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455 vexatious poll-tax levied upon all males above the fifteen (see Lebreeht's essay on "The State of the Califate of Bagduil " in Asher's edition of " Benjamin of Tudela," ii. 318 et seq.). The materials for a rebellion being thus at hand, David Ahoy raised the banner of revolt against the Seljuk Sultan Miiktafi, and called ujion the oppressed people of Israel to regard him as their longexpected Messiah. He promised to lead his brethren to the recapture of Jerusalem, after which he would be their king, and they would forever b(' free. In the adjacent district of Adlierbaijan there lived a iiuml)er of warlike Jews wlio had their homes among the mountains of Chaftun, and these men Alroy sought to win over to his cause. To his brethren in JIosul, Bagdad, and otiier towns, he sent letters aniioimcing liis divine mission, and sum-

age of

moning theni to aid him in waging war upon the Moslems and to shake oil their yoke. Ilis intimate knowledge of the magic arts is said to have' convinced many Jews of the truth of his jiretensions, liimself with a considerable following, l)urning to free themselves from Moslem tyranny. He resolved to attack the citadel of his native town, Amadia, and directed his supjiorters to as.senible in that city, with swords and other weapons concealed under their robes, and to give, as a pretext for their presence, their desire to study the Talmud with such adislinguished sch<ilaras himself. What fcillowed is uncertain, for the sources of the life of Alroy tell each a dilTerenl tale, and the subse([Uent events are closely interwoven with a ma.ss of legends that have no liistorieal basis. In all i)robability, the attack upon the fort at Amadia failed: AIro}- and his deluded followers were defeated, and he himself was put to death. The legends, however, are full of interest, and the version of Benjamin of Tudela, which is set forth as though maiU' up of liistorieal facts, is well worth rejirodueing. The news of Alroy's revolt reached the ears of the "Art Sultan, who sent for the would-be Jlessiah. thou the Kingof the Jews? " asked the Benjamin .Moslem sovereign, to which Alroy re-

and Alroy soon found

of Tudela's Version,

jilied,

"lam."

The Sultan thereupon

cast lhej<'wish iiretciideriiito prison in

Tabaristan. Tlireedayslater, while the Sultan and his council were engaged in considering Alroy's rebellion, the pseudo- Messiah suddenly appeared in their midst, having miraculously made his escape from prison. The Sultan at once ordered Alroy's rearrest; but. by his magic, tiu' rebel made himself invisible anil left the jialace. Ouided by the voiceof Alroy the Sultan and liis nobles followed him to the banks of a river, where, having made himseH' visible, the marvelous wizard was seen to cross the water on a shawl, and make his escape with ease. On the same day he returned to Amadia, a jinirney which ordinarily took ten days, and, aiipearing to Ilis

Alphabet Alsace

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

455

followers, related to

The Sultan now

them

his

llirealeiied to

wondrous exploits. put the Jews of

his

dominion to the sword if Alroy were not surrendered, and till' Jewish authorities in liagdail endeavored to induce Alroy to abandon his pretensions to the Messiahship for fear of Ihc'evil that niiglil liefall Israel. From .Mosul also an appeal was madi' to him by Zakkai and Jose|ih Barihan .Mlalah. the leachrs of the Jewish community: but all in vain. At length, the governor of Amadia, Saif al Din, bribed Ihi' falliir In-law of the daring rebel to slay him. which was done, and the revolt was brought to an einl. Tln' Jews of Persia had eonsidemlile ditlleullv in appeas the wrath of the Sultan, and were obliged to pay ing a large indemnilv.

The death of Alroy did not entirely destroy the belief in his heaven-sent mission for the redemption of his people. impostors came to Bagdad an<i .succeeded in perpetrating a huge fraud upon the

Two

credulous followers of the pseudo-Mes.siah. They announced that upon a certain night they were all com-

manded to commence a flight through the air from Bagdad to Jerusalem, and, in the meantime, the followers of Alroy were to give their jiroperty into the charge of these two messengers from their dead leader.

The denouement

may

of this cunning sclieme

be imagined and jet, for many jears afterward, a sect of Meuahemites, as they were termed, continued to revere the memory of the so-called

JNIessiah of

Amadia.

The

principal source of the life of Alroy is the " Itinerary " of Benjamin of Tudela (ed. A. Asher, i. 12"^127). This version is followed in its main outlines by Solomon ibn Verga, in his "Shebet Yehu-

Wiener. Hebrew text, p. HO). Ibn Verga on the authority of Maimonides (which, however, can not be substantiated), that, when asked for a proof that he was truly the Jlessiah, Alroy (or David El-David, as Ibn Verga and Ijiterary David (Jans in his "Zemah David" Sources, call him) replied. "Cut otT my head and I shall yet live." This was done, and thus the ))retender escaped a cruder fate. David Oans, Gedaliab ibn Yahya (in his ".Shalshelet haKabbalah "), who calls him David Almusar, and H. Jose])h ben Is;iac Saiubari (see A. Neubauer, "Media'val Jew. Cliron." i. 123) close! v follow Benjamin of Tudela's version. The name Jfenaliem ibn Alruhi ("the inspired one"), and the concluding ejiisode of the imjiostors of Bagdad, are derived from the contemporaneous chronicle of the apostate, Samuel ibn Abbas (see Wiener's " 'Emek ha-Baka," pp. 168 et se(j., wv.'et wr/.). The name Menahem {i.e. the com-

dah"

(ed.

states,

was a conunon Messianic aiipellation. The name Alroy is probably identical with Alruhi (see forter)

/.f. GrStz, "Gcseh. d. Juden," pp. 269 et Lord 420; Basnage, "Hist, des Juifs." vii, 9). Beaconstield's novel, "The Wondrous Tale of Alroy," is purely imaginary, and exalts a man who was probably a vulgar impostor into a high-souled " hero of a dramatic romance," and invests him with a halo of glory.

Wiener,



neq.,

BiBi.iofiRAPiiY



Loeb. la Rev. £t. Jiiivcs,

x-l. 215,

xvll. 3(M.

M, A.

ALSACE: A Cierman territory which, together with Lorraine, forms a IteirltKhiiiil. or imperial territory. It lies between the River Kliine and the Vosgis Mountains. The precise date when Jews settled in this and the neighboring regions can not be deliniiely fixed. According to some historians there were Jews in Cologne ill thi' fourth ceiitiiiv: others date their presence in Mayence from the end of the eiglilh century. If these statements be true, it is not impo.ssible that Jews resided also in the chief city of Al.sace during the period of the Fnuikish and Carlovingian kings. This was Schoepflin's view in the last century (" Alsatia Iliusli-ata," translated by Uaveiiez, v. U3); but he furnished no liroofs. However. Benjamin of Tudela, in his account of his travels bi'tween the years 1160 and 1 173. spiaks of having met many rich and learned Jews in the towns of Traces of Treves. Worms. Speyer.andStrasburg; Early Set- hence, Jewish (ommnnities must have tlements. existed there in the second half of the welflh century. According to J. KutI

iii!:(".eltereHebrflischelnschrifteniniElsn.ss,"lS*t7). tin- oldest of till' gravestones unearthed in isiis in the Kue des Juifsat Stnisburg dated from this time.