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An eleventh-century pledge of allegiance to Egypt from the Jewish community of Yemen

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Outhwaite, BM 
Ashur, A 

Abstract

The article presents a Hebrew letter sent from ū ibla in Yemen to Fusṭāṭ, Egypt, around 1095 C.E. The letter was written by a local leader in Yemen and stresses the allegiance of the Jewish community to Mevora b. Saʿadya, who had recently been reappointed ‘Head of the Jews’ in the Fāṭimid Empire. Tra- ditionally the Jews of Yemen, like those of Arabia, fell within the sphere of influence of the Babylonian Academies in the Geonic period. This letter is further evidence that the Jews of Yemen kept close ties to Egypt and the Palestinian Academy too.

Description

Keywords

Yemen, Cairo Genizah, Hebrew, history, 1095 C.E., Jewish leadership, Judaeo-Arabic, Ḏū Jibla, Fusṭāṭ

Journal Title

Chroniques du manuscrit au Yémen

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2116-0813

Volume Title

22

Publisher

Chroniques du manuscrit au Yémen

Publisher DOI