It is unclear when exactly Benjamin of Tudela traveled to Rome, and for how long he stayed, however the journey from Lucca to Rome took him six days. From the start of his travel accounts, it is evident that Benjamin was concerned with the subject of religion. In Rome, Benjamin delved into the presence of Judaism in a city that acts as the kingdom of Christendom, as well as the relationship between the Judaism and Christianity since both religions were present in the city. Benjamin began, as he did with most other places he traveled to, by documenting the number of Jews present at the time that he was visiting— in this case, there were 200 Jews in Rome. He noted that they did not need to pay tribute and upheld honorable positions. He went on to describe the Jewish population in greater detail by highlighting those that were officials of Pope Alexander, great scholars, and important Rabbis.

Benjamin then turned his attention towards the physical landscape and edifices of the city. He observed that Rome is split in two by the River Tiber, and that the city itself is 24 miles in circumference. He made note of significant structures, namely the 80 palaces that belonged to the 80 kings that lived there and even described the histories of some of these palaces, particularly those that housed kings who were important to the Jewish religion. He described other important structures such as the sturdily built palace of Vespasianus, as well as the Colosseum and some of its historical background. Furthermore, he described the catacombs of King Tarmal Galsin. He then payed special attention to various structural elements of buildings. Of these, he described the two bronze columns engraved by King Solomon and taken from the Temple that are now in the church of St. John in the Lateran. His interest in these columns was marked by his allusions to their historical significance in Judaism. He also noted that there are of statues of Samson and Absalom in marble in front of St. John in the Lateran, as well as a statue of Constantinus the Great who built Constantinople.

It is clear that religion played a great role in Benjamin’s travels, yet what is most striking was the way he wrote of it. Benjamin was a Jewish traveler and evidently had a substantial interest in the presence and influence of Judaism within the places that he traveled to. With every new place he visited, his first observation was a count of the number of Jews in that area. He thereby associated the number of Jews with how strong the presence of Judaism was despite a place’s history. Yet, he did not write in a tone that was critical of other religions, or that placed Judaism as superior. Instead he wrote in a more matter-of-fact tone and didn’t hesitate to show the ways in which Judaism and Christianity overlapped as the city developed into the Rome it is today. Benjamin also made sure to include the histories and subsequent significance of the people and buildings he mentioned, revealing that he believed all the details he documented to be important enough to preserve and retell. It would seem to me that Benjamin’s purpose in writing his travel narrative was tell of the presence of Judaism around the world and how it was being preserved— despite the number of Jews present. I therefore believe that Benjamin’s travels were written for those that shared and still share his faith and religion, so that they too could see Judaism’s influence throughout the world.