Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 1.pdf/429

381 THE JEWISH EN'CYCLOPEDIA

381 "Slialme Zibbur." which

more learned

is

genenilly assigned to his

father, Isuaei.

Jacob Algazi.

BlBLlOGRAPnT Benjarob. Ofnrha-Scfarim,

il.

llimiilhnrKclim

IfiliU'itluk,

I.

p. 589



Kiwst, Cat.

5«.

D.

ALGEBRA, SCIENCE MAlli

OF.

See

Mathe-

^

ALGERIA

Country on the coast of North Afa Krendi colony, but formerly bclonginf; successively to ('iirtlmjrc, Konic, the Siiracens, and 'I'lic claim is put forth by sevthe Ottoniiiii Turks. eral Jewish Al!;<rian eonuuuuitics that they were established in North Africa at the time of the destruction of the Temple. Though this is tmwarranted. the presence of Jews there .since the first centuries of is altislcd bv epit.iplis ("f. I. L." the couunon era viii. H-I'.':l HVM); "nullelin Archeologiiiue du C'omite desTravaux Historiciues," No. i. .iii. 04). from which two inferences tuay be drawn: lirst. that since the Jews mentioned bear Latin names, most of them came from Italy secondly, that since the proportion of Jewish inscriptions to the great mass of Latin-Algerian inscriptions is very small, the number of Jews was not large. L'nder the fairly tolerant Vandals the Jews probably multiplied for Justinian in bis edict of persecution respecting North Africa, proclaimed by him after the overthrow of the Vandal empire, mentions them in the same category as Arians and heathens (••Novella." x.x.wii.). In the seventh century an important addition to the Jewish jiopulation was niatle by Spanish immigrants, who. Ileeing from the persecutions of the Visigothic king Sisebut and his successors, cscajied to Mauritania, and settled in the Byzantine cities. Whether they mingled willi the IJerlier populalion, rica,



now





making converts among them.

isaiioi)en ijuestion. to

which, however. Arabic historians give an allirniativc answer. Ibn-Kaldfin categorically maintains that sevend lierber tribes professed Judaism: the Nafiisjih in Ifrikiyyah (Tunis and a department of Constantine). the Faudalawah. the Fazaz. the Madiunah,the Bahlulah.and theGhayyalliah in the Maghreb al-Aks;i (in the west of the dcparlmeiit of (tran anil Morocco). The powerful tribes of the Jarua and of the Aures, whose (|ueen, tin- Kaliina Dil.iya. for a long time kept the Arabian generals in check, also practised the Jewish religion. Ibn Kalilun ailds that the existence of Judaism among the Berbers lasted imtil the reign of the founderof the Idriside dynasty. This prince devoted himself energetically to stamping out all traces of .ludaism from his empire: but cirlain present usagesamong the tribesof tli<' Aures, such as house-cleaning at I'assovcT lime and Salib.ilb observance, must be considered as survivals of that religion. Mon^over. some conti'nd that cerlain portions of the tribe of the llenansha (south Constantine), leading in all i>articulars the pastoral life of the Aral)s. still oliserve the religion of .Moses. Under Arabic domination the situation of the Alfterinn Jews was what that of "the People of the BiHik" (Ahliil Kit'ili) has always been in Moslem empires. Though they were compellid to pay the poll lax

(.//;/////.

the regime

and they mainlaini-d

was

relatively tolerant,

he free exercise of their religion. At the .sjiini' time they were always exposed to the caprice of a prince or to an outArabic burst of popular fanaticism. OnsevDomierid occasions under Idriside emirs nation. Ihey sulTeied per-ieculion. but imder the .Xglilabiles ihey experienced real I

traixpiillily. and even a fair amount of favor. Two Jewish |ihysicians. both named Ishalj ben Amnim. appear to have altaineil a I'erlain standing at the

Alg-azi

Algeria

court of Ziyadat Allah I. and of Ziyadat-AUah HI., and to have been the eontidants and counselors of those princes. The Almoravide dynasty seems to have left the Jewish communities of the Maghreb in jieace; but the fanatical Almohades, who over! brew it (1140), followed a totally dilferent ])olicy toward the Jews. The lirst Almohade.'Abdal-Mu'min. made them the object of frequent persecutions. In pursuance of a fanciful belief, of which it is impossible to lind the least foundation in Jloslem tradition, he

pretended that Mohanuned had

l>ermitteil the Jews exercise of their religion for only tivo hundred years, and that if. at the expiration of that time, the Messiah bad not appeared, they must be forced into Islam by fair means or foul. His successors pursued the same course, and their severe measures i)roduced eilherenngralion to the east or forced convei-sions. Becoming suspicious of the sincerity of the new converls. the Almohades, in order to distinguish Ihem from Moslems of longer standing, obliged them to wear a special garb. L'nder the various dynasties, which after the fall of the Almohades divided the Maghreb among themselves, the Hafsides of Tunis, the Bauu Ziyan of Tlem(,-en, and the' Marinides of Fez, the situation of the .lews was somewhat improved. At any rjite their situation was far better than that of Jews across the Mediterranean in <'hristian Spain: and the African coast cities became the natural shelter for refugees from Spanish persecutions. In 1;>9I. in conseciuence of that terrible uprising against the Jews which steeped Castile. Anigon, Andalusia, and the Balearic Isles in blood, groups of immigrants lauded Spanish Immigra- at Algiers. Uran, Jlosta.canem, and Bougie, penetrated into the cities of tion. the inteinor, and settled there with the permission of the Moslem authorities. They had to pay a capitation fee of a doubloon for admis.sion into the land. On the whole, they were well received by the Jewish communities already there, but for sonic time they formed separate groups. The ancient Algerian Jews were known as " wearers of turbans." the newcomers as •• wearers of birettas." (ireally superior to the African Jew in culture and in intellectual and commercial activity, the Spanish Jew soon gained the upper hand, and from the lirst years of the lifteenth century rabbis who emigrated from Spain are found at the head of nearlv all Jew-

the

free

comnnmilies in Al.sreria: at Al.iiiers. Isaac ben Sheshet Barfat. known by the ablireviation "Hibash." and Simon ben Zemah Duran L. sinularly called "Uashbaz": at Oran, Amram ben Merovas ICplirali: at Constantine. Joseph ben Menirand Mainuin ben Saadia Najar: at .Medeah. Saailia Darmon: at Tlem(<'n, Abraham ben Ilakin and Ephraim Anish

at Bou.irie, Benjamin .mer. etc. Heiiceforlh tin- niunber of Jews in Al.ireria continually augmented, the increase being most marked when a large immigration into .Vfrica look place at the end of the tifleenlh ami the beginning of the sixleenlh century. Aftir the exptdsion of the Jiws from Spain {W'i. l.lir.;) four to live Ihousjinil of Ihem repaired lo Africa. An old chroidcler sjivs: "Those who arrived at Oran were so numerous tiiat the Arabs, on seeing their ves.s<ds, tlioui;lit that enemies were descending u|ion Ihem and killed a number: but afterwani the Moslem prince t<Mik pity on them, and, Ihroiigli the inlervetition of an inllu enlial Jew of the country named IKxlilmm. per He had boanl cabins erecletl milted them to land. outside llie city forthemand the cattle they l)nm!:hl with them." The conclusion nuiy Ih' drawn that ihese new inimigrants found in the Algerian cities

kawa;