Isaac the Jew, also known by his
Latin name "Isaac Judaeus", (died 836) was an
8th century
The 8th century is the period from 701 ( DCCI) through 800 ( DCCC) in accordance with the Julian Calendar. The coast of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula quickly came under Islamic Arab domination. The westward expansion of the Umayyad Emp ...
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
who was a favoured diplomat of
Carolingian emperor
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the L ...
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...
. Isaac also served as an important community leader for the Frankish Jewish community.
According to Arthur J. Zuckerman's book ''
A Jewish Princedom in Feudal France
''A Jewish Princedom in Feudal France, 768–900'' is a book about Frankish medieval history by Arthur J. Zuckerman (published 1972 by Columbia University Press).
According to Zuckerman's thesis presented in the book, a vassal Jewish princedo ...
'', Isaac was a notable member of the
House of Exilarchs, however this claim has been criticized by many.
[Zuckerman, ''Princedom''. pp. 263. (Calmette, De Bernardo)]
Early life
Isaac was born in
Narbonne,
France. In his adult years, Isaac became a prominent merchant in the Frankish lands, eventually gaining the attention of Charlemagne, who took a liking to the young man. Isaac was first employed by Charlemagne to go to the
holy land and bring back precious merchandise, this was greatly successful and strengthened relations between the two men.
Embassy to the Abbasid Caliphate
In 797 Isaac, alongside two other diplomats (Lantfroi and Sigismond) were sent to
Harun al-Rashid
Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar
, أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
, the fifth
Abbasid Caliph
The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib.
The family came ...
. The
diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
was highly rewarding and was important in fortifying
Abbasid–Carolingian relations. The Caliph gifted an
Asian elephant named
Abul-Abbas
Abul-Abbas ( – 810) was an Asian elephant brought back to the Carolingian emperor Charlemagne by his diplomat Isaac the Jew. The gift was from the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid and symbolizes the beginning of Abbasid–Carolingian relation ...
to Charlemagne. Being the only surviving member of the group, Isaac was sent back with the elephant. The two began the trek back by following the Egyptian coast into
Ifriqiya (modern
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
and
Tunisia). Possibly with the help of
Emir Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab, Isaac set sail with Abul-Abbas from the city of
Kairouan and traveled the remaining miles to
Europe via the
Mediterranean Sea. They landed in
Genoa in October 801. The two spent the winter in
Vercelli, and in the spring they started the march over the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
to the
Emperor's residence in Aachen, arriving on 1 July, 802. Abul-Abbas was exhibited on various occasions when the court was assembled, and was eventually housed in
Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...
in what is now
southern Bavaria.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaac the Jew
Francia
836 deaths
Jewish royalty
Exilarchs
Davidic line
9th-century Jews
8th-century Frankish Jews
People from the Carolingian Empire
Medieval diplomats
French diplomats
People from Narbonne
Ambassadors to the Abbasid Caliphate
9th-century diplomats
8th-century diplomats