Jews, Islam world, and Baghdad (1)

Rabbi oligarchs and the new Judaism (7)

During the lifetime of the Prophet (Peace be upon him and his progeny) (570-632 A.D) nearly four centuries have passed from the emergence of the "King David" and a century after the end of the compilation of the Talmud.
At this time, the Jews had a strong centralized political organization that Bustan Ben Hanyna, "King David" based in Firuz Shapur was on its head. He was set in this position four years before the migration of Prophet (Peace be upon him and his progeny), in the year 618 CE, was died in the year 48 AH / 670 AD. Then, his son Hasday Ben Bustan (Hasday I) took over the presidency of the Jews. Jews were scattered across the Sassanid Iran and were under the command of their aristocratic lineage. Jewish oligarchs constituted a privileged class of wealthy aristocratic families and schools were run by these people as well. Jews’ religious affairs were administered mainly by the two main areas of Pambedyta (Iraq) and Seurat (Levant). Seurat was a more important area. At the time of the advent of the Prophet (Peace be upon him and his progeny) Mer Bar Huna (591-614) and then Hanyna (614-650) had the head of the field and were considered as the main reference to the religious world of the Jews. In the last years of the reign of the Sassanid, a Pambedyta area was transferred to Firuz Shapur city. With the fall of the Sassanids, the Jews again settled in the castle of Pambedyta. Apparently, at the time of arrival of Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) to the region, Rabbi Isaac, who was the head of Pambedyta, welcomed him.
Jewish communities were stationed in the Arabian Peninsula and Yemen since the late fifth century AD.
Jewish groups of Saudi Arabia that are called "Jewish tribes" in Islamic texts were not in fact in the name of "tribe" which means the units of tribal people. These were groups of businessmen and farmers and herders who lived in some important economy areas of the Saudi in their fortresses, like Khyber. There were also such castles in Iraq and the Levant and the areas of Pambedyta (orifice Albdah) and Seurat were also based in these castles. For example, Yaqut Hamwi in the first half of the seventh century AD, names it Castle of Samuel ben Adiay the Jew under the entry of "Tyma’" that it is why it has been named "the Jewish Tyma’". This is an important town between Wadi al-Qura and Levant, and in the way of Caravans of pilgrims of Damascus, those who were known as “Jewish” in the time of advent of Islam in Arabian cannot be evaluated as a consistent group. Previously we discussed about "Ahbar" and Zahedan Yasny, such as Ibn-Heiban, and their connection with Saudi. However, undoubtedly an important part of the "Jews" belonged to the Jewish oligarchy of the Mesopotamia, who has played an extremely negative role against the Prophet (Peace be upon him and his progeny). Abdol-Malik ibn Hisham Homayri (died around 218 AD) in his famous book, biography of the Prophet, has explained Jewish conspiracies against Muslims in detail. According to him, when the Jews who were settled in the Arabian Peninsula saw the widespread conversion of the people to the Prophet (Peace be upon him and his progeny) began the conspiracies. "Ahbar", the Jews against Prophet, were 61 people whose names are written in the Arabic text of Ibn Hisham. Of those two, Abdullah bin Salam and Makhyryq converted to Islam. "Makhyryq was of great scholars in the Jewish world, and he was a rich man who had many possessions and property." He became martyred in the Battle of Uhud. Of the inferior group of the "Jews" also conversion to Islam has been reported. Including Aswad Rai that was "Jewish" and was "Jew's pastoral". He converted to Islam and was martyred in the war against the infidels. Mohyseh and Hovyseh were "Jews" who converted to Islam. Mohyseh murdered his Jewish conspirator friend, who was a wealthy merchant, for the sake of Islam. Salam ibn Abi Alhaqyq, "scholars and judge of" Jews, was also badly involved in conspiracy against Muslims and was killed. Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf was of Bani Nazir Jews. He was murdered by Muslims as well. Probably people like Aswad Rai, Mohyseh and Hovayseh are of those who became Jews. Jews practiced "Judaizing" their slaves until recent centuries. Today, we know groups of black Jews who are descended from African slaves of the Jews.
Jews’ collation to the Prophet (Peace be upon him and his progeny) began by debate and finally took to intrigue and war. The first war between Muslims and Jews was fighting with Jews of Bani Qinqa, then war with the Jews of Bani Nazir and Bani Qurayza and Khaybar. Jews played a prominent role in igniting the Battle of the Trench as well. Scrambling of Jews against Islam continued until finally Omar completely expelled them from Saudi Arabia in his reign (634-644 A.D). According to the words of Yaqut Hamwi, Tyma’ town was created after the incident and by the immigration of Saudi Arabia’s Jews to Levant.
Islam and the emergence of the political-cultural sphere that was named "the Muslim world" alter the status of Jewish life and led to flourishing of their culture and life. The Jewish Encyclopedia writes:
With the emergence of Islam and its rapid spread from south of France to India, economic life of Jews also saw changes… this new political, social and economic revolution turned Jewish communities who were usually farmers into merchants, money exchangers, and craftsmen for the first time.
There is no doubt that the emergence of Islamic civilization had a lot of impact in the promotion of cultural and economic situation of the Jews, but that part of the above text that recognizes the beginning of the employment of Jews to "Business" and "money changing" from their existence time in Islam space is not acceptable. Jewish Encyclopedia writes elsewhere: the Qur'an is the first authority that has raised the employment of Jews to usury.
Employment history of the Jews to usury is very ancient. The "Old Testament" usury is been listed as a career for Canaanites (Phoenicians). This accumulation and multiplication of wealth was a legacy of the Phoenicians which was absorbed by the Jews. Since then, they become the main carrier of the money exchange to the extent that usury was known as a quiet "Jewish" career. In "Exodus" it has been asked not to behave the same way with paying "cash" to "poor of Israel" as the "usurers" and not to receive any interest. In in "Deuteronomy" expressly usury is forbidden among the children of Israel, but it is permitted in relation to foreigners:
You can lend money with interest to strangers, but do not lend your brother with interest.
This indicates the prevalence of usury among the Israelites of old times.
In 1893, the remains of a Jewish family living in the city of Nippur of Mesopotamia were discovered by the Americans. More than 700 documents obtained in this exploration show that these families, called "Boys of Murashu", in the years 403-455BC, during the regime of Artaxerxes I and Achaemenid Darius II, "were widely” involved in wide interest-based financial operations. Active participation of Alexandria’s Jews in business operations and currency exchange is quite clear. We earlier talked about Philo family of Alexandria. It should be recalled that the name of Philo’ brother has been recorded as the greatest exchanger of Alexandria in the first century AD. The importance of business-financial oligarchy of Alexandria near the coming of Jesus Christ was such that the royal family of Hyrud intermarried with it. We know that during the first Sassanid Shapur, Shmuel, Jewish rabbi of Mesopotamia, issued a fatwa according to which lending money as usury to other Jews was banned. This shows that in the first years of the establishment of Sassanid era, Jewish usury have been widespread even among the Jews.
The emergence of Islam and clear rules of the Quran in the prohibition of usury created a serious obstacle in the way of Jewish usury. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, "usury" in Islam has more specific concept than in Judaism and Christianity. Therefore, escape this ban could not be simply obtained. As a result, in the first Islamic centuries, Jewish usurer mainly turned to global trade. However, gradually, from the third century AH Jews settled in Muslim lands formed a new form of usury, and it was financial investment in commercial operations. Some of these partnerships were considered superficial, and they were considered only as a cover to escape Islamic laws about prohibition of usury. Jew gave money to businessman and without regard to the harm or benefit of it, at the end of the transaction, received an agreed amount of dividends. It gradually became widespread, and in the fourth century AH secret and informal usury was fully promoted among Muslims. At this time in Baghdad, in the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, Jewish usurers were created as Yusuf bin Fynas, Aaron ben Amram, especially Natyra. Their work developed so high that they even paid huge loans to Abbasid caliphs in exchange of their interests.
We have earlier discussed about ancient Jewish link with the trade.
The powerful Judah Nasi was a businessman with his ships, and we said that Helena’s conversion, Queen of Adiabene, to Judaism was due to promoting of a rich Jewish merchant named Ananyas. Encyclopedia of Jewish claims the origin of Jews’ trade and exchange was in the Islamic period is strange. Perhaps the purpose is to link shameful history of employment of Jews to the global slave trade and usury, which in the Europe’s history are known as the two Jewish professions, to Islamic era so that they will be considered as "new" and "acquirable" professions. Over the last centuries, Jews were repeatedly accused by Europeans due to of their role in capturing and selling European slaves and in the promotion of usury in the continent of Europe.
In the aftermath of Islam, Seurat and Pambedyta areas were still counted as the main Jewish centers of political and religious spheres and "Gaons" (chiefs of the mentioned areas) were the Jewish religious leaders.
President of Seurat and Pambedyta areas was hereditary in six or seven families. Some of them call themselves of the "house of David". For example, Sharyra family, which was of the most powerful rabbi dynasties of the era, attributed their lineage to David. "Gaons" were interpreters and teachers of Talmud, were supreme judicial authority of the Jews and responded to the sent questions of Jews in their communities from around the world. The great rabbis of the "Gaon" era which extend to the eleventh century AD. Include: Yahudayy, Amram, Sadia, Sharyra, Shmuel Ben Hifni and Hay. In this era, "Sanhedrin Council" is still present.
Since the Caliphate of Hisham bin Abdul Malik till Mansur Abbasid, Solomon ibn Hasday, grandson of Bustan, was the "David King" of the Jews (733-759M.). He was influential rabbi who had a full control over heads of the areas of Seurat and Pambdeyta and Jewish affairs. With the construction of the city of Baghdad by Mansour and the establishment of the center of Abbasid caliphate in it (145 AH / 762 CE.) many Jews immigrated to the town and gradually "King David" was stationed in Baghdad as well.
In the second AH century / eighth AD century rabbi authoritarian rule of oligarchy sparked the protests of the poor Jews and created a powerful movement against them. Anan Ben David was in charge of leadership of the movement, who was the nephew of Suleiman bin Hasday.
Annan lived on the outskirts of 135-159 AH / 754-775M, coinciding with the caliphate of Mansour Abbasi and was living in Baghdad. At the beginning of he was known as "Ananyeh" and then was called "Qarayyun". Jews called them "The children of Makhra" or "Bela Makhra" (clan of Makhra). "Makhra" means "holy book". This is because they only knew original and basic religious texts as their religious and knowledge sources and denied oral traditions which were popularized in recent centuries by Jewish Hakhamym.
According to the contents of Gharaei, rabbis firstly sought to have Annan with them, but were unsuccessful. Then, Annan was imprisoned by the order of Mansour (presumably with the machinations of Jewish leaders). Abu Hanifa led him to speak with the caliph of simplicity of his thoughts with Islam, and thus he was forgiven. In fact, Annan had some of his certain views of Islam and apparently was affected by Abu Hanifa. He particularly expressed opposition to Jews’ close social system and link source with non-Jews.
In the second half of the ninth century AD, Annan’s school turned into an influential cult by Benjamin Ben Moses Nahavandi. His role in the cult is so strong that in Arabic sources he is remembered as "companions of Annan and Benjamin". One of the measures of Benjamin Nahavandi was reforming the concept of God from humanlike thoughts common among Jews and providing an abstract concept of God.
In the eighth to the eleventh AD centuries, the scrambling focus of Qarayyun was in the Arabian Peninsula, and since then, it spread among the Jews of Minor Asia. Until the emergence of European Movement "Haskalah" in the nineteenth century, Qarayyun were considered as the most serious threat to the rabbi oligarchy of the Jews. Jewish Encyclopedia has mentioned the main cause of the rise of the movement of Qarayyun as "the rise and spread of Islam and it turning into a universal religion and deteriorating of social and economic conditions of poor classes of Jews".
We will speak in the future about the harsh methods of the plutocracy Jewish oligarchy in suppressing Qarayyun.
In the year 210 AH / 825 CE, Mamun, the Abbasid caliph (198-218AH / 813-833M.) issued a decree to religious minorities of Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians and granted autonomy in their internal affairs. As a result, the head of "David Kings" over the Jews was recognized officially.
Ma'mun, in spite of the Jews, recognized Qarayyun officially and gave the position of "Nasi Gray" to the heads of their sects. At the time of Ma'mun, Ishaq Ashkvy ibn Musa, "David King" of the Jews, died and a fighting occurred between two of the "princes of David" to fill the post. Jewish rabbis were divided into two groups as well. Finally, they took arbitration to Caliph Ma'mun and by Caliph’s command David Ben Yehuda was appointed to head the Jews (820-857).
The beginning of the creation of a global Jewish commercial network of after Islam dates back to the late second century AH / eighth century AD.
In 797 AD, Charlemagne, king of the Franks and next Emperor of "Holy Rome", sent two ambassadors to the court of Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid caliph (170-193AH / 786-809M.). We know that a Jewish merchant named Isaac was their guide and interpreter, and he returned to Europe with them. Isaac took expensive gifts with him in return, including an elephant, from the Caliph to Emperor of Europe. This is the first report of the presence of Jews in the land of Germany. It is said that a Jewish rabbi, called Machir, went to Europe with him for establishing a Jewish seminary in Port Narbonne (South of France). According to Vasily Bartold, Charlemagne’s country's trade relations with Islamic countries" was almost entirely in the hands of the Jews. So we know that Jews in the territory of Charlemagne’s state, who highly valued business interests, have had large advantages."
In the third AH century / ninth CE. Jews’ presence in Europe soared, and some of European rulers showed interest in slave trade as a source of revenue, which at the time was the main arena for Jewish activity. They knew selling their citizens as the best means to pay for expensive goods that the Jews brought from the East. Louis I, son of Charlemagne and Emperor of the Franks (814-840), in the year 825 AD, allowed the Jews to enter foreign slaves to the land and sell them. This Frank King had a reputation of "Louis the Pious", but despite its name he was so cruel. Thus, in the ninth century Italian ports turned to the Jewish slave trade center and became important place for wide scrambling of Jewish traders. Jewish slave trade was so brutal that led Agubar, Bishop of Lyon (814-840), to protests. Agubar began a hard activity. He wrote six treatises against the Jews that two of them dedicated to slaves sell, especially Christian children by Jews and one was "about the necessity of preventing cooperation with Jews". He wrote petitions to the Emperor "virtuous" that came to nothing. Agubar’s defense was not only of Christian slaves; he also wrote about the helplessness of non-Christian slaves and called for support of church from them. Agubar said that Jews continue of their ethnic traditions under the guise of "bible".
Jewish Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub has announced in his travelogue of the presence of slaves Jewish merchants in 970 AD in the city of Prague. Adalbert, bishop of Prague, also tried to buy some slaves from a Jewish merchant and free them, and as he did not succeed, in the year 988 AD, he resigned from his position. In the year 1004 AD, in tariffs customs of the city of Koblenz (West Germany) the name of slaves Jewish merchants have been imported. In 1085, one of the Polish nobility in Silesia purchased a number of the slaves from a Jew and released them, and he was honored by the church for this reason.
Talmudic jurisprudence allows slavery and has divided slaves into two groups of "the Hebrew Slaves" and "slaves of Canaan".
Source of a "Hebrew" (Israel) becoming a slave is through two ways: a Hebrew man convicted of theft and sentenced to enslave, and the poor fellow who sells himself as a slave. An Israelite father can sell his daughter under the age 12. These slaves are called "Od Avery" (Hebrew Abd). We said that the beginning of the slavery of tribes of the Israelites by the Jews goes to the destruction of the northern ten tribes by Assyrian Empire and by collaboration of the Jewish state.
The legal concept of "Abd of Canaan" does not dedicate to "Canaanites", and it means all non-Hebrew slaves. These slaves can be possessed in three ways: cash purchase, purchase through certificates, and possession for three years conditioned that no one else claims his possession. Later, two more points were added to Jewish law: the exchange and capture.
In Jewish law there is a detailed discussion about whether the slave is movable or immovable property. This important issue is serious and shows that slaves were not "domestic servant" among the Jews, but they were of the most important manufacturing tools for them. In fact, in Jewish jurisprudence, slave is in the level of other means of production, and he is one of the "extraction devices".
In the third century AH / ninth CE. Ibn Khurdadbeh describes scrambling of Jews in Razan on the outskirts of Madain as follows:
These are the Jews whose languages were Arabic, Persian, Roman, European, Andalusia and Turkish; and they walked lands and seas from east to west and from west to east, and they brought slaves and [beautiful] girls and children and silks and furs and leather and swords from the West, and they got in ships from Europe in the western sea and land in Farma; and they took their merchandise to the Red Sea, and then they got in ships toward the eastern sea, went from Red sea to Jar and Jeddah and from there went to Indus and India and China. They brought musk, incense, camphor, cinnamon, and etc. from China. They entered whatever had brought from those areas to the Red Sea, and then they took them to Farama. Then they got in ships to Antioch, and sometimes they took their stuffs to Constantinople and sold them to Romans, and they sometimes took them to European territories in Western sea and sold them there. Then they returned to Antioch and arrived to Jabyh through land after three phases. Then they got in ships in Euphrates and came to Baghdad. They arrived to Abla from Baghdad by ships though the Tigris and from Abla moved to Oman, Sindh, India, and China. All these roads were connected to each other.
The mentioned presentation clearly shows the formation of the Global Business Network of the Jews at this time.
This network echoes the activity of a very rich and influential center that was formed at this time in Baghdad, headed by Yusuf bin Fynas (died before 928 AD), Aaron ben Amram, and Natyra (died in 916 AD) have a place. Natyra is son-in-law of Joseph son of Fynas, and Joseph is Aaron’s partner. The three became state money exchangers of Abbasid Caliphs and aristocratic families of Baghdad from the second half of the third AH century / ninth CE. Other Jewish merchants and traders also began a partnership with them, and thus the biggest financial / commercial center of the world in that day was founded. Ten-year period of Almotazed caliphate (279-289Q / 892-902M.) is considered as the peak of Natyra’s power in the Abbasid court. After him, his sons, Sahl and Isaac became their father's successor.
During Motazed’s time, due to the influence that Jews had achieved in the Abbasid caliphate, two areas of Seurat and Pambedyta were also transferred to Baghdad. From now on till the authority of the oligarchy, Jewish plutocracy in Spain, Baghdad was political, religious and economic center of the world’s Jews. According to David Sasson, from the tenth CE century, Baghdad was "the most important political and cultural center of the Jewish world". Jews lived in separate quarters that had reputation of the "Daralyahud".
In the early tenth century, a bitter dispute occurred between Jewish leaders about the endowment income of Pambedyta area in Khorasan. Jewish leaders were divided into two groups. On the one hand there was Aukba “David King” (900-915M.), and on the other hand, there was Cohen Zadeq, head of Pambedyta area. Three Jewish plutocracy of Baghdad (Yusuf bin Fynas, Aaron ben Amram, Natyra) raised to support Zadeq and by their influence, Almoqtader, the Abbasid caliph (295-320Q / 908-932M.) exiled Aukba to Kermanshah. The position of “David King " was empty for several years until David Ben Zokaee, nephew of Aukba, took place (918-940M.) He was powerful head and could establish his dominance over the heads of the areas of the Sauret and Pambedyta.