Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/238

* JEWS. 212 JEWS. Generally speaking, from the close of the second centurj' till the estiiblishnicnt of Christianity under Constantino, when their hopes were once more dasluxl to the ground, the Jews of the Koman Empire appear to have prospered. In this period falls the redaction of the chief code and basis of the 'Oral Law,' 'the Mishna,' com- pleted by Jcluida Hanasi (the prince), or lla- kadosh ( the holy ). president of the great school at Titieriiis (1.50-:21O) — upon which code were grafted subsequently the two gigantic com- nient-iirics or complements, the Palestinian and Habylonian Gemaras. The Babylonian .Jews were even more fortunate than their western brethren, though they did not perhaps atUiin the meridian of their prosperity till the revival of the Per- sian Empire on the downfall of the Parthian dynasty. Their leader was called the 'Prince of the Captivity,' and was cliosen from among those lield to be descended from the Hou.se of David. He lived in great splendor and was even per- mitted to exercise political functions in the Jewish comnuinity. The .Jews of Babylonia were wealth^', and pursued all sorts of industrial oc- cupations. They were merchants, hankers, arti- sans, husbandmen, and shepherds, and had the reputation of being the best weavers of the famous Babylonian garments. The reputation for learning of the Babylonian schools. Nehardea, Sura, and Punilielilha, was very great. Their condition at this time farther east is uncertain. but it seems possible that they had obtained a footing in China at quite an early date. They v.ere discovered there by the Jesuit missionaries of the seventeenth century, especially at Kai-fong- fu, where they had a large synagogue. They followed in their prayers and observances Rab- binical .Tudaism, having remained in close con- nection with their brethren in Persia. The tablet inscriptions in their synagogues were in the Persian language. In 1001 certain .Jews in Shanghai entered into communication with the very few who had presened their identity. In Europe the ascendency of Christianity proved baneful to the condition of the Jews. Imperial edicts and ecclesiastical decrees vied ■nith each other in the rigor of their intolerance toward all who did not accept Christianity. The Jews were prohibited from making converts, from invoking (in Spain at least) the divine blessing on the country, from marrying Christian women, or holding Christian slaves : they were burdened with heavy taxes; yet despite per- secution, they seem to have flourished. They are foimd in large numbers in Illyria, Italy, Spain, Minorca, Gaul, and the Roman towns on the Rhine; they were agriculturists, traders, and artisans, and held land. Constantius. during whose reign a tierce insurrection incited by his co- regent Callus broke out among the Arians and Jews (.S.^3). terms them, in a public document, 'that most hateful of all people;' yet in spite of this, we find them filling important civil and mili- tary positions and exercising the influence that springs from the possession of wealth and knowl- edge. The brief rule of Julian the .Apostate even shed a momentary gleam of splendor over their destinies, and he appears to have favored the re- building of the temple at .Terusalem. The death of the Emperor frustrated this plan. In 418 the .Tews were excluded from the military service; and in 429 the patriarchate at Tiberias was abolished. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire their fortunes were different in different countries. In Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia they were for a time aluKXSt unmolested ; in the Byzantine Em- pire they suffered many oppressions; while in the sixth and .seventh centuries the Franks and Spanish Visigoths inflicted on them frightful per- secutions. After the destruction of .lerusalem by Titus many Je^vs settled in Arabia. Their influence was great, not only in the north, but es]M!cially in the southwestern Kingdom of Yemen. About the year ."iOO .Tudaism seems to have l)e<ome a power liere. But in 3ti0 an Abyssinian king, spurred on by Rome, concjuered Venicn, which was held till 378, when Jewish influence became once more paramount. At the end of the fiftb century a .Jewish King, Dhu Nuwas, is still found on the throne. Christianity, however, had been introduced into Yemen in the fourth century; and in 525 the Abyssinians under the Viceroy Abraha deposed Dhu Xuwas and gave the Christian re- ligion a firmer hold in Soutli Arabia. At fir^t .Jewish tribes around Jlecca and Medina were fa- vorably regarded by Mohammed, but when it be- came evident that they would not accept Islam, they had to pay dearly for their loyalty to their own faith. Moh;immed subdued the Khaibar tribes in 627. and most of the Arabian Jews re- moved to Syria and Meso))otamia. The spread of Mohammedanism through Western Asia, the Mediterranean regions, Africa, and Spain, was, nevertheless, advantageous to the .Jews, Except- ing accidental persecutions, such as those in Mau- ritania (790) and in Egjpt (1010), they enjoyed under the caliphs and Arabian princes compara- tive peace. In Moorish Spain their numbers in- creased greatly, and they became famous for their learning, as well as for connnercial and industrial activity. They were husbandmen, landed propri- etors, financial administrators, coimselors. secre- taries, astrologers, or physicians to the rulers, and were untrammeled in the exercise of their religion. This period may well be considered the golden age of .lewish literature. Poets, ora- tors, and philosophers arose among them; and to them and the .rabs is due no small share in the preservation and subsequent spreading of ancient classical literature, more especiallv philosophy, in Europe. Different from their fate under ilo^Iem rule was that which they had to endure in Christendom. About the beginning of the eleventh century the Byzantine Em- peror Basil II. renewed the persecution. From different causes the same thing had al- ready begun in Babylonia, where the caliphate had passed into the hands of rulers hostile to the .Jews; and before the end of the eleventh cen tury the Rabbinieal schools were closed, the best of the community had fled to Spain, and those that remained were reduced to an abject condi- tion from which they have never risen. In Itjily. where they were settled in large numbers in Bari, Taranto. and Otranto. their position was made tolerable by pecuniari' sacrifices. More favorable was their lot during the eighth and ninth centuries in France, especially in Paris, Lyons, Langviedoc, and Provence. They pos- sessed land and houses, and. in the south, held public offices. Their Talmudic schools flourished. At the Court, of Louis le Debonnaire (814-40), who maintained as a principle the obligation to protect all his subjects, irrespective of their faith, they acquired great influence. Before long, how-