Medieval History
This much is known: rare, medieval Jewish manuscripts have been discovered along the fabled Silk Road in Afghanistan and are for sale.
Are they authentic? Scholars who have examined them say they are.
The rest ? who found them, where they came from, whether there are more to unearth ? remains a mystery.
But the discovery of the 200 or more documents, some in good condition and others crumpled or in fragments, has excited academic interest around the world.
?For the first time we have concrete evidence of Jewish existence (in Afghanistan), not only in the material sense of tombstones or household artifacts, but documents that (tell us) about the spiritual world of the people who lived there 1,000 years ago,? says Haggai Ben-Shammai, academic director of the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem.
Click here to read this article from the Toronto Star
Click here to read Medieval Jewish manuscripts discovered in Afghanistan from Medievalists.net
- Israeli Library Unveils Medieval Manuscript Collection Discovered In Afghanistan
A trove of ancient manuscripts in Hebrew characters rescued from caves in a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan is providing the first physical evidence of a Jewish community that thrived there a thousand years ago. On Thursday Israel's...
- Archaeologists Unearth Ruins Of 1,500-year-old Jewish Town In Southern Israel
Israeli archaeologists digging on the route of a planned highway have found new ruins from a 1,500-year-old Jewish town, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Sunday. The remains of two Jewish ritual baths and two public buildings were uncovered in a...
- Medieval Fragments Found Sewn Into Latin Bible
A Waikato academic has found fragments of centuries-old manuscripts sewn into the bindings of books at Auckland's Central City Library. Alexandra Barratt, emeritus professor at Waikato University, was going through the pages of a 15th century Latin...
- Bodleian Libraries Cairo Genizah Collection Now Available Online
The Bodleian Libraries have digitized and made available for the first time their exceptional collection of the Cairo Genizah fragments. The website launch is marked by a bequest of five Genizah fragments from the library of the late Eli Weinberg. The...
- Bodies Of 17 Jews From Medieval Norwich May Have Been Mass-murder Victims, Scholars Believe
Scholars from the University of Dundee believe that the remains of 17 people found in a well in Norwich were members of the medieval Jewish community who were murdered or committed suicide during anti-Jewish violence. The results are being presented on...
Medieval History
Medieval Jewish manuscripts discovered in Afghanistan include an unknown work by Saadia Gaon
This much is known: rare, medieval Jewish manuscripts have been discovered along the fabled Silk Road in Afghanistan and are for sale.
Are they authentic? Scholars who have examined them say they are.
The rest ? who found them, where they came from, whether there are more to unearth ? remains a mystery.
But the discovery of the 200 or more documents, some in good condition and others crumpled or in fragments, has excited academic interest around the world.
?For the first time we have concrete evidence of Jewish existence (in Afghanistan), not only in the material sense of tombstones or household artifacts, but documents that (tell us) about the spiritual world of the people who lived there 1,000 years ago,? says Haggai Ben-Shammai, academic director of the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem.
Click here to read this article from the Toronto Star
Click here to read Medieval Jewish manuscripts discovered in Afghanistan from Medievalists.net
- Israeli Library Unveils Medieval Manuscript Collection Discovered In Afghanistan
A trove of ancient manuscripts in Hebrew characters rescued from caves in a Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan is providing the first physical evidence of a Jewish community that thrived there a thousand years ago. On Thursday Israel's...
- Archaeologists Unearth Ruins Of 1,500-year-old Jewish Town In Southern Israel
Israeli archaeologists digging on the route of a planned highway have found new ruins from a 1,500-year-old Jewish town, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Sunday. The remains of two Jewish ritual baths and two public buildings were uncovered in a...
- Medieval Fragments Found Sewn Into Latin Bible
A Waikato academic has found fragments of centuries-old manuscripts sewn into the bindings of books at Auckland's Central City Library. Alexandra Barratt, emeritus professor at Waikato University, was going through the pages of a 15th century Latin...
- Bodleian Libraries Cairo Genizah Collection Now Available Online
The Bodleian Libraries have digitized and made available for the first time their exceptional collection of the Cairo Genizah fragments. The website launch is marked by a bequest of five Genizah fragments from the library of the late Eli Weinberg. The...
- Bodies Of 17 Jews From Medieval Norwich May Have Been Mass-murder Victims, Scholars Believe
Scholars from the University of Dundee believe that the remains of 17 people found in a well in Norwich were members of the medieval Jewish community who were murdered or committed suicide during anti-Jewish violence. The results are being presented on...