supposition that R. Nethanel is identical with Hibet Allah
ibn al Jami, who later on became Saladin's physician (Asher,
vol. II, p. 253). Graetz, vol. VI, p. 307, inclines to the
same view. Dr. Steinschneider, _Die arabische Literatur der
Juden_, 1902, p. 178, confirms this opinion, and gives a
detailed account of Hibet Allah's medical and philosophical
works. Dr. Neubauer, in an article, _J.Q.R._, VIII, 541,
draws attention to a Geniza fragment which contains a
marriage contract dated 1160, wherein R. Nethanel is called
a Levite. Benjamin does not style him so here. The same
article contains the so-called Suttah Megillah, on which
Professor Kaufmann comments, _J.Q.R._, X, p. 171. It would
appear that R. Nethanel never attained the dignity of Nagid.
During Benjamin's visit to Egypt Sutta, in his capacity of
Chief Collector of Taxes, filled nominally that office.
Later on, after Sutta's fall, the dignity of Nagid was
offered to Moses Maimonides, but was not accepted by him.]
[Footnote 186: This term (which is not given in the printed
editions) means that the people were followers of Ali, the
son-in-law of Mohammed, founder of the Shiite sect.]
[Footnote 187: This same Nilometer is readily shown to the
visitor at the south end of the Island of Roda, which is
accessible by means of a ferry-boat from the Kasr-esh Shama,
not far from the Kenisat Eliyahu, where the Geniza
manuscripts were found. See E.N. Adler's _Jews in Many
Lands_, p. 28, also _J.Q.R._, IX, 669. The Nilometer is in a
square well 16 feet in diameter, having in the centre a
graduated octagonal column with Cufic inscriptions, and is
17 cubits in height, the cubit being 21-1/3 inches. The
water of the Nile, when at its lowest, covers 7 cubits of
the Nilometer, and when it reaches a height of 15-2/3 cubits
the Sheikh of the Nile proclaims the Wefa, i.e., that the
height of the water necessary for irrigating every part of
the Nile valley has been attained. The signal is then given
for the cutting of the embankment. We know that the column
of the Nilometer has been frequently repaired, which fact
explains the apparent discrepancy between the height of the
gauge as given in Benjamin's narrative and the figures just
mentioned.]
[Footnote 188: It has only been established quite recently
that the periodical inundations of the Nile are not caused
by the increased outflow from the lakes in Central Africa,
inasmuch as this outflow is quite lost in the marshy land
south of Fashoda. Moreover, the river is absolutely blocked
by the accumulation of the Papyrus weed, known as Sudd, the
[Hebrew: êis] of Scripture, Exod. ii. 3-5. The inundations
are brought about purely by the excessive rains in the
highlands of Abyssinia, which cause the flooding of the Blue
Nile and the Atbara in June and July and of the lower Nile
in August and September.]
[Footnote 189: In a Geniza fragment C quoted by Dr. Neubauer
in _J.Q.R._, IX, p. 36, this city is called [Hebrew:].
Probably the first two letters denote that it is an island.
Compare the passage in Schechter's _Saadyana_, pp. 90, 91,
[Hebrew:].]
[Footnote 190: Ashmun is described by Abulfeda as a large
city. We read in a Geniza fragment that David ben Daniel, a
descendant of the Exilarch, passed through this place on the
way to Fostat, _J.Q.R._, XV, 87. The fourth channel is the
Tanitic branch. See p. 78, n. 2.]
[Footnote 191: See Koran xii. 55. Sambari, who being a
native of Egypt knew Cairo well, explains very fully, p.
119, that Masr-el-Atika is not here referred to, but ancient
Memphis, the seat of royalty in Joseph's time. He explains
that it was situated on the left side of the Nile, two
parasangs distant from Cairo. See Reinaud's _Abulfeda_, vol.
II, p. 140.]
[Footnote 192: See _Makrizi_, vol. II, 464, and _J.Q.R._,
XV, p. 75; also XIX, 502.]
[Footnote 193: E. Naville in his _Essay on the Land of
Goshen_, being the fifth Memoir of the Egypt Exploration
Fund, 1887, comes to the conclusion that the land of Goshen
comprised the triangle formed by Bilbais, Zakazig, and
Tel-el-Kebir. He is of opinion that the land of Ramses
included the land of Goshen, and is that part of the Delta
which lies to the eastward of the Tanitic branch of the
Nile. The capital of the province--the Egyptian nome of
Arabia--was the Phakusa of the Greeks. A small railway
station is now on the spot, which bears the name Ramses. Cf.
Gen. xlvii. 11.]
[Footnote 194: Ain-al-Shams was situated three parasangs
from Fostat, according to Jacut (III, 762), who records that
in his day the place showed many traces of buildings from
Pharaoh's time. Benha is now a somewhat important railway
station about thirty miles north of Cairo. Muneh Sifte is a
station on the Damietta arm of the Nile.]
[Footnote 195: Samnu is perhaps Samnat, Dukmak, V, 20. On
Damira see Schechter, _Saadyana_, p. 82; Worman, _J.Q.R._,
XVIII, 10. The zoologist Damiri was born here. Lammanah in
the other versions is Mahallat or Mehallet-el-Kebir,
mentioned by Abulfeda as a large city with many monuments,
and is now a railway station between Tanta and Mansura.
Sambari (119, 10) mentions a synagogue there, to which Jews
even now make pilgrimages (Goldziher, _Z.D.P.G._, vol.
XXVIII, p. 153).]
[Footnote 196: In the Middle Ages certain biblical names
were without valid reason applied to noted places. No-Ammon
mentioned in Scripture (Jer. xlvi. 25 and Nahum iii. 8),
also in cuneiform inscriptions, was doubtless ancient
Thebes. See Robinson, _Biblical Researches_, vol. I, p. 542.
Another notable example is the application of the name of
Zoan to Cairo. Ancient Tanis (p. 78) was probably Zoan, and
we are told (Num. xiii. 22) that Zoan was built seven years
after Hebron. It can be traced as far back as the sixth
dynasty--over 2,000 years before Cairo was founded.]
[Footnote 197: Josephus, who had the opportunity of seeing
the Pharos before it was destroyed, must likewise have
exaggerated when he said that the lighthouse threw its rays
a distance of 300 stadia. Strabo describes the Pharos of
Alexandria, which was considered one of the wonders of the
world. As the coast was low and there were no landmarks, it
proved of great service to the city. It was built of white
marble, and on the top there blazed a huge beacon of logs
saturated with pitch. Abulfeda alludes to the large mirror
which enabled the lighthouse keepers to detect from a great
distance the approach of the enemy. He further mentions that
the trick by which the mirror was destroyed took place in
the first century of Islamism, under the Caliph Valyd, the
son of Abd-almalek.]
[Footnote 198: It will be seen that the list of names given
in our text is much more complete than that given by Asher,
who enumerates but twenty-eight Christian states in lieu of
forty given in the British Museum MS. In some cases the
readings of _R_ and _O_, which appear to have been written
by careful scribes, and are of an older date than _E_ and
the printed editions, have been adopted. In our text,
through the ignorance of the scribe, who had no gazetteer or
map to turn to, some palpable errors have crept in. For
instance, in naming Amalfi, already mentioned on p. 9, the
error in spelling it [Hebrew:] has been repeated. Patzinakia
(referred to on p. 12, as trading with Constantinople) is
there spelt [Hebrew:] not [Hebrew:]. [Hebrew:] may be read
[Hebrew:]; I have rendered it Hainault in accordance with
Deguigne's _Memoir_, referred to by Asher. Maurienne
(mentioned p. 79) embraced Savoy and the Maritime Alps. It
was named after the Moors who settled there.]
[Footnote 199: Simasin or Timasin is doubtless near Lake
Timsah. Sunbat is spoken of by Arabic writers as noted for
its linen manufactures and trade.]
[Footnote 200: Elim has been identified with Wadi Gharandel.
It is reached in two hours from the bitter spring in the
Wadi Hawara, believed to be the _Marah_ of the Bible.
Burckhardt conjectures that the juice of the berry of the
gharkad, a shrub growing in the neighbourhood, may have the
property, like the juice of the pomegranate, of improving
brackish water; see p. 475, Baedecker's _Egypt_, 1879
edition. Professor Lepsius was responsible for the chapter
on the Sinai routes.]
[Footnote 201: A journey of two days would bring the
traveller to the luxuriant oasis of Firan, which ancient
tradition and modern explorers agree in identifying as
Rephidim. From Firan it is held, by Professor Sayce and
others, that the main body of the Israelites with their
flocks and herds probably passed the Wadi esh-Shekh, while
Moses and the elders went by Wadi Selaf and Nakb el-Hawa.
The final camping-ground, at which took place the giving of
the Law, is supposed to be the Raha plain at the foot of the
peak of Jebel Musa. It may be mentioned that some explorers
are of opinion that Mount Serbal was the mountain of
revelation. There are authorities who maintain that Horeb
was the name of the whole mountain range, Sinai being the
individual mountain; others think that Horeb designated the
northern range and Sinai the southern range. See Dr.
Robinson's _Biblical Researches_, vol. I, section iii: also
articles _Sinai_ in Cheyne's _Encyclopaedia Biblica_ and
Dean Stanley's _Sinai and Palestine_.]
[Footnote 202: The monastery of St. Catherine was erected
2,000 feet below the summit of Jebel Musa. It was founded by
Justinian to give shelter to the numerous Syrian hermits who
inhabited the peninsula. The monastery was presided over by
an Archbishop.]
[Footnote 203: The passage in square brackets is inserted
from the Oxford MS. The city of Tur, which Benjamin calls
Tur-Sinai, is situated on the eastern side of the Gulf of
Suez, and affords good anchorage, the harbour being
protected by coral reefs. It can be reached from the
monastery in little more than a day. The small mountain
referred to by Benjamin is the Jebel Hammam Sidna Musa, the
mountain of the bath of our lord Moses.]
[Footnote 204: Tanis, now called San, was probably the Zoan
of Scripture, but in the Middle Ages it was held to be
Hanes, mentioned in Isa. xxx. 4. It was situated on the
eastern bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile, about thirty
miles south-west of the ancient Pelusium. The excavations
which have been made by M. Mariette and Mr. Flinders Petrie
prove that it was one of the largest and most important
cities of the Delta. It forms the subject of the Second
Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 1885. The place must
not be confounded with the seaport town Tennis, as has been
done by Asher. In the sixth century the waters of the Lake
Menzaleh invaded a large portion of the fertile Tanis
territory. Hence Benjamin calls it an island in the midst of
the sea. In a Geniza document dated 1106, quoted by Dr.
Schechter, _Saadyana_, p. 91, occurs the passage: [Hebrew:]
"In the city of the isle Hanes, which is in the midst of the
sea and of the tongue of the river of Egypt called Nile."]
[Footnote 205: The straits of Messina were named Faro. Lipar
has reference, no doubt, to the Liparian Islands, which are
in the neighbourhood.]
[Footnote 206: Cf. Bertinoro's interesting description of
the synagogue at Palermo, which he said had not its equal,
_Miscellany of Hebrew Literature_, vol. I, p. 114.]
[Footnote 207: Hacina is the Arabic for a fortified or
enclosed place.]
[Footnote 208: Buheira is the Arabic word for a lake. The
unrivalled hunting grounds of William II are well worth
visiting, being situated between the little town called
Parco and the magnificent cathedral of Monreale, which the
king erected later on.]
[Footnote 209: King William II, surnamed "the Good," was
sixteen years old when Benjamin visited Sicily in 1170.
During the king's minority the Archbishop was the
vice-regent. He was expelled in 1169 on account of his
unpopularity. Asher asserts that Benjamin's visit must have
taken place prior to this date, because he reads [Hebrew:]
_This is the domain of the viceroy._ The Oxford MS. agrees
with our text and reads [Hebrew:] _This is the domain of the
king's garden._ Chroniclers tell that when the young king
was freed from the control of the viceroy he gave himself up
to pleasure and dissipation. Asher is clearly wrong, because
a mere boy could not have indulged in those frolics. The
point is of importance, as it absolutely fixes the date of
Benjamin's visit to the island. It was in the year 1177 that
William married the daughter of our English king, Henry II.]
[Footnote 210: Edrisi, who wrote his Geography in Sicily in
1154 at the request of King Roger II, calls the island a
pearl, and cannot find words sufficient in praise of its
climate, beauty, and fertility. He is especially
enthusiastic concerning Palermo. Petralia is described by
him as being a fortified place, and an excellent place of
refuge, the surrounding country being under a high state of
cultivation and very productive. Asher has no justification
for reading Pantaleoni instead of Petralia.]
[Footnote 211: The passage in square brackets is to be found
in most of the printed editions, as well as in the Epstein
(E) MS., which is so much akin to them, and is comparatively
modern. The style will at once show that the passage is a
late interpolation, and the genuine MSS. now forthcoming
omit it altogether.]
[Footnote 212: See Aronius, _Regester_, p. 131. This writer,
as a matter of course, had only the printed editions before
him. His supposition that [Hebrew:] is Mayence is more than
doubtful, but his and Lelewel's identification of [Hebrew:]
with Mantern and [Hebrew:] with Freising has been accepted.
Aronius casts doubts as to whether Benjamin actually visited
Germany, in the face of his loose statements as to its
rivers. It will now be seen that he is remarkably correct in
this respect.]
[Footnote 213: The Jews of Prague are often spoken of in
contemporary records. Rabbi Pethachia started on his travels
from Ratisbon, passing through Prague on his way to Poland
and Kieff.]
[Footnote 214: Benjamin does not tell us whether Jews
resided in Kieff. Mr. A. Epstein has obligingly furnished
the following references: In [[Hebrew:], Graetz,
_Monatsschrift_, 39, 511, we read: [Hebrew:]. In [Hebrew:],
_Monatsschrift_, 40, 134, [Hebrew:]. This Rabbi Moses is
also mentioned in _Resp._ of R. Meir of Rothenburg, ed.
Berlin, p. 64. Later records give the name [Hebrew:].]
[Footnote 215: The vair (vaiverge or wieworka in Polish) is
a species of marten, often referred to in mediaeval works.
Menu-vair is the well-known fur miniver.]
[Footnote 216: Lelewel, having the reading [Hebrew:] before
him, thought Sedan was here designated. H. Gross suspected
that the city of Auxerre, situated on the borders of the
province of the Isle de France, the old patrimony of the
French kings, must have been intended, and the reading of
our text proves him to be right. The Roman name
Antiossiodorum became converted into Alciodorum, then
Alcore, and finally into Auxerre. The place is often cited
in our mediaeval literature, as it was a noted seat of
learning. The great men of Auxerre, [Hebrew:], joined the
Synod convened by Rashbam and Rabenu Tam. See _Gallia
Judaica_, p. 60, also Graetz, vol. VI, 395 (10).]
* * * * *