This city contains three thousand Jews, many of whom are learned and rich men; it is the residence of the president of the university of Palestine, named R. Esra, whose brother, Sar Shalom, is the principal of the Jewish court of law. The other distinguished Jews are R. Joseph, who ranges fifth in the university, R. Matsliach, the lecturer and master of the schools, R. Meir, a flower of the learned, R. Joseph Ibn Pilath, who may be called the prop of the university, R. Heman the elder, and R. Zadok the physician. The city contains also two hundred Caraites and about four hundred Samaritans, sects which here live upon friendly terms, but they do not intermarry.
It is one day's journey thence to Jelaad, which is Gilead; it contains about sixty Jews, the principal of whom is R. Zadok. The city is large, well watered, and surrounded by gardens and orchards. Half a day's journey further stands Salkhat, the city of Salcah of Scripture. From thence to Baalbec is half a day's journey. This is the city mentioned in Scripture as Baalath in the valley of Lebanon, which Solomon built for the daughter of Pharaoh. The palace is constructed of stones of enormous size, measuring twenty spans in length and twelve in breadth; no binding material holds these stones together, and people pretend that the building could have been erected only by the help of Ashmodai. A copious spring takes its rise at the upper side of the city, through which its waters rush like those of a considerable river. They are employed in the working of several mills within the city, which also incloses numerous gardens and orchards.
Tadmor in the desert was also built by Solomon of equally large stones; this city is surrounded by a wall, and stands in the desert, far from any inhabited place, being four days' journey distant from the above-mentioned Baalath. It contains two thousand warlike Jews, who are at war with the Christians and with the Arabian subjects of Noureddin, and assist their neighbours the Mohammedans. Their chiefs are R. Isaac Hajevani, R. Nathan, and R. Usiel. Half a day brings us to Cariyatin, which is Kirjathaim; one Jew only, a dyer by profession, lives there. One day hence is Hamah, the Hamath of Scripture, on the Orontes, under Mount Lebanon. Some time ago this city was visited by an earthquake, in consequence of which fifteen thousand men died in one day, leaving only seventy survivors[208]. The principals of the Jews here are R. Ulah Hacohen, the sheikh Abu al Galeb, and Muktar. Half a day to Reiha, which is Hazor. Three parasangs to Lamdin, from whence it is a journey of two days to Aleppo, the Aram Zoba of Scripture. This city is the residence of king Noureddin, and contains his palace, a building fortified by an extraordinarily high wall. There being neither spring nor river, the inhabitants are obliged to drink rain-water, which is collected in every house in a cistern called in Arabic, Algub. The principal of the fifteen hundred Jews who live in Aleppo are R. Moses el-Constandini, R. Israel, and R. Seth.
To Bales, which is Pethor[209] on the Euphrates, two days. Even at this day you there still find remains of the tower of Balaam the son of Beor (may the name of the wicked rot!) which he built in accordance with the hours of the day. This place contains about ten Jews. Half a day hence we come to Kala Jiaber[210], which is Sela Midbarah. This city remained in the power of the Arabs even at the time when the Thogarmim (or Turks) took their country and dispersed them in the desert. It contains about two thousand Jews, of whom R. Zedekiah, R. Chia, and R. Solomon are the principal. One day brings us to Racca, which is Calneh of Scripture[211], on the confines of Mesopotamia, being the frontier town between that country and the empire of the Thogarmim (or Turks); it contains about seven hundred Jewish inhabitants, the principal of whom are R. Sakhai, R. Nadib, who is blind, and R. Joseph. One of the synagogues was built by Esra the scribe, when he returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. It is one day hence to the ancient place of Haran[212], which contains twenty Jewish inhabitants, who also possess a synagogue erected by Esra. Nobody is allowed to construct any building on the spot where the house of our father Abraham was situated; even the Mohammedans pay respect to the place, and resort thither to pray. Two days' journey from thence is ...[213] at the mouth of the El-Khabur, the Habor of Scripture. This river takes its course through Media, and loses itself in the Kizil Ozein. About two hundred Jews dwell near this place. Two days to Nisibin, a large city plentifully watered, and containing about one thousand Jews. Two days to Jezireh Ben Omar, an island in the Tigris, at the foot of Mount Ararat[214], and four miles distant from the spot where the ark of Noah rested; Omar Ben al-Khatab removed the ark from the summit of the two mountains and made a mosque of it. There still exists in the vicinity of the ark a synagogue of Esra the scribe, which is visited by the Jews of the city on the 9th of Ab[215]. The city of Jezireh Omar Ben al-Khatab contains about four thousand Jews, the principals of whom are R. Mubchar, R. Joseph, and R. Chiia.
Two days from thence stands Mosul, mentioned in Scripture as Ashur the great, which contains about seven thousand Jews, the principal of whom are R. Sakhai, the prince, a descendant of King David, and R. Joseph, surnamed Borhan-al-Phulkh, who is astronomer of Seifeddin, the brother of Noureddin, king of Damascus. This city, situated on the confines of Persia, is of great extent and very ancient; it stands on the banks of the Tigris, and is joined by a bridge to Nineveh. Although the latter lies in ruins, there are numerous inhabited villages and small towns on its site. Nineveh is on the Tigris, distant one parasang from the town of Arbil[216]. Mosul contains the synagogues of Obadiah, of Jonah, son of Amittai, and of Nahum the Elkoshite. It is three days hence to Rahabah, which is Rehoboth, by the river Euphrates, and contains about two thousand Jews, the principal of whom are R. Ezekiah, R. Ehud, and R. Isaac. The city is surrounded by a wall, it is very handsome, large, and well fortified; and the environs abound with gardens and orchards. One day to Karkisia[217], the Carchemish of Scripture, on the banks of the Euphrates, containing about five hundred Jewish inhabitants, of whom the principal are R. Isaac and R. Elchanan. Two days to Juba, which is Pumbeditha, in Nehardea; it contains about two thousand Jews, some of them eminent scholars. The rabbi R. Chen, R. Moses, and R. Eliakim are the principal. Here the traveller may see the sepulchres of R. Juda and R. Samuel, opposite two synagogues which they erected during their lives; as well as the sepulchres of R. Bosthenai, the prince of the captivity, of R. Nathan, and of R. Nachman, the son of Papa[218]. Five days to Hardah (or Hadrah), containing fifteen thousand Jews, of whom R. Saken, R. Joseph, and R. Nathaniel are the principal. Two days to Akbara, the city which was built by Jeconiah, king of Juda; it contains about ten thousand Jews, the principal of whom are R. Joshua and R. Nathan.
Two days from thence stands Bagdad, the large metropolis of the khalif Emir-al-Mumenin al Abassi, of the family of their prophet, who is the chief of the Mohammedan religion[219]. All Mohammedan kings acknowledge him, and he holds the same dignity over them which the pope enjoys over the Christians. The palace of the khalif at Bagdad is three miles in extent. It contains a large park filled with all sorts of trees, both useful and ornamental, and all kinds of beasts, as well as a pond of water carried thither from the river Tigris; and whenever the khalif desires to enjoy himself and to sport and carouse, birds, beasts, and fishes are prepared for him and for his courtiers, whom he invites to his palace. This great Abasside is extremely friendly towards the Jews, many of his officers being of that nation; he understands all languages, is well versed in the Mosaic law, and reads and writes the Hebrew tongue. He enjoys nothing but what he earns by the labour of his own hands, and therefore manufactures coverlets, which he stamps with his seal, and which his officers sell in the public market; these articles are purchased by the nobles of the land, and from their produce his necessaries are provided. The khalif is an excellent man, trustworthy and kind-hearted towards every one, but generally invisible to the Mohammedans. The pilgrims, who come hither from distant countries on their way to Mecca in Yemen, desire to be presented to him, and thus address him from the palace: "Our lord, light of the Mohammedans and splendour of our religion, show us the brightness of thy countenance;" but he heeds not their words. His servants and officers then approach and pray: "O lord, manifest thy peace to these men who come from distant lands and desire shelter in the shadow of thy glory." After this petition, he rises and puts one corner of his garment out of the window, which the pilgrims eagerly kiss. One of the lords then addresses them thus: "Go in peace, for our lord, the light of the Mohammedans, is well pleased and gives you his blessing." This prince being esteemed by them equal to their prophet, they proceed on their way, full of joy at the words addressed to them by the lord who communicated the message of peace. All the brothers and other members of the khalif's family are accustomed to kiss his garments. Every one of them possesses a palace within that of the khalif, but they are all bound with chains of iron, and a special officer is appointed over each household to prevent their rising in rebellion against the great king. These measures are taken in consequence of what occurred some time ago, when the brothers rebelled and elected a king among themselves; to prevent which in future it was decreed, that all the members of the khalif's family should be chained, in order to prevent their rebellious intentions. Every one of them, however, resides in his palace, and is there much honoured; and they possess villages and towns, the rents of which are collected for them by their stewards. They eat and drink, and lead a merry life. The palace of the great king contains large buildings, pillars of gold and silver, and treasures of precious stones.
The khalif leaves his palace but once every year, viz. at the time of the feast called Ramadan; on which occasion many visitors assemble from distant parts, in order to have an opportunity of beholding his countenance. He then bestrides the royal mule, dressed in kingly robes, which are composed of gold and silver cloth. On his head he wears a turban, ornamented with precious stones of inestimable value; but over this turban is thrown a black veil, as a sign of humility, and as much as to say: "See all this worldly honour will be converted into darkness on the day of death." He is accompanied by a numerous retinue of Mohammedan nobles, arrayed in rich dresses and riding upon horses, princes of Arabia, of Media, of Persia, and even of Tibet, a country distant three months' journey from Arabia. The procession goes from the palace to the mosque at the Bozra gate, which is the metropolitan mosque. All who walk in procession, both men and women, are dressed in silk and purple. The streets and squares are enlivened with singing and rejoicing, and by parties who dance before the great king, called khalif. He is saluted loudly by the assembled crowd, who cry: "Blessed art thou, our lord and king." He thereupon kisses his garment, and by holding it in his hand, acknowledges and returns the compliment. The procession moves on into the court of the mosque, where the khalif mounts a wooden pulpit and expounds their law unto them. The learned Mohammedans rise, pray for him, and praise his great kindness and piety; upon which the whole assembly answer, "Amen!" The khalif then pronounces his blessing, and kills a camel, which is led thither for that purpose, and this is their offering. It is distributed to the nobles, who send portions of it to their friends, who are eager to taste of the meat killed by the hands of their holy king, and are much rejoiced therewith. The khalif, after this ceremony, leaves the mosque, and returns alone, along the banks of the Tigris, to his palace, the noble Mohammedans accompanying him in boats, until he enters this building. He never returns by the way he came; and the path on the bank of the river is carefully guarded all the year round, so as to prevent any one treading in his footsteps. The khalif never leaves his palace again for a whole year. He is a pious and benevolent man, and has erected buildings on the other side of the river, on the banks of an arm of the Euphrates, which runs on one side of the city. These buildings include many large houses, streets, and hostelries for the sick poor, who resort thither in order to be cured. There are about sixty medical warehouses here, all well provided from the king's stores with spices and other necessaries; and every patient who claims assistance is fed at the king's expense, until his cure is completed.
There is further a large building, called Dar-al-Maraphtan[220], in which are confined all the insane persons who are met with, particularly during the hot season, every one of whom is secured by iron chains until his reason returns, when he is allowed to return to his home. For this purpose they are regularly examined once a month by officers appointed by the king for that purpose; and when they are found to be possessed of reason they are immediately liberated. All this is done by the king in pure charity towards all who come to Bagdad, either ill or insane; for the king is a pious man, and his intention is excellent in this respect.
Bagdad contains about one thousand Jews, who enjoy peace, comfort, and much honour under the government of the great king. Among them are very wise men and presidents of the colleges, whose occupation is the study of the Mosaic law. The city contains ten colleges. The principal of the great college is the rabbi R. Samuel, the son of Eli, principal of the college Geon Jacob; the provost of the Levites is the president of the second; R. Daniel, the master of the third college; R. Eleasar, the fellow, presides over the fourth; R. Eleasar, the son of Tsemach, is chief of the fifth college; he is master of the studies, and possesses a pedigree of his descent from the prophet Samuel, who rests in peace, and he and his brothers know the melodies that were sung in the temple during its existence; R. Chasadiah, principal fellow, is the master of the sixth, R. Chagai, the prince, the principal of the seventh, and R. Esra, the president of the eighth college; R. Abraham, called Abu Tahir, presides over the ninth, and R. Zakhai, son of Bosthenai, master of the studies, is president of the tenth college. All these are called Batlanim, i. e. the Idle: because their sole occupation consists in the discharge of public business. During every day of the week they dispense justice to all the Jewish inhabitants of the country, except Monday, which is set aside for assemblies under the presidency of the rabbi Samuel, master of the college Geon Jacob, who on that day dispenses justice to every applicant, and is assisted therein by the other Batlanim, presidents of the colleges.