Baba'i ben Farhad (, ) was a Persian-Jewish chronicler, poet, and historian, the author of the ''Kitāb-i Sar Guzasht-i Kāshān dar bab-i 'Ibri va guyimiyi Sani (The Book of Events in Kashan Concerning the Jews; The Second Conversion)'', a chronicle of the forcible conversion event of the Jews of

Kashan Kashan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kashan County), Central District of Kashan County, in the northern part of Isfahan province, Isfahan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. History Earlies ...

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

, and

Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...

, and related hardships from 1721–31, particularly in 1729 and 1730. It is modelled on the work of his grandfather, Baba'i ben Lotf, after which it is the 2nd known Persian-Jewish chronicle. Like his grandfather, he was

crypto-Jewish Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden'). The term is especially applied historically to Spani ...

i.e. he practiced Judaism while professing Islam outwardly. The chronicle covers the downfall of the

Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...

during the Afghan invasion of Iran from 1722-1730. It is written in Persian in Hebrew script., or

Judeo-Persian Judeo-Persian refers to both a group of Jewish dialects spoken by Jews and Judeo-Persian texts (written in Hebrew alphabet). As a collective term, Judeo-Persian refers to a number of Judeo-Iranian languages spoken by Jewish communities throughout ...

. It is written in verse in the style of classical Persian poetry and includes Persian colloquialisms and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

references. ben Farhad is critical of

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

, who expelled Ashraf Shah and demanded money from the Jewish community. Nader, who had adopted the title ''Ṭahmāsp Qulī Khān'', imposed heavy taxes and plundered the towns on his way through the area, leading to the Jews' conversion to avoid further demands and loss of lives. The synagogues were later able to reopen. Ben Farhad also experienced the invasions of the Ottomans and the Russians.

Works

References

{{authority control 18th-century deaths Iranian Jews 18th-century writers from Safavid Iran People from Kashan 18th-century Persian-language writers Jewish poets Safavid historians Jewish historians Historians of Jews and Judaism 18th-century Iranian poets 18th-century Iranian historians