Joseph ibn Naghrela

Joseph ibn Naghrela or Joseph ha-Nagid (Hebrew: רבי יהוסף בן שמואל הלוי הנגיד "Rabbi Yehosef ben Sh'muel ha-Levi han-Nagid"; Arabic: ابو حسين بن النغريلة "Abu Hussein bin Naghrela") (September 15, 1035 [In his preface to one of his father's collections of Hebrew poetry, Joseph gives his precise date and time of birth as Monday evening, the evening preceding the 11th of Tishrei 4796 AM, corresponding to the 11th of Dhu al-Qi'dah 426 AH, at 3 hours 56 minutes into the evening. (Diwan of Shemuel Hannaghid, ed. David S. Sassoon (London: Oxford University Press, 1934), p. א.)] - December 30, 1066) was a vizier to the Berber king Badis al-Muzaffar of Granada, during the Moorish rule of Andalusia, and the leader of the Jewish community there.

Life and career

Joseph was born in Granada, the eldest son of Rabbi Sh'muel ha-Nagid (Samuel ibn Naghrela).

Some information about his childhood and upbringing is preserved in the collection of his father's Hebrew poetry, which Joseph writes [Ibid.] that he began copying at the age of eight and a half. For example, he tells how once (aged nine and a half, in the spring of 1045) he accompanied his father to battlefield, only to suffer from severe homesickness, about which he wrote a short poem. [Ibid., p. סב.]

His primary teacher was his father. On the basis of a letter to Rabbi Nissim Gaon attributed to him, [Published in "Otzar Tov", 1881-82, pp. 45ff.] in which Joseph refers to himself as R' Nissim's disciple, some claim [Diwan, p. xxiii.] that he also studied under R' Nissim at Kairwan. Joseph later married R' Nissim's daughter.

On R' Shmuel's death, Joseph succeeded him as vizier and rabbi, directing at the same time an important yeshiva. Among his students were Rabbi Isaac ben Baruch ibn Albalia and Rabbi Isaac ibn Ghayyat.

Character

Rabbi Abraham ibn Daud describes Joseph in highly laudatory terms, saying of him that he lacked none of his father's good qualities, except that he was not quite as humble, having been brought up in luxury. [Sefer ha-Kabbalah ( [http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/vl/ravad/ravad01.pdf] ), p. 73.]

The 1906 edition of the "Jewish Encyclopedia" states that "Arabic chroniclers strangely relate that he believed neither in the faith of his fathers nor in any other faith. It may also be doubted that he openly declared the principles of Islam to be absurd. [Dozy, "Geschichte der Mauren in Spanien," ii. 301] Arabic poets also praised his liberality." [ [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=18&letter=N Nagdela (Nagrela), Abu Husain Joseph Ibn] by Richard Gottheil, Meyer Kayserling, "Jewish Encyclopedia". 1906 ed.]

Further, the "Jewish Encyclopedia" reports that Joseph "controlled" the King and "surrounded him with spies." He was also accused of several acts of violence, which drew upon him the hatred of the Berbers, who were the ruling majority at Granada. The most bitter among his many enemies was Abu Ishak of Elvira, a fanatical Arabic poet who hoped to obtain an office at court and wrote a malicious poem against Joseph and his coreligionists. This poem made little impression upon the king, who trusted Joseph implicitly; but it created a great sensation among the Berbers. They spread a rumor to the effect that Joseph intended to kill Badis, deliver the realm into the hands of Al-Mutasim of Almería with whom the king was at war, then to kill Al-Mutasim and seize the throne himself.

Other sources report that Joseph attempted to ease the tension between the Berbers and the Arab population and prevent excesses against the local Arabs, which led to a civil war. [ [http://www.davidsconsultants.com/jewishhistory/history.php?id=3331 1066 December 30, Granada (Spain)] in Jewish history (Jewish Agency for Israel)]

Death and massacres

On December 30, 1066 (9 Tevet 4827), Muslim mobs stormed the royal palace where Joseph had sought refuge, then crucified him. In the ensuing massacre of the Jewish population, most of the Jews of Granada were murdered. "More than 1,500 Jewish families, numbering 4,000 persons, fell in one day." [ [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=412&letter=G&search=Granada Granada] by Richard Gottheil, Meyer Kayserling, "Jewish Encyclopedia". 1906 ed.]

Joseph's wife fled to Lucena with her son Azariah, where she was supported by the community. Azariah died in early youth.

ee also

* Golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula
* History of the Jews in Spain

Notes

References

* Munk, Notice sur Abou'l Walid, pp. 94 et seq.;
* Dozy, Gesch. der Mauren in Spanien, German ed., ii. 300 et seq.;
* Grätz, Gesch. vi. 55 et seq., 415 et seq.;
* Ersch and Gruber, Encyc. section ii., part 31, p. 86.