435 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA Baer, Seli^mauBagdad

the needy. Baerwald is a member of tlic centralcommittee of the Alliance Israelite Universelle inParis. There is hardly a benevolent institution inFrankfort that has not felt his benign intiueucc. Thename of the young men who are indebted to Baer-wald for their making is legion. After an activityof thirty -one years at the Philanthropin, Baerwaldretired from the office he had tilled with considerablehonor imder general manifestations of admirationand gratitude.Baerwald is the author of: "Formelbuch," "Ilis-

torische Miscellen: Lebensrettung Kaiser Otto II.durch den Juden Kalonymus," in Wertheimer's"Jahrbucli,"1857; and "Zur Gescliichte der Israeli-tischen Real- und Volksschulc in Frankfurt am Mainvon 1804-1822," 1875.

s. H. I.

BAEZA : City in the province of Jaen, Spain,which, as early as the Moorish rule, had a consider-able Jewish community tliat suffered greatly dur-ing the war between Castile and Mohammed al-Nasirin 1312. In 1391 there was great slaughter amongthe Jews of Baeza; the survivors being spared onlyon condition of submitting to baptism. Five yearslater, only Maranos were left in the city ; and manyof these, in 1473, fell victims to the fury of the pop-ulace, as in Cordova and in other cities, while otherswere saved through the protection of the count deCabra, governor of the city.

Bibliography : J. Amador de los Rlos, Historia de los Judiosen EspaFia, ii. 401, lii. 159.G. M. K.

BAG: A comprehensive term in the A. V. forvarious Hebrew words. The most adequate He-brew expression for a large bag is " harit " (compareArabic), which can contain a talent of silver, as in IIKings V. 23. The same word occurs in the list ofwoman's apparel and ornaments, given in Isa. iii. 22,and is usually understood as a satchel (thus R. V.

;

"crisping pins," A. V.). In Gen. xlii. 25 the gen-eral term for a vessel (" keli ") to carry grain is freelytranslated "bag," being used interchangeably with"sack." In I Sam. ix. 7, xxi. 6, the same word

A. V. " vessels "denotes the receptacles for carry-ing food, which need not necessarily have been bags.In I Sam. xvii. 40, 49, it stands for the same word("vessel," A. V., margin) in "the shepherd's bag."The Hebrew text seems to mean rather "a shep-herd's outfit" in a much more general sense (com-pare Zech, xi. 15, " the instruments of a foolish sliep-herd ").There is, furthermore, the small bag (" kis "), con-

taining the weights of the merchant (Deut. xxv. 13;Prov. xvi. 11; Micah vi. 11) carried in the girdle;and perhaps another containing his money (Isti. xlvi.6; rendered "purse," Prov. i. 14). Another wordfor the small money-bag is "zeror" (Prov. vii. 20;Hag. i. 6; "bundle," Gen. xlii 35; I Sam. 25, 29;compare the denominative verb "to put up or tobind in bags," II Kings xii. 10 [Hebr. 11], see mar-gin). The word is used in a more general sense,perhaps, in Job xiv. 17. In Cant. i. 13 the " bundleof myrrh " seems to mean a little perfume-bag hungaround the neck of a woman.

J. JR. W. M. M.

BAGDAD : Capital of the Turkisli vilayet of thesame iiainc, wiiich is situated in lower Mesopotamiaon botli sides of tiie Tigris. The vilayet formerlyextended from Dialjckr to Yemen, with tlie Persianfrontier as its eastern border; but in 1878 tlie vilayetof Mosul was Mparated from it, ami in lHK4alstj that ofBassora. According to Arabic tmdition, the townof Bagdad was founded in the miiidle of tlie cigliilicentury by the Abbassid calif Aim Ja'far Mansur.But the fact tiiata Babylonian city named Bagdadis already mentioned in the Talmud (Ket. ~Ij, Zeb.9a) proves tliat tlie calif Mansur only rebuilt andenlarged tiie old l^rsian City of Bagdad. That Bag-dad was originally a Persian city is also proved bythe name, which is Persian. Being situated on theleft bank of the Tigris, the town was in ch^se proxim-ity to the two centers of Jewish spiritual life, Suraand Pumbedita. As the calif was an.xious to see thepopulation of his new residence increase, lie olTcrcdno resistance to Jews settling there and forming .icommunity. They became so numerous that one ofthe bridges over the Kaikhaya canal in the westernsuburb was called "Kantarah-al-Yahud " or Jews'Bridge, also Bridge of the Jews' Fief (G. Le Strange,"Baghdad under Abbaside Caliphate," p. 150), andY^akut mentions that the Jewish quarter, called"Daral-Y^'ahud," was in the neighborhood (iv.1015).The Jews were, of course, occasionally troubled byrevivals of the restrictions to which non-Moslrn.swere subject. These regulations were first renewedby Harun al-Rashid (786-809), who ordered that Jewsand Christians should wear distinguishing marks ontheir clothing, refrain from riding on horseback, and

suffer other similar humiliations. Af t-Under the erward these restrictions were relaxed,Abbassid but Avere again imposed by Al-Muta-Califs. wakkil (880), who went so far as to

convert the synagogues into mos(iues.Notwithstanding this, Jews are found holding stateoffices under Al-Mutadid (892-902).As the seat of the califate, Bagdad soon rose to a

conspicuous height. It was a home for Jewishlearning; and a number of men prominent in thehistory of that time had their home there. AauonBEN SamueIj ha-Nasi, of Babylon, the mystic ofthe ninth century, came to Italy from this city(Graetz," History of the Jews," Hebrew transl.. v.,Appendix, p 46). Its importance at the time of theGeonim must not be imderrateil, as it is often men-tioned at this time under the name of "Babylon"

(^33) (see Babylonia). (On the name rty\V, seeSteinschneider, " Polem. und Apolog. Lit." p. 293;idem, "Hebr. Bibl." xiii. 90; "Jewish Quarterly Re-view," xii. 115). Bagdad belonged rather to Pum-bedita than to Sura; but the heads of the Jewishcommunity in both places came to the cabf s city inorder to swear allegiance to the "resh galuta" or ex-

ilarch (Geiger, " Wissenschaftliche Zeitschnft," v.

398; Griltz, "Gesch. der Juden," v. 479).The Jews of Bagdad must have been affected by

the Karaite schism. Ishmael of "Akbara (c 840)came from a jilace only seven miles from the city;and Abual-SariSalh ben Mazliah (eleventh century)preached publicly in the streets against the Rabbin-ites. He was answered in the same way by Jacobben Samuel (Graetz, " History of the Jews. " Hebrew

Bagrdad THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 436

transl., iii. 311). Abu Imian al-Za'farani.the fouuderof a new sect, was born in Bagdad in the nintli cen-tury (Graetz, ib. iii. 508).At the time of the calif Al-Mutadid the Jews of

Bagdad fared well on account of the kind treatmentaccorded to them by the vizier 'Ubaid Allah ibnSulaiman. The heads of the community were Josephben Phineas and Natira (Graetz, ib. iii. 274). Thegaon Aaron ibn Sargada (943-960) came from Bag-dad, and it was here that his relative, Kasher ibnAbraham, was called upon to settle a dispute inwhich he had become Involved (Graetz, ib. iii. 306,308). About the year 950 the grammarian Dunashben Labrat was in Bagdad; and in this city thegaons Hai, Kimui bar Kab Ahai, and Yehudai barSamuel were officials (nnj23 {

437 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA Bagdad

Abraliam Seumecli. Though the Jews inhabiteda certain quarter of tho city, to live in that quarterwas not compulsory upon them. Of the nine syna-gogues which Benjamin the Second mentions, eightwere situated in one court; while the ninth was alarge building, resting on sixteen columns, called"Bet ha-Keneset Sheik Isaac Gaon," in a sideroom of which building the body of that saint wasinterred.

The t rude of Bagdad with India was then largely

d'Asie," ii. 66, 97, 104) there were in the year 189053,800 Jews in the vilayet of Bagdad, of whom 52 -500 lived in Bagdad, 500 in Hilla, and 800 in Ker-bela. He gives tlie nmnber of primary schools as52, of synagogues as 20, and of cemeteries 2. TheWf)men and young children were at tiiat time en-gaged in manufacturing wiiat is called the "aga-baiii," a garment made of European stuffs endjroid-ered with India silk. The trade in Babylonian andAssyrian antiquities is largelv in the Jiands of the

Girls' School of the alliance isRAfiLixE Umvkrselle, at Bagdad.(From a photograph by D. Gazala, Bagdad.)

in the liands of the Jews, who liad manufactories inCalcutta, Bombay, Singapore, and Canton. This iscorroborated by the evidence of the Rev. Henry A.Stern ("Dawningsof Light," p. 46, London, 1854),who says: "Jews are the governing element of theplace. They have their stored booths in every ba-zaar, occupy all the principal caravansaries, and en-tirely control the business of banking and monopo-lies." Stern estimated the Jewish population in hisday at 16,000, as against 1,500 Christians and 40,000Moslems. The Jews were at that time divided intoPersian and Arabian. On March 27, 1845, a " herem "(ban) was launched against all who had any connec-tion with the missionaries (compare "Narrative of aMission of Inquiry to the Jews from the Church ofScotland," 1848, ii. 373). In 1860 H. Petermann ofBerlin found 1,300 Jewish families in Bagdad, ofwhom 2,300 persons paid the poll-tax. The oldestJewi.sh families, he says, came there from Ana on theEuphrates. According to Cuinet ("La Turquie

Jews of Bagdad (Delitzsch, "Babvlon," 2d edition,1901, p. 5).Of the history of the Jews during the second half

of the nineteenth century very little is known. In1876 and 1877 the city was attacked by a plague, andthe Jews suffered terrible hardships in consequence.For a time they were compelled to leave the city andto camp in the wilderness ("Ha-Zefirah," iii.. No. 26,p. 202; iv.. No. 20. p. 157; No.' 24, p. 188: No. 28,p. 221). The relation of the Jews to their non-Jew-ish brethren seems, for the most jmrt, to have beenamicable. In 1860, however, an attemjit was madeto deprive the Jews of the Tomb of Ezekiel,. situ-ated a short distance outside of the city, and vi.sitedby Jews in the jiionth of Ab. The Anglo-JewishAssociation interposed in the matter; and the tombwas given back to its proper owners. A similar dif-ticulty arose in the year 1889 with regard toa shrinecalled "Nabi Yusha"or "Kohen Yusha," situatedabout an hour's walk from the city in a small building

BagrdadBag-insky, Benno THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 438

shaded by eight gigantic trees. Tlie liigli priestJoshua (Zecli. iii. 1) is said to liave been l)uned here;and, according to Teixeraaiul Benjamin tlie Second,the Jews are accustomed to make pilgrimages tliitiicrevery month. Tlie shrine is maintained b}^ the con-tributions of the Jews in Bagdad and in India, andis used not only as a synagogue, but as a buryingplace for the rabbis. One of the latter liad beenburied there in the year 1889, and becau.se of a dispute as to whctlier the property really l)elonged tothe Jews or to the Mohammedans, a persecution ofthe former was set ou foot, and the principal Jewsof the city, including the chief rabbi, -were imprisoned by direction of the governor. A memorial onthe subject was addressed to the marquis of Salisbury Oct. 25, 1889, on behalf of the JewLsh Board (.fDeputies and the Anglo-Jewish Association, as a le-sult of which the governor was removed. Othertombs similarly visited by the Jews of Bagdad arc-that of Ezra, near Gurna (Kurna), between Bagdadand Bassorah, and that of Daniel, near Hillah. In1899 the Jews numbered 3.'),00() souls, with about 30to 35 synagogues known by the name of "Toiah."Each Torali had a hakam, a '"muallim kabir"(senior teacher), and a "mu'allim saghir" (juniorteacher). The Alliance Israelite Univcrselle foundeda school for boys there in 1865, which in 1899 had254 pupils; in 1895 the same body founded a schoolfor girls which in 1899 had 132 pupils. There is alsoa Jewish apprentices' school for the education ofBagdad boys along industrial lines. The study ofEnglish has been encouraged by a foundation madebj' Silas Sassoon, a member of the Sassoon familyAvhich has its origin in Bagdad, David Sassoon, thefounder of the family, having been born there, 1793.During the last years of the nineteenth centuiy

a few Hebrew books have been printed in Bagdad,especially by Solomon Behor Husain; e.cj., jnriD "iSDniOlpn (the second part of Solomon Almoli's work),1892; DVy^ ND"ID of Isaac Farhi ; the story of Esther(iriDN nVp), told in Arabic by Joseph al-Shamsani

;

l^nfj n^nn of Sasshon Mordecai Moses; and ^E^'y)^D^DJ on the wonders which happened in Palestine,taken from the DPEJ'I")' ^lyK*. Of earlier works maybe mentioned pnv mjlp 1DD of David Salih Ya'kob,published by Kahamim Reuben Mordecai ct Co.,1867, and D''^J?1t' ""^K^ "IDD. printed by Judah MosesJoshua, 1874.Bibliography: In addition to the authoiities quoted above-Benjamin of Tudela, Itinerary, ed. Asher, Index, 8.r.;Travels of Rahhi Petathia, ed. A. Benisch, pp. 15, 25, 31,81 ; G. Le Strange. Baqhdad under the Ahbaside Calipliate,p. 1.50, Oxford, 19()0; M. Streck, Die Alte Landschaft Balni-lonicn nach den Ai-abischen Geographe^i, Leyden, liHX),p. 85; .1. J. Benjamin II., Eight Years in Asia and Africa,pp. lfJ9 et serj., Hanover, 18.59; W. Schur, D"nn mrnc, p. 7,Vienna, 1883; Morris Colien, Jewish Home Life in Bagdad,in the Reports of the Anqlo-Jexn^h Associatvm, 188(), p. 74,1881, p. 71, 1882, p. 29, 1880, p. 38; compare also ibid. 1889.p. 18 (Cohen's articles have been reprinted in AUg. Zeit. desJudenthurns, xliv. 538 etseq.).

G.

[Bagdad and its vicinit}^ possess a certain numberof antiquities of Jewish interest. A large mosque,containing a tomb, is consecrated to the memory ofa holy marabout, Abd el-Kader, called the Great.According to local Jewish tradition this is none otherthan R. Jose ha-Galili. One hour's journey fromthe city, there is a mausoleum surrounded by eight

almond-trees. Popular ludief declares this to be thetomb of the high priest Joshua mentioned in Zecha-riahiii.; Ilaggai i. 1, etc. The Jews of Bagdad makel)ilgrimages to it once a month. Distant a journeyof two days and a half southward of Bagdad is Ilil-leh, where the ruins of ancient Babylon are shown,and near by is a well, called by the natives " Daniel'sWell," into which, according to hjcal tradition, Dan-iel was thrown. Near the bank of the Euphratesis Kabur Kei)il, a village having a tomb which it issaid is that of the j)rophet E/.ekiel. At the side of thetomb are two ancient synagogues,.one of which con-tains a sacred scroll, which some persons claim wasthe property of the prophet, and others that ofAnan. the founder of Karaism. This synagogue alsocontains a genizah. The village is said to containtombs of Zedekiah and other kings of Judah, and ofthe prophet Zephaniah. Three hours' journej'fromBagdad, again toward the south, and not far fromthe Tigris, the tomb of Ezra the Scribe is shown,venerated equally by Jews and Arabs. It is coveredwith inscriptions now illegible.]

(i. M. Fii.

BAG:fi-LA VILLE: Village in the canton Bage-le-Chalet, department of Aln, France. It was inhab-ited by Jews in the thirteenth and fourteenth cen-turies; and in 1331 they were divided into elder andyounger.

Bibliography : Inventaire Sommairedes Archives Departr-mentales. Cote d'Or. iii. 6740. 6748, 6749, 6750, 6753. 6755.G. I. L.

BAGI : A prominent Karaite family ; lived in Con-sttmtinople in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and .seven-teenth centuries. The family name, which is vari-ousl}- written Badschi (Fiirst, "Geschichte desKaraertlmms," iii. 14), Pegi, Poki (Neubauer, " Ausder Petersburger Bibliothek," p. 55), is, according toSteinschneiderC'Hebniische Bibliographic," xx. 94),derived from the Turkish "Bak" (pronounced"Bag"). The following members of the family arethose best known

:

Elijah Bag! : Scholar; lived at Constantinoplein the first half of the seventeenth century. He isalso called Aphida or Aphda (KHDN). He was theauthor of the following works: (1) " Hilkot Shehi-tah," ritual laws concerning slaughtering of aafinals;(2) " Biur 'Aseret 'Ikkarim," a commentary on tlie tenarticles of belief of the Karaites; (3) "MiktabEIi-}-ahu," selections of literary essaj's, letters, andpoems. These three works are mentioned by SimliaLuzki in his catalogue "Orah Zaddikim."Isaac Bag! : Crimean scholar; lived at the be-

ginning of the seventeenth centuiy. He is men-tioned liy Luzki (I.e. 21/;).Joseph ben Moses ha-Kohen Bagi : Turkish

scholar; lived at Constantinople at the end of the fif-teenth centurj" and at the beginning of the sixteenth.He was the author of the following works men-tioned by Luzki: (1) "Kiryah Ne'emanah " (Faith-ful City), an ai)ology for Karaism, in refutation ofthe assertion of many Rabbinites that the Karaitesare a remainder of the Sadducees; (2)"Iggeret" (Let-ter), a decision on a marriage question

; (3) " KeterKehuna" (Crown of Priesthood), six dissertations ouvarious subjects; (4) "Shulhan Haberini " (Table of