David Reubeni
Encyclopedia
David Reubeni was a Jewish political activist, described by the Shengold Jewish Encyclopedia as "half-mystic
, half-adventurer."
Reubeni stated that he was born around 1490 in a place referred to variously as Hobur or Khaibar, which was subsequently identified with a place of a similar name in central Arabia. He related that he had been sent by his brother, King Joseph, who ruled the kingdom with 70 elders, who was seeking alliances against the Turks conquering the area for its great wealth.
Another version is that his true origin was at a port called Cranganore, along the Malabar Coast
of India, where a large and well-organized Jewish community had lived for many centuries.
Yet another version connects his origin with Afghanistan. Daoud Roubani is the name of a folk hero of the Pushtun tribes, and the similarity of the names is striking. The evidence was found by Prof. W. Fischel, who published an overview of all Judeo-Persian writing from ancient tombstones in Afghanistan, found all over the country, suggesting a Persian-Jewish merchant community, centered in the lost medieval capital of Afghanistan, Firuzkun. But we know little beyond the fact of Jewish presence in Afghanistan.
in northern Sudan, where he claimed to be a descendant of Muhammad
. When he spoke to audiences of Jews, he told of large Jewish kingdoms in the east, possibly referring to the Jewish community at Cochin. The Portuguese
had just conquered Goa
.
Reubeni traveled in the Ottoman Empire
in the spring of 1523 and to Venice
by way of Alexandria
in February 1524.
, claiming to represent a mission from the Jews of the east. He attracted funding from a Jewish paint
er named Mose, and Felice, a Jewish merchant for travel to Rome. The same month Reubeni entered the city while riding a white horse.
Reubeni obtained an audience with Cardinal Giulio and Pope Clement VII. To the latter he told a tale of a Jewish kingdom ruled over by his brother Joseph Reubeni in Arabia, where the sons of Moses dwelt near the Sambation
River. He brought letters from Portuguese captains confirming his statements. The Portuguese minister, Miguel da Silva, reported to his court that Reubeni might be useful in obtaining allies. The Portuguese were competing against Selim I
, who had seized Egypt in 1521 and diverted the valuable spice trade
.
Jewish people raised money privately to give to Reubeni for his travel to Almeirim
, the residence of King John III of Portugal
, which he reached in November 1525. At first the king promised him a force of eight ships and 4,000 cannon
. Engaged in persecuting suspected marrano
s, the king found it difficult to enter into an alliance with a Jew. While they were negotiating, the king refrained from interfering with conversos.
Reubeni's striking appearance–a swarthy dwarf
in Oriental costume–and messianic
claims attracted the attention of Diego Pires, a converso youth of noble birth, who had taken the name of Solomon Molcho
. Jewish ambassadors from the Barbary States visited Reubeni at the Portuguese court. Some conversos were so excited by this activity that they rose in arms near Badajoz
, where they freed a converso woman from the Inquisition. Portuguese authorities became worried about Reubeni's mission and the dangers of popular unrest.
Reubeni then went to Avignon to take his cause to the papal court, and afterward to Milan. There he again met Molcho, who had traveled to the East and made messianic claims. In Milan the two adventurers quarreled. Reubeni went to Venice, where the Senate appointed a commission to review his plans for obtaining assistance from the Jews in the East.
Reubeni offered Charles VI the alliance of Jews of the East against the Ottoman Empire
. In Ratisbon, Reubeni and Molcho met Josel of Rosheim
, who warned them against arousing the suspicions of the emperor. Josel was worried about raising issues of the Jews in the empire. When Reubeni and Molcho persisted, officials put them in chains and took them to the emperor in Mantua
.
There both Molcho and Reubeni were examined by inquisitors. The former was condemned to burning at the stake in December 1532. Reubeni was taken to Spain and assigned to the Inquisition
at Llerena
. Nothing more was heard of him. He probably died there, as Herculano reported that "a Jew who came from India to Portugal" was burned at an auto da fé
at Évora
in 1541. Another source said Reubeni died in Llerena
, Spain, after 1535.
Reubeni's diary is held by the Bodleian Library
, Oxford
. There was possibly a copy at the Jewish Seminary at Breslau, but this place was destroyed by the Nazis in 1938. Parts were published by Heinrich Grätz
in the third edition of his Geschichte der Juden (vol. ix.), and the whole was published by Neubauer, in M. J. C., ii.
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, half-adventurer."
Origin
The mysteries of ha-Reubeni's origins are manifold, and have not been solved to this day.Reubeni stated that he was born around 1490 in a place referred to variously as Hobur or Khaibar, which was subsequently identified with a place of a similar name in central Arabia. He related that he had been sent by his brother, King Joseph, who ruled the kingdom with 70 elders, who was seeking alliances against the Turks conquering the area for its great wealth.
Another version is that his true origin was at a port called Cranganore, along the Malabar Coast
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
of India, where a large and well-organized Jewish community had lived for many centuries.
Yet another version connects his origin with Afghanistan. Daoud Roubani is the name of a folk hero of the Pushtun tribes, and the similarity of the names is striking. The evidence was found by Prof. W. Fischel, who published an overview of all Judeo-Persian writing from ancient tombstones in Afghanistan, found all over the country, suggesting a Persian-Jewish merchant community, centered in the lost medieval capital of Afghanistan, Firuzkun. But we know little beyond the fact of Jewish presence in Afghanistan.
Oriental travels
He left Khaibar on December 8, 1522, and went to NubiaNubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
in northern Sudan, where he claimed to be a descendant of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
. When he spoke to audiences of Jews, he told of large Jewish kingdoms in the east, possibly referring to the Jewish community at Cochin. The Portuguese
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
had just conquered Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
.
Reubeni traveled in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in the spring of 1523 and to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
by way of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
in February 1524.
European travels
In Venice he reported to Clement VIIPope Clement VII
Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...
, claiming to represent a mission from the Jews of the east. He attracted funding from a Jewish paint
Paint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
er named Mose, and Felice, a Jewish merchant for travel to Rome. The same month Reubeni entered the city while riding a white horse.
Reubeni obtained an audience with Cardinal Giulio and Pope Clement VII. To the latter he told a tale of a Jewish kingdom ruled over by his brother Joseph Reubeni in Arabia, where the sons of Moses dwelt near the Sambation
Sambation
According to rabbinic literature, the Sambation is the river beyond which the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel were exiled by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V.-Location:...
River. He brought letters from Portuguese captains confirming his statements. The Portuguese minister, Miguel da Silva, reported to his court that Reubeni might be useful in obtaining allies. The Portuguese were competing against Selim I
Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
, who had seized Egypt in 1521 and diverted the valuable spice trade
Spice trade
Civilizations of Asia were involved in spice trade from the ancient times, and the Greco-Roman world soon followed by trading along the Incense route and the Roman-India routes...
.
Jewish people raised money privately to give to Reubeni for his travel to Almeirim
Almeirim
Almeirim is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 222.0 km² and a total population of 22,434 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 10,520.The municipality is composed of 4 parishes, and is located in Santarém District....
, the residence of King John III of Portugal
John III of Portugal
John III , nicknamed o Piedoso , was the fifteenth King of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile...
, which he reached in November 1525. At first the king promised him a force of eight ships and 4,000 cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
. Engaged in persecuting suspected marrano
Marrano
Marranos were Jews living in the Iberian peninsula who converted to Christianity rather than be expelled but continued to observe rabbinic Judaism in secret...
s, the king found it difficult to enter into an alliance with a Jew. While they were negotiating, the king refrained from interfering with conversos.
Reubeni's striking appearance–a swarthy dwarf
Dwarfism
Dwarfism is short stature resulting from a medical condition. It is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches , although this definition is problematic because short stature in itself is not a disorder....
in Oriental costume–and messianic
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
claims attracted the attention of Diego Pires, a converso youth of noble birth, who had taken the name of Solomon Molcho
Solomon Molcho
Solomon Molcho was a Portuguese mystic and pseudomessiah. A "New Christian" who converted back to Judaism, Molcho declared himself the Messiah, and was burned at the stake for apostasy.-Early life:...
. Jewish ambassadors from the Barbary States visited Reubeni at the Portuguese court. Some conversos were so excited by this activity that they rose in arms near Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
, where they freed a converso woman from the Inquisition. Portuguese authorities became worried about Reubeni's mission and the dangers of popular unrest.
Reubeni then went to Avignon to take his cause to the papal court, and afterward to Milan. There he again met Molcho, who had traveled to the East and made messianic claims. In Milan the two adventurers quarreled. Reubeni went to Venice, where the Senate appointed a commission to review his plans for obtaining assistance from the Jews in the East.
Arrest and death
Reubeni was warned to leave Venice. Joining once more with Solomon Molcho, he traveled with streaming banner to Bologna and Ratisbon (Regensburg) to meet the Emperor Charles V.Reubeni offered Charles VI the alliance of Jews of the East against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In Ratisbon, Reubeni and Molcho met Josel of Rosheim
Josel of Rosheim
Josel of Rosheim Josel of Rosheim Josel of Rosheim (alternatively: Joselin, Joselmann, Yoselmann, , Joseph ben Gershon mi-Rosheim, or Joseph ben Gershon Loanz; c...
, who warned them against arousing the suspicions of the emperor. Josel was worried about raising issues of the Jews in the empire. When Reubeni and Molcho persisted, officials put them in chains and took them to the emperor in Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
.
There both Molcho and Reubeni were examined by inquisitors. The former was condemned to burning at the stake in December 1532. Reubeni was taken to Spain and assigned to the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
at Llerena
Llerena
Llerena may refer to:*Llerena, Badajoz in Badajoz province, Spain, postal code 06900*A Hispanic surname, including the poet José A. Llerena...
. Nothing more was heard of him. He probably died there, as Herculano reported that "a Jew who came from India to Portugal" was burned at an auto da fé
Auto Da Fe
Auto Da Fe were an Irish new wave musical group formed in Holland in 1980 by former Steeleye Span singer Gay Woods and Trevor Knight. The band's sound incorporated keyboards and electronics. Woods stated "It was the happiest musical time I ever had so far. I learned so much. I was ridding myself...
at Évora
Évora
Évora is a municipality in Portugal. It has total area of with a population of 55,619 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Évora District and capital of the Alentejo region. The municipality is composed of 19 civil parishes, and is located in Évora District....
in 1541. Another source said Reubeni died in Llerena
Llerena
Llerena may refer to:*Llerena, Badajoz in Badajoz province, Spain, postal code 06900*A Hispanic surname, including the poet José A. Llerena...
, Spain, after 1535.
Reubeni's diary is held by the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. There was possibly a copy at the Jewish Seminary at Breslau, but this place was destroyed by the Nazis in 1938. Parts were published by Heinrich Grätz
Grätz
Graetz or Grätz is a German surname and place name and can refer to:People:* Heinrich Graetz , Jewish historian* Leo Graetz , German physicist and son of Heinrich Graetz* Gidon Graetz, Swiss-Israeli sculptor...
in the third edition of his Geschichte der Juden (vol. ix.), and the whole was published by Neubauer, in M. J. C., ii.