Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/456

 JEWS

392

JEWS

toleration ceased under Omar, the prophet's second successor. During Omar's short caliphate (634-644), Syria, Pha?nicia, Persia, Egypt, and Jerusalem fell under the sway of Islam. The Jews were fairly well treated by their new masters. Omar's so-called " Cov- enant " (640) imposed indeed restrictions upon Jews in the whole Mohammedan world, but these restrictions do not seem to have been carried out during his lifetime.

In return for the valuable assistance of the Baby- lonian Jews in Omar's campaigns against Persia, this caliph granted them several privileges, among which may be mentioned the recognition of their exilarch Bostanai (642). Under Islam's foiu-th caliph, Ali (656-661), the Jewish community of Irak (Babylonia) became more fully organized and assumed the appear- ance of an independent state, in whicl: the Talmudic schools of Sora and Pumbeditha flourished again. ■The exilarch and the head of the school of Sora, with his new name of Gaon (658), were of equal rank. The former's office was poUtical, the latter's distinctly reUgious. The exilarch, both in bearing and in mode of life, was a prince. "Thus it came to pass that the Jews scattered through the Mohammedan world per- suaded themselves that in Abraham's own country there survived a prince of the Captivity who had re- gained the sceptre of David. For them, the heads of the Babylonian schools were the representatives of the ideal times of the Talmud. The farther the dominion of the Onuniads (661-750) was extended, the more adherents were gained for the Jewish Babylonian chiefs. The great liberty which the Jews enjoyed under Islam's rule allowed them to cultivate Paitanism or neo-Hebraic poetry and to begin their Massoretic labours (see Massora).

Meantime, their fellow-Jews were less fortunate in Spain, where most rulers of the seventh century en- acted severe laws against Judaism. Towards the end of tliat century, Egica forbade them to own lands and houses, to repair to or trade with North Africa, and even to transact busiuess with Christians. Having next discovered a plot of the Jews with the Moors to overthrow the Visigothic rule, he sentenced to slavery all the Jews of his states and ordered that their cliil- dren of seven years and upwards be given to Christians to be educated. This condition of things came to an end under Roderic, Egica's second successor and last Visigothic King of Spain. With numerous Jews in their army, the Moharomedans crossed from Africa into Andalusia, defeated and slew Roderic (July, 711) ; Spain was gradually conquered ; and in 720, the Sara- cens occupied Septimania, north of the Pyrenees, a de- pendency of the Gothic Kingdom. In Mohammedan Spain, the Jews, to whose help the conquerors largely owed their victories, obtained their liberty. In fact, it was now given to the Jews at large to enjoy a long period of nearly unbroken peace and security. Apart from the persecutions started in 720 by the Caliph of Damascus, Omar II, and in 723 by the Byzantine em- peror, Leo III, they prospered everywhere till about the middle of the ninth century. It was during this period that the great Kingdom of the Chazars, which was situated west of the Caspian Sea, and had caused the Persians to tremble, embraced Judaism (c. 745); its rulers remained exclusively Jewish above two cen- turies and a half. After the caliphs of the Ommiad dynasty, one of whom had a Jew as his mint-master, those of the Abassides, till after Harun al-Rashid (d. 809), do not seem to have seriously disturbed their Jewish subjects: during that time, the Babylonian Tal- mudic schools were crowded with hearers, and had it not lieen for their internal dissensions, religious (Kara- ites) and political (contests for the dignity of exilarch) , the Jews of Hal^ylon would liave l)een as happy as they were renowned for thi'ir learning. In Mohammedan Spain (with its separate ( 'iilipliatc of ( 'onlova since a. d. 750), the Jews were undoubtedly prosperous during

the century now under review, although details con- cerning their condition during that time are actually wanting. In France, the Jewish population was not submitted to any serious restrictions under either Pepin (752-768) or Charlemagne (768-814), while under Louis I (814-840) it even enjoyed special fa- vours and privileges, the king having for his confiden- tial adviser his Jewish physician named Zedekiah, and actively protecting Jewish interests against pow- erful opponents.

Thus, with the exception of a passing persecution under the two sons of Harun al-Rashid, the Jews were left unmolested for about 100 years. But with the middle of the ninth century, and nearly everywhere, this ceases to be the case. In the East, Jewish perse- cutions were resumed by the Byzantine emperors of the Macedonian dynasty (842-1056), and by the Abasside Caliph al-Motawakel, who, in 853, re-enacted the Covenant of Omar, and under whose successors m the Caliphate of Bagdad, the Jewish community of Irak lost more and more of its prestige and was supplanted in tills respect by that of Spain: the exilarchate gradu- ally ceased to be an office of the State and finally per- ished (c. 940), owing chiefly to the dissensions between the Gaons of Sora and Pumbeditha; and the Gaonate itself, for a wliile made famous bjf Saadiah, ultimately disappeared through the oppression of the weak cal- iphate (c. 103S). Under the Fatimite dynasty of caliphs (909-1171), whose rule extended over North Africa, Egypt, and Syria, the Jews were worse off still. About the middle of the tenth century, the Jewish Kingdom of the Chazars was destroyed by the Russians. In the West, the lot of the Jews was also that of a despised and persecuted race. Charles the Bald (840-877) pro- tected them effectively, it is true, but his weak Carlo- vingian successors and the early Capetians lacked suffi- cient authority for doing so. In Italy, as early as 855, Louis II ordered the banisliment of all Italian Jews, and his order failed to have the intended effect only be- cause of the distracted condition of the realm at the time. In Germany, where "Jew" was synonymous with "mercliant", the emperors were long satisfied with exacting a special tax from their Jewish subjects; but finally Henry II (1002-1024) expelled frpm Mainz the Jews who refused to be baptized, and it is prob- able that his decree was applied to other commu- nities.

Spain (Navarre, Castile, and Leon) also persecuted the Jews, although towards the end of the tenth cen- tury, its rulers placed them in many respects on an equaUty with the rest of the population. In Moham- medan Spain, however, the Jewish race was politically and religiously free. Under such jiatrons of science and art as the Ommiad caliphs, Abd-er-R!iamman III (d. 961), Al-Hakem (d. 976), and the regent AI-Man- sur (d. 1002), the Jews greatly increased in Moorish Spain, and became famous for learning as well as for commercial and industrial activity. The Talmudic schools of Cordova, Lucena, anil Granada took the place of those of Sora and Pumbeditha, under the high patronage of the Jewish statesmen Hasdai, Jacob Ibn- Jau, and Samuel Halevi. During tliis period, an Arabic translation of the Mishna was made in Spain liy Ibn-Abitur, and the first commentaries on the Talmud were composed at Mainz by Gershom ben Juda (d. 1028).

(8) Era of the Crusades {lOSS-1300). — In many re- spects, Mohammedan Spain owed a great deal to its Jewish population; yet, in 1066, the Jews were expelled from the Idngdom of Granada. In many ways, tiMi, the young kingdoms of Christian Sjiain were indebted to their Jewish inhabitants; ncvci-thclcss, Ferdinand the Great subjected them to A-exiil icms tni'.-isures and was only prevented fnini dniwing the sword against them by the intervention of the Siianisli el<'i'gy. These, however, were but passing storms: for .MI'onso Vl (1071-1109) soon freely used Jews in liis tliplomatic