Great profile but major underestimate regarding the number of Jewish viziers. It's easy to forget that the Muslim world used to be a tad more accepting of Jews than medieval Europe. Other Jewish or Jewish-born viziers include:
Hasdai ibn Shaprut, de facto vizier of the Córdoba Caliphate (9??).
Yaqub ibn Killis, vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate (979-991).
Samuel and Joseph ibn Naghrillah, viziers of Granada (1038-1066).
Abu al-Fadl ibn Hasda, vizier of the Taifa of Zaragoza (1066-1081).
S'ad ad-Dawlah, vizier of the Mongol Ilkhanate (1289-91).
And according to the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, the following four 11th century Jews also held the title of "vizier" or "nasi": the poet and physician Abu Ayyub Solomon ibn al-Mu'allam of Seville, Abraham ibn Meïr ibn Ḳamnial, Abu Isaac ibn Muhajar, and Solomon ibn Farusal.
Don't know what a vizier is (or that they're supposed to be evil)? Have your kids not seen Aladdin? Jafar is the Royal Vizier who hypnotizes the Sultan to get him to do his bidding.
Great profile but major underestimate regarding the number of Jewish viziers. It's easy to forget that the Muslim world used to be a tad more accepting of Jews than medieval Europe. Other Jewish or Jewish-born viziers include:
ReplyDeleteHasdai ibn Shaprut, de facto vizier of the Córdoba Caliphate (9??).
Yaqub ibn Killis, vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate (979-991).
Samuel and Joseph ibn Naghrillah, viziers of Granada (1038-1066).
Abu al-Fadl ibn Hasda, vizier of the Taifa of Zaragoza (1066-1081).
S'ad ad-Dawlah, vizier of the Mongol Ilkhanate (1289-91).
And according to the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, the following four 11th century Jews also held the title of "vizier" or "nasi": the poet and physician Abu Ayyub Solomon ibn al-Mu'allam of Seville, Abraham ibn Meïr ibn Ḳamnial, Abu Isaac ibn Muhajar, and Solomon ibn Farusal.
Don't know what a vizier is (or that they're supposed to be evil)? Have your kids not seen Aladdin? Jafar is the Royal Vizier who hypnotizes the Sultan to get him to do his bidding.
ReplyDelete