Trudy Gold
The House of Nasi

Trudy Gold - The House of Nasi

- Good evening everyone, and today, I’m continuing the story of the Jews in Spain, but actually I’m actually reverting to Portugal to talk about one of the most extraordinary families, I think, that ever graced Jewish history and it is the family of the Nasi. And I’d like you just to have a look at that particular genealogical tree. It comes from a book about them by the great Cecil Roth. And in it, they were all converso. They lived in Lisbon. ad I’m going to talk about Lisbon in a minute, but if you have a look, you will see that Beatrice de Luna, who, after she reverts back to Judaism, is known as Gracia Nasi. And she marries into the Benveniste family, a family of very, very important merchants. She marries Francisco Mendez. His brother is Diego Mendez, and they’re going to be very important as merchants in the story. And she has a daughter, Brianda or Reyna, and she marries the Joseph Nasi, her first cousin, and the nephew of Dona Gracia. And it’s really the story of Dona Gracia and Joseph Nasi, the Duke of Naxos that I’m going to talk about today. It’s almost an unbelievable tale, and unfortunately it is rooted in a rather tragic story. It’s rooted in the story of the expulsion. And this family, they’re from the Iberian Peninsula, but they’re actually in Portugal. So can we have a map of Portugal, please? Please, yeah, now these are some wonderful maps. This is Spain and Portugal, and you will see the way Portugal is divided up. Now, even after the Reconquest, the Jews were very important in the development of the urban economy.

This is very much inferred from the various charters that give Jews freedom of worship and use of their own traditional law codes. This is very much the pattern. In the main, secular rulers found the Jews incredibly useful. And remember, the Iberian Peninsula having conquered by the Muslims, this is the gradual encroachment again of the Christian rulers. And if we go back to 1189, king Sancho protected the Jewish community from rioting Crusaders by removing them from Lisbon. Think the Crusades, think what was happening in England, 1189, when Richard is crowned, there’s terrible riots in London, Crusading fervour always led to an upswing in anti-Jewish power. But the king in Portugal protected them and not only that, he enacted very strong punishments against any of those who robbed the merchants and that’s very important. And the king made Jose Ibn-Yahya the high steward of his realm. He was a secular ruler. And you’ve got to remember, if you think about the structure of mediaeval Spain and me of Portugal, you have the ruler, you have the important aristocrats and the peasantry, the Jews, and the Moriscos as they became known, the Muslims who are going to convert to keep safe in Spain, or did they? They are going to pay an incredibly important role in the life of Spain and Portugal. And as I mentioned last time when I was talking about the expulsion from Spain, the sultan of Turkey Bayezid actually wrote a note to his court is he thought that Ferdinand of Aragon was insane to expel the Jews. Why do you expel your most useful subjects when at the same time you are importing all the gold of the new world? But what happens?

I need you to think Europe wide. Remember, the Jews are scattered throughout Europe. They are a people, there are homeless people depending on the whim of the ruler. If they are useful to the ruler on the whole, they survive. When things go wrong, or there is an imbalance between church and state… And in 1215 there was, this is the Fourth Lateran Council The Fourth Lateran Council where the papacy wanted to assert its own authority over the various kings, and also to clean up the church from all sorts of abuses. How can you make your people pious when you have heretics in their midst? So consequently, there are very strict laws regulating how you deal with Muslims, how you deal with Jews. And from then on, the church is going to put incredible pressure on the monarchs. For example, the establishment of the Dominican Order in itself, the Dominicans better known as the Hounds of God, the Knights Templar in the area I live now, I was wandering through Temple fortune and I saw Templer’s crescent, it’s fascinating. In England, in Spain, in France, throughout Europe, lands were granted to the Templars, to the Dominicans, to the orders. And don’t forget the early universities, Oxford and Cambridge, who do you think were the earliest lecturers? They were the monks. Now, up until the 15th century, until the expulsion, Jews occupied huge important positions in both Spain and in Portugal. Also, they were very active in the culture of both Spain and Portugal. They had a very important role as doctors. They were merchants. And not only that, they were diplomats because Jews not only had languages, but often they had co-religionists in other countries, which could ease the wheels of mediaeval diplomacy.

Now, after the Spanish Inquisition was established, and after 1492 when the Jews were expelled, Portugal becomes the main destination of the Jews, why? Because they have a land border. It’s the easiest country to get into. Don’t forget, 10,000 had gone to Rome, where they were invited in by Alexander Borgia. The extraordinary story of Reis who was the admiral of be Bayezid, who took further thousands into the Ottoman Empire. But you have a large number, the largest number. And some historians put it as high as a hundred thousand come into Portugal and King… Can we see the next slide, please? This is King John, King John of Portugal, and he actually posed a head tax for every Jew that came into Portugal, he would give them protection, provided a paid tax. Metal workers and armourers only had to pay half because they were seen as very useful to the state. Officials were appointed to collect the tax, at five points, they issued receipts to the fleeing refugees, which asked as passports. And after eight months, the authorities for a further fee would provide transport out. Now 600 very wealthy Spanish Jewish families were offered a special contract to remain in Portugal and were settled in the large cities. They paid for it. But under King John, they felt themselves safe. Those who couldn’t afford the fee, after eight months, they were declared the king’s enslaved property and that property was distributed to the Portuguese nobility, which also helped John’s relationship with his notables. He did in 1493, deport several hundred Jewish children to the newly discovered colony of Sao Tome in Africa off the coast. What do you do with all these refugee children? But in 1894… Can we see the next slide please?

The new King Manuel restored the freedom of the Jews. So it seems it’s going to be a very good time. But in 1497, he contracts a marriage with Isabella, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. And this was a terrible time for the Jewish people. Of course, the families, the Isabella and Ferdinand Isabelle was the pious saint. They were a very Catholic family. And Manuel realised the usefulness of the Jews, but, and he wants to keep them. But the price written into the marriage contract is the expulsion of the Jews from Portugal. And this is absolutely extraordinary. This is a marriage contract, which means Spain and Portugal, and written into the marriage contract of the Princess of Spain and the king of Portugal is the expulsion of the Jews, but he doesn’t want them to leave. He wants to keep them. So how can he do it? He struck at the parents through the children. an apostate called Levy He advised him that if they took the children away and converted the children, the parents would remain. They would convert because that was the price to stay in Spain and now stay in Portugal, convert to Christianity, you become a converso. and that, of course, is what’s going to happen to the Nasi family. All the families that want to stay behind in Spain, in Portugal now have to convert. All children, on Friday, the 19th of March, 1497, all children between the ages of four and 14 had to be presented for baptism. You know, ironically, but it’s not ironic, it’s the last day of Passover. And those children who were not presented by their parents were seized by officials.

And there were some terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible consequences because some children actually smothered their children and then committed Kiddush ha-Shem. Some parents converted to keep their children, others sent their children away to relatives in other places. Other children were sent to Christian families to be reared. Judah Abravanel, the son of Isaac, lost his 12-year-old son in that way. Isaac ibid Zacrem, one of the greatest of the learned rabbis. He committed Kiddush ha-Shem and also his children died. This is an account 30 years later by a bishop, Bishop Cortino. “I saw many persons dragged by the hair to the font. Sometimes I saw a father, his head covered in a sign of grief and pain lead his son to the font, protesting and calling God to witness they wish to die together in the law of Moses. Yet more terrible things were done with them, which I mi witnessed with my own eyes.” Now, children, Remember, Muslims had a huge power base in Muslim countries, They were cooped up vast numbers. Those who’ve decided not to convert, They have no food. They have no drink. This was to make them understand the error of their ways. Because if they can convert, they are saved. If they remain Jews, they are damned. Some did accept that baptism. others were told they were now slaves. Gradually the resistance was born down. Only a few managed to keep up that terrible, terrible opposition to the end. Simon Marmi, the last rabbi of Lisbon, he was half walled up in a dungeon and he died of starvation. His family had fled from Seville in 1492.

Him and eight leading scholars, including his son-in-law, many great rabbis, they were thrown into a dungeon. They were buried up to their necks. Their group refused to yield. His body though was taken by Converso, who risked their lives to give him a decent burial in a Jewish cemetery near Lisbon. The survivors were transported to Africa. Scholars, some though did manage to flee to Salonica. And in fact, one of the survivors, a man called Levi ibn Habib who was also chronicled this event, his family provided a huge dynasty, 18 chief rabbis of that community. And later on, we’re going to have a lecture on Solanica. Now, so all that’s left in Portugal now are the conversos. Was it possible to expect conformity from them? They’re suddenly declared Christians, but they’re totally ignorant of their religion. They’re driven to church at regular intervals. In fact, Pope Alexander Borgia was appealed to by the monarchs for guidance. He counselled moderation, but he would wouldn’t? He and the king published a promise that new Christians should enjoy immunity for offences arising out matters of faith, a general amnesty. So for a while, the conversos were safe. Inevitably, many of them practised their Judaism in secret. Although Hebrew books were forbidden, so many of the Jews now conversos were doctors. They could say that they possess the books for professional guidance because one of the problems of remaining Jewish is, of course, Judaism is a religion of knowledge. When you use the knowledge, how can you remain Jewish?

Many of them did flee overseas to Italy and Turkey as conversos Christians and then of course would revert when they were safe. April the 20th, 1499, Manuel published a decree that the new Christians could leave without a licence. Also, the indigenous population was forbidden to facilitate their exodus by buying from the land of bills or exchange. This further strengthened crypto Judaism because they were forced to stay in Portugal. He was terrified that if they left Portugal and many of them were traders remember, they would revert to being Jewish. The point was, there was an incredible success of the Conversos in every branch of Portuguese society and that led to a period of huge instability because the Portuguese aristocracy, the church, they were horrified that these conversos were now really at the height of Portuguese society. And then between 1503 and 1506, it was a period of great instability in Portugal. There was a harvest failure, there was famine, and it culminated in terrible scenes in Lisbon. Can we see the next slide, please? There you see a picture of Isabella, of Portugal, for which he sold his soul, I would say, She died young, and then he married her sister. Can we go on? The Lisbon Massacre, April the seventh, 1507-06. I’ve actually been to this particular church. A group of converso have been caught celebrating the Seder. They were arrested, but released two days later. The mildness absolutely enraged the population, very much whipped up by the Dominicans. On April the 19th, the mass was celebrated in the Church of San Domingo to beg intercession against the plague.

A crucifix was observed to be particularly luminous. You’ve got to remember that the bubonic plague, that terrible plague that ravaged Europe. There’s no modern medicine. What causes these things? People are looking for answers. There could be a scapegoat. And then in this midst of absolute upswing in religious fervour, there’s a luminous cross. But a new Christian laughs at the idea. He said, look, this is a normal reflection of light. This was regarded as a blasphemy. He was drugged out of the church and butchered and his body taken to the square and burnt. Now, two Dominicans paraded through the streets, proclaiming here heresy with uplifted cross. The mob were joined by French, Dutch, German sailors. A terrible massacre began. In the first day. Over 500 new Christians were murdered. Babies weren’t spared. The scene was repeated. One of the last victims was the richest man in Lisbon. The mob was rejoicing and women were at the forefront. Now, obviously, these horrific scenes have an economic motif as well. If you enter the Jewish houses, if you murder them, then you can have their property. This is a German eyewitness. “On Monday, I saw things that I was certainly not have believed unless I could have witnessed them myself. Women were, children were rung from the windows,” et cetera. I’m not going to read this. And the peasantry followed the example of the townspeople, it was a period of appalling catastrophe. It’s been estimated that about 3000 people were slain. Isaac Ibn Faradj,, who was a Hebrew writer, he managed to remove from the ashes the skull of one of his dearest friends, which he buried in a Jewish cemetery.

There were always acts of incredible bravery. The king, of course, was furious. The the disorders were punished. The two Dominicans were garroted and burnt, other murderers received capital punishment because the king didn’t want this lawlessness. As a result of this, he developed a more lenient policy towards new Christians. They had a right to leave the country like any other section of the population. And he also granted certain immunities. And in 1512, this was renewed for another 20 years. and there was to be no prosecution for heresy. So, however, the tide of immigration was so great that in 1521, the freedom of movement was again, restricted. You see, these people are very important to the king, but he has to balance the church. and the furvor of the mob. And a more moderate policy might actually have resulted in more assimilation. But in 1524, an inquiry amongst the priest confirmed that the conversos were still Jews in all but name. And in 1525 the new King John married Catherine, the granddaughter of Ferdinand and Isabella and a sister of Charles V. Again, huge religious zeal. She was the only queen of Portugal to have a seat on the council of state. Meanwhile, amongst the Jewish community, there was a failed, false Messiah called David Rovany He had arrived in Portugal. It’s a huge acclaim because people were looking for answers. Now, the situation in Portugal is going to exacerbate. There’s an earthquake in 1531.

Divine power was manifesting itself against the new Christians. Finally, the king import appointed his inquisitor a man called Diego de Silva. It was actually his confessor. He becomes the inquisitor. And as a result of it, the Inquisition is actually established in Spain, in Portugal, as it has been in Lisbon, in Spain. So consequently, now you have a real problem and the struggle continues. So February, 1539, there was more trouble because the placards were found affixed to the main church in Lisbon, bearing the following words, “The Messiah has not come. Jesus Christ was not the true Messiah.” So basically the, you can imagine what happened. Now, the targeted… Can we go on please see the next slide? This is the establishment of the Portuguese Inquisition in 1537. Now, the main target, of course, is the Conversos. It’s estimated at least 40,000 of them, and can we see the next slide, please? The Auto-da-fe, the first Auto-da-fe was in 1530. It expanded its scope to Portuguese colonial possessions, which meant Brazil, Cape Verde, Goa. They continued trying cases right up until 1821. And books were censored, Many converso managed to get out, and that’s what’s going to happen to the Nasi family. In fact, it was the Jesuit missionary, Francis Xavier, who is so beloved, he actually established the Inquisition in Goa. And they also turned their attention to falsely converted Hindus, also targeting non-Catholic Christians, because this is heresy. The church never took sway over Jews, it’s only Converso. So the story becomes so terrible that in the end, the majority of Jews, converso are trying to get out and that’s when we come to the incredible story of the House of Nasi. Can we go on please? Can we see the next slide? Now this is Dona Gracia Mendez Nasi And that is a stone in Tiberius in honour of her.

What on earth is the story behind this woman? She was born in Portugal to Spanish Conversos. Her father de Luna of Lisbon was an incredibly wealthy silver trader. He lived openly as a Catholic. This is what they did. They lived openly as Catholics. They would go to church. But the other point is they intermarried amongst themselves. It was a very precarious existence. I’ve already mentioned she was born four years after the terrible, the terrible monstrosity outside the church in Lisbon where 3000 Jews were murdered So, but we know that she was brought up as a Catholic outwardly, which meant she would’ve been baptised, but then they would take the children home and wash the water off them and she would’ve had a certain amount of instruction. But it was terribly, terribly dangerous. She was married in the cathedral of Lisbon to her uncle Francisco Mendez. He also came from a Converso family who had arrived in Lisbon from Spain in 1492. As I said, these families constantly intermarried. He though had had a very good Jewish education. He and his brother Diego were incredibly successful merchants and bankers. They had their headquarters both in Lisbon and in Antwerp, which was under the Spanish Empire. Important to remember, this is the problem with Jewish history. You often have to divert into everybody else’s history. If you remember when Ferdinand and Isabella died, their son was dead and his son was dead. And the throne past to his daughter Joanna, who was married into the Habsburg family, They produced a child called Charles V, stupa mundi. I talked about him last time.

The wonder of the world and the marriage alliance of the Habsburg’s and the Spanish monarchy meant that they controlled much of Europe. And, of course, after the conquest, much of the known world, that’s why he’s called stupa mundi, And this is the era she is born into So the Mendes brothers, they’re great traders. They have ships. You’ve got to think about… You see these ships that were transporting the goods of the new world and also the goods of the Indies. It was very useful for the Conversos or Jews, really, because many of their agents were also Jewish. You’ve got to remember that this is what trade is always a way where the Jews can be useful because they have co-religionists throughout the world. And we know that the agents later on, the agents in India are going to be Jews. So you’ve got this fascinating situation where you have these incredibly successful merchants, and they already have headquarters in Lisbon and in Antwerp. So under the new laws, they are obviously leaving Portugal, travelling and earning a fortune. Now, their clients included Charles V, the Holy Roman Empire, and also John III of Portugal. The sort of spices they carried like pepper. It made them incredibly rich. Now, between 1531 and 1535, they had tried to use their extraordinary wealth to stave off this Inquisition. Francisco died in 1535 and he led his half of the empire to his wife, Dona Gracia. They had one child, a daughter. Now the king was terrified.

They are one of the richest families in Portugal that she would leave Lisbon. And she, he wanted to keep her assets. He demanded that her daughter, who of course her Catholic name was Anna Mendez, became his hostage. And either he married her off to a nobleman or she became his mistress. Evidently she was very beautiful. The mother is very beautiful In that painting. In 1537, though Gracia, Dona Gracia was an incredibly clever, wiley woman. Cecil Roth has written a brilliant biography on her. All these stories, by the way, are written about by Netanyahu father, who was a great scholar. And it’s fascinating to look at his take on Jews in the diaspora. That’s just an aside for you, by the way. So she was a very wily, instinctive woman. She also had a huge amount of charisma, and she knew how to use power. She’d managed to negotiate a series of bribes to obtain safe conduct from the English. Now, think about England. Think about the reign of Henry VIII. Henry VIII 1521, He had written a book called “Fidei Defensor” or “Defender of the Faith.” But remember, he wanted a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, who was Charles V’s aunt. You are with me? There’s no way, Charles V is the most powerful man in the world, and the Pope is in his pocket. He is the holy Roman emperor. There is no way that the Catholic church would grant a divorce to Charlie’s aunt.

Okay, so consequently, of course, the he in the end becomes Protestant because his minister Thomas Cromwell said, divorce the Pope and become head of the Church of England. Because back in 1517, Protestantism was beginning to take hold In Europe, it’s very important that you understand these religious developments. And Dona Gracia using this, she manages to attain safe conduct from the English. And she informs the court that she’s going to take a short business trip to Antwerp. And she left with her daughter and she runs, she goes to Antwerp, which becomes the new headquarters and she’s running it with her brother-in-law Diego, when he died in 1542, she inherited the whole empire. She now runs one of the most powerful, most important businesses in Europe, and one of the largest fortunes. she was called La Senora. She used her political contacts and her fortune to help conversos those in Spain. and in Portugal, escape the Inquisition. They used their ships, their trading ships to transport Jews out. She moved hundreds of them on the spice ships, first two Antwerp, and then to the Ottoman Empire, which was outside the control of the church. Can we go on please? Next slide, Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and John III of Portugal. They of course, were her clients. They needed these incredible merchants, these merchant bankers to utilise the wealth of Spain and Portugal. Now, the problem was the Inquisition was established in Antwerp in 1545. So the family then flee somewhere else. Let’s have a look at Antwerp, next slide please. There you see a map, an early map of Antwerp. Remember at this stage it is under Spanish control.

What’s going to happen is the Dutch are going to become Calvinist Protestant, and there’s going to be a terrible war in the time of Philip II, the Spanish Fury. But the Dutch are going to become independent, Protestant and create one of the largest trading empires the world has ever known and welcoming Jews. But that’s later on.. At this stage, the Inquisition is established. So the family, remember Dona Gracia has an intricate amount of contacts network. She’s got this fast empire. So she manages also to move much of her fortune to Venice. Let’s have a look at Venice. Fascinating, you see the doges of Venice, even though Rome is the seat of the papacy. Look, the Borgia Pope invited them in. The popes were renaissance princes. They didn’t have much truck with the Dominicans either. Venice, the great trading empire. think Machiavelli. Think the doges, think Machiavelli’s book, “The Prince,” on states craft. It was written to whom? Cesare Borgia, the son of Alexander Borge, the Pope. They’re much more pragmatic. They very much want a wealthy international financier with all her trading contacts. However, again, the balance of power between church and state. And in 1547, the Inquisition is again is established in Venice. and it at this stage that her sister Bianca, who was jealous of her sister, terribly jealous. She denounced her and said, she’s a secret Jew. So consequently they flee again. And where do they flee to? Let’s see the next map. They flee.

This is the house, the journeys of the house of Nasi. There you see Antwerp, then you see how they go to Venice and the next step is to Ferrara. They flee to Ferrara. Can we see the next slide, please? In Ferrara, she opened it under the Dukes of Ferrara. In fact, the Duke that welcomed her in, he was the son of the previous Duke and his wife, Lucrezia Borgia, the infamous Lucrezia or was she really? But he welcomes them in. And slowly she open, and there she openly practised Judaism. And slowly she assembled a huge consortium of Jewish businessmen, Muslim businessmen, to trade. And what were they trading in? Pepper, that was one of the most expensive currencies in the world. Wheat, raw wool for European production. And gradually though she is in the process, she’s got a lot of Muslim contacts from where? Constantinople and she gradually transfers all her assets to Constantinople. And in Constantinople, this extraordinary woman found favour with Suleiman the Magnificent Can we see the next slide, please? There you see 16th century Constantinople. We’ve already touched on this when we looked at Bayezid, and now we are in the time of Suleiman the Magnificent. And in a couple of weeks, I’m going to give myself a treat. I’m going to look at three incredible women. I’m going to look at Elizabeth I, Catherine de Medici and his consort, the Sultana Roxelana, who was a circassian slave girl, These three incredible women who dominated politics. And now you have another incredible woman coming to the court of Suleiman and being incredibly welcome.

She had such sway with him that she managed… She asked him to intervene and Ancona against Jewish persecutions. And in retaliation to the burning of the stake of 23 Jewish conversos, she organised a boycott of Ancona’s trade, which resulted in the freeing of all the remaining ones, that was her power. And in 1560, along with her incredible nephew, Joseph Nasi, who also becomes her son-in-law, she secured from Suleiman a long-term lease on the former Jewish town of Tiberias She died in 1569. Rabbi Moses Natrony, this is his eulogy. “Many women have done mighty deeds, but Gracia has surpassed them all.” She’s being rediscovered now, actually. She’s an extraordinary woman. I think she needs a much… She needs a much more high profile, I think, in the Jewish world. What a woman. The competence to run an empire with a huge Jewish heart. And also in her home, her in her extraordinary home in Constantinople where her son-in-law and nephew, Joseph Nasi, together they are going to bring in all sorts of Jewish notables, rabbis, Talmudist. Don’t forget that the first printing press was established in the Ottoman Empire in 1493 by Jews. So basically they are going to promote Jewish knowledge and the Ottoman Empire is going to become great base. Now, let’s talk a little bit about Joseph. Can we see the next slide? Let’s have a look at Suleiman. That’s Suleiman the Magnificent, more about him later on. He was an incredible character. His fatal flaw, though was his love for Roxelana.

As a result of that, he changed the succession in favour of her sons. and there was a terrible quarrel between the sons, but that really led to the instability within the Ottoman Empire and those of you who have ever been to to Istanbul to the topkhaki palace will know about the golden cage because the designated successor was always really taken away from court, put into what was called the golden Cage to keep him safe until his father died and quite often they emerged with very little sensibility. Consequently, from along for a long time, the empire was run by Janissaries So Suleiman, his love affair with the gorgeous Roxelana, a very ruthless woman, led to ironically, the beginnings of the downfall of the empire. Anyway, let’s have a look at the extraordinary Joseph Nasi. This is a picture of, an etching of him with his aunt. This is all we have of him. As I said, he came from another Converso family. He was the son of the Portuguese royal physician, and who had taught medicine at the University of Lisbon. He was known originally, Joseph is his Jewish name as Joao Miques. He accompanied his Aunt Gracia when she went from Lisbon to Anthrop in 1537. He studied at the University of Leuven He entered the Mendez Bank and was responsible for settling the family affairs when Gracia left in 1545 for Italy.

Now, he was an extraordinary man. He spoke many languages. He was very sophisticated and he comes from one of the richest families in the world. So he was in contact with Charles V and the Queen Regent of the Netherlands. It’d said that he was also a jousting partner of the future Emperor Maximilian. He had huge intellectual dexterity, but he couldn’t save the whole of the family fortune. He spent a few years in France where he became known to Frances I, later in Italy. He has alleged to have sought the Venetian government’s concession in one of their islands for fugitive conversos. He, again, was a huge champion of the Jewish people. And early in 1554, he joins his aunt in Constantinople. He is circumcised and he assumes the Joseph Nasi and in August he married her daughter Renya and this cemented his both his economic and his political fortunes. The two of them now are absolutely extraordinary and he was with her in organising the blockade of the Port of Ancona. Now, when Suleiman died, this is after his aunt’s death, there was a struggle for succession in the Ottoman Empire between the two sons of Roxelana. And he supported selling. He was very close to selling. He’s at court all the time. This incredibly sophisticated, brilliant linguist who knows the ways of the court. He’s incredibly charming. He’s incredibly wealthy, and now he’s one of his closest friends has become the Sultan. So he becomes a gentleman of the imperial revenue, which is incredible power. And because of his intimate knowledge of European affairs and his chain of trading agents throughout the western world, he exercised huge influence. He aided Alexander Lapuseanu, the former ruler of Moldova, to recover his throne.

He took a prominent role in the peace negotiations between the Turkish Empire in Poland, which led to him having the beeswax monopoly. In 1569, when the Calvinist Dutch are revolting against the Spanish, he actually wrote a letter promising Turkish support. It was actually read out at the Calvinist consistory of Amsterdam and as the favourite of Selim, he was granted a monopoly on the import of wines through the prosperous, plus trading privileges all throughout the Polish empire, which gave him incredible wealth. The French king had actually sequestered his property when he left France. He obtained a fairman from the Sulton, ordering the confiscation of one-third of the merchandise on French ships docking in Alexandria. So that’s the kind of power that he had. Soon after Selim’s accession, he appointed one of his closest friends and advisors, the Duke of Naxos, one of the islands that the Turks had conquered. He also became the count of Andros. He administered his properties, his dominions from his incredible court at Belvedere, near Constantinople. His local representative was Francesco Coronello. Remember him?

He was a descendant of Abraham Seneor, the last chief rabbi of Castile who had converted. And during the war of Lepanto, Nasi lands were stolen or won by the Venetians, but then the Turks are back and his authority is reinstituted. Now remember, he and his aunt had obtained concessions from the Sultan for an enclave in Tiberius. At that stage, it was in ruins. Joseph Nasi obtained an extension of the grants, giving him an authority there. And in seven nearby villages for an annual payment, he rebuilt the walls of Tiberius in 1565. It was not clear whether he ever regarded this as a political, charitable, or even economic development. But the point is, this is extraordinary that this family were given possession of Tiberius. And he sent a circular letter to the Jewish communities of Italy, inviting them to settle there. But unfortunately, there were lots of intrigues amongst the Arabs and the Christians and many of his rivals at court were jealous. And so he never really concentrated too long on the venture, but he remained titular Lord of Tiberius until his death. Now, I’ve already mentioned that he encouraged Jewish scholarship. He really, really was responsible for an upswing in Jewish knowledge, which could be permeated through to the various Jewish secret Jewish communities throughout the world. Unfortunately, in the end, he does fall from power.

But nevertheless, he was allowed to keep all his wealth. And I’m going to read you a few accounts by other individuals. This is a Christian contemporary. “There are a few persons of account in Spain, Italy, or Flanders, who are not personally acquainted with him.” This is Moses Almosnino, who is a very important Jewish scholar. “He was a great gentleman of subtle intellect, most generous, a lover of justice and mercy, all in a high degree of perfection as is demanded of such a person elevated to so higher rank.” This is Verantius, later Archbishop of Graham, who was in Constantinople in 1567 as the Hungarian Peace panatary “A man who both in his appearance and in his open address, and it’s the entire bearing of his body and his in conversation was more fitting to be a Christian than a Jew.” This is Spanish captive Andros Lagunan. “He deserved it all for he was a gentleman, an expert in arms well read, and a friend of all his friends.” He was known as the great Jew. legends of him spread throughout Europe. All over Europe, he had business agents This is the Venetian ambassador, “Being head of his nation was harmful not only to Venice but Christendom.” He acted very much for Selim as his associate minister of foreign affairs. And in my opinion, he’s the Jew of Malta. You remember Marlowe’s Jew of Malta when this international Jew who has such power.

I actually believe that… You see, he was so famous. I actually believe that he is the Jew of Malta. And ironically, there is a fascinating, a book written by Benjamin Disraeli. Benjamin Disraeli wrote. Many of you will know this, not only was he the middle class Jewish boy converted, who became prime minister of England at the height of empire. He was also one of Britain’s most popular novelists. And he wrote a book called Coningsby. But the the real hero of Coningsby is Sidonia and Sidonia is super Jew. And I think he’s taking the portrait of Joseph Nasi because we know that his father was an absolute avid reader and an expert on Jewish affairs. And Sidonia, you should really read Coningsby. There’s a whole chapter on Sidonia. Oh, I’m convinced it is Joseph Nasi. And because it’s about the Inquisition, this man who flees from the Inquisition, he is the cleverest man in the world. He speaks 18 languages, he is, et cetera, et cetera. He’s also got a bit of Disraeli in him and a little bit of Rothchild and also a little bit of Moses Montefiore. So I’ll stop there. And I’m finding this period of history really, really interesting. And it’s a shame on one level, one has to deal with the dark, but then there’s the light. The light of characters like Joseph Nasi and his aunt who were great heroes of their people. So let’s have a look at questions.

Q&A and Comments:

Oh, this is Debbie. I lived in Temples Road.

Q: Could you explain on Christians making the Muslims convert or leave?

A: Yes, the Moriscos, let me explain. William is right, because the Muslims had their own land base, they didn’t suffer the same fate of the Jews. But those who had converted to Christianity in Spain and Portugal themselves were in trouble. And please don’t forget that when Heine wrote, “Almansor”, of the great German poet, Heinrich Heine, and remember his great famous quote, “Any society that burns books will one day burn people.” Please don’t forget that he was writing about the burning of the Koran by the Inquisition.

Q: Why was the target of the Inquisition, the Converso? It makes more sense to harm the Jews.

A: Arlene, they were expelled, the Jews were expelled. The Inquisition only had sway over heresy, that’s the point. And the Conversos were heretics. If you expel the Jews, the Conversos they won’t have anyone to help them with their knowledge. However, of course, the opening up of the world and the fact that so many of the Conversos had trading ships, it didn’t quite work. Although we do know, I mean, we talked about this last time, in Spain and Portugal, there are thousands, thousands, hundreds of thousands of people who believe they have Jewish or they have Jewish ancestry, both in Spain and in Portugal. And,of course, you all know the tales of people who like candles in the cellar in secret. They are, of course, from former Converso families. The images of the establishment of the Inquisition. I will have to check that.

Rita says, what a beautiful woman.

Yes, Monique says she’s credited by some as having pioneered the bond market. Yes, she was a brilliant financier. A bio, I think Cecil Roth is a good one.

Q: Why did Dona Sister denounce her?

A: Good old fashioned jealousy, jealousy, jealousy. We are still here. Isaac Nasi, father was Joseph Nasi, grandfather Isaac. So I don’t believe it. Oh my goodness, how lovely to have you with us. We are the eternal people, thank you for that one.

Michael, in Tiberius is a hotel that has an exhibition about Dona Gracia, worth seeing with the guide. Thank you for that, Michael.

From this is from Rita, from the Museum of Jewish Heritage, a free documentary on Dona Nasi, thank you. Jeff, looking forward to the lecture on the three women, especially in comparison to John Ridge’s book, “The Four Princesses.” The Hotel in Tiberius is named the Dona Gracia. Oh, I love it. We are watching Live from Tiberius. Lovely to hear from you, schmul, thank you.

Q: Wasn’t it later under Cromwell or not Henry VIII that the community arrived here via the Netherlands.

A: Yes, Lorna, she didn’t settle in England. She came to England to look at her interests over here. She had agents here. No, Jews were not officially allowed back into England until the time of Oliver Cromwell. And yes, it was the community in Holland.

Q: What happened to them?

A: Remember we’ve discussed this. Spain expels the Jews, large number to Portugal, the Inquisition follows, then the expulsions. So where do they go? We know with the Jews, they go to the Turkish Empire. They go to Rome and some eventually find their way to Poland by the way. But think Converso, these are secret Jews always subjected to the Inquisition. Many of them flee to Holland. Remember a lot of them are traders. They flee to Holland. When the Dutch break away from the Spanish, that’s the point. And that’s the community that is going to send people to England. So that’s how it happened. If Jews were not persecuted. They had to leave Spain, that was the problem, Erica. They had to leave and it was a terrible, terrible expulsion.

Q: What is known about Dona Gracia’s daughter?

A: She never had children. We know that. she continued after her husband died. She continued to be a great beneficiary of the Jewish community. And the home was a great centre of Jewish scholarship. You’ve got to remember with a Converso community, you needed to give knowledge and the trading ships were a good way of spreading knowledge. Fascinating, I heard about Joseph when I was in front of Augusta, Northern Cyprus.

Do you know anything about? No, I don’t, but I do know that Hilary Pomeroy is going to be lecturing on Solanica. And I’m going to ask her about Cyprus because obviously Jews made it to Cyprus. It was part of the Turkish Empire for a while.

Q: Were the secret converso’s rituals survive?

A: That’s a very, very interesting point. The lighting of the candles was certainly one that survived. But if you know some of these homes, I’m talking about the 20th century, that’s an awful lot of time. They didn’t know what it was anymore.

Q: Was the inquisitor from a converso?

A: I don’t know. I will try and find out for you.

Oh, Andree Brooks, “The woman who divide kings, an in-depth study of Donna Gracia.” Great, thank you Rita.

Anyway, I wish you all a good week. We are starting a new venture soon. We’re going to be looking at the South Africa with the elections coming up. and I think there’s a whole new raft of the lectures coming in. I think you’re going to, and some of the older, well, of course, for the next couple of weeks. I think you’re going to find it very, very interesting. And then we are back looking again at the Jews of the Middle East. So, and I think we’re going to be there probably till August. And then Wendy suggested in August we have fun and we look at the great heroes of Jewish history, the heroes and heroines who changed the world.

Anyway, take care of you all and lots and lots of love. Oh, the Jewish activity. Yes, I think it’s based on fact.

Wait a minute, this is Myrna. I have a housekeeper from Columbia whose grand grandmother lit candles on Fridays. This is you see? Yes, because think of the Spanish and Portuguese empires.

Thank you all, lots of love. God bless.