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Benjamin of Tudela

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Ancient History,
Classical History and Mythology; Historians, chroniclers and history books

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   Benjamin of Tudela (flourished 12th century) was a medieval Spanish
   Jewish Rabbi, traveler and explorer. In his journey he passed through
   large swathes of Europe, Asia, and Africa. His vivid descriptions of
   Asia preceded those of Marco Polo by one hundred years. With his broad
   education and vast knowledge of languages, Benjamin of Tudela was a
   major figure in the history of geography and Jewish history.

   Benjamin set out on his 13-year journey in 1160, in what began as a
   pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He may have hoped to settle there, but
   there is controversy about the reasons for his travels; for example, it
   has been suggested he may have had a commercial motive as well as a
   religious one. He took the "long road" stopping frequently, meeting
   people, visiting places, describing occupations and giving a
   demographic count of Jews in every town and country.

   Little is known of the facts of Benjamin's life. In some sense the
   journey must have begun in the Spanish town of Tudela, where today a
   street in the aljama is named after him. However, the published version
   begins in the city of Saragossa, further down the valley of the Ebro,
   whence he proceeded north to France, and then set sail from the port of
   Marseilles. After visiting Rome and Constantinople, he set off across
   Asia, visiting Syria and Palestine before reaching Baghdad. From there
   he went to Persia, then cut back across the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt
   and North Africa, returning to Spain in 1173. In all he visited over
   300 cities including Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem,
   Damascus, Baghdad and beyond.

   He described his thirteen years abroad in a book, The Voyages of
   Benjamin (מסעות בנימין, or Masa'ot Binyamin, also known as ספר המסעות,
   Sefer ha-Masa'ot, The Book of Travels). This book describes the
   countries he visited, with an emphasis on the Jewish communities,
   including their total populations and the names of notable community
   leaders. He also described the customs of the local population, both
   Jewish and non-Jewish, with an emphasis on urban life there. There are
   also detailed descriptions of sites and landmarks he passed along the
   way, as well as important buildings and marketplaces. Benjamin is noted
   for not only telling facts, but citing his sources; historians regard
   him as highly trustworthy.

   The Voyages of Benjamin is an important work not only as a description
   of the Jewish communities, but also as a reliable source about the
   geography and ethnography of the Middle Ages. As well some modern
   historians credit Benjamin as giving very accurate descriptions of
   every-day life in the Middle Ages. Originally written in Hebrew, it was
   translated in to Latin and later translated into most major European
   languages, receiving considerable attention in the sixteenth century.

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