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It was about this time alfo, that the famed impoftor Moola, or Mofes, the fon of Amran, as he called himself, began to appear, and pretended to be that great lawgiver of the Jews newly rifen from the dead.

MAMUN was fucceeded by his brother Al Motafem, Perfecuted who, among other of his victories, defeated a famed impof- under Wator named Babeck, who cried down all other religions but theck, his own, which chiefly confifted in pleasure and jollity; and A.C. 841. was become so powerful, that he waged war against Jews, Chriftians, and Molems; and was with difficulty overcome by the united forces of that Khalif. His fucceffor, named Al Wathek, and, by fome, Wathek-Billah *, became a bitter enemy to the Jews on two accounts: ift, Because they had been guilty of fome great frauds in the management of the finances, which had been committed to their care in his predeceffor's reign. And, 2d, Because they would not receive the Koran; for which they were heavily taxed, and forced to pay very large fines into his treasury. Motavel, or Motawakel, who fuc- Under Mo ceeded him, proved ftill more fevere against them; and not only tavel, obliged them to wear a leathern girdle by way of diftinction, A.C. 846. and, on the fame account, forbad them to ride on any but affes or mules, and the use of iron stirrups, but he also stripped them of all their honours, titles, and places; which shews, that they had enjoyed fome confiderable ones in former reigns. And what was still worse, his edict spread itself not only through his empire, but into the neighbouring states; and this mark of infamy hath, more or less, fubfifted ever-fince in thofe countries that are under the Turks (R); and we may add,

* De hoc vid. vol. ii. p. 412, & feq.. & p. 424. D'HERp. 640.

Bibl. Orient.

BELOT,
of little ufe to infert them. He
tells us however, of a difafter
that happened at that of Sora,
about the beginning of the ninth
century; viz, its being two
whole years
without a profeffor;
which was not fo much owing
to the want of encouragement,
as to the divifions and feuds that
then reigned among thofe doc.
tors, and thwarted their elec-
tions of proper persons to fill
the chair. For that of Pundebita
was filled by the famed R. Abu-
mer. This laft, at length, fent
his fon Coben Zedek thither, who

carried the election; fo that this
family filled both chairs for a
confiderable time, and with great
credit. The father and the fon,
the uncle and the nephew, were
chiefs of both academies. But,
upon their demife, the great
profperity they enjoyed, foon
made them fall into their old
diffenfions, as we fhall fee in
the next note.

(R) They brought, at the
fame time, another misfortune
upon themselves, by the revival
of their old academic jars. R.
Menachem, the fon of Foleph,

who

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add, in feveral parts of Europe, and under Christian princes to this day. Motawakel's fucceffors, whofe reigns were short and violent, followed the fame fevere methods against the Jews; fo that they bought those little remains of liberty at the expence of very heavy taxes; and it was in the reign of Mohamed, the last of them, who was a weak and effeminate Ahmet's prince, that Ahmet, then governor of Egypt, revolted, and revolt, founded a new dynasty there; by which that province was A.C. 869. difmembered from the empire of the Khalifs about the end of the ninth century * (S).

WE Come now to the Jews in the west, that is in the empire, in Spain, Italy, France, and other parts of Europe, during the eighth and ninth centuries. We begin with the empire, which was at this time miferably torn by the civil * See before vol. ii. p. 477, & 481.

who prefided alone in that of
Pundebita, and faw himself
threatened with the concurrence
of a colleague, which the Jews
were going to force upon him,
fo ftrenuously oppofed it, that
the difpute ran to a great height.
However, after much wran-
gling, and ill blood on both
fides, he gained his point; and
his rival, named Mattathias, was
fet afide. Menahem did not fur-
vive his difgrace above two
years; and left the chair to
him, who enjoyed it a much
longer time. These feuds were
the more unfeasonable at thefe
times, because the Khalifs were
now no longer fuch encouragers
of learning as their predeceffors
had been; fo that both, joined
together, occafioned a general
decay of it in those two places,
which was not foon nor eafily
recovered

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dies; among which was that of a youth whofe face and lips were ftill as lively as if he had been in health; and near it a ftone, on which was an infcription ingraved, which no-body, could read. Mohamed, defirous to know the contents of it, tried in vain the skill of the most learned Jews and Chriftians; they all found it impoffible to be decy phered (33).

In his reign arofe likewife a famous Jewish aftronomer in Arabia, named Abulmanalar, who pretended to foretel ftrange events by the course of the planets, not excepting those which chiefly related to religion (34). He pretended, that the Jewish law had its birth under the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn; and that the fame configuration would ufher in anti-chriftianifm. He foretold likewife, that it would be fatal to Chriftianity, an. 1460; but the event hath proved him a falfe prophet, and his fcience an idle dream. He died, an. 886..

(33) Chronic. Abbaffid. ad an. Hegira, 275, b. eft, A. C. 879. Vid D'Her belgi. Bibliot. Orient. p. 638. (34) Vid. Bafnage, ub. fup. lib. 1. c. 2. §. ult.

2

diffenfions

diffentions between the Iconoclasts, and the image worship

pers, and in which the Jews were accused to have had a con- Accused of fiderable hand, if they were not the first movers of it. We caufing the have given an account of that, and of its bloody effects, in a edicƐt former part of this history †, and shall examine here only what against the is laid to the charge of the Jews, with relation to their being images. the first promoters of it, and which appearing to us very doubtful and apocryphal, we shall remit to the margin, with fome fhort but neceffary remarks on the whole story (T). + Anc. Hist, vol. xvii. p. 41, & feq.

(T) The Jews, we are told (35), having cheated Jezyid in the east, with the promife of a long reign, and being obliged to leave those parts, came from thence thro' Cilicia into Ifauria, a province of Afia-minor, over against the island of Cyprus, where they fet themfelves down by a fountain, to refresh them felves from the fatigue and heat of the day. A youth of that country came foon after and fat among them, who used to travel about and fell trinkets to the towns and villages adjacent. The Jews having viewed him more intenfely, foretold to him that he should become emperor; and only begged as a reward for their prediction, that when he was come to the crown, he would take from the Chriftians all their images, as contrary to the fecond commandment. And hence it came to pass, that when he came to mount the throne, under the title of Leo Ifaurus, he waged fuch a violent war against the image worshipers

We might here with Mr Bafnage observe several remarks on the improbability of this whole ftory; but as they are obvious to every thinking reader, it will be fufficient to remind him that -Leo could not be in Ifauria, tho'

that was his native place, at the time of the Jews coming thither, feeing Juftinian had conveyed him and his family into Thrace before that time, and before he was of age fufficient to carry on the pretended pedling trade about his country. Neither was it the prediction of the Jews, but the orders of that emperor which got him into his fervice, feeing he had been inlifted amongst his guards, An. 705: and, laftly, what feems most effectual to destroy the probability of this ftory, especi ally of the Jews prediction to him, is the perfecution he raised against them, upon his coming to the throne, as will be seen presently; for had there been any fuch thing, would they not have complained of his ingratitude and injuftice? But all this ftory feems contrived to make one imagine that Leo could not conceive fuch a violent diflike to images, unlefs fome fuch enemies to Christianity had infpired him with it; whereas the Jerus were fo far from wishing them abolished, that the more they were multiplied in the churches, the greater occafion of triumph it gave them over the Chriftians.

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(35) Theophan. ann. fub. A. C. 615. p. 336. Zenar ann, tem, iii, Cedren ann, in Leon Ijaur.

Sigebert fub en. 724. p. 545. Maimbourg Hift. Iconoclaft. l. i. However,

B. XVI. Perfecuted However that be, it is plain that the new emperor deby Leo clared himself no less zealous against the Jews than against Ifaurus. images; for both they and the Manichees were ordered by him to turn Chriftians, under the feverest penalties; only the latter being more tenacious of their heresy, suffered themselves to be burnt for it, whilst the Jews took their old method of faving their lives by diffembling; which they found, however, proper means to difallow in private. But as the patrons for images gained their point, notwithstanding the strenuous oppofition of the emperor and his followers, they obliged the Jews, whofe fincerity they had no great reason to rely on, to fubfcribe to a formulary, by which they acknowledged themfelves worshipers of the cross and holy images, and prayed to God to strike them with Gehafi's leprofy, and Cain's tremor, if they did not do it from their hearts h.

In Syria.

THEY found themselves ftill more involved in thofe deA.C. 769. vastations which Abdallah, the son of Ali, was making at Jerufalem and Syria, and, among other hardships, were forced, as well as the Chriftians to be branded in the hand, to distinguish them from Molems. The latter did indeed retire upon it to the Roman territories; but the Jews not only fubmitted to it, but chose to follow Abdallah's army, in order to enrich themselves with the plunder of the Chriftians. For that prince, we are told, had always a confiderable number of them in his army, to whom he fold all the church plunder he took. THEY fared much better under Nicephorus, who fucceeded Leo about the beginning of the ninth century, and who likewife declared himself for the Iconoclafts; for which it probably came that the other fide branded him with having forsaken God, to put himself under the care of the Manichees and Attingans, who were a kind of diviners or foothfayers; but according to the language of the Anti-Iconoclafts, were perfons that dealt with the devil, and could by their art make kingdoms flourish, princes victorious, &c (U). However, the lat

Favoured by Nicephorus

ter

THEOPHAN. ub. fup. fub. A. C. 759, & feq. Apud Goar Euchol. in THEоPн. p. 149.

(U) It is not easy to fay who either thefe Manichees or Attingans were.

Some make them to be the fame, under two different names, and to belong to the heretical fect of the Mani

chees (36), and to have used fome kind of facraments, &c. Zona ras (37) represents them as a kind of foothfayers, one of whom foretold Michael's fucceffion to the throne, after Nice

(36) Paul Diacon. lib. xxiv. p. 552. (37) Ann. tom. iii, p. 100.

phorus.

ter of them were, against all probability, pretended to be of Jewish extract; and it was thought fufficient proof of their being fo, that Nicephorus protected their nation, and fuffered them to live quietly under him. They were still more in favour under his fucceffor Michael, firnamed the Stammerer, and Miwho is by fome reprefented as half Jew, and by other brand- chael, ed with the odious appellative of the Sink of all religions, be- A.C.820. cause he had imbibed fomething from each, during his younger days. However, tho' he tolerated them all, and feems to have fhewn a particular regard to the Jews, yet, as he was profeffedly a Chriftian, and an orthodox, and never fwerved from them, it is not unlikely that his being an Iconoclast hath been the main cause of all that flander (W). We are told by Photius, that about this time there was a law in force against A lar the Jews, that made it capital for any of them to appropriate against any of the church's goods *, which is however denied by his them. commentator Balfamon, because no fuch one is to be found in Theodofian code. But might not fuch a one have been made fince, on account of their buying fo much of the church's plunder from the Molems, as was hinted above? And might not the empress Theodora, who perfecuted all the Iconoclasts with fuch feverity, have made fuch a law against them, on purpose to punish them for being such professed enemies to the worship of images?

We know but little of their condition either in Italy or Deceived Spain, during these two centuries; except that in the latter, a by a fcife Jew, named Serenus, taking advantage of the feuds which mefiah, reigned between that and France, proclaimed himself the A.C.724. Meffiah, and drew great numbers of his nation to follow him into Judea, where he was to fix his kingdom. How far that deceiver led them, we cannot find; except that Ambifa, the then governor in those parts, took the opportunity to

* PHOT. NOMOCAN. tit. 9. p. 123, & feq.

phorus. But that prince having declared against images, the Jews were again accufed as the authors of it, and the Attingans affirmed to be a fet of conjurers belonging to that nation, meerly to brand the Iconoclafts.

(W) As a proof of this we may remember, that upon his mounting the throne, tho' by murder and treason, yet fo long as there were any hopes of his

declaring for the ufe of images,
he was extolled to the skies as a
David or Jofiah, by no less a
man than Theodore Studites, one
of their miraculous faints; but
as foon as they found themselves
disappointed of their hopes, he
hath been represented as a mon-
fter, and had among other op-
probrious names, that of Sink of
all religions, given him.

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