Travels of Rabbi Benjamin, son of Jonah, of Tudela: through Europe, Asia, and Africa : from the ancient Kingdom of Navarre, to the frontiers of China faithfully translated from the original Hebrew, and enriched with a dissertation, and notes, critical, historical, and geographical: in which the true character of the author, and intention of the work, are impartially considered.

Benjamin of Tudela. Rev. B. Gerrans Travels of Rabbi Benjamin, son of Jonah, of Tudela: through Europe, Asia, and Africa : from the ancient Kingdom of Navarre, to the frontiers of China

Edité par Printed for the translator; and sold by Messrs. Robson, New Bond-Street; J. Murray, in Fleet-Street; T. Davis, Holborn; W. Law, Ave-Maria-Lane, And at No. 7, Canterbury-Square, Southwark, London, London, England, 1783

A propos de cet article

First Edition in English. xiii (including Subscriber List),1 errata p, 171 pages. 178 x104 mm. Minor water stains. Sarton II, 414.The binding is not the original one. Benjamin MiTudela (of Tudela) left Tudela, Spain between 1159 and 1163, returning in 1172. He traveled for more than 10 (some believe 14) years, visiting Jewish and non-Jewish communities around the world, and kept a diary that proved invaluable to historians. There is no general account of the Mediterranean world or of the Middle East in the mid 12th century which approaches that of Benjamin of Tudela in importance, whether for Jewish or general history. He indicates distances between towns he visited, tells who stood at the head of the Jewish communities, and who were the most notable scholars. He gives the number of Jews he found in each place, though it is not clear in many instances whether he is speaking of individuals or households, and in some cases such as Baghdad, the figures seem to be exaggerated. He notes economic conditions, describes the activity of merchants in Barcelona, Montpellier, Alexandria, etc. and writes of the occupations of the Jews: the dyers in Brindisi, the silk-weavers in Thebes, the tanners in Constantinople, and the glass-workers in Aleppo and Tyre. He was deeply interested in Jewish scholarship, and his accounts of intellectual life in Provence and Baghdad are especially important, as is his characterization of the organization of synagogue life in Egypt. Sects, too, engaged his attention: the Samaritans in Eretz Israel, the Karaites in Constantinople, a heretical sect in Cyprus which he relates observed the Sabbath from dawn to dawn. His characterizations of non-Jewish life are vivid. His account of the Assassins of Lebanon and of the Ghuzz Turks are primary historical sources, and he may be the first European of modern times to mention China by the present name. His work has been translated into almost every European language and is used as a primary source-book by all medieval historians. He traveled from Tudela, north Spain, to Barcelona, to Provence, giving a full account of the cities and the scholars of the region, and described in detail the economic life. From Marseilles he sailed to Genoa, traveled through Pisa to Rome, where he must have spent a fairly long time since he provides a detailed description of its antiquities, though he mistakingly interpreted many of these as associated with Jewish history. He wrote about the Roman Jewish community and its relations with the much-opposed Pope Alexander III. After Rome he headed south describing, sometimes at length, the conditions in Salerno, Amalfi, Melfi, Benevento, and Brindisi. He sailed by way of Corfu to Arta, and then through Greece, where he noted the Jewish silk-weavers in various places, and the agricultural colony at Crissa on Mt. Parnassus. He apparently spent a long time in Constantinople, providing the best 12th century description of both Jewish and non-Jewish conditions there. He sailed through the Aegean archipelago to Cyprus, crossed to the mainland, headed south via Antioch, Sidon, Tyre, and Akko to Eretz Israel, which was still under the rule of the Crusaders. He traveled throughout the country, giving a detailed account of the Holy Places (often calling them by their French names. Thus Hebron is St. Abram de Bron). On the whole, his descriptions are far more objective than those of Christian pilgrims of the age, and he provides us with added insight by focusing on Jerusalem and its Jewish community. From Tiberias he traveled to Damascus, then Baghdad. His account of the Druze was the first in the non-Arabic literature. His account of Baghdad was more extensive than any other. He drew a graphic picture of the court of the caliph and the charitable foundations of the city. He describes the organization of the still-surviving talmudic academies and the glories and functions of the Exilarch. After Baghdad, his accounts are historically suspect. . .

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Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Travels of Rabbi Benjamin, son of Jonah, of Tudela: through Europe, Asia, and Africa : from the ancient Kingdom of Navarre, to the frontiers of China faithfully translated from the original Hebrew, and enriched with a dissertation, and notes, critical, historical, and geographical: in which the true character of the author, and intention of the work, are impartially considered.
• Éditeur: Printed for the translator; and sold by Messrs. Robson, New Bond-Street; J. Murray, in Fleet-Street; T. Davis, Holborn; W. Law, Ave-Maria-Lane, And at No. 7, Canterbury-Square, Southwark, London, London, England
• Date de parution: 1783
• Langue: anglais
• Reliure: Hardcover
• Édition: 1st Edition
• État de l'article: Good
• État de la jaquette: No Jacket