Encyclopaedia Judaica
Jews in the
Ottoman Empire 05: Occupation of Hungary and North
Africa
Jews in Budapest under Ottoman rule - Ottoman
occupations in North Africa with different conditions for
the Jews
from: Ottoman Empire; In:
Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971, vol. 16
presented by Michael Palomino (2008)
<THE CONQUEST OF HUNGARY.
[Jews living well in
Budapest under Ottoman rule]
Suleiman defeated the Hungarians in the battle of Mohacs in
1526, conquering *Hungary and its capital Budon (later
called Budapest). Its other inhabitants fled, but the Jews
remained. The leader of the Jewish community, who handed the
keys of the city to the sultan, was Joseph b. Solomon
Ashkenazi of the Alaman family. The sultan dealt charitably
with him and also with his children, giving them a deed
exempting them and their descendants from taxes.
The Jews of Budon frequently defended the city from enemies
and were faithful to the Ottoman sultans. The Turks ruled
over it about 160 years (until 1686). It contained both
Ashkenazi and Sephardi congregations, and the city's rabbis
were under supervision of the rabbis of Constantinople and
Salonika, as they were all subjects of the empire. The Jews
of Hungary migrated to Turkey and settled on the banks of
the Danube, and in Sofia, Adrianople, and Constantinople,
and established communities which they called the Budon
congregations. On the other hand, Jews from Turkey settled
in Budon and founded separate congregations there.
CONQUESTS IN NORTH AFRICA.
[Turkish occupation of
Tripolitania, Tunisia, and Algeria - different conditions
for the Jews]
The struggle of the Ottoman sultans to extend their domain
west of Egypt lasted almost 60 years (1518-74), but success
was not complete.
The Turks were unable to seize control of *Morocco, which
preserved its independence. They forced their sovereignty
upon Tripolitania (see *Libya), *Tunisia, and *Algeria,
three of the Berber countries. Each of these developed
different administrations and legal systems that also
differed from those in the Ottoman Empire in Asia, Egypt,
and Europe.
With the consolidation of Ottoman rule, descendants of
Spanish refugees and anusim
[[Jews forced to convert and
practicing Judaism yet]], who had
succeeded in escaping from Spain, began to settle in the
Berber states also, i.e., in Tripolitania, Tunisia, and
Algeria. The condition of Jews changed from country to
country and was dependent upon the goodwill or whim of the
local ruler.
[Algeria]
In Algeria the establishment of a new synagogue was
dependent on the giving of bribes. In the 17th century, a
new wave of descendants of the refugees arrived in these
countries, who had first settled in *Leghorn [[Livorno]]
(Italy). Rabbis who were descendants of Simeon b. Zemah
*Duran lived in Algiers, and in the second half of the 16th
century members of the sixth generation of the family headed
the congregation. Apparently, Abraham b. Jacob ibn Tava was
also a descendant of the Duran family. The Algiers scholars
in the 18th century included Raphael Jedidiah, Solomon
*Seror, Judah *Ayash, and Jacob ibn Na'im.
[Tripolitania]
In Tripolitania an improvement in the situation of the Jews
took place when the Sublime Porte in Constantinople
reestablished direct rule over it (1835-1911). This
improvement was manifested primarily in the appointment of
valis charged with administration of the country and their
periodic replacement, as was customary in other provinces of
the empire. The Ottoman valis, who did not succeed in
getting to know the conditions of the country and its
language, were to a great extent dependent upon the help of
Jewish secretaries. The influence of alien consuls also
increased and as a result the status of the Jews improved,
especially in the city of Tripoli.> (col. 1536)
