iii1 #gfb71 who records that in his day the place showed many traces of buildings from ,pharaoh's time4 ,benha is now a somewhat important railway station about thirty miles north of ,cairo4 ,muneh ,sifte is a station on the ,damietta arm of the ,nile4 ,footnote #aie3 ,samnu is perhaps ,samnat1 ,dukmak1 ,v1 #bj4 ,on ,damira see ,schechter1 ,saadyana1 p4 #hb2 ,worman1 ,j4,q4,r41 ,,xviii1 #aj4 ,the zoologist ,damiri was born here4 ,lammanah in the other versions is ,mahallat or ,mehallet-el-,kebir1 mentioned by ,abulfeda as a large city with many monuments1 and is now a railway station between ,tanta and ,mansura4 ,sambari 7#aai1 #aj7 mentions a synagogue there1 to which ,jews even now make pilgrimages 7,goldziher1 ,z4,d4,p4,g41 vol4 ,,xxviii1 p4 #aec74 ,footnote #aif3 ,in the ,middle ,ages certain biblical names were without valid reason applied to noted places4 ,no-,ammon mentioned in ,scripture 7,jer4 xlvi4 #be and ,nahum iii4 #h71 also in cuneiform inscriptions1 was doubtless ancient ,thebes4 ,see ,robinson1 ,biblical ,researches1 vol4 ,i1 p4 #edb4 ,another notable example is the application of the name of ,zoan to ,cairo4 ,ancient ,tanis 7p4 #gh7 was probably ,zoan1 and we are told 7,num4 xiii4 #bb7 that ,zoan was built seven years after ,hebron4 ,it can be traced as far back as the sixth dynasty--over #b1jjj years before ,cairo was founded4 ,footnote #aig3 ,josephus1 who had the opportunity of seeing the ,pharos before it was destroyed1 must likewise have exaggerated when he said that the lighthouse threw its rays a distance of #cjj stadia4 ,strabo describes the ,pharos of ,alexandria1 which was considered one of the wonders of the world4 ,as the coast was low and there were no landmarks1 it proved of great service to the city4 ,it was built of white marble1 and on the top there blazed a huge beacon of logs saturated with pitch4 ,abulfeda alludes to the large mirror which enabled the lighthouse keepers to detect from a great distance the approach of the enemy4 ,he further mentions that the trick by which the mirror was destroyed took place in the first century of ,islamism1 under the ,caliph ,valyd1 the son of ,abd-almalek4 ,footnote #aih3 ,it will be seen that the list of names given in our text is much more complete than that given by ,asher1 who enumerates but twenty-eight ,christian states in lieu of forty given in the ,british ,museum ,,ms4 ,in some cases the readings of ,r and ,o1 which appear to have been written by careful scribes1 and are of an older date than ,e and the printed editions1 have been adopted4 ,in our text1 through the ignorance of the scribe1 who had no gazetteer or map to turn to1 some palpable errors have crept in4 ,for instance1 in naming ,amalfi1 already mentioned on p4 #i1 the error in spelling it ,hebrew3 has been repeated4 ,patzinakia 7referred to on p4 #ab1 as trading with ,constantinople7 is there spelt ,hebrew3 not ,hebrew34 ,hebrew3 may be read ,hebrew32 ,i have rendered it ,hainault in accordance with ,deguigne's ,memoir1 referred to by ,asher4 ,maurienne 7mentioned p4 #gi7 embraced ,savoy and the ,maritime ,alps4 ,it was named after the ,moors who settled there4 ,footnote #aii3 ,simasin or ,timasin is doubtless near ,lake ,timsah4 ,sunbat is spoken of by ,arabic writers as noted for its linen manufactures and trade4 ,footnote #bjj3 ,elim has been identified with ,wadi ,gharandel4 ,it is reached in two hours from the bitter spring in the ,wadi ,hawara1 believed to be the ,marah of the ,bible4 ,burckhardt conjectures that the juice of the berry of the gharkad1 a shrub growing in the neighbourhood1 may have the property1 like the juice of the pomegranate1 of improving brackish water2 see p4 #dge1 ,baedecker's ,egypt1 #ahgi edition4 ,professor ,lepsius was responsible for the chapter on the ,sinai routes4 ,footnote #bja3 ,a journey of two days would bring the traveller to the luxuriant oasis of ,firan1 which ancient tradition and modern explorers agree in identifying as ,rephidim4 ,from ,firan it is held1 by ,professor ,sayce and others1 that the main body of the ,israelites with their flocks and herds probably passed the ,wadi esh-,shekh1 while ,moses and the elders went by ,wadi ,selaf and ,nakb el-,hawa4 ,the final camping-ground1 at which took place the giving of the ,law1 is supposed to be the ,raha plain at the foot of the peak of ,jebel ,musa4 ,it may be mentioned that some explorers are of opinion that ,mount ,serbal was the mountain of revelation4 ,there are authorities who maintain that ,horeb was the name of the whole mountain range1 ,sinai being the individual mountain2 others think that ,horeb designated the northern range and ,sinai the southern range4 ,see ,dr4 ,robinson's ,biblical ,researches1 vol4 ,i1 section iii3 also articles ,sinai in ,cheyne's ,encyclopaedia ,biblica and ,dean ,stanley's ,sinai and ,palestine4 ,footnote #bjb3 ,the monastery of ,st4 ,catherine was erected #b1jjj feet below the summit of ,jebel ,musa4 ,it was founded by ,justinian to give shelter to the numerous ,syrian hermits who inhabited the peninsula4 ,the monastery was presided over by an ,archbishop4 ,footnote #bjc3 ,the passage in square brackets is inserted from the ,oxford ,,ms4 ,the city of ,tur1 which ,benjamin calls ,tur-,sinai1 is situated on the eastern side of the ,gulf of ,suez1 and affords good anchorage1 the harbour being protected by coral reefs4 ,it can be reached from the monastery in little more than a day4 ,the small mountain referred to by ,benjamin is the ,jebel ,hammam ,sidna ,musa1 the mountain of the bath of our lord ,moses4 ,footnote #bjd3 ,tanis1 now called ,san1 was probably the ,zoan of ,scripture1 but in the ,middle ,ages it was held to be ,hanes1 mentioned in ,isa4 xxx4 #d4 ,it was situated on the eastern bank of the ,tanitic branch of the ,nile1 about thirty miles south-west of the ancient ,pelusium4 ,the excavations which have been made by ,m4 ,mariette and ,mr4 ,flinders ,petrie prove that it was one of the largest and most important cities of the ,delta4 ,it forms the subject of the ,second ,memoir of the ,egypt ,exploration ,fund1 #ahhe4 ,the place must not be confounded with the seaport town ,tennis1 as has been done by ,asher4 ,in the sixth century the waters of the ,lake ,menzaleh invaded a large portion of the fertile ,tanis territory4 ,hence ,benjamin calls it an island in the midst of the sea4 ,in a ,geniza document dated #aajf1 quoted by ,dr4 ,schechter1 ,saadyana1 p4 #ia1 occurs the passage3 ,hebrew3 ,in the city of the isle ,hanes1 which is in the midst of the sea and of the tongue of the river of ,egypt called ,nile4 ,footnote #bje3 ,the straits of ,messina were named ,faro4 ,lipar has reference1 no doubt1 to the ,liparian ,islands1 which are in the neighbourhood4 ,footnote #bjf3 ,cf4 ,bertinoro's interesting description of the synagogue at ,palermo1 which he said had not its equal1 ,miscellany of ,hebrew ,literature1 vol4 ,i1 p4 #aad4 ,footnote #bjg3 ,hacina is the ,arabic for a fortified or enclosed place4 ,footnote #bjh3 ,buheira is the ,arabic word for a lake4 ,the unrivalled hunting grounds of ,william ,,ii are well worth visiting1 being situated between the little town called ,parco and the magnificent cathedral of ,monreale1 which the king erected later on4 ,footnote #bji3 ,king ,william ,,ii1 surnamed the ,good1 was sixteen years old when ,benjamin visited ,sicily in #aagj4 ,during the king's minority the ,archbishop was the vice-regent4 ,he was expelled in #aafi on account of his unpopularity4 ,asher asserts that ,benjamin's visit must have taken place prior to this date1 because he reads ,hebrew3 ,this is the domain of the viceroy4 ,the ,oxford ,,ms4 agrees with our text and reads ,hebrew3 ,this is the domain of the king's garden4 ,chroniclers tell that when the young king was freed from the control of the viceroy he gave himself up to pleasure and dissipation4 ,asher is clearly wrong1 because a mere boy could not have indulged in those frolics4 ,the point is of importance1 as it absolutely fixes the date of ,benjamin's visit to the island4 ,it was in the year #aagg that ,william married the daughter of our ,english king1 ,henry ,,ii4 ,footnote #baj3 ,edrisi1 who wrote his ,geography in ,sicily in #aaed at the request of ,king ,roger ,,ii1 calls the island a pearl1 and cannot find words sufficient in praise of its climate1 beauty1 and fertility4 ,he is especially enthusiastic concerning ,palermo4 ,petralia is described by him as being a fortified place1 and an excellent place of refuge1 the surrounding country being under a high state of cultivation and very productive4 ,asher has no justification for reading ,pantaleoni instead of ,petralia4 ,footnote #baa3 ,the passage in square brackets is to be found in most of the printed editions1 as well as in the ,epstein 7,e7 ,,ms41 which is so much akin to them1 and is comparatively modern4 ,the style will at once show that the passage is a late interpolation1 and the genuine ,,mss4 now forthcoming omit it altogether4 ,footnote #bab3 ,see ,aronius1 ,regester1 p4 #aca4 ,this writer1 as a matter of course1 had only the printed editions before him4 ,his supposition that ,hebrew3 is ,mayence is more than doubtful1 but his and ,lelewel's identification of ,hebrew3 with ,mantern and ,hebrew3 with ,freising has been accepted4 ,aronius casts doubts as to whether ,benjamin actually visited ,germany1 in the face of his loose statements as to its rivers4 ,it will now be seen that he is remarkably correct in this respect4 ,footnote #bac3 ,the ,jews of ,prague are often spoken of in contemporary records4 ,rabbi ,pethachia started on his travels from ,ratisbon1 passing through ,prague on his way to ,poland and ,kieff4 ,footnote #bad3 ,benjamin does not tell us whether ,jews resided in ,kieff4 ,mr4 ,a4 ,epstein has obligingly furnished the following references3 ,in ,hebrew31 ,graetz1 ,monatsschrift1 #ci1 #eaa1 we read3 ,hebrew34 ,in ,hebrew31 ,monatsschrift1 #dj1 #acd1 ,hebrew34 ,this ,rabbi ,moses is also mentioned in ,resp4 of ,r4 ,meir of ,rothenburg1 ed4 ,berlin1 p4 #fd4 ,later records give the name ,hebrew34 ,footnote #bae3 ,the vair 7vaiverge or wieworka in ,polish7 is a species of marten1 often referred to in mediaeval works4 ,menu-vair is the well-known fur miniver4 ,footnote #baf3 ,lelewel1 having the reading ,hebrew3 before him1 thought ,sedan was here designated4 ,h4 ,gross suspected that the city of ,auxerre1 situated on the borders of the province of the ,isle de ,france1 the old patrimony of the ,french kings1 must have been intended1 and the reading of our text proves him to be right4 ,the ,roman name ,antiossiodorum became converted into ,alciodorum1 then ,alcore1 and finally into ,auxerre4 ,the place is often cited in our mediaeval literature1 as it was a noted seat of learning4 ,the great men of ,auxerre1 ,hebrew31 joined the ,synod convened by ,rashbam and ,rabenu ,tam4 ,see ,gallia ,judaica1 p4 #fj1 also ,graetz1 vol4 ,,vi1 #cie 7#aj74 99 99 99 99 99