In Spain, however, the interval of peace and goodwill lasted long beyond the times of which we are now writing. From the foundation of the Moorish kingdom of Cordova by Abderachman I., A.D. 755, to the close of the tenth century, whatever civilization and learning still existed in Europe found its most congenial home in his dominions. Under him and his successors, the Jews appear to have enjoyed, not only the impartial protection of the laws, but free participation in all public offices and distinctions. They were eminent as ministers of state, ambassadors, and financiers. Under him and his successors, the schools at Toledo, Granada, and Cordova became famous throughout the world, and it was said that there was not a Jew to be found through the whole of Spain who could not read his Bible.
Hitherto the great centres of learning had been in the East, and the most promising scholars, even from Spain itself, had resorted thither. But the Persian Caliphate had, for a century or two, been undergoing a gradual but total change. The sovereigns were enervated by ease and luxury; usurpers rent away large portions of their dominions; and the great Emirs grew ever more independent, grasping at last nearly the whole power of the Crown. It was probably these new rulers who set on foot the persecution of their Jewish fellow-subjects. Indifferent as Omar himself could have been to the high repute which the Oriental Academies had attained, they shut up the Jewish Colleges, exiled their learned doctors, and in fine, A.D. 980, drove the Jews altogether from Babylon. Four of the most renowned of the Rabbins were captured, on their outward voyage, by one of the corsairs belonging to the Caliph of Cordova, whom he had sent to cruise in the Greek Archipelago. These four were Rabbi Shemariah, Rabbi Hoshiel, Rabbi Moses, and his son, Rabbi Hanoch. The fate of these four was remarkable. Utterly ignorant of the high value which men of culture and refinement would set upon his prisoners, the corsair sold Shemariah at Alexandria, and the slave rose to be the chief man among the Alexandrian Jews. Rabbi Hoshiel he similarly disposed of to a purchaser on the coast of Africa; and Hoshiel was thence conveyed to Alkihoran, where he attained the rank of Chief Rabbi. Rabbi Moses and his son he conveyed to Cordova. It chanced that the wife of the former was a beautiful woman, and the brutal corsair, captivated by her charms, assailed her with his importunities. Finding herself wholly in his power, she inquired of her husband whether, at the Day of Judgment, the sea would give up its dead. He answered her from the 68th Psalm, ‘The Lord said, Mine own will I bring again from Bashan, I will bring again from the depths of the sea;’ on receiving which reply, seeing no other way of escaping violence, she plunged into the sea and was drowned. A similar tale is told of Esther Cohen in the sixteenth century.
On the arrival of the captives at Cordova, the two Rabbins were ransomed by their countrymen, though the latter knew nothing of their ability and learning. Their condition was so miserable that they had no clothes, but only some rags of sackcloth to cover their nakedness. In this sordid guise they entered the schools, over which Rabbi Nathan presided. The discussion in progress was on the subject of the Day of Atonement. Rabbi Moses took part in it, and expounded it with such learning and clearness that Rabbi Nathan rose from his seat and said, ‘The stranger in sackcloth is my master, and I am his pupil. Make ye him judge of the Congregation of Cordova.’ All present assented. Riches and honours became immediately his portion, and he allied himself with one of the wealthiest families in Cordova. The captain of the vessel, learning the value of the captive, for whom he asked no more than the ordinary price of a slave, wished to cancel the sale; but when the matter was referred to the Caliph, he would not allow it. By one of the disciples of Moses, Rabbi Joseph, the Talmud was translated into Arabic, and gained the translator great repute, though he was afterwards disgraced and driven into exile. Rabbi Hanoch, the fourth of the captives, succeeded to his father’s office at his death. By him the fame of the College of Cordova was raised to the highest pitch it attained.
The decay of the Babylonian schools had been in progress throughout the tenth century, learning and ability alike, as the reader has heard, being transferred to the flourishing Rabbinical establishment in Cordova. The quarrels between David ben Zacchai, the Prince of the Captivity, and the celebrated Saadi ben Joseph, the Geon, did much towards bringing this about. There was a temporary rally, when the renowned Scherira, and after him, his scarcely less distinguished son, Hai, held the office of Geon. But the former was deposed and put to death by the Caliph Ahmed Kader; and though Hai escaped and transferred his office to Hiskiah, the great-grandson of David Zacchai, yet the respite was for two years only. At the end of that time the Caliph Abdalla deposed Hiskiah, and finally closed the schools. With Hiskiah, A.D. 1038, the line of the Resch Glutha is generally considered to have become extinct.
FOOTNOTES:
[95] At the hands of Charles Martel, A.D. 732.
[96] A.D. 793. It is likely that the Jews of Beziers were charged at the same time, or possibly a few years later, with a similar offence. (See p. 27.)
[97] Hallam (‘Middle Ages,’ vol. ii. p. 225) quotes from a French historian that it was the custom at Toulouse, at this time, to give every Jew a blow on the face on Easter Day, and that this was commuted for a fine some time in the 12th century. This is plainly the same story, with some variations.
[98] The theocracy of the Old Testament, where the religious and civil ruler were one and the same, and which probably was the primitive form of government (Gen. xiv. 18), was the model which Charlemagne considered all rulers ought to follow.
[99] It would appear from this, that the law prevalent in the last reign forbidding Jews to hold Christian slaves, had been relaxed.