"Granny's Chapters" Part 34

Towards the close of the fifth century, a tribe of Goths, called Heruli, led by their king Odoacer, put an end to the Western Empire, A.D. 476. Romulus Augustulus, the Emperor, was deposed; but his life was spared, and a pension was granted him by Odoacer, who established a kingdom of his own in Italy. He protected the Jews, who had establishments for trade and commerce at Rome, Naples, Milan, and Genoa: laws were made to defend them from the attacks of the Christians; but, nevertheless, they were often robbed and ill-used by the populace.

A few years later, A.D. 493, the kingdom of the Heruli was overthrown by the Ostrogoths; but this change in the masters of the country does not appear to have made any difference in the treatment of the Jews.

During the sixth century, the Jews in Persia were cruelly persecuted by the kings, who wanted to force them to follow the idolatrous religion of the country. Nor were the Jews on the western side of the Euphrates better off, for the Emperor Justinian, who began to reign at Constantinople A.D. 527, oppressed them most severely; and by degrees deprived them of all the privileges they had enjoyed. He took upon himself to settle all matters connected with religion: he would not allow the Jews to keep the Pa.s.sover at the time they wished; nor to educate their children in their own faith; and he forbade the magistrates to receive evidence against a Christian from any Jew.

Justinian also forbade the Jews of Carthage to worship G.o.d in their own way; and commanded that their synagogues should be turned into places of worship for the Christians. All these harsh measures inclined the Jews to revolt, and a man called Julian, taking advantage of this disposition, pretended to be the Messiah, whose coming the Jews still expected. Many of these unhappy people joined Julian in Palestine, confidently hoping for deliverance from their bondage: he immediately led them to attack the Christians, who, not being prepared, were defeated with great slaughter.

But the triumph of the Jews was of short duration, for Justinian sent troops, which routed the rebels entirely; Julian was taken prisoner, and immediately put to death.

Some years afterwards, the Jews of Caesarea rebelled against the government of Justinian, and notwithstanding the hatred which existed between them and the Samaritans, the two people joined together to fight against the Christians: the governor of Caesarea, and great numbers of the Christians, were ma.s.sacred; and many of their churches were destroyed.

This rebellion was quickly put down by the troops of Justinian; many, who had taken part in it, were beheaded, and the rich were deprived of all their property.

When Belisarius, the famous general of Justinian, besieged the city of Naples, the Jews defended it most obstinately; and the length of the siege caused the death of very many of the a.s.sailants. Belisarius at length took the city: he tried to protect the Jews from the fury of his own soldiers, but his efforts were unsuccessful, and men, women, and children were murdered. The Jews were now so terrified, that they kept quiet for the remainder of the sixth century.

The seventh century was a time of great suffering for the Jews in general. Those of Antioch brought their first miseries upon themselves, by attacking the Christians A.D. 602: the Christians defended themselves bravely, but were overpowered: many were burnt in their houses; others, with their bishop, were treated with every insult, and then put to death. This rebellion was at last crushed, and the Jews were most severely punished for their cruelty.

Cyprus gives us a pleasanter picture: in spite of Adrian's edict of banishment, the Jews had again become numerous and powerful in that island; and Leontius, the Christian bishop, fearing such an insurrection as had taken place at Antioch, treated the Jews kindly, and tried by gentle means to convert them. We are told that, under his wise management, numbers really did become Christians.

In Rome, too, the bishops or pontiffs, who, under the t.i.tle of Pope, began to have great power and authority over all Christians, would not allow the Jews to be persecuted.

But Heraclius, the Greek Emperor, hated the Hebrew race; and, not satisfied with persecuting them himself, stirred up other sovereigns to do the same. The Greek Empire, of which Heraclius was now Emperor, was that division of the Roman Empire which has been called hitherto the Eastern Empire, having Constantinople for its capital. There was now no _Roman_ Empire; many of the countries that had formerly been parts of it had become separate kingdoms, under monarchs of their own.

The two princ.i.p.al kingdoms were Spain, and Gaul, which we call France. Neither Spain nor Gaul was, however, one kingdom, but each was divided amongst several kings or rulers.

Chapter V.--RISE OF MAHOMETANISM.

The Jews settled in Spain had become rich by trading, and were very flourishing, until Heraclius, who had been at war with that country, made peace, on condition that all the Jews who would not consent to be baptized, should be destroyed or driven out of Spain. Many to save their lives and property submitted to the outward rite of baptism; others, more conscientious, stood firm, and were cruelly tortured.

Some escaped into Gaul, but met with cruel treatment there: and during the remainder of the seventh century, the unhappy Jews, both in Spain and Gaul, were oppressed and ill-used by Christian kings, priests, and people.

The most remarkable event in the seventh century was, the rise of the Mahometan religion; so called from its founder, a man named Mahomet--an Arabian, the son of a prince of one of the chief wandering tribes who inhabited the country. The religion of these Arabians was a mixture of the superst.i.tious belief of neighbouring people; they also believed themselves to be descended from the patriarch Abraham, and observed circ.u.mcision, with other rites and ceremonies belonging to the Jewish religion. They believed in one Supreme Being; and also in three G.o.ddesses of equal power and wisdom, to be worshipped as well: they likewise worshipped idols.

At Mecca, the capital of Arabia, there was a small temple, called the C[=a][=a]bba, in which there was a stone, said to have fallen _white_ from heaven, in the time when man was innocent, and to have gradually lost its pure colour as man became sinful; it was now quite black.

This stone was held in such veneration, that people from all parts of Arabia came to the C[=a][=a]bba, to worship, bringing gifts; and thus Mecca grew to be a rich and flourishing city.

Mahomet was left an orphan when he was quite young, and in order to provide for him, his relations placed him in the service of a woman, who was in the habit of going backwards and forwards to Syria, trading; that is, selling the spices and other things which grew in Arabia, to the Syrians; and bringing back such things as she could sell to her countrymen. Mahomet now accompanied her on her journeys; looking after the camels, and doing any other services required.

Syria was at this time a Roman province. Mahomet, being a clever, intelligent lad, of an observing turn of mind, soon saw how much difference there was between the laws, manners, and customs of the polished Syrians, and those of his own uncivilized countrymen; and he greatly regretted not being able to read or write. The mixture of Jews and Christians which he found in Syria, turned his thoughts towards religious matters, and made him think that it would be a good thing to work a reformation in the corrupt and idolatrous religion of his own country. His ambition made him wish to distinguish himself as the founder of a new religion; but his poverty and dependent position seemed to render this impossible.

In the course of time, however, Mahomet made himself so useful to his mistress Cadigha, and gained such favour with her, that she married him, and thus gave him the riches and consideration necessary for carrying out his schemes. His first step was to remedy the defects of his education; the next to gain favour with the people: he gave much in charity; led a solitary life; and occasionally retired into the desert, where he pretended to receive instructions from the angel Gabriel. His wife a.s.sisted him by every means in her power; and in a short time the whole city of Mecca talked of nothing but Mahomet, who then began to lecture publicly. He taught that mankind should acknowledge one G.o.d (without division of persons, as in Christianity); he declared that the love of this Being was equal to His power, and that all His laws tended to make His creatures happy. Mahomet also taught, that as mankind sinned, G.o.d had from time to time sent prophets upon earth to reprove them, and bring them back to His service; and that the chief of these prophets were, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Mahomet; the last being the greatest of all "There is one G.o.d, and Mahomet is His Prophet," was their confession of faith. Prayers were to be offered to G.o.d seven times a day; and the pilgrimages to Mecca, as well as circ.u.mcision and ablutions, were recommended as outward signs of belief, in the doctrines of what Mahomet declared to be a new Revelation, delivered to him by the angel Gabriel. The book, in which all the doctrines and precepts taught by Mahomet were recorded, is called "The Koran." The Koran contains many precepts worthy of Christianity; and many doctrines in which there is much truth, mixed, however, with a great deal of falsehood and error, whilst the indulgence of man's evil pa.s.sions is allowed. Such a religion accorded well with the disposition of the Arabians; the disciples of Mahomet increased greatly, and amongst them were the richest and most respectable citizens of Mecca.

Very shortly, Mahomet began to spread his religion by conquest; and in a few years he had subdued to his empire and religion, all Arabia; thus establishing the "Saracen Empire," which afterwards extended itself over much of Asia, Africa, and even Europe.

The Arabian followers of Mahomet took the name of "Saracens," to induce a belief that they were descended from Abraham and his wife Sara; whereas they were the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and the bond-maid Hagar.

After the destruction of Jerusalem, many of the Jews settled in Arabia; and by the beginning of the seventh century, they possessed several towns and fortifications, and had armies commanded by princes of their own. Their number and influence made Mahomet wish for their help in his undertaking, and he treated them at first with great attention: he had adopted many of their opinions and customs, and he ordered his followers to turn towards Jerusalem when they prayed. He thus succeeded in gaining favour with the Children of Israel, who seeing what wonderful victories he gained, and misled by their own obstinate ideas as to the character of the promised Messiah, began actually to think that in this conqueror, they beheld the long-expected Messiah. Many of the Jews, therefore, embraced the Mahometan religion, which all, who were conquered by Mahomet, were forced to adopt. The Jews were soon afterwards offended by his eating the flesh of camels, a meat forbidden by the Mosaical Law; and they had speedily other reasons for changing their opinions concerning the pretended prophet; they then became his determined enemies. Mahomet returned their hatred; and in the Koran, to which he was continually adding chapters, as supposed to be delivered to him from time to time by the angel Gabriel, he reproaches the Jews with betraying and murdering the prophets sent by G.o.d, amongst whom he numbers Jesus Christ. He also declares, that for these things, and for breaking the laws of G.o.d and neglecting the Sabbaths, and above all for having refused to acknowledge his authority to establish a new Revelation, the Jews were justly accursed of G.o.d.

Not contented with such declarations, the impostor cruelly persecuted the unhappy Jews; their property was taken from them, many were driven into exile, and thousands were slaughtered. But in spite of all sufferings, the Jews remained faithful to their religion.

After the death of Mahomet, A.D. 632, the miserable remnant of the once flourishing people of Israel was forced to remove into Syria; as the impostor's dying command was, that none but followers of what he called "the true religion," should be allowed to dwell in his native land of Arabia.

One of the Caliphs, or princes, who succeeded to the power of Mahomet, carried on war to force all nations to become Mahometans or Mussulmans: he subdued Mesopotamia, Persia, and Syria: the Jews rejoiced in the downfall of Persia, where they had met with persecution. At the head of an army of Saracens, this Caliph (Abubeker) attacked Jerusalem: the Christians gallantly defended it for four months, and were then obliged to surrender the city to the Saracens; who built a mosque, or Mussulman place of worship, on the very spot where the magnificent temple of Solomon had formerly stood.

The first Caliphs allowed the Jews the free exercise of their own religion, and even permitted the Princes of the Captivity to exercise considerable authority. During the eighth and ninth centuries the Jews had their share in the troubles and calamities caused by civil wars among the Caliphs. Besides this, their treatment varied much under the rule of the different Saracen princes, who succeeded each other more or less quickly: by some they were allowed to live in peace, and worship G.o.d in their own way; by others they were persecuted. One of the Caliphs forbade their riding on horses, and only permitted them to have mules, and make use of iron stirrups: the Jews were also deprived of every office or employment in the State, and they were obliged to wear a cord round the waist, to point them out to the ridicule and abuse of the people.

In Christian countries, during the seventh and eighth centuries, we find the Jews exposed to equal, and even greater persecutions. The members of the Christian Church were at this time divided into two great parties, one of which objected to having any images of saints in the churches: the Jews, being accused of encouraging these disputes, were commanded by the Greek Emperor to give up their religion, on pain of the severest punishment. To save their lives, many of the Hebrews were baptized, but without any intention of really becoming Christians. This being suspected, afforded an excuse for still further persecutions of these unhappy people; but subsequent Emperors showed them favour, and allowed them to practise all the rites and ceremonies of their religion.

Chapter VI.--TENTH AND ELEVENTH CENTURIES.

The Jews in Spain brought trouble upon themselves by listening to one of their own countrymen, who declared himself to be the expected Messiah, and persuaded the mult.i.tude to follow him to Palestine, where he promised to establish his kingdom. Many perished on this expedition; and those who did return to Spain had cause to repent bitterly of their foolish credulity, for during their absence the Government had seized upon all their lands and property.

When Gaul was taken from the Romans by the barbarians, various tribes of Germans, calling themselves Franks, established their empire in the country. Charles the Great, or "Charlemagne," as he is always called, became sovereign of the Empire of the Franks (or France, as we may now term it), A.D. 772. The Saracens at this time were very troublesome in making frequent attacks upon the country; and the Jews were suspected of encouraging and aiding the Infidels, out of hatred to the Christians. Charlemagne, after defeating the Saracens at Toulouse, in the south of France, determined utterly to destroy the Jews, who were accused of causing all this bloodshed. He was, however, persuaded only to put to death some of those supposed to be the most guilty. The others were condemned to pay an annual fine; and were, moreover, obliged to a.s.semble three times a year, at the gate of some Christian church appointed by the bishop, to receive a box on the ear! which we may well believe to have been no slight blow.

At other times, the Jews were treated with gentleness and moderation.

Louis le Debonnaire became king on the death of his father, Charlemagne, early in the ninth century, A.D. 814. His favourite physician was a Jew; and for his sake Louis granted great privileges to the Jews. These marks of favour made them haughty and insolent; but when the bishops complained of their behaviour, the king would not listen to any proposition for their punishment. The favour and protection thus granted by the monarch, produced a great effect among his subjects; and those about the Court declared openly, that the descendants of Abraham ought to be treated with the greatest respect.

Some even went so far as to observe the Jewish Sabbaths, and to attend the synagogues; preferring to hear the discourses of the learned rabbis, rather than the sermons of the Christian priests and monks, who were at this time extremely ignorant. During the reign of the next king, Charles the Bold, the Jews met with little favour; and in some places they were constantly insulted with impunity by the populace. In one part of Languedoc, it was the custom to pelt the Jews with stones, from Palm Sunday--that is, the Sunday before Good Friday--until the Tuesday after Easter Day.

During the tenth century, when there was much ignorance in all Christian countries, the Saracens were great promoters of learning; and under their protection the Jews were also able to apply themselves to study, and many famous men appeared amongst them at this time; but, unhappily, disputes between themselves soon brought them into fresh difficulties.

We now come to the eleventh century, during which, if not before, colonies of Jews settled in England; for when William, Duke of Normandy, conquered the country, A.D. 1066, a considerable number of them were already established in the kingdom. William also brought with him, from Rouen, another colony of Jews, and gave them places to live in, from whence they could carry on trade with other nations. In return, they were to pay the king certain sums of money.

The Jews also appear to have been in favour with William Rufus, who encouraged disputes between the learned rabbis and the Christian bishops, declaring that he himself was quite ready to follow the religion of whichever party had the best of the argument or dispute.

The Jews, always an industrious and money-making people, are said to have become so rich and powerful in England during William the Second's reign, that they not only held public meetings for the purpose of converting the upper and more learned cla.s.ses, but also endeavoured by bribes to induce the poor and ignorant to renounce Christianity, and enrol themselves amongst the Jews.

What has been said of the condition of the Jews in England, applies also to all other European countries, where the Jews were richer, more fond of learning, and more polished--that is, more civil and gentle in their manners--than any other people. They were the only bankers; all trade with foreign nations was carried on by them alone; and even the gold and silver ornaments and vessels used in Christian churches, were mostly made by these determined enemies of Christianity.

During the eleventh century, of which we have been speaking, the Jews in Egypt were for a short time persecuted by a Saracen prince, who wished to establish a new religion in the place of Mahometanism, or Islamism, as the religion established by Mahomet was called. As neither Jews nor Christians would a.s.sist him, he persecuted both; obliging the former to wear some outward mark to distinguish them, and point them out as objects for hatred and insult. He commanded their synagogues to be closed, and tried to force them to follow the new religion, of which he wanted to be the head. After a time, however, he allowed them to return to the practice of their own rites and ceremonies. Towards the middle of the eleventh century, an Eastern Caliph determined to get rid of the Jews altogether. He shut up their academies or schools; banished the teachers; and killed the Prince of the Captivity, with all his family. This cruel persecution drove many of the Jews into the deserts of Arabia; but most of them took refuge in the western countries; and by the end of the eleventh century, they had become numerous and powerful in different towns of Germany. Some of the Jews, driven out of the East, pa.s.sed through Africa into Spain, and there joined their brethren, who, having helped the Saracens to conquer Spain, were now greatly favoured by the Caliphs, and were a wealthy and flourishing people. Hatred of the Christians was a bond of union between the Jews and the Mahometans; but when one of the rabbis tried to convert the Saracens of Grenada to the Jewish religion, the king was so enraged, that he caused the rabbi to be seized and put to death at once. This was followed by a terrible persecution of the Hebrew race.

The Jews, however, suffered still greater miseries in those parts of Spain which were under the rule of Christian princes. One of these, called Ferdinand, having declared war against the Saracens, resolved, in the first place, to destroy all the Jews in his dominions, expecting by such an act of cruelty to obtain the favour and blessing of G.o.d! but the clergy of his kingdom objected to the execution of such a scheme; and the Pope himself wrote, and blamed Ferdinand for such unchristianlike zeal, so that the design was given up.

Alphonso, the successor of Ferdinand, found himself in such difficulties, owing to the increasing power of the Saracens, that he showed favour to the Jews, in order to get them to help him with men and money in his wars against the Infidels. He even allowed them to act as judges over Christians; but the Pope did not at all approve of this, and reproached the king for having, as he expressed it, "put the synagogue of Satan above the Church of Christ." Alphonso, however, did not take away the indulgences, which he had granted only to further his own interest.

The close of this eleventh century was remarkable for the first of the Crusades, or wars undertaken by Christian nations, in order to take Palestine, or the Holy Land, out of the hands of the Saracens. In many parts of Spain, great numbers of Jews were ma.s.sacred by those about to join the Crusade, under the mistaken idea that they should bring the blessing of G.o.d upon their intended expedition, by destroying the descendants of those who had crucified the Saviour of mankind. In Germany, the Crusaders, who marched through the country, murdered all the Jews who refused to become Christians. An immense number thus perished, many of whom were burnt in their houses; for the unhappy Jews barricaded their dwellings, and then threw their families, their property, and themselves into the flames, thus disappointing the avarice of their enemies, who coveted their riches. Even mothers, on the approach of the merciless Crusaders, killed their children with their own hands, telling them it was far better for them to go at once into Abraham's bosom, than to fall into the hands of the Christians.

Some of the Jews, less brave and conscientious than their brethren, saved their lives by pretending to adopt the Christian religion, which they must naturally have hated more than ever, since those who professed to be guided by its precepts, had acted with a degree of cruelty and inhumanity, worthy only of the most ignorant savages. The same dreadful scenes took place in Palestine, for when the Crusaders arrived in that country, they, actuated by very mistaken notions of the spirit of Christianity, inhumanly murdered all the Jews they could lay hands upon; and men, women, and children alike perished by hundreds.

During this dreadful time, it is pleasant to know that some of the Christian bishops and clergy did try to protect the Jews; and they received into their houses such fugitives as could manage to escape from the fury of their enemies.

Thus ended the eleventh century.

Chapter VII.--TWELFTH CENTURY.