From the point of view of number and material importance, we must consider the district between the twin rivers, Euphrates and Tigris, as the chief seat of Judaism. Here there were congregations which numbered thousands. The former academical cities, Nahardea, Sora, and Pumbeditha, had certainly disappeared; but in their stead the congregations of Bagdad and Mosul (called New Nineveh) had gained an ascendancy over all Asia. The Bagdad congregation contained 1000 Jewish families with four synagogues, and lived in undisturbed quiet as in the best days of the Caliphate. So free did the Jews of this part feel that they even dared try to hinder the Mahometan crier in his business in a mosque in Madain (near Bagdad), because he disturbed their service in the synagogue. The caliph, Mahomet Almuktafi, had conceived an affection for an estimable and wealthy Jew, Solomon (Chasdaï?), and bestowed on him the office of Exilarch, and created him prince over all the Jews in the caliphate. The Prince of the Captivity was once more allowed to be surrounded by a retinue, to ride on a horse, to wear silk clothes and a turban; to be accompanied by a guard of honor, and to use an official seal. If he appeared in public, or repaired to court for an audience, both Jews and Mahometans were bound to rise before him, on penalty of being bastinadoed; a herald went before him, crying, "Make way for our lord, the son of David." The Exilarch appointed and confirmed rabbis, judges, and readers, in all parts of the caliphate, from Persia to Khorasan and the Caucasus, and as far as Yemen, India and Thibet. He appointed these officials by commission, for which he expected gifts. Thus the exilarchate was once more raised to the splendor of the time of Bostanaï. There also arose in Bagdad an important Talmudical college, whose principal assumed the title of Gaon. Isaac Ibn-Sakni, who had emigrated from Spain to the East towards the end of the eleventh century, appears to have once more awakened, in these circles, an interest for Talmudical learning. The Exilarch was himself a learned Talmudist. Ali Halevi was at that time the principal of the college, which was once more numerously attended by students. The city of Akbara, in the neighborhood of Bagdad, contained 10,000 Jews, but it had no special importance.
The congregation of Mosul was still more considerable than that of Bagdad. It numbered nearly 7000 families. This city was elevated to the position of capital through the hero Zenki, father of the great Nureddin, and like him the terror of the Christians, and as Zenki was not ill-disposed to the Jews, they enjoyed extensive liberties under him. The Arabic historians relate the following story. Once he came with his army to the city Jesirat-ul-Amar (on the upper Tigris), where there dwelt 4000 Jewish families. They had a synagogue which they believed had been built in the time of Ezra, and Zenki took up his quarters in the house of a Jew. His host complained to him of the impoverishment of the city through these constant military expeditions, and Zenki thereupon left the city, and ordered his army to encamp in tents before the gates. His successor, Saif-Eddin Ghasi (1146–1149), observed the same friendly attitude towards the Jews. At the head of the Mosul congregation was a man named Zaccaï, who also proclaimed himself to be a scion of the house of David, in consequence of which he bore the title of "Prince." He divided his authority with another, who was considered a distinguished astronomer, and bore the honorable title "Profound Connoisseur of the Sphere of Heaven," and was in the service of the Prince of Mosul.
The Jewish inhabitants of New Nineveh were regarded as the most ignorant among the Jews, and were not even conversant with the Talmud. North of Mosul, among the Carduchian mountains, or among the mountains of Chaftan, there were many large congregations, some of which were oppressed under the Sultans and the Persians, but others were free and wild as the mountains on which they dwelt. These free Jews in the land of Adher-Baijan (Aserbeidsan) used weapons, lived in friendly intercourse with the fanatical assassins who dwelt in that part, were the enemies of every one who was not one of their co-religionists or allies, and often made descents into the valley for booty. They were themselves inaccessible, and lived in primitive ignorance, without knowledge of the sources of their religion. They accepted the rabbi whom the Exilarch sent to them, and acted according to his directions. There suddenly appeared amongst them (about 1160) an ambitious and versatile man, who thought to profit by the military ability, the bravery and ignorance of these Jews for a purpose which is now unknown. This man, named David Alrui (Alroy) or Ibn-Alruchi (Arruchi), achieved considerable notoriety in his time, and in our own days became the hero of a brilliant novel. This young man, an inhabitant of Amadia, of handsome appearance, clear mind and high courage, had attained to deep knowledge of the Bible and the Talmud, as well as of Arabic literature. On his return to Amadia, which appears to have been his birthplace, the Jews were not the only persons who were amazed at his vast acquirements, but others also, among whom was the commander of the town, named Zain-Eddin. At this time violent tumults arose in consequence of the crusades, and of the weakness of the Caliphate, and made the whole of the country as far as Asia Minor a veritable pandemonium. The government was divided among the weak Caliph, his vizirs and generals, the Seljuk Sultan, and the Emirs, every one of whom played a distinct part, and sought only conquest and increase of power; and subordinate persons like Nureddin and Saladin obtained mighty conquests. All these circumstances combined in encouraging David Alrui to play a political part. He wanted, however, to gain as confederates his countrymen and co-religionists, many of whom were efficient warriors. This he could only accomplish if he were able to awaken their national sentiment. David Alrui, or as he was sometimes called, Menahem ben Solomon, accordingly issued a spirited appeal to the Jews of Asia, saying that he was appointed by God to deliver them from the yoke of the Mahometans, and to bring them back to Jerusalem. For this purpose they were to assist him in waging war against the nations. The first place to which David Alrui turned his eyes was the strong castle of Amadia, which he thought would serve as an excellent base of operations for his enterprises. To get possession of it, he wrote to the Jews of Adher-Baijan, Mosul, and Bagdad, to come in great numbers to Amadia, and bring swords and other weapons under their cloaks. In response to this summons, many Jews who believed Alrui to be the promised Messiah, met in the town at an appointed time, with sharpened weapons concealed about their person, and the commandant at first entertained no suspicion, as he thought that this great crowd was attracted to the town by Alrui's fame as a scholar.
At this point history abandons us, and we can only have recourse to legend, which continues the thread of the story as follows: At the invitation of the Persian Sultan, David Alrui is said to have appeared before him, unattended by his retinue; he then boldly declared himself to be the Messiah, and was thrown into prison in Taberistan. Whilst the Sultan was deliberating what punishment he should mete out to him and his adherents, Alrui suddenly entered the council chamber, and informed him and his astonished counselors that he had set himself free from prison by the aid of occult arts, adding that he feared neither the Sultan nor his ministers. The Sultan ordered Alrui to be seized, but the latter, it is said, made himself invisible, and in this manner crossed a river, defying capture, and traveled in one day to Amadia, a journey which ordinarily took ten days. When he suddenly made his appearance among his credulous followers, and related to them his adventures, the authorities were seized with a panic. The Sultan gave orders to the Caliph that he should inform the Jewish representatives in Bagdad, that, if they did not turn David Alrui from his purpose, he would put all the Jews of his empire to the sword.
The enthusiasm for David Alrui had spread, especially among the Jews of Bagdad, and afforded two knaves an opportunity for defrauding the ignorant populace of their property. They produced letters, which they gave out were written by the hero of Amadia, in which the redemption was fixed for a certain night. The two impostors now practised on the credulity of the enthusiasts; they were all to fly from Bagdad to Jerusalem on the appointed night, and for this purpose they were to mount their roofs, put on green robes, and await the hour. In their confidence that the hour of redemption was about to arrive, they committed their property into the hands of the two impostors for proper distribution. The night came, the crowd was assembled on the roofs of their houses in eager expectation; women wept, children shouted, every one was on tiptoe of anxiety to try to fly, until daybreak opened their eyes to the imposition practised on them. The rogues had decamped with the property entrusted to them. The people of Bagdad called this time "the year of flying," and thereafter reckoned time from this event.
The Exilarch and the principal of the college in Bagdad conceived it their duty, partly on account of the enthusiasm, which was passing all bounds, and partly on account of the punishment with which they had been threatened, to address themselves to David Alrui, and try to turn him from his purpose by threats of excommunication. The representatives of the congregation of Mosul, Zaccaï and Joseph Barihan Alfalach, wrote to him in the same strain; until at last the Mahometan commandant of Amadia, who was most of all eager to be rid of him, persuaded the father-in-law of Alrui to put him out of the way. He killed his son-in-law whilst asleep, and thus put an end to the disturbance. The Sultan nevertheless decreed a persecution of the Jews of those provinces which had adhered to Alrui, and the Prince of the Captivity with difficulty appeased his wrath with a present of a hundred talents of gold. It is only after his death that a Messiah is actually believed in and revered; many Jews of the congregations in Adher-Baijan continued to venerate the murdered Alrui for a considerable time; they called themselves Menachemists, and swore by his name.
There dwelt an independent, warlike Jewish tribe, at that time, east of Taberistan, in the province of Khorasan, on the highlands by Nishabur. This tribe numbered 4000 families, and was governed by a Jewish prince named Joseph Amarkala Halevi. These Jews around Nishabur believed that they were descendants of the tribes of Dan, Zebulon, Asher, and Naphtali. They bred cattle in the valleys and on the mountain slopes, were good archers, had in their midst learned Talmudists, and stood in friendly relation with the Turkish hordes called Ghuzz. The latter, who lived on the banks of the river Oxus, between Balch and Bokhara, were accustomed to make incursions in the surrounding countries, and were the terror of the civilized nations. Once, when the Ghuzz had been on a ravaging tour, the Seljuk Sultan Sinjar Shahin-Shah undertook an expedition against them (1153). His army, however, lost its way in the desert, and many of the men perished through hunger and exhaustion. At length he came to the country of the free Jews, and demanded of them provisions and a free passage to the province of the Ghuzz. The Jews objected that they owed no one any allegiance beyond their own prince and his allies, adding that they would treat their friends' enemies as their own. Immediately they prepared for battle, but Sinjar sent them a message that, if they refused to satisfy his demands, he would on his return order the execution of all the Jews in his dominions. This threat had effect; the leaders of the Jews met in council, and decided that they would consider the safety of their distant brethren, and give the Seljuk army provisions; but at the same time they warned the Ghuzz of the danger menacing them, and bade them be prepared. In consequence, Sinjar's army, which pressed forward, was routed by the Turkish hordes, and their leaders were taken prisoners.
The congregation of Ispahan in Persia numbered at that time 15,000 Jews, and at their head stood Sar Shalom, who had been appointed by the Exilarch rabbi over all the congregations of Persia. In the second Persian town, Hamadan, there are said to have been 50,000 Jews, and in Shiraz 10,000. In the city of Tuster, formerly called Susa, there were still 7000 Jews, who lived on the banks of the river. The community had fourteen synagogues, and near one of them was supposed to be the grave of Daniel. As the markets of the town lay on one side of the river, and the Jews of the other side were thus shut out from all commerce, those on the one side were more affluent than the others. The latter ascribed their poverty to the circumstance that they had not Daniel's grave in their midst; and they requested that the coffin should be allowed to be in their possession. The others, however, were not prepared to give it up, and the consequence was that feuds and bloody fights arose between the two congregations, until they came to an agreement that each side of the town, in turn, should enjoy possession of the coffin each time for the space of one year. The removal of the coffin was effected every time with great pomp, and it was accompanied by crowds of Jews and Mahometans. When the Sultan Sinjar once came to Susa, and saw this procession in honor of the removal, he thought it shameful that the bones of the pious Daniel should be disturbed in this manner, and commanded that the coffin should be deposited at a spot midway between the two parts of the town. As the river was at an equal distance from both, the coffin was hung on chains over the river, and under it no one dared fish. The bier of Daniel nevertheless proved unable to protect the congregation. At the time when Petachya of Ratisbon was there (about 1180), only two Jews, who were dyers, lived in Susa. The cause of this decrease is not known.
North of the Black Sea and in the Crimea there were only Karaite Jews; these lived in the most primitive ignorance, and had no knowledge of their rival doctrine, the Rabbanite law; they even cut their bread before the Sabbath, and on the evening of the Sabbath remained in total darkness. The Rabbanite Jews, however, had spread to Khiva, where there was a congregation of 8000 families, and to Samarkand, which had as many as 50,000 Jews, at whose head was Obadiah. About the community in India, Petachya mentions that there existed Jews with dark skins, that they lived according to the precepts of their religion, but had very little knowledge of the Talmud. Many Jews knew nothing more of Judaism than the celebration of the Sabbath and the circumcision. In the island of Kandy (Ceylon) there are said to have been at this time 23,000 Jews, who stood on an equality with the rest of the inhabitants. The king of this island had sixteen vizirs, four of his own nation, and the same number of Jews, Mahometans, and Christians.
In Aden, the key to the Arabian and Indian seas, there was a large Jewish congregation, which was independent, and had several castles; it carried on war with the Christians of Nubia, and was in communication with Egypt and Persia.
In Arabia there were likewise Jewish congregations, although the first Caliph banished them from the country. It is true they were not allowed to dwell in Mecca and Medinah, cities sacred to the Mahometans, and it may be that there was nothing specially attractive for them in those cities, for they had become quite insignificant during the five hundred years since Mahomet. But in the fruitful and commercial city of Yemen, and in the desert tracts of northern Arabia, on the other hand, there were Jewish congregations. In Yemen there dwelt, it is true, only about 3000 Jews, who, on account of their busy commercial relations with the neighboring countries, were by no means uncultured, and numbered learned Talmudists in their midst. The most learned among them was Jacob ben Nathaniel Ibn-Alfayumi. The Yemen Jews were known for their benevolence: "Their hand is stretched out towards every traveler, they keep open house for strangers, and every weary person finds rest among them." The Jews of northern Arabia, on the other hand, were more numerous, and, as in the time before Mahomet, they formed independent, warlike tribes, possessed castles, pursued agriculture, and to some extent also cattle-breeding, and journeyed in caravans to transport goods, or, after the fashion of Bedouins, to attack travelers and plunder them. Their number is said to have amounted to 300,000 souls, but this is certainly exaggerated. A large portion dwelt in Taima, and had a Jewish prince named Chanan, who boasted of Davidic descent. They had among them ascetics, who had borrowed from the Karaites gloomy principles; they refrained from wine and flesh, and generally fasted the whole week, with the exception of Sabbaths and festivals; lived in caves or rickety houses, clothed themselves in black, and called themselves "the Mourners of Zion." The farmers and cattle-owners allotted to these pious men, and also to those who occupied themselves with the Talmud, a tenth part of their yearly produce. A second group of Arabian Jews lived in the neighborhood of Talmas, and likewise had a prince named Solomon, brother of Chanan, of Taima. This prince lived in the old capital Sanaa (Tana), in a strongly fortified castle. Among these, too, there were ascetics who fasted forty days every year, in order to bring about redemption from the dispersion. A third group, some 50,000, inhabited the province of Chaibar; they were most warlike, but also possessed some Talmudical scholars. Even at that time the legend was spread about that the Chaibar Jews were remnants of ancient Iraelitish tribes, Gad, Reuben, and half Manasseh. The semi-Arabian cities Wasit, Bassra and Kufa, also had numerous Jewish inhabitants, the first 10,000, the second 2000, and the third 7000.
As a large part of Asia, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indus, acknowledged the supremacy of the Abbassid Caliphs of Bagdad, the Jews of this dominion were subject to the Exilarch of Bagdad. The second Prince of the Captivity, who was surrounded with pomp, was Daniel, the son of Solomon (Chasdaï), who held office about 1165–1175. He was as much respected by the Caliphs Almustanjid and Almustadhi as his father had been by Almuktafi. Under Daniel, the Talmudical college of Bagdad was raised to such a height that it recalled the old times of the Amoraim and Geonim. It owed its rise to a man who, at the end of the twelfth century, was called upon to play an important part. Samuel, son of Ali Halevi, the rabbi of Bagdad, who traced back his genealogy to the prophet Samuel, possessed profound knowledge of the Talmud, such as but few in Asia equaled. But as he was unacquainted with the advance of the study of the Talmud in Spain and France, he continued to maintain the letter of the Talmud, and had not the ability to form an independent opinion. Samuel ben Ali had also a thin varnish of philosophical culture, but in that branch he was three centuries behind his time, being a disciple of the school of the Mutazilites. He knew nothing of the new discoveries of Ibn-Sina and Alghazali, nor of the later development of the philosophy of his Spanish co-religionists, of Ibn-Gebirol, Jehuda Halevi, and Abraham Ibn-Daud. Despite his limited range of vision, he deemed his own attainments very considerable, and was extremely proud of them. He was an arrogant and ambitious man. It appears that Samuel ben Ali assumed the pompous title of Gaon, that his college might obtain supremacy over the whole of Judaism. Two thousand students attended his Talmudical discourses; but before they were admitted to his lectures, they had to complete a preparatory course under another Talmudist. Samuel ben Ali delivered his lectures from a kind of throne, and clothed in gold and embroidery; he re-introduced the old custom of not personally addressing the audience, but of expounding the Law to an interpreter (Meturgeman), who repeated in a loud voice what he heard from the master. Besides him, there were nine men, who likewise delivered lectures, and decided questions of law. But Samuel ben Ali was regarded as judge of appeal, and every Monday he sat in court surrounded by the nine men who occupied subordinate positions.
When the Exilarch Daniel died (1175), Samuel thought the time propitious for obtaining the highest dignity and authority over the Asiatic congregations. Daniel left no male heir, and two of his nephews, David and Samuel, both of Mosul, were now contending for the Exilarchate. But whilst each of them was endeavoring to win over the political leaders and the congregations to his cause, Samuel ben Ali assumed all religious and judicial power. He appointed rabbis, judges, and other functionaries on his own authority, appropriated the revenues of the congregation, and delivered the specified portion to the state. His seal was more respected than that of the pretenders for the Exilarchate; his name was a protection to travelers, and through it they obtained access to all curiosities. The political and religious officials acknowledged only Samuel ben Ali, the principal of the college, and the Gaon of Bagdad. He, moreover, maintained his dignity by rigorous measures. Sixty slaves were continually at his call to bastinado any one pointed out by their lord. He had a palatial mansion in Bagdad, and magnificent pleasure gardens in the neighborhood of the capital. Thus Samuel ben Ali ruled at that time over all the Asiatic congregations from Damascus to India, and from the Caspian Sea to Arabia. His daughter was looked upon as a marvel, being so learned in the Bible and Talmud that she used to deliver lectures to young men, but in such a manner that she could not be seen by her audience. Ambassadors from a heathen nation, from the Moshic hills in Armenia (Tartars?), came to him to obtain Jewish religious teachers for their country, to instruct the people in the tenets of Judaism, seven of their chiefs having resolved to embrace that faith (about 1180–1185). The traveler Petachya, who has recorded these facts, and is a trustworthy witness, saw the ambassadors from the Caucasian hills with his own eyes. Many poor students from Babylonia and Egypt determined to repair to this remote nation of proselytes, and instruct them in the Bible and Talmud.
The condition of Judaism in Asia was at that time very low indeed. Without higher knowledge, without spirit or enthusiasm, the Jews of Asia, learned as well as unlearned, discharged their religious duties in a perfunctory, mechanical way. Even Talmudical scholars thought of the divine essence as a bodily form, with limbs, eyes, and motion. The Agada had so far perverted their understanding that they could not comprehend what was purely spiritual; and so saturated were these literalists with these perverted notions, that they looked upon those who upheld the belief in a spiritual God as heretics and atheists.
The Asiatic Jews had borrowed from the Mahometans and Christians the custom of making pilgrimages to the graves of pious men. A chief resort of pilgrims was the grave of the prophet Ezekiel in the neighborhood of Kufa. Seventy thousand to eighty thousand Jews came annually from New Year till the Day of Atonement, or Feast of Tabernacles, to pray at the supposed grave of the prophet of the exiles, among them also the Exilarch and the principal of the college at Bagdad. The tomb was protected by a vault of cedar wood, overlaid with gold and adorned with beautiful tapestry. Thirty lamps burned there day and night. Beside the tomb there was a handsome synagogue, which was regarded as a temple in miniature, and alleged to have been built by King Joachin and the prophet. In this synagogue a scroll of the Law of considerable size was shown, which was believed to have been written by the hand of the prophet himself. A separate room (Ginze) was set aside for books. Sepulcher and synagogue were enclosed by a turreted wall, the entrance to which was through a low narrow gate, which, however, according to popular belief, became higher and wider at the time of the pilgrimage. In the space inside the wall the pilgrims used to erect their booths for the Feast of Tabernacles. At this sepulcher they were not only devout, but also merry. The period after the Day of Atonement was dedicated to gaiety and feasting. As the Mahometans also reverenced the tomb, and even the wild Karmates, who lived nearby, swore by the God of Ezekiel, the region became a peaceful asylum, and later on an annual market (Pera) was held there, and a city (Kabur Kesil) sprang up. The offerings for the maintenance of this mausoleum proved so rich that the surplus was used for the support of Talmudical students and marriageable orphans.
Another resort of pilgrims was the supposed mausoleum of Ezra the scribe. Although this great regenerator of Judaism exercised his activity only in Judæa, legend nevertheless fixes his grave at Nahar-Samara, in the neighborhood of the Tigris. The Mahometans, as well as the Jews, reverenced this tomb, offered presents for its maintenance, and made pilgrimages to it. Like the Catholic Church, the Jews of Asia also showed sacred relics: the tree, separating into three parts, against which the angels who visited Abraham leaned, and the stone with which Abraham circumcised himself. All these mythical stories arose during the period of degeneration which followed the dissolution of the Gaonate.
It is possible that it was owing in part to this decay that many educated Jews apostatized to Islam. One apostate was a celebrated physician of Bagdad – Nathaniel, with the Arabic name of Abul-Barkat Hibat-Allah ben Malka, one of the three leading medical men of like name, but different creeds. The Jewish Hibat-Allah was surnamed "The only one of his time" (Wachid-al-Zeman), on account of his extraordinary accomplishments. In addition to a knowledge of medicine, he was versed in philosophy and Hebrew philology, and, whilst still a Jew, wrote a commentary on Ecclesiastes. A son of the itinerant Ibn-Ezra, named Isaac, who had accompanied his father in his travels, and remained in Bagdad, was assisted by the rich Hibat-Allah, and wrote spirited verses in praise of his benefactor and his commentary. At the end of his poem, Isaac Ibn-Ezra expressed a wish that his life might extend to the time of the Messianic redemption, and that he might yet behold the majesty of new Jerusalem. Neither, however, waited for this time, but renounced Judaism, and embraced Islam (1160–1170).
A third apostate of this time was Samuel Ibn-Abbas, son of the poet Jehuda, of Fez. A poet using beautiful Hebrew, a profound mathematician and philosopher, Samuel had emigrated to the East on account of the religious coercion exercised by the Almohades. His father settled at Haleb, and Samuel took up his residence in Adher-Baijan, entered into the service of the ruler of that place, and ultimately became a convert to Mahometanism. The old Jehuda Ibn-Abbas, on hearing of his son's change of religion, hastened to him full of grief, in the hope of bringing him back to his hereditary faith, but was suddenly seized with illness in Mosul, and died there. Samuel became a rancorous enemy of Judaism and his former co-religionists. He wrote a polemical work, "To the confusion of the Jews" (about 1165–1175), in which he lays bare and exaggerates their faults, and affirms that the Jews had eliminated all passages alluding to Mahomet in their holy writings.
If the Rabbanites in Asia were degenerate, the Karaites of this time were still more so. The Karaites, after an existence of 400 years, had failed to establish Judaism on a purely Biblical basis, but had of necessity been compelled to adopt many precepts of the Talmud, in spite of all their endeavors to steer clear of Talmudical tradition.
As the Mahometans of Egypt, under the dynasty of the Fatimides, were separated from those of the Abbasid Caliphate in Asia, the Egyptian Jewish community likewise had no connection with the Asiatic community. They had a chief of their own, recognized by the Caliph, who exercised spiritual and judicial functions, bore the title Nagid (Arabic, Reïs), and was, in a sense, the Egyptian Exilarch. The Nagid had authority to appoint or confirm rabbis and precentors, and to impose fines, scourgings, and imprisonment, for transgressions and crimes. He received a regular salary from the congregations and fees for the drawing up of legal documents. There is a legend that the institution of the Nagid was introduced into Egypt at the instance of a Bagdad Caliph's daughter, who was married to a Fatimide Caliph. About this time Nathaniel, succeeding Samuel Abu-Mansur, was invested with this dignity. His Arabic name was Hibat-Allah Ibn-Aljami, and he served as physician in ordinary to Aladhid, the last Fatimide Caliph of Egypt, and later on to Saladin. Ibn-Aljami was a man of considerable culture and learning. He spoke Arabic with great fluency, wrote several medical treatises, among others a guide for the soul and the body, and a treatise on the climatic character of Alexandria. He was much praised for having cleverly discovered life in a man who was about to be interred. This accomplished man was also chief of the college in the Egyptian capital, but he had no reputation as a Talmudist.
The chief congregation was in Cairo (New Misr), and it consisted of 2000 Jewish families, including many men of great wealth. The city had two synagogues, one following the Palestinian ritual and the other the Babylonian. According to the first the reading of the Pentateuch on Sabbaths extended over a cycle of three years. The adherents of the Babylonian system, on the other hand, completed it in a cycle of one year. Only on the Feast of Weeks and on the Festival of the Rejoicing of the Law the two congregations had a common service. In Cairo there existed also a Karaite congregation which is said to have been still more numerous than that of the Rabbanites. It also had a Chief Rabbi who possessed plenary power in religious and judicial matters, and bore the title Prince (Nasi, Reïs). About this time, Chiskiya and Solomon I, who believed themselves to be descendants of Anan, successively held this office (about 1160–1200). Many Karaites in Egypt enjoyed favor at court, and were in general superior to the Rabbanites.