Seder Olam Revisited: C42a- Persecutions
- Albert Benhamou
- Oct 10
- 22 min read
Updated: Oct 11
CHRONOLOGY OF JEWISH HISTORY
Generation 42: Hebrew years 4920-5040 (1160-1280 CE)
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To return to the list of chronological generations from Seder Olam Revisited, click here.
Introduction
This 42nd chronological generation falls into the cycle of 7 generations (see document C21b, year 1305 BCE). This present generation is, however, the only one of this cycle of 7 that also falls into a change of millennium since the Creation. This is a generation that witnessed a drastic increase of persecutions and discriminations against Jewish communities on one hand but, in another hand, a strengthening of the faith with a substantial number of Jewish scholars, the development of the more mystical Kabbalah and overall better erudition in the Diaspora communities.
Hebrew Year | CE | Event | Source |
4921 | 1161 | The Book of Tradition | Abraham ibn Daud |
4922 | 1162 | The Jews of Beziers | |
4923 | 1163 | The Jews of China | Jean-Paul Gozani, Jesuit mission to China, 1704 |
4925 | 1165 | Benjamin de Tudela | The Travels |
4927 | 1167 | Cathars in Southern France | |
4930 | 1170 | The Mishneh Torah | Maimonides |
4931 | 1171 | Accusation of ritual murder in Blois | |
4931 | 1171 | Third Council of Lateran | |
4940 | 1180 | Synagogue of Toledo | |
4942 | 1182 | Expulsion of the Jews from France | |
4948 | 1187 | Saladin conquers Jerusalem | |
4949 | 1189 | Massacre at Lionheart coronation | |
4950 | 1190 | Massacre of York | |
4950 | 1190 | The Jews of Narbonne | |
4952 | 1192 | End of the Third Crusade | |
4954 | 1194 | The Exchequer of the Jews |
Year 4921 – 1161 CE – The Sefer ha-Kabbalah (the Book of Tradition)
Abraham ibn Daud (nicknamed the Rabad, Rabbi Abraham ben David), born about 1110 in Toledo, Al-Andalus, was a philosopher, astronomer, and historian. In 1161, he published a book called Sefer ha-Kabbalah to contradict those, such as the Karaites (see document C38, year 760), who argued against the validity of the Oral Law (the Talmud) and would only accept the Written Law (the Torah).
He also learned from Greek philosophy at a time when the works of Greek philosophers were not made available in the Christian world because the Church censured them, but they were known in the Muslim dominions. He derived some of his principles from Aristotle and can be considered as a precursor to Maimonides on this topic.
The Sefer ha-Kabbalah is particularly interesting for this chronological study because it contains information about the Jewish communities until his times. For the Biblical and Temples periods, the author follows the Seder Olam (see document C33b, year 160) and uses the Talmud among his sources. The book also investigates the strange theory that Jesus was a student of the nassi Joshua ben Perachiah at the time of the persecutions of Alexander Jannai against the Pharisees, around 100 BCE (see document C31b, year 89 BCE). As we know, all the scholars of the time fled to Egypt before returning to Jerusalem some years later and this, he supposed, was also the case for Jesus' family. This theory has been studied by a Christian scholar in the early 20th century (Mead, G.R.S., "Did Jesus live 100 B.C.?"). Born in 1863, this author was a scholar of the Theosophical movement. He died in 1933. So, according to this theory, after having been taught in Egypt by exiled nassi, Jesus returned to Judea with the learned Pharisees after 80 BCE, and this is when he got in trouble with the religious authorities. If this theory is correct, it would potentially make Jesus the founder of the Essenes sect, known by the Dead Sea Scrolls, as the "Teacher of Righteousness". As we know from history, the Essenes fled Jerusalem in 76 BCE which was about the time when Jesus got himself in trouble. This theory found echo in a more recent Christian book, also controversial (Wise, Michael O., The First Messiah: Investigating the Savior Before Christ, HarperCollins, 1999)
The association of Jesus with the Essenes, who were the followers of an ascetic leader whose name has strangely disappeared from human memory and who built a community devoid of materialistic ambition, certainly fits his character. According to the Book of Tradition, Jesus died at the age of 36, after the reign of Alexander Jannai, but the reason for the Christian scholars to have positioned the lifetime of Jesus in the time of Herod was to make it a point that his crucifixion was followed a few years later by a divine punishment against the Jews with the destruction of the Second Temple.
In the Epilogue of this book, the following sentence gives an idea of the extent of the Jewish communities of this time in the Muslim dominion:
You will note that Rabbanite communities extend from the city of Sala [Sale, Western Morocco] at the extreme end of the Maghreb, as far as Taher [Tangiers] at the very beginning of the Maghreb [this is modern-day Morocco and Western/Central Algeria, to the end of Ifriqiya [this is from modern-day Eastern Algeria, to Tunisia and Tripolitania Libya], Egypt [also included modern-day Eastern Libya in these days], the Holy Land, Arabia, Iraq, Khuzistan, Fars [Persia], the land of Dedan [Yemen], the land of Girgashite - which is called Jurjan - Tabarestan and al-Daylam, as far as the Volga. In the latter area, there was a nation of Khazars who converted to Judaism and their king Joseph sent a letter to R. Hasdai the nassi ben R. Isaac ben Shaprut [see document C40, year 949] informing him that he and all of his people pursue Rabbanite usage scrupulously. (We have also seen some of their descendants in Toledo, scholars who informed us that their legal practice conforms to Rabbanite usage). They are also found in all the islands of the Greek sea from the land of Venice and Genoa as far as Constantinople and Byzantium, as well as of the Slav country, Togarma, France, Apulia, Messena, Sicily, Lombardi as far as the River Rhone and Spain at the extreme end of the Maghreb. (Abraham ibn Daud, Book of Tradition, Epilogue, 23-36, translation by Gerson D. Cohen, Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, London, 1967)
Year 4922 – 1162 CE – The Jews of Beziers
Beziers is a city located in the Southern part of modern-day France. In these times, its control was disputed, like the rest of the Occitan region, by the Count of Toulouse. The clergy used to take side one way or another and was really the local ruler for some time until Count Guillaume III came to rule the region from 1159. He then put an end to some practice that the clergy of Beziers had instituted against the Jews whereas, every year at Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter), the bishop preached the mob against the Jews and invited them to attack the Jewish quarter where they used to live in a part of the city. The perpetrators were given his episcopal blessing before they went to destroy, kill or steal in this "sacred" mission. The account of this barbaric practice, with the blessing of the local clergy, is given in medieval texts such as the chronicle of Geoffroy de Vigeois and the memoirs of Catel.
But Guillaume's motivation was not driven by a sense of humanity nor by Christian charity: instead, he taxed the Jews for him to decree the abolition of the practice and thus give them his protection.
Year 4923 – 1163 CE – The Jews of China
Jews arrived in China from Persia well before year 1000, probably no later than 200 for the earliest ones. The only Jewish settlement was in Kaifeng, capital of the Henan province, which was located on the Silk Road. In 1163, they built their first synagogue. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times over the years, and after a flood in 1852, it remained in ruins.
The Jesuit missionary Jean-Paul Gozani had an opportunity to visit this Jewish community in November 1704. He sent a letter to his superior, Joseph Suarez in Portugal, to report what he saw and learned. The contents of this important letter show that the Jews of Kaifeng had by that time, some 500 years after their arrival in the region, adopted Chinese names for their rituals. The synagogue was called the Li-pai-sou, the religious books were called the kims, the head of the synagogue or rabbi was called a cham-kiao, the names of God were Tien, Cham-tien and Cham-Ti. These local Jews told the missionary that they had adopted Chinese names for their service, so that it would have some meaning for them: they obviously had lost the practice of the Hebrew language as it had happened long ago to the Jews of Alexandria who spoke Greek and had translated the Torah into the Septante. The books of the Torah were however named in Hebrew (for example Bereshit for Genesis), and the rabbi explained that the Torah was divided in 53 weekly portions, of which Genesis had 12, Exodus 11, and then the three next books with 10 portions each. Here are more details extracted from this letter:
These Jews, who are called "Tiao-kin-kiao" in China, who are either Talmudists or not, also maintained several traditions from the Old Testament; for example the circumcision, that they say had started with the Patriarch Abraham, which is true; the matza bread, the Paschal lamb in memory and in graces for the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea dry foot; the Shabbat and other festivals from the ancient Law.
The first Jews who came to China, as they told me, came under the Ham-chao or the Han dynasty [the Han dynasty lasted from 206 BCE to 220 CE]. At the beginning, there were several families, but their number had decreased and today there only remain seven of them. Their names are Thao, Kin, Che, Cao, Theman, Li and Ngai. These families unite one with another without mixing with the Hoei-hoei, or the Muslims, with whom they have nothing in common, whether concerning the books or for the ceremonies of their religion; even their moustaches are turned in a unique way. [...]
They told me that their ancestors came from a kingdom in the West, called the kingdom of Judea, that Joshua conquered after having come out from Egypt and crossed the Red Sea and the desert, that the number of Jews who came out of Egypt was 60 Vans, which means six hundred thousand. (Lettres édifiantes et curieuses écrites des missions étrangères, Mémoires de la Chine, tome XVIII, Paris, 1781, pp. 31-48, translation by Albert Benhamou)
Year 4925 – 1165 CE – Benjamin of Tudela
Benjamin of Tudela was a learned Jewish traveller who visited Southern Europe, the Holy Land, Babylonia, and the Arabian Peninsula, from 1165 until he returned to Castilla in 1173. He wrote an invaluable witness account of his voyage in a book known as The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela. The book, originally written in Hebrew, was translated in Latin in the Middle Ages and in other languages in more modern times.
Here are some extracts about how he described the Jewish communities he visited during his travels:
- Montpellier, France (1): The Jews of this city are among the wisest and most esteemed of the present generation. [...] Others are very rich, and benevolent toward all who apply to them for assistance. It is four parasangs hence to Lunel, a city also containing a holy congregation of Jews, who employ all their time upon the study of the law. (2)
- Beaucaire, France: a large town, containing about four hundred Jews, and a great university under the presidency of the great rabbi, R. Abraham, son of David.
- Rome, Italy: Two hundred Jews live there, who are very much respected, and pay tribute to no one. Some of them are officers in the service of Pope Alexander. [...] Another remarkable object is St. Giovanni in Porta Latina, in which place of worship there are two copper pillars constructed by King Solomon, of blessed memory, whose name, "Solomon, son of David," is engraved upon each. The Jews in Rome told Benjamin [of Tudela], that every year, about the time of the 9th of Av, these pillars sweat so much that the water runs down from them. You see there also the cave in which Titus, the son of Vespasian, hid the vessels of the Temple, which he brought from Jerusalem.
- Acre, Holy Land: There are here about two hundred Jewish inhabitants, of whom R. Zadok, R. Japheth, and R. Jona are the principals.
- Haifa: One side of this city is situated on the coast, on the other it is overlooked by Mount Carmel. Under the mountain are many Jewish sepulchers, and near the summit is the cavern of Elijah, upon whom be peace. [...] On the summit of the hill you may still trace the site of the altar, which was rebuilt by Elijah, of blessed memory, in the time of King Ahab, and the circumference of which is about four yards (see document C24, year 918 CE).
- Sebaste: This is the ancient Shomron (Samaria, capital of the kingdom of Israel, see document C24, year 926 CE), where you may still trace the site of the palace of Ahab, King of Israel. It was formerly a very strong city, and is situated on a mount, in a fine country, richly watered, and surrounded with gardens, orchards, vineyards, and olive-groves. No Jews live here.
- Nablus: The ancient Sichem, on Mount Ephraim. This place contains no Jewish inhabitants and is situated in the valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. It is the abode of about one hundred Cutheans, who observe the Mosaic law only, and are called Samaritans. [...] They pretend to be of the tribe of Ephraim and are in possession of the tomb of Joseph the righteous, the son of our father Jacob (see document C22, year 1224 BCE).
- Jerusalem: a small city strongly fortified with three walls. It contains a numerous population, composed of Jacobites, Armenians, Greeks, Georgians, Franks, and indeed of people of all tongues. The dyeing-house is rented by the year, and the exclusive privilege of dyeing is purchased from the king by the Jews of Jerusalem, two hundred of whom dwell in one corner of the city, under the tower of David.
- The Cave of Machpelah, Hebron (see document C18, year 1675 BCE): with a burning candle in his hands the visitor descends into a first cave, which is empty, traverses a second in the same state, and at last reaches a third, which contains six sepulchers, those of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and of Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah, one opposite the other. All these sepulchers bear inscriptions, the letters being engraved: thus, upon that of Abraham, we read, "This is the sepulcher of our father Abraham, upon whom be peace"; and so, on that of Isaac and upon all the other sepulchers. A lamp burns in the cave and upon the sepulchers continually, both night and day; and you there see tubs filled with the bones of Israelites, for unto this day it is a custom of the house of Israel to bring thither the bones of their relicts and of their forefathers, and to leave them there.
- Tiberias: contains about fifty Jews, the principals of whom are R. Abraham the astronomer, R. Muchthar, and R. Isaac. The hot waters, which spout forth from underground, are called the warm baths of Tiberias. In the vicinity is the synagogue of Caleb ben Jephuneh (3). and among numerous other Jewish sepulchers are those of R. Johanan ben Zakkai (4) and of R. Jonathan ben Levi. These are all in Lower Galilee.
- Mosul, Iraq: mentioned in Scripture as Assur the great, which contains about seven thousand Jews, the principal of whom are R. Sakhai, the prince, a descendant of King David, and R. Joseph, surnamed Borhan-al-Phulkh, an astronomer of Seifeddin, the brother of Noureddin, King of Damascus. This city, situated on the edge of Persia, is to a great extent very ancient. It stands on the banks of the Tigris and is joined by a bridge to Nineveh [the ancient capital of the Assyrian empire].
- Babylonian Jewry: Pumbedita, in Nehardea, contains about two thousand Jews, some of them eminent scholars. [...] Five days to Hardah (or Hadrah), containing fifteen thousand Jews. [...] Two days to Akbara, the city, which was built by Jeconiah, King of Judea, contains about ten thousand Jews. [...] Bagdad contains about one thousand Jews, who enjoy peace, comfort, and much honor under the government of the great King. Among them are very wise men and presidents of the colleges, whose occupation is the study of the Mosaic law. The city contains ten colleges.
- German Jewry: These [German] cities contain many eminent scholars; the congregations are on the best terms with one another and are friendly toward strangers. Whenever a traveler visits them, they are rejoiced thereat and hospitably receive him. They are full of hopes, and say: "Be of good spirit, dear brethren, for the salvation of the Lord will be quick, like the twinkling of an eye; and, indeed, were it not that we had doubted hitherto that the end of our captivity had not yet arrived, we should have assembled long ago; but this is impossible before the time of song arrive, and the sound of the cooing turtle gives warning; then will the message arrive, and we will say, The name of the Lord be exalted!" They send letters to one another, by which they exhort to hold firm in the Mosaic law. Those that spend their time as mourners of the downfall of Sion and the destruction of Jerusalem are always dressed in black clothes, and pray for mercy before the Lord, for the sake of their brethren.
The narrative of Benjamin of Tudela preceded the one of Marco Polo by about 100 years.
Notes from the above:
(1) Benjamin of Tudela called this city Har Gaash (הַר-גָּעַשׁ), which is the name of the Biblical mount where Joshua had been buried (see Joshua 24:30 or Judges 2:9). Gaash means eruption and volcano in Hebrew, although the Medieval chroniques translated it in Latin as Mons Tremulus (shaking mount). There is no obvious connection between the word Gaash and the word pellier, or pelhier in old Occitan language. Yet someone could possibly see a reason for this name by looking of the topography of the original location of the city, on top of a hill that looks like surged (or erupted?) from the ground. Ironically, and although Montpellier is a city not as old as Beziers nor most of the other cities of the region, it is the only one for which the exact origin of its name has been lost. A legend however states that the city was founded in 990 by the Count of Maguelone after his consultation with a Talmudist Jew who showed him the location where to build a new city for the refugees of his county (source: Albert Fabre, Histoire de Montpellier, 1897, page 33). In any case, what is sure is that the Jews were much involved in the development of the city, if not from its early foundation, and, in the 12th century, the Jews built its first college in 1150. They taught medicine, a field where they famously excelled in Medieval times. The Gentiles later opened additional schools to teach other subjects, and, in 1289, all these schools were merged into the University of Montpellier which was officially opened at that time.
(2) Lunel: a local medieval legend stated that the Jews of Lunel were originally refugees who came from Jericho after the Second Temple had been destroyed in 70 CE. More probably, most of them at the time of Benjamin of Tudela were Jews from Christian Spain who came to Provence as it was more tolerant. Lunel was the home of famous rabbis such as Rabbis Meshullam, Zerachia ben Isaac Halevi Gerondi (the Baal Ha-Maor), Abba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph (who wrote Minchat Kenaoth), and more. The Jews of Lunel were later expulsed by the French King Philippe Le Bel.
(3) Caleb was a close companion of Joshua and the two were among the explorers sent to Canaan (see document C21b, year 1304 BCE).
(4) Johanan ben Zakkai had escaped the siege of Jerusalem and his life was spared by Vespasian (see document C32c, year 69 CE). He then founded the school of Yavneh. His tomb is in Tiberias in the same compound as Maimonides.
Year 4927 – 1167 CE – The Cathars
Christianity, from its origin until the Middle Ages, was not a fully unified religion: other "streams" existed based on different beliefs regarding some fundamental principles. The Arianism, which was fought against as a heresy during the time of Emperor Constantine, believed in the One God, as the Jews did, and that Jesus was simply a prophet. Gnosticism in the other hand believed that Jesus was the One God who revealed Himself to the world within the shell of a human being, Jesus: thus, they didn't believe in the Trinity. The Roman Catholic Church, the mainstream of Christianity in Western Europe, wanted to impose the concept of Trinity that God is the Father, Jesus is the Son, and in addition there is the Holy Spirit, and finally that all three facets were the One God. In the Byzantine Empire, there was also a Gnostic movement led by a certain Bogomil in Bulgaria which started to gain momentum in the regions around the Mediterranean Sea.
This faith, or one form of it, reached the Languedoc region in Southern France, where several Jewish communities already existed around Narbonne and the region. This Bogomilist movement developed itself greatly and created a specific faith called Catharism. Over the following years, and because of the amplitude that these once isolated movements became more organized and structures, Rome started to look at them as enemies to their faith and declared them as heresies, as their precursors had done centuries before against Arianism and other Christian "sects".
As for the Jews, they lived peacefully in the Languedoc region. Some of them even had official positions in Toulouse, Narbonne, as their brethren did in Al-Andalus. While the Cathars preoccupied themselves in spiritual discourses, the Jews too developed mystic theories in Spain and carried them to Languedoc when they fled persecutions. To this effect, both for Judaism and Christianity, the Languedoc sheltered the development of these spiritual doctrines. But while the Cathars finally disappeared due to persecution orchestrated by the Roman Catholic Church, the Jewish mysticism continued to develop and increase over the years and over the Jewish world.
Year 4930 – 1170 CE – Maimonides and the Mishneh Torah
Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, called Maimonides in English and Rambam in Hebrew, was born in 1135 in Cordoba, at a time considered to be the end of the golden age for Spanish Jewry in Al-Andalus. To avoid forced conversions to Islam, he fled to Fes, Morocco, in 1160 because the kingdom was more tolerant there. He then travelled to Jerusalem, which was under the control of the Crusaders at that time, and finally settled in Cairo, Egypt, in 1168. This is where he started to compile, from 1170, his major work Mishneh Torah (to read it online, click here).
Maimonides was also appointed leader of the Jewish community of Cairo in 1171. He was also knowledgeable in medicine and was the personal physician to the Vizir of Egypt and then of Saladin himself.
His other known religious works are Moreh Nebukim (The Guide for the Perplexed) in 1180, various Responsa as answers to questions sent by Jewish communities from all over the world regarding forced conversions, afterlife, and so on, and more. He also wrote books of medicine and philosophy. Maimonides also gave his advice about the way Education should be driven:
"One who wishes to attain human perfection should study Logic first, then Mathematics, then Physics, and lastly Metaphysics." (Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed)
This advice from a Jewish scholar of the 12th century, at a time when education was performed by religious tutors in Christian Europe, is really what has been implemented in schools' programs when state schools were established towards the end of the 19th century.
Maimonides died in Fustat (near Cairo) on 12 December 1204. Following his last wishes, his ashes were transported to Tiberias, Israel, where he was reburied near other great religious scholars.
Year 4931 – 1171 CE – Accusation of blood libel in Blois - the 20 Sivan
In 1171, the French people of Blois (in the Loire Valley, France) accused one of the Jews of blood libel. This was one of the first such accusations on the continent, following the ones that had already circulated in England (see document C41, year 1144). As a reprisal, a mob caught many people from the Jewish community of Blois and burned them to the stake on 2 June 1171 (20 Sivan 4931).
This event had a considerable effect on the minds of the times, Jews and non-Jews, in France and Germany where many Jewish centres had existed and prospered for several centuries. The accusation was unfortunately repeated in many other communities elsewhere. The Hebrew date of 20 Sivan was declared as a day of fast by the Jews of Europe and England.
Year 4939 – 1179 CE – The Third Council of Lateran (Latran)
This ecumenical council aimed to restore peace in the Roman Catholic church and prevent political powers from getting involved in the election of a pope, a task which was now left to bishops only. The council also condemned all heresies such as the one of the Cathars in Languedoc. Concerning the Jews, the council forbade them to employ Christian servants and stated that the testimonials of Christians in court cases will always prevail over evidence provided by Jews.
Year 4940 – 1180 CE – The synagogue of Toledo
While Jewish communities were being discriminated in the Christian world, the ones in the Iberic Peninsula were thriving. One example of their prosperity is the construction of a synagogue in Toledo, in a traditional Moorish style although the city had been conquered by Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085. But he was a tolerant king so, Muslim and Jewish communities were allowed to continue their cultural activities and only required to pay a tribute to the king.
This synagogue of Toledo was built under the reign of Alfonso VIII, grandson of Alfonso VI, when he succeeded to unify most of the Christian states of Spain under one kingdom. An inscription on wood, found in the structure of the building, states: "Its ruins were raised in the year 4940" [1180 CE]. But why did the Jews buid a Moorish styled synagogue at a time of Christian rule? One theory is that there was a Moorish style synagogue at this place, built at the time when Toledo was Moorish, but it had been destroyed during the Reconquista of the city, because the inscription mentions its ruins. Then the King of Spain authorized the Jews to rebuild their synagogue as it had been.
According to Solomon ibn Verga in his chronicle Shevet Yehuda (the Tribe of Judah) written in the 15th century, Alfonso VIII was particularly tolerant to the Jews. One of his closest advisors was a certain Joseph. He also had a beautiful Jewess, Rahel la Fermosa, as a mistress for several years. But the nobility was jealous of these favors and arranged to poison the Jewish mistress in 1195 before starting to persecute the Jews. Her story has also been reported in Spanish chronicles (see Wikipedia) and even a film, The Jewess of Toledo, in 1919. In these times, many Jews from Spain started to move north beyond the Pyreneans into Languedoc and Provence, regions that were more tolerant and not yet part of the French kingdom. Several years later, in the wave of persecutions that increased against the Jews of Spain, the Christians turned the synagogue of Toledo into a church, Santa Maria la Blanca.
Year 4942 – 1182 CE – Philip Augustus expels the Jews from France
In 1182, the king of France, Philip II "Augustus" (Philippe Auguste), decreed the expulsion of the Jews. The motive was pecuniary because he confiscated their assets and nullified the debts that Christians had contracted with them. The borders of the French kingdom were much smaller than modern France so most of the Jews found refuge in the east (Alsace), centre (Burgundy) and south (Provence) of modern-day France. But some Jews remained in France, at the condition that they would wear a distinctive sign, round as a "roue" (wheel), the "rouelle", later instituted by the 4th Council of Lateran in 1215. It was generally yellow.
Philip Augustus however allowed the Jews to return to France a few years later.
Year 4948 – 1187 CE – Saladin conquers Jerusalem
After a crucial defeat of the Crusaders at the Horns of Hattin on 4 July 1187 in Galilee a few kilometers before Tiberias, Saladin put an end to the Christian dominion over the Holy Land which lasted 88 years. He entered Jerusalem on 2 October 1187 (the last day of Sukkot Festival, 21 Tishri 4948) after a negotiated surrender by the Christian defenders of the city.
According to a popular legend, Pope Urban III died of a heart attack on 19 October 1187 when he learned of the loss of the Holy Land. His successor, however, called promptly for a Third Crusade. He got positive response from all major rulers of the time: Richard of England, Philip Augustus of France, and Frederick Barbarossa of Germany.
Year 4949 – 1189 CE – Massacre at the coronation of Richard in London
When Aaron of Lincoln died in 1186, King Henry II Plantagenet was so indebted to him that he seized all his money. This came at a time when Henry wanted to finance yet another of his campaigns, this time against the French King Philip Augustus. But the boat carrying the stolen war money sank. So, the English king had to have recourse to the landlords to supply the finances. But Aaron had been so rich that some of his money and estate was managed by the so-called "Aaron's Exchequer".
Henry died some time afterwards, and was succeeded by his son Richard, the "Lionheart", in July 1189. At his coronation day, in September 1189, leaders of the Jewish community thought to do well by bringing gifts to the new king, as they would have done for his father. But Richard had a different attitude, and this act was seen as an offense, and these Jews were flogged publicly. The coronation soon turned into violent anti-Jewish riots in London when rumors spread that Richard ordered the killing of the Jews. The mobs were led into Jewish quarters, filled by greed, and killed, burned, destroyed, and stole all what fell in their hands.
But Richard too wanted to go to wars and needed financing for this purpose. Besides, he was preparing to join the Third Crusade. So, he ordered the most violent perpetrators of the massacre in London to be hanged. Yet the damage was done and the greed against the Jews was high. Other massacres and riots occurred in the rest of England in the weeks and months (for example in Lynn and in Bury St Edmunds) after Richard's coronation. Meanwhile Richard left for the Crusade and the authority was missing to maintain order. The Jews were still being attacked and robbed by the mob. In Lincoln, the town that owed so much to one member of the Jewish community (see document C41, year 1150), the Jews saved their life by being sheltered in the castle.
Year 4950 – 1190 CE – The massacre of York
The most significant attack on Jews took place in York, in the week that preceded the Jewish Festival of Passover, in the night of 16-17 March 1190. When the mob was about to attack, the Jews were given refuge in the Clifford's Tower by the warden of York Castle. However the tower was isolated and soon became surrounded by the mob who demanded the immediate conversion of the Jews. The soldiers didn't come to rescue and left the Jews to their fate. What ensued was reminiscent of what happened in Masada over 1000 years before (see document C32d, year 74): each head of family killed his wife and children, then was killed by the leader of the Jewish community, Rabbi Yom Tov of Joigny, who finally killed himself too.
Year 4950 – 1190 CE – David Kimhi and the Jews of Narbonne
Narbonne is a city in the Languedoc, a southern region in France, where the first road linking Italy to Spain was laid by the Romans in the 2nd century BCE. Jews probably arrived to the city when Narbonne was part of the Caliphate of Cordoba, before 759, and remained there when the Franks pushed the Muslims back over the Pyrenean mountains. In these times, the Jewish community of Narbonne was led by a scholar called Makhir who, some say, came from Babylonian Jewry.
The Jewish community enjoyed a golden age in the 11th and 12th centuries when Narbonne had a renown Talmudic school. The region was altogether tolerant towards Jews because they too sought to separate themselves from the Roman Catholic Church due to the expansion of the Cathar doctrine. The community was then led by David Kimhi (1160-1235), nicknamed the Radak, who authored books of Hebrew grammar, thus contributed to the teaching and knowledge of the language.
Year 4952 – 1192 CE – End of the Third Crusade
The Third Crusade, although it had started with the good omen of a coalition of the three most powerful kings of Europe, ended in failure. The German army lost their leader Frederick who died while crossing Europe. Philippe of France reached the Holy Land first and waited in vain for Richard of England to arrive. So, he returned to France, leaving some of his army behind with the English. After he arrived to Acre, Richard succeeded in recapturing some of the coastal cities but failed to reach Jerusalem to confront the army of Saladin. Nonetheless he managed to negotiate his departure from the Holy Land with an agreement (Acre, 1192) that the Muslims will no longer prevent Christians to make their pilgrimage to Jerusalem and that the Christians will keep the coastal cities they had reconquered.
Year 4954 – 1194 CE – The Exchequer of the Jews
In 1194, after the Crusade and his return from captivity, Richard changed the "Aaron's Exchequer" into the "Exchequer of the Jews" as a mean to protect the Jews, in case of murder (his debtors would still be indebted to the Jewish family), but it also served the purpose to tax the Jews as the king could now have a complete view of their wealth. This system was kept until the expulsion of the Jews from England one century later in 1290.
Everywhere across Europe, Medieval Jews became associated with money laundering and were the subject of jealousy and greed. The powers, political and religious, benefited from their skills until a time when they too became greedy over all the wealth within reach. A blessing from the religious authority was missing to turn their desire into political means and grab this wealth.
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Albert Benhamou
Private Tour Guide in Israel
Tishri 5786 - October 2025
