AGRIGENTO

AGRIGENTO
AGRIGENTO (Girgenti), town in Sicily. The Jewish community of Agrigento dates to classical antiquity, as attested by a tombstone found there, perhaps of the fifth century. In 598, during the pontificate of gregory the Great, a number of Jews were converted to Christianity. The community continued to exist throughout the period of Muslim domination and Girgenti is mentioned in a letter from the Cairo Genizah c. 1060 . The Jewish community is recorded in 1254 when the revenues from the Jews were taxed in favor of the church. faraj da agrigento was one of the most active translators employed by Charles of Anjou in Naples. In 1397 the Jews of Agrigento had to equip a force of 200 foot soldiers for one of King Martin I of Aragon's military expeditions. In 1426 the citizens of Agrigento petitioned unsuccessfully for royal permission to enforce anti-Jewish measures. In 1476 King John II ordered that the money bequeathed by Solomon Anello to promote Hebrew learning in Agrigento be given instead to Guglielmo Raimondo Moncada (alias Flavius Mithridates), a Sicilian Jewish convert to Christianity. Among the reasons cited was the accusation that Jewish schools in the city taught calumnies against the Christian faith, alluding to the spread of a certain Hebrew book among Sicilian Jews. This book is thought to have been Toledot Yeshu ("The Life of Jesus"), a medieval pseudo-history of the life of Jesus. Anello's heirs contested the decision but in the end the school was closed down and the revenues were assigned to Moncada. In 1477 a compromise was reached and the Jews of Agrigento were ordered to provide Moncada a house in Palermo instead of the school building in their city. That same year the heirs of Solomon Anello finally succeeded in repossessing some of the books and estate. At the time of the expulsion of the Jews from territory under Spanish rule in 1492 the municipal treasurer was imprisoned for speculation at Jewish expense. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: G. Di Giovanni, L'ebraismo della Sicilia (1748), 289–98; B. and G. Lagumina, Codice diplomatico dei giudei di Sicilia, 1 (1884), 6, 21, 182, 388; 2 (1895), 184; 3 (1909), 116; Roth, Italy, index; Milano, Italía, index; C. Roth, in: JQR, 47 (1956/57), 329–30 (= idem, Gleanings (1967), 74–75). ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: S. Simonsohn, "Some Well-Known Jewish Converts during the Renaissance," REJ, 148 (1989), 17–52; idem, The Jews in Sicily, 6 vols. (1997–2004); H. Bresc, Arabes de langue, juifs de religion. L'évolution du judaïsme sicilien dans l'environment latin, XIIe–XVe siècles (2001). (Cecil Roth / Nadia Zeldes (2nd ed.)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Agrigento — Agrigento …   Wikipedia Español

  • Agrigento — Agrigento …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Agrigento — (antiguamente Girgenti) es el nombre de la provincia y la ciudad, que se encuentra en la costa sur de Sicilia, Italia. Tiene unos 55,000 habitantes, y otras ciudades importantes de la provincia son Licata y Naro, la última de estas conocida por… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Agrigento — [ag΄rə jen′təmä΄grē jen′tō] city in S Sicily: site of ancient Greek and Roman ruins: pop. 56,000: ancient Latin name Agrigentum [ag΄rə jen′təm] …   English World dictionary

  • Agrigento — Infobox CityIT img coa = Agrigento Stemma.png official name = Comune di Agrigento name=Agrigento region = flagicon|Sicily Sicily province = Agrigento (AG) elevation m = 230 area total km2 = 244 population as of = 2004 population total = 59031… …   Wikipedia

  • Agrigento — /ah grddee jen taw/, n. a city in S Italy. 480,068. Formerly, Girgenti. * * * ▪ Italy formerly  (until 1927) Girgenti,  Greek  Acragas,  Latin  Agrigentum   city, near the southern coast of Sicily, Italy. It lies on a plateau encircled by low… …   Universalium

  • Agrigento — Original name in latin Agrigento Name in other language Agridzentas, Agridzhento, Agridentas, Agrigent, Agrigente, Agrigento, Agrigentum, Agrixento Agrigento, Girgenti, QAO, agurijento, Агридженто, State code IT Continent/City Europe/Rome… …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Agrigento — Sp Agridžeñtas Ap Agrigento Sp Agrigeñtas Ap Agrigentum lotyniškai Sp Akragántas Ap Agrigento lotyniškai L mst. ir p ja, Italija (Sicilija) …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • Agrigento — Agrigente Agrigente Temple de la Concorde Administration Nom italien Agrigento Nom sicilien Girgenti Pays …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Agrigento — noun Province of Sicily, Italy; the town and capital of Agrigento …   Wiktionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”