Binyamin of Tudela: An Extraordinary Medieval Traveler

🗺️ We begin a series on premodern aliyah to the Land of Israel with the superlative world traveler Binyamin of Tudela, who detailed his visit to the Land of Israel in c. the 1160s.

You’re reading Stories from Jewish History, a weekly newsletter exploring Jewish thinkers, events, and artifacts, from the famous to the obscure. Today we embark on multiple journeys to the Land of Israel that Jews undertook in premodernity—in the period before the rise of national movements and Zionism in the nineteenth century. Some sought refuge in Eretz Yisrael, others to live out the end of their lives there, and still others to experience the holy places and sites of Jewish history before returning to their homes abroad. (Not infrequently, they sought some combination of all three.) Whenever feasible, Jews made aliyah (“ascent,” the religious term for “going up” to the Land of Israel and Jerusalem in particular), visited the holy sites, or supported the small Jewish communities there that Israel’s rulers allowed to exist. Some reported on what they saw and experienced; we’ll explore some of those accounts in this series.

A thirteenth- or fourteenth-century Ashkenazi copy of Binyamin’s travel narrative. British Library, London Ms. Add. 27089.

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In this issue:

• Binyamin and his Route

• Binyamin’s Travel Narrative

• Binyamin’s Descriptions of Crusader-era Eretz Yisrael in the Twelfth Century

• Reads & Resources

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R. Binyamin ben Yonah of Tudela, a city in the north of Spain, is not only one of the most famed of premodern Jewish travelers, but of all premodern travelers in general. His account of his travels, known as Sefer Masaaot (The Book of Journeys) or, more commonly, Masaaot Binyamin (Benjamin’s Journeys), has been translated into Jewish and many European languages, and serves as a source for many other premodern historiographers and chroniclers, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. His dispassionate and factually-oriented recollections are of primary importance to understanding medieval Jewish communities in Europe, especially in Provence, as well as in the East, especially Constantinople, Eretz Yisrael, and Baghdad. We’ll take a look at Binyamin’s route and narrative as a whole before turning specifically to his observations of the Land of Israel.

Binyamin and his Route

The information we have about Binyamin of Tudela comes largely from his own account in Masaaot Binyamin. It is unknown what impelled him to set out on his travels, but his evident interest in certain matters of trade in Masaaot suggests that he may have been a merchant or otherwise engaged in international trade. When referring to him, others generally call him “rabbi” though it is unclear what his education was like. (This is a good time to mention that “rabbi” as a term in the medieval period generally is a conventional term of respect and a mark of general learnedness, more so than an occupational designator or even as an indication of one’s facility in halacha (Jewish law), as “rabbi” is used today.)

The brief introduction to Binyamin’s narrative, presumably written by an early copyist, records that he arrived back in Spain from his travels in the year A.M. 4933 (1173/4). Within the text, Binyamin reports about the relationship between the Roman Jewish community, which he visited, and one “Pope Alexander.” This is almost certainly the contested pope Alexander III; we know that this pope was in Rome after the beginning of his pontificate in September 1159 until 1162, and again, briefly, between November 1165 and July 1167. It has been conjectured that Binyamin was present in Rome at the beginning of Alexander III’s pontificate, meaning that he was in Italy c. late 1159 or early 1160, and that he thus left Spain c. 1159. This would make his journey one of some fourteen years. Another possibility is that he was in Rome in the late 1160s, making his journey one of five or so years.

Departing from his home in Navarra (Navarre), a kingdom in northern Spain, Binyamin traveled overland through the south of France (Provence, in medieval Jewish parlance), then south through Italy to Naples and other southern Italian cities. He departed by sea from Otranto, the site of an old Jewish community, setting sail for Greece and then Asia minor (present-day Turkey). He entered the Land of Israel from the north, first visiting the ancient cities of Antioch, Sidon, and Tyre before arriving in Akko (Acre). After visiting sites around the Land of Israel, he traveled to Damascus, Aleppo, and Baghdad. Binyamin traveled extensively through the region of Iraq and seems to have also spent time in Persia. His account of Persia, and even more so India, Ceylon (today’s Sri Lanka), and China, contain legendary material; he presumably did not himself reach southeast and/or east Asia. From Persia, Binyamin evidently traveled through Arabia, probably sailing around the peninsula, and gives an account of Egypt and his journey home by sea via Palermo, Sicily.

[Source]

Binyamin’s Travel Narrative

Masaaot Binyamin, written in Hebrew, was first published in Constantinople in 1543 and then from a different, and highly variant, manuscript at Ferrara in 1556. A critical edition of the Hebrew with English translation was published by Marcus Nathan Adler in the Jewish Quarterly Review between 1904 and 1906 and published in book form in 1907, which means it’s currently in the public domain—see the resources section below for links where you can read the whole narrative. (If only more Hebrew works were available in high-quality form with English translation to the reading public—though, happily, this is a project undergoing much development in our times.)

Generally speaking, Binyamin notes the distances between cities, either in travel time or in units or measure, usually parasangs (in Hebrew: פרסה; Adler puts this at 3 2/6 Imperial miles, meaning that Binyamin’s distances are accurate). He highlights the size of the Jewish community, its leaders, and often includes details of its economic activities or culture. In those places where he stayed for a longer time, such as Rome and Baghdad, his descriptions are more detailed and rich. He includes descriptions of Samaritans, Karaites, and Druze as well, important for the histories of these communities.

Binyamin’s Descriptions of Crusader-Era Eretz Yisrael in the Twelfth Century

In his lengthy descriptions of the Land of Israel, Binyamin highlights sites holy to Judaism but also expends many words on contemporaneous conditions under Crusader rule. His judicious description of Jerusalem includes depictions of knights, of Christian practice, and also legacies of the Muslim era. It contains plentiful examples of continued Jewish life in the holy city. Here is an excerpt of Binyamin’s description of Crusader Jerusalem—it’s a bit long (and meaty!) so I’ve bolded some of what I see as important statements below:

ומשם שלש פרסאות לירושלם היא עיר קטנה ובצורה תחת שלש חומות ואנשים בה הרבה, וקוראים להם הישמעאלים יעקוביין וארמים ויוונים וגורגרים ופרנקוש ומכל לשונות הגוים ויש שם בית הצביעות שקונין אותו היהודים בכל שנה מן המלך שלא יעשה שום אדם צביעה בירושלם כי אם היהודים לבדם והם כמו מאתים יהודים דרים תחת מגדל דוד בפאת המדינה. ובחומה שבמגדל דוד הבניין הראשון של יסוד כמו עשר אמות מבניין הקדמונים שבנו אבותינו והשאר מבניין הישמעאלים. ואין בכל העיר מקום חזק יותר ממגדל דוד. ושם שני בתים אחד לאשפיטאל ויוצאים ממנו ארבע מאות פרשי' ושם ינוחו כל החולים הבאים שם ונותנין להם כל סיפוקם בחייהם ובמותם. והבית השני קוראין אותו טינפולי שלמון הוא הארמון שעשה שלמה מלך ישראל ע”ה. ושם חונים הפרשים ויוצאים מהם שלש מאות פרשי' בכל יום למלחמה חוץ מן הפרשים הבאים מארץ פרנקוש, ומארץ אדום ונודרין על עצמן שיעבדו שם ימים או שנים עד מלאת נדרם. ושם הבמה הגדולה שקורין אותה שיפורקי. ושם נקבר אותו האיש שהולכים כל התועים אליו. ויש בירושלם ארבעה שערים שער אברם ושער דוד ושער ציון ושער גושפט הוא שער יהושפט לפני בית המקדש שהיה בימי קדם ושם טינפולי דומיני והוא היה מקום המקדש ובנה עליו עמר בן אל כטאב כפה גדולה ויפה עד מאד ואין מכניסין שם הגוים שום צלם ולא שום תמונה אלא שבאים שם להתפלל. ולפני אותו מקום כותל מערבי והוא אחד מן הכתלים שחיו בקדש הקדשים וקוראים אותו שער הרחמים ולשם באים כל היהודים להתפלל לפני הכותל בעזרה: ושם בירושלם בבית אשר היה לשלמה אורות סוסים אשר בנה בניין חזק מאד מאבנים גדולות לא נראה כבניין ההוא בכל הארץ. ושם נראה עד היום הברכה שהיו הכהנים שוחטים את זבחיהם והבאים שם מיהודה כותבין שמם על הכותל: ויוצא אדם משער יהושפט אל עמק יהושפט והוא מדבר העמים ושם מצבת יד אבשלום וקבר עוזיהו…

From there it is three parasangs to Jerusalem, which is a small city, fortified by three walls. It is full of people whom the Mohammedans [Muslims] call Jacobites, Syrians, Greeks, Georgians and Franks, and of people of all tongues. It contains a dyeing-house, for which the Jews pay a small rent annually to the king, on condition that besides the Jews no other dyers be allowed in Jerusalem. There are about 200 Jews who dwell under the Tower of David in one corner of the city.¹ The lower portion of the wall of the Tower of David, to the extent of about ten cubits, is part of the ancient foundation set up by our ancestors, the remaining portion having been built by the Mohammedans. There is no structure in the whole city stronger than the Tower of David. The city also contains two buildings, from one of which—the hospital—there issue forth four hundred knights; and therein all the sick who come thither are lodged and cared for in life and in death. The other building is called the Temple of Solomon; it is the palace, built by Solomon the king of Israel. Three hundred knights are quartered there, and issue therefrom every day for military exercise, besides those who come from the land of the Franks and the other parts of Christendom, having taken upon themselves to serve there a year or two until their vow is fulfilled. In Jerusalem is the great church called the Sepulchre, and here is the burial-place of Jesus,² unto which the Christians make pilgrimages. Jerusalem has four gates—the gate of Abraham, the gate of David, the gate of Zion, and the gate of Gushpat, which is the gate of Jehoshaphat, facing our ancient Temple, now called Templum Domini. Upon the site of the sanctuary Omar ben al-Khataab erected an edifice with a very large and magnificent cupola, into which the Gentiles do not bring any image or effigy, but they merely come there to pray. In front of this place is the western wall, which is one of the walls of the Holy of Holies. This is called the Gate of Mercy, and thither come all the Jews to pray before the wall of the court of the Temple. In Jerusalem, attached to the palace which belonged to Solomon, are the stables built by him, forming a very substantial structure, composed of large stones, and the like of it is not to be seen anywhere in the world. There is also visible up to this day the pool³ used by the priests before offering their sacrifices, and the Jews coming thither write their names upon the wall. The gate of Jehoshaphat leads to the valley of Jehoshaphat, which is the gathering-place of nations. Here is the pillar called Absalom's Hand, and the sepulchre of King Uzziah.

Masaaot Binyamin, ed. Adler, pp. 23-24 [Heb.], pp. 22-23 [Eng.].

A few things that stand out to me here: the multicultural character of the Crusader kingdoms, the continuity of Jewish life in Eretz Yisrael, and the importance all peoples placed on identifying the sites of the Biblical past.

Binyamin also describes the conditions under which Jews had access to the Cave of the Patriarchs (Maarat ha-Mechpela) under Christian rule:

ומשם שש פרסאות לש’ אברם דברון היא חברון אבותינו אבל מדינת חברון היתה בהר והיא חריבה היום. ובעמקי בשרה המכפלה שם העיר היום, ושם הבמה הגדולה שקורין שי אברם והיא היתה כנסת היהודים בימי ישמעאלים. ועשו הגוים ששה קברים על שם אברהם ושרה יצחק ורבקה יעקב ולאה ואומ’ לתועים שהם קברי האבות ונותנין שם ממון. אבל אם יבוא יהודי שם שיתן שכר לשוער של מערה ויפתח לו פתח ברזל שהוא עשוי מבניין וירד אדם למטה במדרגות ונר דלוק בידו וירד למטה במערה אחת ואין שם כלום. וכן השניה עד שיבא אל השלישית והנה שם ששה קברים קבר אברהם ויצחק ויעקב ושרה ורבקה ולאה זה כנגד זה ועל קבריהם חתומים אותיות חקוקות באבנים על קבר אברהם חקוק זה קבר אברהם... ובמערה מדליקין שם עששית אחת בכל יום ויום ובכל לילה ולילה על הקברים. ושם חביות הרבה מלאות עצמות מישראל שהיו מביאין שם מתיהם בימי ישראל כל אחד ואחר עצמות אבותיו ומניחין אותן שם עד היום הזה. וחוצה בקצה שדה המכפלה ביתו של אברהם ומעיין לפני הבית. ואין מניחין שם לעשות בית מפני כבוד אברהם אבינו:

At a distance of six parasangs is St. Abram de Bron, which is Hebron; the old city stood on the mountain, but is now in ruins; and in the valley by the field of Machpelah lies the present city. Here there is the great church called St. Abram, and this was a Jewish place of worship at the time of the Mohammedan [Muslim] rule, but the Gentiles have erected there six tombs, respectively called those of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. The custodians tell the pilgrims that these are the tombs of the Patriarchs, for which information the pilgrims give them money. If a Jew comes, however, and gives a special reward, the custodian of the cave opens unto him a gate of iron, which was constructed by our forefathers, and then he is able to descend below by means of steps, holding a lighted candle in his hand. He then reaches a cave, in which nothing is to be found, and a cave beyond, which is likewise empty, but when he reaches the third cave behold there are six sepulchres, those of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, respectively facing those of Sarah, Rebekah and Leah. And upon the graves are inscriptions cut in stone; upon the grave of Abraham is engraved “This is the grave of Abraham”… A lamp burns day and night upon the graves in the cave. One finds there many casks filled with the bones of Israelites, as the members of the house of Israel were wont to bring the bones of their fathers thither and to deposit them there to this day. Beyond the field of Machpelah is the house of Abraham; there is a well in front of the house, but out of reverence for the Patriarch Abraham no one is allowed to build in the neighbourhood.

Masaaot Binyamin, ed. Adler, pp. 27-28 [Heb.], pp. 25-26 [Eng].

Under Christian rule, according to Binyamin’s account, Jews were permitted to enter the Cave of the Patriarchs and, in fact, to use it as a burial site (we’ll see this attested in other medieval travel narratives as well). As has been the case through the ages, there was an economic hurdle to tourism, including religious pilgrimage, but it was overcome, evidently, by Jews wishing to experience the places dear to their forefathers and mothers.

Reads & Resources

• The best place online, in my opinion, to read Adler’s critical edition of Masaaot Binyamin is in the open-access JQR version on JSTOR. It is also compiled here and available via Google Books.

• For a article about Binyamin as well as R. Petachia of Regensburg, who we’ll meet shortly, see Joseph Shatzmiller’s chapter “In Search of a ‘Jewish Compostela’: Benjamin of Tudela and Petachia of Regensburg,” in Translating the Relics of St James: From Jerusalem to Compostela, ed. Antón M. Pazos (London and New York: Routledge, 2016), 211–21.

• On the interesting reception history of Masaaot Binyamin, see Zur Shalev, “Benjamin of Tudela, Spanish Explorer,” Mediterranean Historical Review 25, no. 1 (2010): 17–33.

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1. Relative to other population figures cited by Binyamin, this is a substantial community.

2. Adler is diplomatic here in his translation; the Hebrew actually reads, “a certain man, whom the mistaken follow.”

3. Binyamin here does not use the word mikveh (מקווה), a ritual bath, but ברכה, “pool” as in Adler’s translation.