The Court Jews Of Islamic Regime From The 10th To 13th Century

Due to the relatively lenient policy of Muslim rulers and their utilitarian tendency from 10th to 13th century in the Caliphate of Cordoba,the Fatimid Dynasty and other Muslim regimes,some Jews who fit in better with the Muslim regime got themselves positions in the Islamic court.With versatile talents and abundant capital,they worked as Vizir,diplomats,businessmen,financial consultant and revenue officers.While they promoted the economic and cultural development of the Muslim state,their power also reached to a climax.On the other hand,they used their power in the Islamic world to speak for the Jews.They became the spokesmen of the Jewish communities and helped maximize the benefits of the whole Jewish group.They also made use of their power to establish yeshivas and sponsor Jewish scholars,which helped the construction of the new Jewish world center and contributed to the rejuvenation of Jewish culture.Divided into 4 chapters,this thesis introduces the living environment of the court Jews,the career of the five representatives of court Jews and their contribution to both the Islamic and Jewish world.On the basis of this,it further analyzes the main features of court Jews and concludes the survival mode for the elite Jewish group during the Diaspora,to enrich our understanding of the Jews of Islam world from the perspective of religious sociology.It intends to find historical evidence for the mode by which the upper class Jewish lobby works and provide reference for any further research into the characteristics of the Jewish people.The first chapter " the Jews of Islamic Regime from the 10th to 13 th century "firstly analyzes Muslim rulers’ discriminatory tolerant attitudes to dhimmis,a special community of unbeliever.The second section presents Muslim rulers’ tendency of pragmatism to the group of dhimmis in the implementation of the policy and discusses the survival basis of Jews in Islamic Regime.The last part further discusses the condition of the Jews in Islamic Regime from the 10th to 13th century,including the self-management mechanism in Jews community,economic development and culture life of Jews and other related issues.Therefore,a strong and prosperous scene of Jews in Islamic Regime is depicted.Chapter Ⅱ " the Jews of Islamic Court " based on original historical data,introduces several representative " Court Jews" selected in Islamic Regime from 10th to 13th century,such as Hasdai ibn shaprut in Caliphate of Cordoba,Samuel ibn Nagdela in Granada State,Yaqub b.Killis in Fatimid State,as well as Sa’d al-Dawla and Rashid al-Din Fadl Allah in Ilkhanate.This chapter presents Court Jews’capabilities and talents,their politics career and other activities,and to show their common signs of activity among Spain,North Africa and other places in the Islamic world.Chapter Ⅲ" Court Jews and the world of Muslim and Jews" mainly discusses the economic and culture interaction between Covrt Jews and Islamic world as well as the phenomena that Jewish upper class elite changed from Judaism to Islam.Besides,from the perspective of the combination of Muslim separatist regime and the dispersion of Jews,the role of Court Jews in Jewish new center and Court Jews’ function and contribution to the whole Jewish World are also discussed.Chapter Ⅳ" Survival Mode of Palace " concludes four characteristics of Court Jews by considering the examples of Court Jews,the background of Islamic Regime and the development of Court Jews.The four characteristics include similar occupation and family inheritance,individual destiny intervolves with the fate of the whole community through hierarch,authority in Jewish community and their identification with Muslim and the trend of elite culture.This paper points out at the conclusion part that Court Jews in Islamic world from10th to 13th century is not only the vivid explanation of Muslim and Jewish relationship,but also the typical manifestation of survival model that Jews figured out during Diaspora.This special model lasted to the Ottoman Empire and furthermore,it presents new vitality with different kinds of Jewish lobbies in the modern Europe and United States,thus the way of survival from ancient times in Jewish upper class is revealed in this way.