have now nothing more to mention of them in the east, exPerfecuted cept that short-lived perfecution which they suffered in Egypt, in Egypt. under the reign of Hakem, who pretended to fet up a new re

ligion, oppofite to all others, and which was that of the Drufi, little known to us, if it was not the fame with that of the ancient Druids, but which he had blended with a vast number of the most extravagant and impious notions not worth repeating; which he affirmed to have had from the Deity. The vaft number of difciples which he gained among the heathens, made him refolve to perfecute the Chriftians and Jews, as the only ones that oppofed his doctrine; the latter of whom he obliged to wear a mark of distinction, and ordered all their fynagogues to be fhut up, and them to be Reftored, cudgelled into compliance: but as he was of an inconftant A. C. temper, he foon changed his mind, and restored them to 1026. their ancient liberty before he died (H). But it is now high time to pafs into the west.

Jews in We begin with Spain, where the wars between the SaraSpain in cens and the Chriftians, which reigned during the 10th centuthe 10th ry, gave them fuch time to breathe, that their schools were and 11th in a flourishing condition under the khalifats of Abd-Allah and

z See the Kitab Almakid, tranflated by M. DE LA CROIX, & D. HERBELOT Bibl. Orient. fub voc.

this work (50), will eafily fee
that the good old patriarch
could not mean by the words
fceptre, and lawgiver, fuch
princes as thofe chiefs of the
captivity were, who, even in
their most profperous ftate,
were at beft mere tributary
flaves to the princes under
whom they lived, fubject to their
laws and capricious will, and li-
able to be depofed, imprisoned,
or even put to death by them.
And can we think that fuch an
imaginary dignity, which was
neither hereditary nor confined
to the tribe of Judah, could be
the fceptre and lawgiver there
meant? But we have fufficient-
ly proved, in the places laft quot-
ed out of this work, that they
were long departed from them,

and fhall dwell no longer upon it.

(H) Hakim was murdered by order of his fifter, A. C. 1026, in the mountain of Moccatam, to which he was wont to repair every morning, under pretence of holding an intercourfe with the deity. Hamzah, who had been his mafter, took the advantage of the privacy of the fact, to perfuade his difciples, that he had only disappeared for a time, and would return again after a while; and the Drufi, his difciples, who are now mafters of Mount - Lebanus, of Berythus, and fome other cities in Syria, expect him as much as the Jews do their Meffiah (1).

(50) See Anc. Hift. vol jii. p. 317, & feq. (G). vol. x. p. 629. (1) D Herbelot Bibl. Orient. p. 418. Kitab Almikaid, tranflated by Peter de la Croix.

Abd

Abd-Al-Ramah, the latter of which reigned above 50 years with centuries.
great fuccefs, whilft the Jews grew numerous and wealthy,
and abounded with learned doctors, both Spaniards and of
other nations, Among the latter was the celebrated Mofes, Mofes
firnamed Cloathed with fackcloth, because, in his coming from Sack-
the eastern countries, he had been taken by fome corfairs, cloth
and fold to the Jews of Cordowa, who paid his ransom out
of charity. Mofes being still deftitute of every thing, even
of clothes to cover his nakednefs, wrapped himself about with
a fack, and in that defpicable guife ufed daily to go and
hide himself in fome corner of the school, to hear their lec-
tures. It was not long, however, before he gave them fuch
pregnant proofs of his learning and merit, by his questions
and anfwers, that the then profeffor yielded the chair to
him of his own accord. He was foon after chofen chief of
chofen
the nation with a confiderable income: but his defire of re- chief,
turning to his native country was like to have deprived them A.Č.968.
of him, had not Hakem, the Khalif then reigning*, put a stop
to his going, for some reasons of state, and retained him to ex-
plain the thalmud to the Spanish Jews (I), and to determine
all their controverfies. Mofes, according to the Jewish ftyle, A.C.997.
reigned with great credit and applaufe, till the year 997, and
left the throne, or chair, to his fon Enoch.

HASHEYM, who fucceeded his father Hakem at Cor- Thalmud
dowa, went ftill farther, and caufed the thalmud to be tranf- translated
lated into Arabic, whether out of curiofity to know what that into Ara-
so much boasted book contained, or perhaps, rather to render bic.
it more common there, and fo prevent the Jews frequently
going to Bagdad or Jerufalem. R. Jofeph, one of Mofes's
difciples, was appointed to prefide over the verfion, and fuc-
ceeded fo well in it, that it made him quite proud and ar-
rogant, so that he strenuously opposed the election of Enoch to
the chair. Nevertheless, Enoch's party not only carried it
De hoc & preced. vid. fup. vol. ii. p. 339, & feq. & p. 483, & feq.

(I) That book was fo little known at this time in Spain, it feems, that when any difputes arofe among them, they ufed to fend deputies to the Babylonih academies, to have them decided by their doctors. The very prayers which they ufed on the grand expiation-day, and other national fafts, had been compofed by R. Miffim, one of the Babylonish chiefs. The Kha

lif, who was an Omniade, and
was apprehenfive left this fre-
quent intercoufe in the eaft,
where the Abaffides, his mortal
enemies, reigned, fhould give
rife to fome dangerous change,
put at once an end to it, by fet-
ting up this Mofes for their ora-
cle; by whom all difputes and
controverfies were decided with-
out going farther.

against

R. Jofeph against him, but caufed him to be excommunicated; upon excommu- which he first applied to Hafbeym; but he refusing to meddle nicated, in the difpute, Jofeph was forced to leave Spain, and took the

road to Bagdad, in hopes to have been protected by the famed R. Hay, who was then chief there: but he also fent him word that he could not receive a man that had been excommunicated by the Spanish fynagogue; fo that he was obliged to retire to Damafcus, where he died fome years after, without being able to obtain a reverfion of his fentence.

THE wars in Spain being still as violent during the rith century, as they had been during the 10th, the Jews reaped no fmall benefit from it, during the first four years of it; in R. Sam which R. Samuel Levi, being secretary and prime minister to Levi chief the king of Granada, was by him created chief of the Jewish of the Jews nation, and ufed all his credit to promote the interest and A. C. honour of it, and even to the fending for fome of the most

A. C. 1055.

learned doctors from Babylon, Afric, and Egypt, to whom he was a very liberal benefactor. He had even the good fortune tó fee himself fucceeded by his own fon, in all his dignities, tho' his being a haughty and arrogant youth was no small grief to his father, who was particularly famed for his humility and sweetness of temper, even in his moft profperous state. But their tranquility was foon difturbed, by an unexpected accident. And one rabbi Halevi, a learned and zealous Jew, having undertaken to convert the Molems to the Jewish religion, to which the version of the thalmud into Arabic lately mentioned, was a great help, foon awoke the jealousy of the Granadan king, who could not but refent fo bold an attempt, against the then established religion, by one that was Perfecuted barely tolerated. He therefore caufed the Jewish rabbi to be in Grana- apprehended and hanged; after which he began fuch a fierce da, A. C. perfecution of that nation, that about 1500 families of them 1046. that lived within his dominions, felt the dreadful effects of it; which proved the more fevere, as they were, by a long feries of profperity, become very wealthy and powerful b; and becaufe there was reafon to fear that the other princes of Spain would have followed his example; nevertheless, they had the good luck to fee it quickly ftopt there, and without spreading itself out of that kingdom (K).

a GANTZ TZEMACH, P. 130. b SOLOM. BEN VIRG. p. 8.

THEY Would have undergone a more severe and deftruc- Ferditive one, under king Ferdinand, (who, at the inftigation of his nand opbigotted wife, was going to fanctify his war against the Sara-pofed by cens by the extirpation of the Jews) had not the bishops, and the bishops. even the pope, Alexander II. put a stop to his furious zeal, by publicly oppofing and condemning it (L). But what most probably put them out of all danger from that monarch and his fucceffor, was the revolution which the Moors caufed in Afric, by which Alfonfo, diftreffed on every fide, found himfelf obliged to befriend and carefs, inftead of oppreffing them, in order to make them serviceable to him with their purfes and affiftance.. Accordingly, they were promoted by him to confiderable posts, and obtained fuch other privileges, that pope Gregory quite difapproved of them (M), tho' his cenfures could not prevail upon him to retract them: His grandfon Peter K. Peter was no lefs deaf to the remonftrances of Nicholas de Valen- refuses to tia, who endeavoured to divert him from joining in the cru- perfecute fade or holy war, lately published; by representing to him them, that he had too many dangerous enemies in his bofom, mean- A. C. ing the Jews, to need to go fo far to feek new ones.

(L) That pontiff having been acknowledged in Spain, for the lawful pope, against his competitor Honorius, he wrote them a letter, in which he highly commends their laudable oppofition to Ferdinand's bloody defign against the Jews, by which he was going to take away the lives of thofe to whom probably God might grant light and im. mortality. He condemns his zeal as furious and unchristian, and reminds him of the example of pope Gregory the great, who had ftrenuoufly oppofed the like perfecutions, and the pulling down of the Jewish fynagogues. He concludes with fhewing them the difference between the Saracens, against whom the prince was going to wage war, and who were perfecutors, and the mortal enemies of the Chriftians and the Jews,

A. C.

1080.

He 1096. who were only a kind of flaves under them (2). It hath been queftioned whether this letter was directed to the bishops of France or those of Spain; but the continual wars which the Spanish monarchs were waging against the Saracens mentioned in it, fufficiently fhews that it was directed by that pontiff to the bifhops of Spain.

(M) One of them especially, that pope highly resented; viz. his fetting up the Jews to be judges over the Chriftians, for which he upbraids him with having fet up the fynagogue of Satan above the church of Chrift (3). Alfonso, however, was too much intangled with his war, to listen to his remonftrances, fo that he let the Jews enjoy their privileges and liberties, in fpight of all the pontiff's orders to the contrary.

(3) Greg, VII, Epist, i. lib, ix. Epist.

(2) Alexand. II. Epift. xxxiv. p. 1183.
p. 277. Vid. Befnag ub. fup, kb. ix. c. 5,

infifted

infifted in particular, that they hated the Chriftians to such a degree, that they never gave them any other than a middling greeting; (the reader may see the meaning of that obfcure expreffion in the margin (N).) to which he added many other incentives' equally ridiculous, to which the king, who was averse to perfecution, only lent a deaf ear. However, this did not fave the Jews from being maffacred by the crusaders, in feveral other parts of Spain, by way of begging a bleffing on their holy expedition.

Men of NOTWITHSTANDING all these perfecutions, Spain prolearning. duced a great number of learned rabbies, during this 11th century, particularly the celebrated Samuel Cophfis, a native of Cordowa, who published a commentary on the Pentateuch, the manufcript of which is ftill extant in the Vatican library. Those who have examined it, commend it as an excellent work, only too full of allegories. He died A. C. 1034. Soon after him flourished no less than five Isaacs at once, all of them famed for their writings, whose farther character and works the reader will find in the margin (O). But this increase

(N) He intimated by it, that when the Jews faw a Chriftian afar off coming towards them, they prayed to the gods and goddeffes to destroy him: when he was come nigh enough to him, they wished him health and a long life and when he was gone far enough out of hearing, they prayed to God that the earth might open and fwallow him up, as it did Corah and his rebellious crew; or that the fea might overwhelm him, as it had done Pharoah (4).

(O) One of them was called Ifaac Alpheft, because he was come over from Africa, and out of the kingdom of Fez, into Spain, probably with the Morabethons, or, as Marianna calls them, Almoravides, who were defcended from the Arabian Homerites, who became Chriftians in the reign of Juftinian. The Morabethons hav

(4) Solom. Ben Virg. p. 73.

ing conquered Mauritania, under their general Abubekker, his nephew Jofeph extended his conquefts as far as Spain, where his family reigned till the 12th century. And this Ifaac Alpheft may be supposed to have come thither about the fame time, where he was looked upon as the most learned man of his age, and became chief of the captivity there. His epitaph

which was wrote in hexameters, was to this purport: "Let it "be engraved on this stone, "that the light of the world is

gone out, and that the foun"tain of wifdom is depofited " within this tomb. Daughters "of Sion come and weep; the "world is buried and ftricken "with blindnefs; weep and figh, "for the ark and the tables of "the law are broken in pieces "with this doctor (5).”

Another was the fon of Ba(5) Ap. Dev. Gantes, ub. fup. p. 134.

ruch,