Annotated Bibliography of Secondary Sources

Abrahams, Israel. Jewish Life in the Middle Ages. Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, PA, 1919.

An old classic, extensive reference work. However, one should double-check his statements with more recent and other research — for example, I was surprised to find that he had quoted an explicitly satirical Purim tractate as a description of actual Purim practices (see footnotes for Italy, 1300).

Bachrach, Bernard S. Early Medieval Jewish Policy in Western Europe. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1977.

A very useful authoritative and detailed analysis of Western European Jewish policies and politics from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the mid-800s. Strongly counters the earlier (and still common) “lachrymose conception of Jewish historiography” (wherein Jews were considered purely helpless victims) by providing solid, documented examples where Jews owned land, fought, and/or worked well with the ruling authorities.

Bachrach, Bernard S. “On the Role of the Jews in the Establishment of the Spanish March (768-814)”, in his Armies and Politics of the Early Medieval West, Variorum, Essay XV, 1977.

Professor Bachrach is a noted authority on early medieval history and one of the most prominent academic critics of Zuckerman’s thesis (see below). Interestingly, he actually agrees with Zuckerman on the existence of Jewish allodial land-owners and fighters, providing in this essay examples Zuckerman did not mention. Bachrach’s concern is that when Zuckerman additionally used later literary material, Bachrach feels that exaggerated Jewish political power and the Jewishness of key historical figures beyond what the legitimate evidence supported, thus threatening the actual solid case against the classic Jews-didn’t-fight stereotype.

Baer, Yitzhak (trans. by Louis Schoffman). A History of the Jews in Christian Spain, Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1961.

Originally published in Hebrew in 1945, it was considered perhaps THE authoritative study of the subject at the time. More recent scholarship has uncovered more facts since then and re-interpreted some old ones, but it is still useful both by itself and as a reliable source for double-checking claims made elsewhere.

Bamberger, Ib Nathan. The Viking Jews: A History of the Jews in Denmark, Soncino Press Ltd, New York, 1983.

History of the Jews in Denmark starting with the first settlement in 1584 (or 1622 for lands in modern Denmark itself). An interesting study of a country where things went well.

Baron, Salo Wittmayer. A Social and Religious History of the Jews, Second Edition. Columbia University Press, New York, 1983.

An 18 volume magnum opus by a scholar described as the “greatest Jewish historian of the 20th century”. Baron strongly opposed the older “lachrymose conception of Jewish history”, stressing that there were good times as well as bad ones. He also looked at Jewish events in the context of wider societal events. I very strongly agree with this approach. With patience, the volumes can be bought affordably used via eBay and various book sellers.

Basto, Artur Carlos de Barros. Don Yahia ben-Yahia: 1o Rabi-mor de Portugal. Instituto Teologico Israelistas, Porto, Portugal, 1944.

Paper on the life and circumstances of Yahya ibn Ya’ish, written by a Jewish Portuguese military officer.

Translation by Prof. Seymour Menton (University of California at Irvine) downloadable from http://www.geni.com/projects/Yachia-Yahia-Jachia-Family/documents/1798

Battenberg, J. Friedrich. “Court Jewry and the Bearing of Weapons in Early Modern Times”. Journal of the World Union of Jewish Studies #41, ed. by Ron Margolin and Haim Weiss, Jerusalem, 2002.

From a series of lectures presented at the 13th World Congress of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem (August 2001) collectively entitled “The Possession of Arms and Military Service of Jews from Ancient Rome to the Age of Enlightenment”. Primary focus is on top-connected German court Jews after the 1600s, but does discuss one of the 1500s.

Beinart, Haim. Atlas of Medieval Jewish History. The Israel Map and Publishing Company, Ltd., Jerusalem, 1992.

Over 100 maps, plus English text. Covers the 400s to the 1600s. Very useful for the big picture.

Birnbaum, Eli. Jewish History Website. The Jewish Agency for Israel. http://www.jewishhistory.org.il

Very detailed chronology of Jewish history 200-1940, events are sorted by date, ten years per webpage. Includes information on various Jewish religious people and events as well as political history. Useful for finding major Jewish events within a timeframe. Like most timelines it lacks footnotes, but for medieval events I have seen them stick to only what the facts support (as when it cautions that a British Archbishop’s ruling against relations with Jews does not by itself qualify as proof that Jews lived in England then).

Blady, Ken. Jewish Communities in Exotic Places, Jason Aronson Inc., Northvale NJ and Jerusalem, 2000.

Details the histories and traditions of Jewish communities in seventeen areas of North Africa, Ethiopia, Kurdistan, the Caucasus, Yemen, the Silk Road, India, and China. These are precisely the communities on whom it’s been the hardest to get data. Heavily footnoted, allowing further investigation. A very useful source.

Bostom, Andrew G. (ed). The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism. Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York, 2008.

766 pages of detailed scholarly research into Islamic rulings on and treatment of Jews, from Islam’s start to the present day. Contains extensive, lengthy extracts from medieval source documents — worth it for that alone. Demolishes the “Before the 1940s, Arabs and Jews always lived together in equality and harmony — especially during the Golden Age” trope.

Brook, Kevin Alan; The Jews of Khazaria (Second Edition). Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland, 2006.

There are many writers on Khazaria whose claims are heavily affected by their mundane political agendas. People should therefore take particular care in choosing their sources on this subject. Brook has done very extensive fact-gathering to support his analyses, including looking at the latest DNA studies when assessing which populations are actually related, and I have used his work as the bottom-line for the dating of events and conclusions about disputed issues when Khazaria is involved. This second edition is an extensive updating/rewrite of the first with more recent data, including data on medieval Jews outside of Khazaria.

Cassel, Boruch Cahim (Alter). The City of Keidan. Sea Gate, New York, 1930.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/acassel/keidan/history/cassel_ch1-2.html#Forward

History of the Jewish community in Lithuania, with particular emphasis on the city of Keidan.

Catlos, Brian A. “Mahomet Abenadalill, A Muslim Mercenary in Service of the Kings of Aragon (1290-1291)”. Published in Jews, Muslims, and Christians In and Around The Crown of Aragon, edited by Harvey J. James, Brill, Boston, 2004.

Downloaded from http://humwww.ucsc.edu/bcatlos/publications.html. Article about Abenadalill, a well-documented Muslim mercenary in Spanish Christian service. He had Jewish (as well as Muslim and Christian) troops serving him. It refers to those Jewish troops, and their mercenary leader Abrafim, in numerous places.

Chazan, Robert. In The Year 1096 … The First Crusade & The Jews. The Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia & Jerusalem, 1996.

Detailed but very readable analysis of the attacks on German Jewry during the First Crusade, including information on the different strategies used by Jews to try to survive and the success or failure of those strategies. Also some similar but brief coverage for the Second and Third crusades.

Chouraqui, Andre N. Between East and West – A History of the Jews of North Africa. Jewish Publication Society of America, 1968. E-book version Varda Books, Skokie, Illinois. 2001. Translated from the French by Michael M. Bernet.

Chouraqui’s book is a 398-page, heavily footnoted, yet easily-read description of the Jewish communities that existed in North Africa from ancient times to the 20th century. It includes both general events and descriptions of daily life.

Clephan, Robert Coltman. The Medieval Tournament. Mineola: Dover Publications, 1995. Originally London: Meuthen & Co., 1919.

Aside from its general interest to medievalists, includes a 14th C description of two Jews fighting a mounted and armored duel in the lists. A Dover reprint, so pretty cheap.

Cohen, Mark R. Under Crescent and Cross — The Jews in the Middle Ages. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1994.

Systematic study comparing and contrasting life of Jews under Christian rule vs. life under Islamic rule, focusing on asking where Jewish life was better and discussing explanations for the difference. Debunks both the “Jews and Muslims always got along” and the “It was just as bad under Islam” camps.

Contamine, Phillippe. War in the Middle Ages. English translation edition by Michael Jones, Blackwell, Oxford, U.K., 1984.

Fascinating discussion about details of medieval warfare. Jews are rarely mentioned, but those tidbits are intriguing (e.g. that Vegetius was translated into Hebrew, raising in my mind the question of what group of Jews were reading a Roman military text).

Dubnow, Simon M. History of the Jews, Second Edition. Moshe Spiegel, translator. Oak Tree Publications, 1967.

No, this is not a duplicate of the listing below — it’s a separate history.

Dubnow, Simon M. History of the Jews in Russia and Poland From The Earliest Times Until The Present Day, Translated from the Russian by I. Friedlaender.

Originally published in 1916 by the Jewish Publication Society of America. Ebook version published by Varda Books, Skokie, Illinois, 2001. All citations in this spreadsheet are from Volume I, which covers up to 1825. Yes it’s dated, but still extremely useful for detailed information on this topic. NOTE: Getting this and other books as e-books made it much cheaper and faster to add to my collection.

Eads, Valerie. “Means, Motive, Opportunity: Medieval Women and the Recourse to Arms.” Paper presented at The Twentieth Barnard Medieval & Renaissance Conference, 2006.

Medieval women, like Jews, were not “supposed” to have fought — both in the popular stereotype and in the opinion of some medieval people. Yet they did. This paper details some women who fought and issues regarding getting accurate data on women who fought, mentioning how in the same battle some sources said women fought and some sources denied it.

Elema, Ariella. Trial by Battle in France and England. University of Toronto Centre for Medieval Studies, Toronto, 2012.

Doctoral thesis. Includes discussions of judicial combat by non-standard groups such as the Jews.

Farrokh, Kaveh. Sassanian Elite Cavalry AD 224-642. Osprey Publishing Ltd., Oxford, 2005.

Describes the Sassanian heavily armored, lance-armed noble cavalry and the shift from earlier Persian military forms. Does not mention Jews.

Finkelshteyn, Norman J.; Jewish Warriors Website ( was http://www.geocities.com/jewishwarriors/ but link appears to be broken)

Website dedicated to Jewish warriors throughout history, including articles on Jewish warriors in each period and guides to armor worn. Many interesting leads. Also includes advice for the researcher on the pitfalls encountered in studying this politically-charged subject and how to avoid them.

Gerber, Jane S. The Jews of Spain – A History of the Sephardic Experience. The Free Press, New York, 1992.

Chronicles the history of Sephardic (Iberian) Jewry, from Roman times to modern times. Includes the complete translated text of the Edict of Expulsion.

Gow, Andrew Colin. “Jewish Shock-Troops of the Apocalypse: Antichrist and the End, 1200-1600”, Journal of Millenial Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring 1998).

German (and some other) literature/plays often depicted armed Jews (and Amazons) as among the coming Antichrist’s first troops. Gow discusses these works. I find it interesting that the prospect of armed Jews and women would so panic the Germans. This document is downloadable from the articles list in Medievalists.net. For a more detailed look at these “Red Jews”, see Gow’s book The Red Jews: Antisemitism in an Apocalyptic Age 1200-1600, E.J Brill, 1995.

Grant, Michael; The Jews in the Roman World. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1973.

Covers Jewish history through the Arab conquest of Persia in 637.

Graetz, Heinrich; History of the Jews. The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1891.

Scanned copy from the New York Public Library available free online at http://archive.org/details/historyofjews04grae

A classic multi-volume Major Source in the field of Jewish history — very detailed work by a top scholar, but quite dated with 19th century data and attitudes. Specifically, Graetz saw Jewish history as one of “Leidens-und-gelehrtengeschichte” — suffering and scholarship. This yielded reduced time on, underestimation of, and sometimes missing of better times, fighting Jews, or relevant wider events in the non-Jewish world. As with other such dated but authoritative works, useful to check an unexpected claim by a source of unknown reliability, to fill in blanks, or to get more details.

Heath, Ian. Armies of Feudal Europe, 1066-1300. Wargames Research Group, 1989.

Yes, it’s a reference guide for miniatures-based tabletop wargaming with historical medieval armies — but it is quite well researched and very detailed. Has details on army organization, tactics, key battles, coats of arms, and 147 illustrations based on historical materials (including of Jewish soldiers).

Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) – Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History (Jewish History Resource Center). http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/dinur

Data on a range of topics, as well as many links to specific articles on other sites and translations of source documents.

Jacobi, Leor. “Jewish Hawking in Medieval France: Falconry, Rabbenu Tam, and the Tosafists”, Oqimta Issue #1 (2013).

Available free online at http://www.oqimta.org.il/english/gilayone.aspx#. Oqimta is an academically-reviewed research journal dedicated to “Studies in Talmudic and Rabbinic Literature”. Jews are not normally associated with hunting due to halachic restrictions, and falconry is normally associated with the upper classes. This 84-page article analyzes cites instances of medieval Jews hunting using raptors, assesses the sources, and discusses the Jewish legal issues/distinctions involved.

Jewish Encyclopedia Online. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com

A public domain reference that “contains the complete contents of the 12-volume Jewish Encyclopedia, which was originally published between 1901-1906. ” Citation for the original document: Isidore Singer, Managing Editor. The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Funk And Wagnalls Company, New York and London, 1906. Scanned and then posted as a free online searchable document in 2009 by the Cornell University Library. It provides free and ready access to articles on a wide range of Jewish subjects, is authoritative enough to confirm that an odd event referenced elsewhere was real. It is also quite dated, however, and is focused more on scholars’ writings and lists of massacres in Europe than on periods of Jewish freedom worldwide. I have therefore used it to fill in gaps and to validate Internet statements about people and events, while looking for more recent analyses of said events.

Jewish Historical Society of England. www.jhse.org

Source for research on Jews in England, especially post-1600.

Jewish Virtual Library. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource

Huge amounts of useful data, particularly the list of Jewish histories by country/region/city at www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/. Google on “Jewish Virtual History <placename>” to see the listing quickly. Also has a detailed timeline at www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/timeline.html. Has some errors (e.g. says that Khazaria was destroyed by the Mongols) and does not have footnotes. I therefore use it to help quickly learn about Jewish events in an area of interest, then validate/further investigate with other sources whenever possible.

Katz, Solomon. The Jews in the Visigothic and Frankish Kingdoms of Spain and Gaul. The Medieval Academy of America, Cambridge, 1937.

An old classic tome that is an extensive account of Jewish history, modeled after Graetz and Dubnow. Like those works, it is useful for its many details. However, it reflects knowledge and attitudes almost a century old and we have learned more since. I therefore use it for additional details and filling in gaps, but when reputable newer work contradicts the old tomes as a general rule the newer interpretations are more accurate. One therefore can not simply download online pdfs of the old works and consider one’s research to be complete.

Kritzler, Edward. Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean. Doubleday, New York, 2008.

I started this spreadsheet in part to discover little-known areas where medieval Jews were free and especially fought back. This dead-on qualifies. I mean, who can resist a documented priate rabbi? Over half the events take place after 1600, though. Many of the book’s pirates actually operated in the Mediterranean and/or were based in Amsterdam, but Kritzler freely admits his publisher figured this title markets better. Very readable, with lots of footnotes for further research.

Langer, William L. An Encyclopedia of World History (Fifth Edition). Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1972.

A chock-full-of-data reference source, especially for tracking down events only briefly or parially referenced by other sources. Mostly lists of events and their dates, some genealogical charts, few maps.

Lewis, Archibald. The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society 718-1050. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965.

Southern French (sometimes referred to as Languedoc or Occitan) and Catalan societies were distinct from the rest of France and Spain. Note in this website’s Timeline the differences in ratings/events between southern France and the rest of France. This book looks at how those societies changed, and what aspects stayed the same, through the Carolingian Empire’s rise, fall, and in the society that emerged afterwards.

Lipner, Elias. O Tempo Dos Judeus Segundo as Ordenacoes do Reino. Secretaria de Estado da Cultura, Sao Paulo, Brazil. 1982.

In Portuguese. History of Jews in Portugual before the Expulsion. Sometimes the most interesting details are in the footnotes.

Lourie, Elena. “A Jewish Mercenary in the Service of the King of Aragon”. Revue des Etudes Juives 137 (1978).

Reprinted as number VIII in her Crusade and Colonization: Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Medieval Aragon, Aldershot, Valorum, Hampshire, U.K.,1990. Documents/tells of Abrahim el Jenet, a Jewish mercenary. Jinetes were Iberian fast, light cavalry (the same name is still applied to the kind of steeds they rode).

Maccoby, Hyam. The Disputation. Calder Publications, London 2001.

A retelling in play form of the Disputation of Barcelona in 1263, including the pressures on and agendas of all parties.

Magin, Christine. “Armed Jews in Legal Sources from the High and Late Middle Ages”. Journal of the World Union of Jewish Studies #41, ed. by Ron Margolin and Haim Weiss, Jerusalem, 2002.

From a series of lectures presented at the 13th World Congress of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem (August 2001) collectively entitled “The Possession of Arms and Military Service of Jews from Ancient Rome to the Age of Enlightenment”. Re-examines older German authors’ (such as Guido Kish’s) conclusions on German laws regarding Jews bearing arms and corrects them in light of newer research. Particularly rejects the earlier claims that Jews’ military service was replaced by financial contributions and discusses the types of primary sources.

Marcus, Jacob Rader. The Jew in The Medieval World – A Source Book: 315-1791, Hebrew Union College Press, New York, 1990 (Revised edition, orig. 1938).

Reprints English translations of 137 medieval source documents (in whole or in part) on Jews in the Middle Ages, and is the source of many of the documents in the Internet Medieval Sourcebook’s Jewish section. When this spreadsheet cites Marcus as a reference it’s usually because Marcus included the document in his book. Page numbers refer to the paperback edition. I strongly recommend getting this if you plan to do more research — any summary loses some interesting details.

Margariti, Roxani Eleni. Aden and the Indian Ocean Trade – 150 Years in the Life of a Medieval Arabian Port. University of North Carolina Press, 2007.

The Yemeni port of Aden was a major trade hub with heavy Jewish activity. This book provides a detailed look at a critical time, heavily documented with analysis of the implications of the Geniza documents.

Menocal, Maria Rosa. The Ornament of the World – How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. Little, Brown, and Company, New York, 2002.

Her writing is very passionate and lyrical. However, I personally feel that in her idealization some critical points get glossed over, such as when in her discussion of dhimmitude (p. 29-30) the “protected” aspect is lauded but the accompanying subservience is not mentioned.

Nicolle, David and McBride, Angus. Rome’s Enemies 5: The Desert Frontier. Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 1991.

Part of the Osprey Men-At-Arms series. Briefly mentions some Jewish Arabian, Berber, Yemenite, etc. fighters and describes/illustrates typical forces of these areas.

Nicolle, David. Medieval Warfare Source Book, Vols I and II, Brockhampton Press, London, 1998.

A detailed analysis of medieval warfare in and on the borders of Europe. Packed with data in fine print. The second volume — Christian Europe and its Neighbors — had the data applicable to this spreadsheet, since the first focuses on warfare within Christendom.

Penslar, Derek J. Jews and the Miltary: A History. Princeton University Press, Princeton. 2015.

A detailed look at Jews in the military and Jewish attitudes towards fighting and military things. Extremely useful and insightful, but alas for purposes of this analysis its focus is primarily 1600 onwards (though it does discuss some events, attitudes, etc. before that date). Note: The page numbers cited in this sheet are for the Nook electronic version, not the print version. In the print version, the section with the most-cited pages starts at page 22.

Pollak, Michael. Mandarins, Jews, and Missionaries – The Jewish Experience in the Chinese Empire. The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1980.

Often quotes and/or reprints images of the original source documents. Very concerned with separating documentable fact from speculation. An excellent place to start when looking at the Jews of China, gives many references for further study.

Ray, Jonathan. The Sephardic Frontier: The Reconquista and the Jewish Community in Medieval Iberia. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2006.

A very readable, updated look at the Jewish opportunities (including military) and dynamics in Spain and Portugal during the Reconquista, especially how matters changed between the fluid phase and once things had stabilized. The author spent much time with the original source documents.

Ray, Jonathan (ed.). The Jew in Medieval Iberia 1100-1500. Academic Press Studies, Boston, 2013.

An anthology with many interesting articles on Iberian Jewish courtiers, scientists, artists, women, etc., along with how these Jews interacted with the rest of society. It also has some reprints of medieval illustrations. Very useful, incorporating recent research.

Rubens, Alfred. A History of Jewish Costume. Peter Owen Limited, London 1973.

Great for garb. Also has an illustration of mailed Jews on a Norwich wall.

Rogers, Clifford J. (editor). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Oxford University Press, 2010.

Online version (2012): www.oxfordreference.com Many articles on specific military topics. You can buy specific individual articles online if you cannot afford the entire thing.

Roth, Cecil. The Duke of Naxos of the House of Nasi. The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1948.

The true story of Joseph Nasi, a wealthly Converso who jousted with European nobility, moved to Turkey, reclaimed his Judaism, and as a key advisor to the Sultan funded Jewish settlement in Tiberias, helped run an underground railroad for Jewish refugees, organized attacks on anti-Semitic countries, and became a Duke. Intriguing, heavily researched, and available in paperback.

Roth, Cecil. “Sir Edward Brampton – An Anglo-Jewish Adventurer during the Wars of the Roses”. Jewish Historical Society of England, Volume 16 (1945/51).

Scholarly research paper on the 15th century Portugese Jew who came to England, converted, and rose from poverty via military adventures to become knighted and (for a time) Governor of Guernsey. A fascinating read.

Roth, Cecil. The History of the Jews in Venice. Schocken Books, New York, 1930 (reprinted 1975).

A detailed look at the complex history of the Jews of Venice, a city that gave us both the first Ghetto and (to my knowledge) the first dubbed openly Jewish knight.

Roth, Cecil. “The Jews in Defense of Britain – 13th to 19th centuries. Presidential Address delivered in the Hall of Magdalen College, Oxford, ” Sunday, October 27th, 1940.

Identifies and documents Jews who fought for England. Mostly post-medieval examples, understandably, but by a world-class scholar trying to make a heartfelt point in 1940. Available through the Jewish Historical Society of England.

Roth, Jonathan. “Jewish Military Forces in the Roman Service”. San Antonio State University, San Antonio, Texas. 2004.

Looks like a university paper. Describes forces under Persian as well as Roman service.

Roth, Norman. Jews, Visigoths, and Muslims in Medieval Spain: Cooperation and Conflict. E.J. Brill, Leiden and New York, 1994.

Detailed study on Jewish conditions in Iberia under first the Visigoths and then the Muslims.

Roth, Norman (ed.). Medieval Jewish Civilization: An Encyclopedia. Routledge, New York and Oxford, 2003.

A 736 page encyclopedia, now available reasonably affordably (especially the e-book version). While earlier wide-ranging histories and encyclopedias are free online, this work represents the includes more recent research and perspectives from a wider range of scholars — and thus forms a more complete and accurate picture than the earlier works. If a major older source such as the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Online (see above) or the 1972 Encyclopedia Judaica provides a basic factual statement such as “Rabbi X lived in century Y and published work Z” that statement is still probably reliably true. However, when such sources disagree — especially in the *interpretation* of events or explaining their causes — my default assumption would be to go with the Roth view unless/until further reseach indicated otherwise. Also, please note that the article “Arms, Jews and” on pages 63-65 is particularly relevant to this topic. The page numbers herein refer to the e-book edition.

Schein, Sylvia. Between East and West: The Jews in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem 1099-1291, Peeters Publishers, 1996.

Originally published in Peeters Publishers’ East and West in the Crusader States, Volume I, this article was made available as a PDF file and is accessable from the De Re Militari website (www.deremilitari.org). Brief but interesting.

Shake, Glen. Coins of the Khazar Empire. Trimillenium Publishers, Allen (Texas). 2000.

A numismatic analysis of Khazar coins and findings thereof. Includes photos and drawings of authenticated Khazar coins. The coins provide hard evidence (literally) of the state of the realm when the coins were minted.

Shterenshis, Michael. Tamerlane and the Jews. RoutledgeCurzon, London and New York, 2002.

Provides a heavily researched analysis of Jewish life and conditions in central Asia around the 14^th century (Tamerlane was late 14^th century), listing and assessing each of the few surviving sources. One chapter even lists what can be concluded about Jewish conditions on a city-by-city basis.  Makes two key points: first, that Jews had been in central Asia/the Silk Road for quite some time; second, that unlike many rulers of the time Tamerlane (like the Mongols) tolerated people following other religions — once those people had surrendered.

Stampfer, Shaul. “Did the Khazars Convert to Judaism?” Jewish Social Studies: History, Culture, Society, n.s. 19, no. 3 (Spring/Summer 2013), pp. 1-72.

Argues that the Khazar conversion to Judaism never happened. Very heavily researched, but repeatedly dismisses as utterly invalid sources that are merely imperfect. For example, he says the letter from the King of the Khazars to Chisdai is an invalid source in part because the king claims to have hired scholars but does not name them, (my reaction: the Khazar king was writing a letter to Jews in another, potentially-allied country, not a doctoral dissertation!) and dismisses the king’s claim to have built synagogues because archeologists have not yet found any (my reaction: wooden buildings fare poorly in cities destroyed by Vikings). Similarly, he claims that Arab diplomat Al-Mas’udi must have made up Emperor Romanus Lecapenus’ persecutions and the Jews’ fleeing to Khazaria in part because some Jews remained afterward, ignoring the facts that persecution does not mean expulsion and that persecution was consistent official Byzantine policy for centuries. Indeed, his “you would expect to see X but there is no record of X” statements must be taken with caution when I as a mere part-time amateur sometimes know of such records (e.g. Ibn Daud’s saying “we have seen” scholars from Khazaria in Spain). Stampfer does raise some legitimate questions (e.g. “Where are the two centuries of responsa?”), questions that deserve answers and temper one’s enthusiasm regarding the extent and depth of the Khazar conversion. My concern with Stampfer is when he repeatedly makes the leap from “there are odd pieces of the puzzle missing here” to “there is no picture here at all.”

Stearns, Peter N. (ed). The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth Edition. Houghton Mifflin, New York, 2001.

Too often different sources provided different event dates and descriptions. I needed a detailed, trustworthy tome that had dates for many “standard” historical events to resolve such conflicts. I chose this one.

Stillman, Norman A. The Jews of Arab Lands – A History and Source Book. The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1979.

A good resource book that covers the 600s through the 1800s. The first 110 pages provide a historical overview; then comes 317 pages of English translations of medieval Arab and Jewish documents. Medieval documents quoted in this spreadsheet include:

• ca. 810: Ibn Hisham, As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah. Editing of Ibn Ishaq’s biography of Muhammed (the unedited original no longer exists).
• 892: al-Baladhuri’s Futuh al-Buldan, describing the Battle of Yarmuk and events around it.
• 915: al-Tabari, Ta’rikh al-Rusul wa’l-Muluk.
• 1172: Maimonides, Epistle to the Jews of Yemen.
• 1202: Madmun b. Jacob, Geniza letter re forced converts of Aden returning to Judaism.
• ca. 1220: Chronicle of Obadiah, the Norman Proselyte. Section on treatment of Jews of Baghdat under al-Muqtadi 30 years before his visit.
• ca. 1291: Bar Hebraeus, the Chronography, from the E. A. Budge translation. Discrepancy need to resolve: the events excerpted are from 1291. The stores listing the original book say that Hebraeus died in 1286.
• ca. 1300: Moslem instructions on the supervision of dhimmis.
• 1354: Al-Malik Al-Salih’s Decree against the dhimmis.
• 1451: Nicholas Clenardus, letter describing the condition of the Jews of Fez.
• ca. 1465: Abd al-Basit b. Khalil, description of the massacre of Jews in Fez.

Sumpton, Jonathan. The Albigensian Crusade. Faber and Faber Limited, London, 1978.

Focuses on the early-1200s Crusade itself and the culture of Languedoc (southern France), but mentions Jews when the war affected them.

Texidor, Javier. “Palmyra in the Third Century”. Essay in A Journey to Palmyra, Collected Essays to Remember Delbert R. Hillers, ed. by Eleonora Cussini, Knoninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2005.

Includes a brief discussion of medieval claims (mostly by Church writers) that Zenobia was Jewish.

Tlusty, B. Ann. The Martial Ethic in Early Modern Germany: Civic Duty and the Right To Bear Arms. Palgrave MacMillan, Basingstoke, 2011.

A detailed examination of attitudes towards and civilian rights/duties to carry weapons in late medieval and renaissance Germany.  Includes many examples of groups who in the standard medieval stereotype could not carry weapons such as Jews and peasants.

Tuchman, Barbara. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. Ballantine Books, New York, 1978.

Looks at the chaos and breakdown of the old order in Western Europe in the 1300s, with parallels to the chaos and changes in our times. A classic, informative but easy-to-read history book. Puts the massacres/expulsions of Jews into a historical perspective.

Walukonis, Joseph. “The Polish-Lithuanian Army”. Online article at http://www.xenophon-mil.org/rushistory/rusmilhistbook/litharmy.htm

A brief overview of the structure, equipment, tactics, and history of the Polish-Lithuanian army of the 1500s. Has a few sentences on the Karaite troops in that army.

Weinryb, Bernard Dov. The Jews of Poland: A Social and Economic History. Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1972.

A detailed history of the Jews of Poland from 1100 to 1800. Includes several pages that discuss Jewish rights (including bearing arms) in the Medieval period.

Wenninger, Markus J. “Bearing and Use of Weapons by Jews in the (Late) Middle Ages”. Journal of the World Union of Jewish Studies #41, ed. by Ron Margolin and Haim Weiss, Jerusalem, 2002.

From a series of lectures presented at the 13th World Congress of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem (August 2001) collectively entitled “The Possession of Arms and Military Service of Jews from Ancient Rome to the Age of Enlightenment”. Focuses on Germany, Austria, and Hungary.

Wilcox, Peter and McBride, Angus. Rome’s Enemies 3: Parthians and Sassanid Persians. Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 1986.

Part of the Osprey Men-At-Arms series. Details the Persians’ fights vs. Rome/Byzantium and describes/illustrates their forces. Mentions Khazars but not Jews.

Witkowski, Rafal. “Some Remarks on the History of the Karaites in Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 15th Century”, Karaite Archives 1, 2013.

A detailed assessment of the arguments that Crimean Karaite Jews were settled in northern Lithuania to help oppose the Teutonic Knights and fought at Tannenberg. Witkowski concludes they were not. Other sources say they were. I do not yet have the knowledge to form a firm conclusion myself.

Wolkoff, Lew (SCA name Reb Eleazar ha-Levi); An SCA Guide to Jewish Persona – The Compleat Anachronist #110, The Society for Creative Anachronism, Milpitas, California, 2001.

An inexpensive, one-stop general guide tor having a Jewish persona (whether a fighter or not) in the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). Loaded with useful information on areas such as Jewish heraldry, occupations, naming conventions, citations of Jewish fighters, books for additional reading, etc.

Yeshiva University, “Printing the Talmud” website ( http://printingthetalmud.org ).

Online version of the Yeshiva University’s 2005 exhibit “Printing the Talmud”, from a 6th century CE mosaic floor to a modern Artscroll Talmud. Includes both images and detailed descriptions of each object.

Yuval, Israel. “Rabbinical Perspectives on the Bearing of Weapons by Jews”. Journal of the World Union of Jewish Studies #41, ed. by Ron Margolin and Haim Weiss, Jerusalem, 2002.

From a series of lectures presented at the 13th World Congress of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem (August 2001) collectively entitled “The Possession of Arms and Military Service of Jews from Ancient Rome to the Age of Enlightenment”. Focuses on Talmudic views and then perspectives from around Germany.

Zuckerman, Arthur J. A Jewish Princedom in Feudal France 768-900. Columbia University Press, New York, 1972.

Very useful but be careful. When he makes the stereotype-breaking claim that Jews were allodial landholders with enhanced rights in Carolingian southern France (particularly the Narbonne area), that Jewish troops fought for the Carolingians (including under Charlemagne), then reprints the text of key source documents (incl. a Papal epistle), and provides verifiable links to other sources, I and some major academic scholars find this highly credible. Some do not. However, when he goes further and says that a Jew married into Carolingian royalty (becoming a famous leader) and that the supporting documents were altered or destroyed by the Church, I am not convinced – extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. In this sheet, I have accepted Bachrach’s caution (see above) and only included as statements of fact events Zuckerman supports by using contemporary sources, but fortunately there are enough of those to make the points needed for/relevant to this sheet.