Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 1.pdf/624

572 Ancona Ancona, Alessandro d'

TllK .lEWISH

B. B. 91*). It becimic. moreover, the standing ill the oldest ))orli(>iis of IlicZolmr, the NniJJ'Ji"! S1DD (liookof Mystic Lore), in which the wliite. woiil-like hiiir of the lieiul liecaiiie a jironiineiit feature of the anthidpoinorphisiu of the C'al)ala. The foUowiiii; i-,itioiial exiihinalion of this aiithropomorpliie deseriplioii of the Deity is fr'^''ii in Mek.. Itesliallah Shirah (E.. .v. 3). aiui Hair. 1*': "When represented as a warrior triumiihaiit in Imttle. God appears as a fiery young hero; and in an assembly of the wise who seek truth and justice. He is depicted as K. a veneralile sajre. calm and majestic." ll'Ji/,

ii:mu' f(ir(i(Ml

ANCONA

Ancient citj- of Italj', capital of a name, situated on the Adriatic; sjiid to have been founded l)y Syracusiin refugi'i's and to have been one of the first Italian cities to shelter a Jewish community. the records of which, however, begin only in the Middle Ages. Prom e.vistins chronicles it apjxars that some First Set- were there durinir the fourteenth province



liearinjr its

century, when the city was undi'ra republican jroverinnent. and a few moie came from Ciennauy in IJUS. Here they dwelt in [leaee. cnjoyinfr perfect equality with the Christian inhabitants, and owning several schools, synagogues, and a cemetery. Somewhat later the authorities restricted the Jews to their ghetto and compelled the men' to wear a yellow badge on their caps, and the women to wear corresjiondiug tokens when they walked abroad, .fter .Vncoiia had fallen under pajiiil sway. .Martin V.. in 14'-'!(. with a view to increa.sing the commerce of thi^ city and of tiie state, accorded many ]u-ivilcges to the Jews; and in 14'J4 they received permission to establish banks and to lend money at interest. It was at Ancona in 1329 that the pseudo-Messiah Molcho made his tirst appearance in EiU'o|ie. In ')'i',) many Jews exiled from Xajdes. where they had three synagogues, seltleil in Ancona, and when Pojie Paul HI. (l.")34-49) olfered them the freedom of the port, many others, liarticularly a number e.iled from Spain, and designated as Portuguese," came to live there. These immigrants. W'ho had their own synagogue, entered into certain agreements with the magistrate of the city. which were approved by Pope Julius HI. (looO.").)); but, nevertheless, they were subjected to ojipressive taxation and all sorts of iinposiPersecution tions. Under Pail IV. .").)")-.")!) the under Pope Jews were subjected to further oppresPaul IV. si(m. By his direction they were deprived of valuable franchises, enclosed within the ghetto, subjected to further taxation, lim-

tlement

of Jews.

(

1

)

ited in their commerce to old clothing, ]irohibi ted from practising any art other than inedi<ine. and this not among the Christians, and forbidden the use of their calendar. .Vs a means of satisfying his feeling of

hatred against the Spaniards. Paul IV. jiracti.sed cruelty toward the Por1iigue.sc Jews; he sent an iidinman commissioner, a certain Cesare Galuaba, to Ancona with orders to incarcerate all who did not accept baptism and to condenm them to the stake. Thus terrorized, sixty-three renounced their faith.

Twenty-three men and one woman, whose names have been hand<'d down in chronick's. preferred death to ajiostasy, and these were all hanged together and afterward liiu'iit on the Piazza della -Mostra (•' Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah " of Gedaliah ibn Yahya. and local records). (Compare D. Kaufmann, " f-esVingt-quatres Martyrs d' Ancona," in " Kev. fit. Jinves," xxxi. 222-280.) Thoroughly alarmed, many of the Jews tied. Prayers for the dead are still said, and the elegy composed by Jacob de Zano is still recited annually in the synagogues for these martyrs.

ENCYCLOPEDIA

572

Tlic Jews of the Levant planned n novel mode of vengeance against Ancona for its iniipiitous treatmentof the Jews, and well nigh executed it. Many of the ^laranos, during the reign of Pope Paul IV.. had tied to Pesaro. and from there, probably upon the advice and |U'ouiises of protection Mercantile of (iuido Ibaldo. duke of If bino. had Reprisal, sent an envoy. .luda Faragi. with letters addressed to the Jews of the Levant, entreating the latter, in whose hands lay nearly all commerce with the Italian jiorls. lo send all their nu-rchandise to Pesaro. instead of directing it. as they had previously done, to .Vneoua. The weifarcof this city would uiidoubtedly have been greatly impaired, if the Levantine Jews had kept the jiromise lliey at tirst gave in aiisw<'r to the messages of the Maranos of Pesaro; but the Jews of Ancona themselves iin|)lored that no such action be taken. They shrewdly pointed out that the jiopc wotdd wreak vengeance on all Jews in his slate, as well as on the Maranos, therefore the ban juonounced on Paid IV. by most of the rabbis of Turkey was not stringently enforced, (iuido Ubaldo. disii|ii)(iiiited in his hopes of seeing Pes;iro super.sede Ancona in eoiuniereial importance, very soon after this expelled the Maranos from Pesaro (JIarch, l.^oH). It is noteworthy that among tho.se who had tied from Ancona during the activity of the Inciuisition was .Viiialo Liisitano. the famous physician. When Paul IV. had caused the arrest of all the MaraiKis of Ancona. Sultan Sulaiman II.. upon the repealed entreaties of Dona Graeia Nasi and Don Joseph Xasi, sent a IctU'r to him, March !t. }'>'>C>. rc(luesting him to release such as were Tuikish subjects, and iutimaliiig that a failure to comply with the request would bring rejirisals of all sorts upon the Christians living in Turkey. Pins IV. saw himself accordingly obliged to ndea.se the Turkish Jews. Those Maranos of Ancona who could claim no jiroleclor other than the |io]ie himself about 101) in number laiiguislied in dungeons. See " Kev. 6t. Jiiives." xvi. (Ui-71, xxxi. 2:il-2:i'J. Pope Pius IV., who succeeded Paul in 1559, punished the pcriMtrators of this infamy, abolished the provisions of his predecessor, and in general amelioBut his successor rated the condition of the Jews. rein.stituted a period of severe oppression. In a bull issued by Pius V.. however, and dated Feb. 26, Uome are espelli.">9. the Jews of Ancona and of

—

—

cially

excepted from the^ general banishment from

the Papal States C'Rev. Et. Juives." X. 199). In order lo defray the expense of the public games, he imposed heavy taxes upon the Jews, Varying to be paid both lo the city and to the Fortunes state; and, as a result of his action, Emancipa- about I.OOO families abaniloncd Ancona. The succeeding jiopes ri'duced tion. the ta.xes, anil .soon afterward some of the Jews began to return. In order to improve the commercial condition of the Papal Stales, Clement

—

VIII. showed extreme benevolence toward its Jewish inhabitants, but this altitude was not imitated by Ale.xandir VHI. and Pius VI. Under the French doiiiiiiation. in 1797. Xapoleon substituted for the jiaiial governorof Ancona a municipal council, which ineludeil among its members three Jews, Samson Costantini, David Morpurgo.and Ezeehia JIor])Uigo. Then the gates of the ghetto

were destroyed, and the children of the Jews were taught side by side with those of Christians. The clergy, however, excited the Christian poinilacc to such a degree that on Jan. 10, 1798, they endeavored to set fire to the ghetto and sack it; the rioters were dis])ersed by the troops. But on their side two of the Jewish aldermen prevented the casting of the