Author: Mel Sumner

Benjamin of Tudela’s description of Cairo (Mizraim) is dominated by discussion of the Nile river. The importance the river has to all aspects of life in the city and its surrounding regions cannot be overstated. It is both a form of protection, eliminating the need for a city wall, and the center of their food production (99). He describes the rising and falling pattern of the river in great detail. The rising of the river is both an important cultural and agricultural event. He draws great attention to the pillar that measures the height of the flooding as a cultural oddity that only exists due to the unusual seasonal changes of the region. He also discusses the ways in which the river’s flooding affects how agriculture is practiced. Bountiful fish end up in farmlands and water covers the earth for two months (100). This pattern is the only thing that allows for any farming in the otherwise arid climate and if it ever fails to occur great famine spreads through the land. Benjamin’s focus on farming in this section differs from his previous descriptions because, while he occasionally had comments about the market goods in other areas, he paid little attention to the process of getting them to the cities. This may be because it was simply standard practice while the Nile creates notable differences, but it could also be a sign that he was only relating other people’s stories rather than his own. He also spends far less time discussing the topics that he usually focuses on like the built environment.
He does acknowledge the similarly unusual structure of the Jewish community in Cairo, another of his standard factors of note. They are divided into two different congregations, those who follow Babylonian customs and those who follow Israeli customs. Specifically, he notes the difference in how they divide the portions of the Torah with Babylonians doing one portion a week and Israelis doing one third of a portion each week (98). He also makes sure to state that the Babylonian method is the same as how the Jews back in his home country of Spain divide the portions. This offers his audience of Jews who may be looking to move to areas of less persecution an insight into which foreign communities are most similar to their own. Benjamin has been, perhaps surprisingly, sparse in his description of the actual religious practices of the Jewish communities he has been documenting because, despite all following the same religion, there were great differences in practicalities region to region. A Jew from Spain may find the observances of a Jew from Baghdad completely alien despite originating from the same text and following the same basic principles. While other elements that would be important to a potential immigrant such as the size of the Jewish community and their status within society are addressed, how easy it would be for a newcomer to fit in is left ambiguous. However, Cairo shows that despite the division of the Jewish community they can still come together for special occasions to practice as a single great unit.

For the first time in the text, Benjamin of Tudela spends more time talking about the people of a city than its architecture. Despite the grandeur of twelfth-century Baghdad, he spends comparatively little time discussing the monuments and far more time on the Caliph and the Head of the Captivity. Benjamin heaps praise on the Caliph with special note of his great charity. The Caliph is described as a generous and kind leader who treats the Jews in his city with grace as well as the Muslim citizens. He pays great attention to the hospitals run by the Caliph, especially their treatment of “the demented people who have become insane in the towns through the great heat in the summer” (59). That this care is worthy of note to Benjamin shows the rarity of care for the mentally ill in his own culture or the cultures he has traveled through to this point. The Caliph’s care for these people is a sign of his great benevolence. The scorching climate drives the reason from these people, but they are cared for and nursed back to health on the Caliph’s dime. Baghdad is depicted as a place where people are cared for, and its wealth is used for the direct benefit of the citizens. Even the Caliph himself is a man of hard work and virtue who “will not partake of anything unless he has earned it by the work of his own hands” (55). The public support channeled through the Caliph makes Baghdad one of the most uplifted cities Benjamin visits.
An even greater aspect in Benjamin’s eyes is the thriving and exalted Jewish community living in Baghdad. While in most previous sections, even the very short ones, he frequently lists Jewish leaders in the places he mentions, for Baghdad he lists all ten heads of the academies, the chief Rabbi, and the Head of the Captivity along with their pedigrees. Much attention is given to the Head of the Captivity as both the head of the Jews throughout the Middle East and Asia and as an important and high-ranking figure in the Caliph’s court. The office of the Exilarch commands respect from all members of the court regardless of religion upon threat of whipping (61). He occupies an exalted position which reflects a raised, or at least not oppressed, status onto the rest of the Jewish community. The honor he receives as well as the vast numbers of Jewish residents in Baghdad show the high quality of life they experience. The numbers of Jews he lists in each city increase as he travels through the Middle East. The numerous academies and high positions of respect and authority held by Jews make Baghdad a Jewish scholar’s dream, especially compared to the discrimination he had witnessed in other places along his journey. If Benjamin’s mission is to report to diasporic Jews where they might want to travel, then his account of Baghdad is his most glowing review thus far. It is a city of great learning with benevolent leadership and the center of Jewish religious authority.

Benjamin of Tudela’s account of Jerusalem focused primarily on the major sites of worship and the variety therein. He described the vast diversity of peoples found there as “Jacobites, Syrians, Greeks, Georgians and Franks, and of people of all tongues” (35). He claimed that these were the names the Muslim residents had for these peoples which shows that while he acknowledged the diversity of peoples in Jerusalem, he had little personal ethnographic interests. His attention quickly turned back to architecture, which has been his primary focus whenever he stopped to say more than the briefest description of a place. In quick succession, he mentions the Sepulcher, which is a holy place for Christians, the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim holy site, and the western wall, which is a Jewish holy site (36-37). The proximity of these locations makes the quick transitions easy; however, his description shows how tightly intertwined the members of the Abrahamic religions were in Jerusalem. Despite traveling in the wake of the second crusade, the city Benjamin describes has plentiful Christians, Muslims, and Jews all worshipping in the same areas. The differences are in the way each religion’s presence appears. Jewish structures are shown to be the base on which later developments are added. The Tower of David and western wall are relics of an ancient past which permeates the city despite the small Jewish population. Islamic structures are the ones built on top of the ancient ones. They are the contemporary rulers who hold the most current sway. Even though the sites Benjamin mentions are not themselves new, they are recent in comparison. Islamic influence is the driving force of change in Jerusalem which builds upon the Jewish past. The Christians, however, are presented as a primarily military presence. The remnants of the crusades appear in the hospital of St. John, the Temple of Solomon, and the combined seven hundred knights house between them. The Temple of Solomon is another ancient site that has been taken over by the crusaders. They are not described as contributing to the growth of the city, but rather as heavily armed pilgrims making dramatic shows of force.
This section also features a more narrative anecdote which stands out dramatically from Benjamin’s otherwise incredibly dry writing. He tells a story he heard about a pair of workmen who entered the sepulchers of the biblical kings and were scared off by the voice of God (38-40). This story shows a sense of wonder that Benjamin has for the holy land and the belief in an increase in miracles in this holy and historied place. Biblical lands deserve recent stories that reaffirm the divine nature of the sites. The story also reaffirms the place of the Jewish community as the guardians of ancient sites in Jerusalem, as when an issue arose with the restoration of the sepulcher the Patriarch turned to Rabbi Abraham (who supposedly told Benjamin this story himself) for assistance (40). Jewish scholars are framed as the ultimate authorities on ancient relics and how to handle them. Their sites form the foundation of the holy city and are protected by God himself.

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In his description of Constantinople, Benjamin of Tudela starts with a brief description of the government before turning to discuss the architecture. He focuses on especially on the great wealth displayed in the city. Wealth that he claims is drawn from a great market housing traders from across the known world and tribute from the surrounding areas that serve to greatly enrich the city. However, after discussing the great wealth and influence of the Greeks, Benjamin turns to the segregated area outside of the city, called Pera, where the Jews are forced to live. He describes the Jews there as wise, upstanding, and occasionally rich individuals who are nevertheless subjected to cruel mistreatment by the Greek majority. The readers once again learn nothing of Benjamin’s personal experience, but given that he is a Jewish traveler, he likely stayed in Pera and perhaps personally experienced or saw the oppression Jews in Constantinople endured.
Benjamin established the people of Constantinople as wealthy elites. They, especially the King Emanuel, have enough gold to plate every possible surface in it and to drape themselves in rich cloth of purple and gold silk. Equally he admires the grandeur of their festivities. He claims with a sense of awe that both the wealth and the entertainment found in Constantinople are unmatched anywhere on earth (21). However, he also states that the people are feeble and incapable of fighting. This contrast of splendor and might shows a chink in the gilded façade of the Greeks. Although he describes the magnificent churches and palaces in awe, he has very little to say about the Greeks as people. He briefly claims that they are rich and learned, but weak. While Benjamin is clearly an appreciator of the great splendor in the places he visits, he pays little attention to cultures outside of his own. His interest in others is in their monuments not their lives. Hence why in regions with little splendor to describe he moves from place to place at a rapid pace.
Benjamin’s description of the Jewish community, however, is far more personal. He lists the specific names of important individuals, both in major and minor cities. They are noted as “good, kindly, and charitable” as well as wealthy through trading and silk weaving (24). This attention to their personalities frames the Jews as real people more than the Greeks who are simply another sight to be observed. Their goodly personalities are even more relevant when contrasted with the oppression they face. Benjamin very rarely describes any action, but he takes the time to tell how the tanners throw dirty water on the Jews doorsteps and how they are beaten in the streets. Great empathy is devoted to the struggles of his community. His Jewish readership would be equally empathetic as they, especially those suffering under the inquisition in his native Spain, have similarly endured great hardship and discrimination. In the interpretation that this book was intended to let Jewish travelers know where was safe to go this passage informs them that although there is a large Jewish community of good people in Constantinople it is not a place with good conditions to live. Though the city itself is full of beauty to the traveler and opportunity for the merchant, there is danger to be wary of for any Jew passing through.

In his description of Rome, Benjamin of Tudela spends the vast majority of the passage describing the architecture. The only other factor he notes is the notable Jewish scholars who live there. He describes the palaces of the Roman emperors with specific emphasis given to Titus’ as it related to the capture of Jerusalem. The storage location of Titus’ pillaged temple relics is also specifically noted. He also talks about the Colosseum and catacombs with stories about the bones and statues contained within each. None of this, however, is done with much detail. His writing is very direct and to the point with little elaboration on any of his statements. No mention is given (at least this far into the reading) to the practical elements of travel aside from the number of days’ travel between locations. Also absent are Benjamin’s personal thoughts or opinions on any of the places he visits or sights he sees.
The most prominent feature of Benjamin’s writing up to this point is the presence of Jewish communities in the places he visits. Even in cities where he has nothing else written, he documents the notable rabbis and the approximate number of Jews. This shows the importance of the Jewish community to both his motivation for travel and his intended audience. He appears to be writing for a diasporic Jewish population to give them a sense of what community they can expect to find in various locations across the lands he travels. The bare bones descriptions and lack of narrative places this text squarely within the realm of travel accounts rather than narratives. This more utilitarian tone indicates that the text is meant more as a source of information rather than entertainment or ethnography. He centers the presence of Jewish community in his writing as it is the relevant touchstone for his audience and the core of what would be important for them to know about a place. The references to history also focus on events that hold specific relevance to Jewish history that his audience is more likely to recognize.
Benjamin’s focus on architecture shows his reverence for Rome as a city with great historical importance and lasting influence. Even the basic descriptions of its monuments are much more than what is given to the other cities he has passed through thus far. Genoa and Pisa have scant mentions of their fortifications, but nothing of beauty. Rome is prioritized as the first cultural center he is passing through. Benjamin is showing his scholarly merit through his knowledge of history. The cultural artifacts he notes are those of scholarly importance which indicate a minimum degree of education in his audience, as they would have to be aware of the names he was referencing. He is writing for an educated Jewish population that might find use in knowing the relative size of Jewish populations and their leaders in various locations. He lets them know who to contact and where they might find further learning, as all the most notable figures are scholars like himself.