Encyclopaedia Judaica
Jews in the
Ottoman Empire 04: Occupation of Middle East
Middle East occupations - firearm production by Jewish
knowledge - occupation of Egypt - Jews in Egypt and Syria
- Jerusalem and Syria rebellion - peace under Suleiman -
Tiberias, Safed, Jerusalem
from: Ottoman Empire; In:
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971, vol. 16
presented by Michael Palomino (2008)
The Conquest of Syria, Erez
Israel, Egypt, Hungary, North Africa, Iraq, and Yemen.
[[The Turks had fire arms. The Arabs
were proud of their horse warriors without fire arms, and
the Arabs even resigned fire arms, and by this the Turks
occupied all Arab lands]].
[War monger Selim I -
firearms introduced by the Jewish refugees from Spain and
Portugal - occupations]
*Selim I (1515-20), called "the Grim", began a new era in
the great conquest of the Ottoman Empire. He forced his
father Bayazid to abdicate, took the throne by force, and
(col. 1533)
expelled his brother Muhammad. Instead of continuing his
conquests in Europe, he turned to the East, and because of
this was called "the man of the eastern front". In his time
the Ottoman Empire doubled its area by conquests in Asia. He
built the Turkish fleet, established a cavalry< army and
mercenary bands, in addition to the sipahi, the feudal
cavalry army. His aim in doing this was to overpower the
*Mamluks, whose kingdom extended over Egypt, Erez Israel,
Syria, and the Arabian Peninsula.
The war between the Ottomans and the Mamluks commenced in
1516; the Ottomans were victorious due to their superior use
of firearms, which the exiled Jews taught them to
manufacture, their good organization, their strict
discipline, and to a certain extent, the treachery of
important Mamluks. Before the end of 1516 Syria and Erez
Israel were conquered, thus beginning a new era in the
empire's history which lasted 400 years.
Selim seized control of Egypt in January 1517 and was
acclaimed in Cairo as the ruler of two continents (Europe
and Asia) and two seas (the Black and the Mediterranean),
the destroyer of two armies (the Persian and the Mamluk) and
the "servant" of two temples (Mecca and Medina). For Jews
the conquest was a salvation, as their situation in the 14th
and 15th centuries under Mamluk rule had deteriorated.
[Change in Egypt under the
Ottoman rule]
A number of years after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt, the
office of *nagid
[[leader]], which had existed under Fatimid and Mamluk rule,
was abrogated. At first, Isaac ha-Kohen *Sholal was removed
from office and he emigrated to Jerusalem. His office was
continued for a few years by two or three negidim [[leaders]].
Selim I appointed Abraham *Castro, a wealthy Jew from
Constantinople, as nagid,
finance minister, and master of the mint in Egypt, but Ahmed
Pasha, the ruler of Egypt on behalf of the sultan Suleiman I
(1520-66), demanded huge sums from him and abused and
imprisoned him; he fled to Constantinople. The supreme
government in Constantinople intervened and claimed the
right to appoint the nagid
in Egypt, after consultation with the Jewish community.
The first official to be appointed by them was Rabbi Tajir,
an Egyptian by birth. He was followed by *Jacob b. Hayyim
Talmid, but as he did not respect the community, he was
excommunicated by Bezalel *Ashkenazi. Thenceforth, the title
of nagid was
discontinued, and the representative of the Jews who was
sent from Constantinople was called chelebi (Turk.
"gentleman"), an office which existed for almost 200 years.
Among the best-known were Solomon *Alashkar, who maintained
yeshivot [[religious Torah school]] in Egypt and Erez (col.
1534)
Israel; Samuel ha-Kohen; Abba Iskandari and his son the
physician Abraham Iskandari; Joseph Bagliar, who maintained
the yeshivot of Erez Israel for a period of ten years; and
Raphael b. Joseph Bar-Hin. The sultan's Egyptian rulers
maintained Jewish chief bankers and money changers (*sarraf bashi); they
were appointed masters of the mint, as Egypt minted its own
coins. The Egyptian lords also had Jewish physicians who
were appointed to high positions in the government.
[Spanish Jewish refugees
spread to Egypt]
The economic situation of Egyptian Jews, like that of the
other inhabitants of Turkish lands, was good. After the
Ottoman conquest the refugees from Spain settled in Egypt,
in Cairo, *Alexandria, Rosetta, etc. They found the old
communities of *Must'arabs (Moriscos), *Maghrebis (North
Africans), Shamis (from Syria, *Damascus), and a Karaite
congregation. Among the Spanish refugees who settled in
Egypt, or lived there for a time, were: Samuel b. Sid,
Abraham b. Shoshan, Moses b. Isaac Alashkar, Samuel
Hakim-Haqan ha-Levi, David ibn Abi Zimra, and Jacob *Berab.
They founded yeshivot [[religious Torah schools]] and the
study of Torah developed. Well-known rabbis of the next
generation included: Bezalel Ashkenazi, Isaac *Luria
(Ha-Ari), the pupils of David ibn Abi Zimra, Simeon
Kastilaz, Jacob *Castro, Hayyim *Capusi, Abraham *Monzon.
[Spanish Jewish refugees
spread to Syria - tensions with the elder Jewish
communities]
In *Syria, Spanish refugees settled in Damascus, Kfar *Jubar
(near Damascus), and in *Aleppo. In all these localities
there were Must'arab [[romanticized]] and Shami communities
[[Damascus]]. The *Sephardim surpassed them in knowledge and
culture, however, and were unable to live in peace with
these veteran inhabitants. Prominent among the rabbis of
Damascus were Moses *Najara, the chief rabbi, and his son
Israel *Najara, the poet Jacob *Abulafia and his pupil
Josiah *Pinto, Moses *Galanté, Hayyim *Vital, and Moses
*Alsheikh (after he left Safed). Joseph Taitazak was
Must'arab rabbi in Damascus, as was Samuel *Laniado in
Aleppo.
[1520: rebellion in Syria
and Palestine - new Ottoman governors, disbanded Mamluk
troops, new administration system - walls of Jerusalem,
water supply for Jerusalem]
When Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-66) ascended to the
throne, the governor of Syria and Erez Israel rebelled
against the young sultan, thinking that the time had arrived
to cast off the yoke of Ottoman rule and establish an
independent kingdom in Syria and Erez Israel. The governor
was defeated and his head sent to Constantinople. Moreover,
the Jerusalem community suffered from this rebellion.
Later, the Turks learned the lesson of this rebellion and
changed all the governors of these regions, replacing them
by Ottomans. The local Mamluk troops were disbanded, and the
land then became quiet. The civil and military
administration was organized in accordance with the
political system of Sultan Suleiman. He ordered the erection
of the walls of *Jerusalem and he repaired the water
conduits and the pools; as a result of these actions the
security of the city was improved.
[Peace under Suleiman:
growth in Palestine]
Suleiman was outstanding among the Ottoman rulers and is
regarded as the greatest of them. During his rule the
Ottoman Empire attained its greatest power and extent. For
more than 50 years Erez Israel benefited from the peace and
security which prevailed. Its population grew and its
agricultural economy was expanded.
[Peace under Suleiman:
pacts and contracts with the Christian countries of Europe
- Jews benefiting]
This sultan introduced the *capitulations agreements, i.e.,
pacts or contracts between the Ottoman sultans and the
Christian countries of Europe concerning the rights to be
enjoyed by the subjects of each when dwelling in the country
of the other. Many Jews who immigrated from abroad benefited
from these agreements, which had great influence on their
legal standing. They acquired the status of protected
persons and were granted extraterritorial rights and
protection from attacks on property and life.
Venice was the first to come to an arrangement in 1521 and
was followed by Francis I, king of France, in 1535. After
Suleiman's death, the capitulations were renewed during the
time of his heir Selim II (1566-74), and also in the time of
Murad III, Muhammad III, and Ahmed I.
[since 1561: Tiberias under
Jewish leadership of Don Joseph Nasi - Jewish settlement
with yeshivah - bad leader Solomon ibn Yaish - decline of
Tiberias with discrimination of the Jews]
In 1561 Suleiman granted his counselor Don Joseph *Nasi
[[Jewish diplomat and banker]] - at a price of 1,000 ducats
per year - a concession for *Tiberias and its vicinity [[on
Sea of Galilee / Lake Kinneret]], which enabled Jews to
settle there. Joseph Nasi wanted to turn the locality into a
great Jewish center, both spiritually and economically, and
he sent his steward Joseph b. Ardit, who was a
representative of the sultan, there. With the support of his
mother-in-law Doña Gracia (Mendes) *Nasi, Joseph Nasi
founded a yeshivah [[religious Torah school]] of scholars
and supported its students. The wall of Tiberias was built,
people were brought from Safed, and the foundation for the
development of the site was laid. On Joseph Nasi's death the
enthusiasm evaporated.
He was followed by a new benefactor, Don Solomon ibn Yaish,
who was also a counselor of the sultan *Murad III (1574-95).
The sultan gave Solomon a renewed concession for Tiberias,
and the latter sent his son Jacob ibn Yaish there. For want
of organizational ability, (col. 1535)
however, he devoted himself to Torah study, did not succeed
in his task, and the settlement in Tiberias failed to
continue.
Toward the end of the 16th century, signs of decline
manifested themselves in the Jewish settlement of Erez
Israel. Security deteriorated, especially after the period
of Safed's eminence, which lasted three generations. The
ruler of the town treated the Jews poorly and the sultan was
unable to supervise his rulers.
[Help for Safed - Tiberias
is evacuated - new Jewish center Jerusalem]
Turkish orders have been found which demanded the expulsion
of wealthy Jews from Safed to Cyprus, but it is not known if
the orders were implemented. The Turkish communities during
the period, especially Constantinople, began to send
assistance to the Jewish population of Safed. Yom Tov
*Zahalon, Joseph of *Trani, Abraham *Shalom, Moses Alsheikh,
and Bezalel Ashkenazi traveled to Constantinople, Syria, and
Persia to collect financial aid for the Jews of Erez Israel,
as well as to beg the viziers to ease the burden imposed on
them by the local governors. Emissaries also departed for
North Africa, Italy, and Germany. Tiberias was evacuated.
The center of the Jews of Erez Israel passed to Jerusalem,
as a result of the influence of the eminent rabbi Isaiah
ha-Levi *Horowitz, who immigrated to Erez Israel in 1620 and
settled in Jerusalem.> (col. 1536)
