- I found this to be a formidable site on An Introduction to Buddhism.
- To Watch a lecture on Eastern vs. Western mythology.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
More on India
Here are some more articles and interesting things to catch up and read all about India:
Friday, April 30, 2010
India Syllabus
Kivunim: Civilization 5770/2009-2010 Academic Write-up
UNIT V – India
Lecturers – Prof. Shalva Weil, Dr. Boaz Amichai
T.A. – Josh Weinberg
Session #1: Thurs. May 6th - Introduction & The Jews of India -Prof. Shalva Weil
(15:00 – 16:30) The Benei Yisrael
(16:45 - 18:45) The Jews of Cochin
Shalva Weil is Senior Researcher at the Research Institute for Innovation in Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is editor of India’s Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art, and Life-Cycle (Marg 2002: 2nd edition 2004) co-editor (with Prof. D. Shulman) of Karmic Passages: Israeli Scholarship on India (Oxford University Press, New Delhi), and co-editor (with Profs. N. Katz, Chakravati and Sinha) of Indo-Judaic Studies in the Twenty-First Century: A Perspective from the Margin. She is a foremost international scholar on India’s Jews and Indo-Judaic studies and has published over 80 articles in scientific journals and major encyclopaedias. She is founding Chairperson of the Israel-India Cultural Association and President of SOSTEJE (Society for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry). In 2005, she was elected Coordinator of the European Sociological Association’s Qualitative Methods Research Network, and in 2007 was elected to the ESA’s Executive Committee.
• What does it mean to be a Jew in India?
• When did the Jews arrive in India?
• Are there different groups?
• The Bnei Israel community in Mumbai, Maharastra, "the people from Bagdad" in Kolkata, West Bengal, the history of the community in Kochin, Kerela and the "Bney Menash"e issue.
Reading:
• The Place of Alwaye in Modern Cochin Jewish History – by Shalva Weil
• Indian Judaic Tradtion (Ch. 6) by Shalva Weil
Session #2 & #3: Mon. May 10th (14:30-16:00) (16:15-18:00)
Ancient Historical Background: The Vedic period & "The Purusa Sukta" –
Dr. Boaz Amichai
Boaz Amichay - has been studying and practicing Tibetan Buddhism for the past 20 years. Founder of 'Dharma Friends of Israel', a Dharma group that invites regularly Tibetan teachers, and western teachers in the Tibetan tradition to teach and lead retreats in Israel. Currently Boaz teaches in Tel Aviv University at the East Asia studies department. However, he concentrates on awareness to death, guides workshops on this topic, and his best pastime is sharing the journey of people facing death, whenever he finds people kind enough to share their journey with him.
Session #4 & #5: Wed. May 12th (14:30-16:00) (16:15-18:00)-
Intro to Buddhism I & II - Dr. Boaz Amichai
Session #6: Mon. May 17th Preparing for India of Today: Poverty and Castes – Roly Horowitz
Wed May 19 – שבועות
May 23rd - Leave for India!!!
Additional Reading:
Indian Religions:
http://adaniel.tripod.com/religions.htm
http://religions.iloveindia.com/
The movies: “Kundun” and “Little Buddha”
Jews in India:
http://books.google.com/books?id=qhKGPprbQaYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=jews+of+india&ei=MsTTS5axM5vqzATMisGpCQ&cd=1#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://adaniel.tripod.com/jews.htm
India's Jewish Community:
http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/india.htm
http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/Jewish_History/Jewish_India.html
Interesting and from a different perspective (my opinion):http://www.hindubooks.org/sudheer_birodkar/hindu_history/judaism.html
UNIT V – India
Lecturers – Prof. Shalva Weil, Dr. Boaz Amichai
T.A. – Josh Weinberg
Session #1: Thurs. May 6th - Introduction & The Jews of India -Prof. Shalva Weil
(15:00 – 16:30) The Benei Yisrael
(16:45 - 18:45) The Jews of Cochin
Shalva Weil is Senior Researcher at the Research Institute for Innovation in Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is editor of India’s Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art, and Life-Cycle (Marg 2002: 2nd edition 2004) co-editor (with Prof. D. Shulman) of Karmic Passages: Israeli Scholarship on India (Oxford University Press, New Delhi), and co-editor (with Profs. N. Katz, Chakravati and Sinha) of Indo-Judaic Studies in the Twenty-First Century: A Perspective from the Margin. She is a foremost international scholar on India’s Jews and Indo-Judaic studies and has published over 80 articles in scientific journals and major encyclopaedias. She is founding Chairperson of the Israel-India Cultural Association and President of SOSTEJE (Society for the Study of Ethiopian Jewry). In 2005, she was elected Coordinator of the European Sociological Association’s Qualitative Methods Research Network, and in 2007 was elected to the ESA’s Executive Committee.
• What does it mean to be a Jew in India?
• When did the Jews arrive in India?
• Are there different groups?
• The Bnei Israel community in Mumbai, Maharastra, "the people from Bagdad" in Kolkata, West Bengal, the history of the community in Kochin, Kerela and the "Bney Menash"e issue.
Reading:
• The Place of Alwaye in Modern Cochin Jewish History – by Shalva Weil
• Indian Judaic Tradtion (Ch. 6) by Shalva Weil
Session #2 & #3: Mon. May 10th (14:30-16:00) (16:15-18:00)
Ancient Historical Background: The Vedic period & "The Purusa Sukta" –
Dr. Boaz Amichai
Boaz Amichay - has been studying and practicing Tibetan Buddhism for the past 20 years. Founder of 'Dharma Friends of Israel', a Dharma group that invites regularly Tibetan teachers, and western teachers in the Tibetan tradition to teach and lead retreats in Israel. Currently Boaz teaches in Tel Aviv University at the East Asia studies department. However, he concentrates on awareness to death, guides workshops on this topic, and his best pastime is sharing the journey of people facing death, whenever he finds people kind enough to share their journey with him.
Session #4 & #5: Wed. May 12th (14:30-16:00) (16:15-18:00)-
Intro to Buddhism I & II - Dr. Boaz Amichai
Session #6: Mon. May 17th Preparing for India of Today: Poverty and Castes – Roly Horowitz
Wed May 19 – שבועות
May 23rd - Leave for India!!!
Additional Reading:
Indian Religions:
http://adaniel.tripod.com/religions.htm
http://religions.iloveindia.com/
The movies: “Kundun” and “Little Buddha”
Jews in India:
http://books.google.com/books?id=qhKGPprbQaYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=jews+of+india&ei=MsTTS5axM5vqzATMisGpCQ&cd=1#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://adaniel.tripod.com/jews.htm
India's Jewish Community:
http://www.jcpa.org/dje/articles2/india.htm
http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/Jewish_History/Jewish_India.html
Interesting and from a different perspective (my opinion):http://www.hindubooks.org/sudheer_birodkar/hindu_history/judaism.html
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Central Europe Syllabus and Readings
Kivunim: Civilization 5770/2009-2010 Academic Write-up
UNIT IV – Central Europe
Lecturer – Shalmi Barmore
T.A. – Josh Weinberg
Session 1: Mon. March 15, 2010
3:30pm – 4:30pm
General Introduction to Central Europe from Romanesque to Baroque
• The Formation of Christian Europe around the Millennium
• Feudalism and Christian Society
• The Holy Roman Empire
• The Rise of Towns, Trade and Monetary Economy
• Culture - Architecture, Art, Philosophy, Science
• Religious Reform, Religious Wars, Counter Reform.
Reading: Norman Davies, Europe - A History
• ChV Medium- The Middle Ages c. 750 – 1270
• ChVI Pestis:Christendom in Crisis, c.1250 – 1493
• Ch VII Renatio: Renaissances and Reformations, c. 1450 - 1670
Session #2 4:45pm –6pm: The Czech Lands till Maria Theresa:
Consolidation of Czech State 9th – 114th Centuries
• Charles IV – Holy Roman Emperor. Prague's Gothic Golden Age.
• Jan Huss and Hussite Revolution
• Rudolph II( Habsburg) – Holy Roman Emperor. Prague's Renaissance
• Golden Age Thirty Year's War – Baroque Counter Reform
• Maria Theresa
Reading: Mary R. Anderson, The Stones of Prague- History, Pattern and Memory
Wed March 17th Session #3: 14:30-16:00 - The Ashkenazi Jews in the Middle Ages
• The Jew in Christian Society
• Ashkenazi Scholarship – Rashi and the Tosafists
• Synagogues, Cemeteries and Social Institutions
• The Golden Age of Jewish Prague – Meisel, Maharal but not the Golem
• Modernity Blood Libels, Expulsions and other forms of persecutions
Reading: Haim Hillel Ben Sassoon ed, A History of the Jewish People - Part V: The Middle Ages
Hillel Kieval, Languages of Community, The Jewish Experience in the Czech Lands
Ch 1. Czech Landscape, Hapsburg Crown: The Jews of Bohemia and Moravia to 1918
Optional:
Jacob Katz, Tradition and Crisis- Jewish society at the End of the Middle Ages;
Part I The basis of Existence
Part II: Communal Institutions and Structure, Ch 9, The Form and structure of the Kehila. Ch 17, Religious Institutions
Session 4: 16:30-17:30 - Reform of Joseph II
• Movement of National Revival
• Tomasz Masaryk and Czechoslovakia
• Twofold Process of Jewish Emancipation: Germanization and Modernization
• Kafka and the Golem
Reading:
The Edict of Tolerance - Jospeh II
Hillel Kieval ibid: The rest of Ch 1.
Ch 4: Pursuing the Golem of Prague; Jewish Culture and the Invention of Tradition,
Ch 5: On Myth, History and National Belonging in the 19th Century
Session 5: Thurs. March 18th (15:00-16:30) -The Course of Modern German History: Was Nazism its logical out come or an aberration?
• Romanticism, Liberalism and Nationalism. The identity of Culture
• Industrial Revolution and the rise of Metropolis
• The Crisis of Modernity and Anti Semitism
• Racism and Nazi Ideology
Reading:
Amos Elon, The Pity of it All, A History of Jews in Germany 1743 – 1933 Introduction
Optional: George Mosse, The Crisis of German Ideology
Ch 1, From Romanticism to Volk
Ch16, A German Revolution
Ch 17, The Anti Jewish Revoluttion
Sun March 21st – Tour of Yad Vashem (With Shalmi Barmore)
Session #6 9:30-11:00 - The Holocaust: The Twisted Road to Auschwitz
• Nazi Germany and the Jews
• Thereisenstadt
• The Precious Legacy
Reading:
Karl Schleunes, Retracing the Twisted Road: Nazi policies towards the German Jews 1933 - 1939
Mon. March 22th Session #7: 13:30-14:45 The Jews of Germany – Was their Love Blind?
• Enlightenment and Bildung
• Acculturation and Assimilation
• Reform of Judaism
• The Golden age of Weimar
Reading:
Amos Elon, ibid, Ch8 “Assimilation and its Pains,”
Ch 10, “The End”
Session #8: 15:00 – 16:15 - Summary of Jewish Germany
Session #9: 9:00-10:30 Wed. March 24th - A brief outline of Hungarian history: Who are the Magyars?
• Creation and consolidation of Hungarian Kingdom.
• Under the Ottomans – 1526- 1696.
• Hungary part of the Habsburg Empire then the Austro-Hungarian Empire since 1867.
• Turn of the 20th century - financial and industrial boom
• Trianon Hungary – national humiliation; radical revolution and obsession with revisionism that link fate with Hitler's Germany
• The unique path of Hungarian Jews: Germanisation leading to emancipation leading middle class leading to cultural Magyarizers and economic modernizers
• Budapest Fin de Siecle – Judapest
• Collapse of Habsburg regime – collapse of Jewish/gentry alliance.
• Bela Kun- "The Jewish Revolution", The Red Terror, The White Terror
• Jewish responses to Interwar Hungarian Fascism.
• Jews in Communist Hungary
History of the Jews in Hungary
JudaPest - Cool articles on Jewish Budapest
Pesah Vacation – חופשת פסח
Session #10: Thurs. April 8th (16:15-17:15) – T.A. Session - The Golem of Prague
Session #11: Mon. April 12th (יום השואה)
"The Life and Times of Franz Kafka"
Reading: Intro to Kafka
Session #12: Wed. April 14th (14:30-15:30) (15:45-16:45) - Presentations and final projects
Session #13: Thurs. April 15th (15:00-16:00)
Session #14: Mon. April 19th (13:00-14:30) (יום הזיכרון) -Life after Death – Communism and the Jews
• Jews in the Communist Regime, The Communist Regime and the Jews
• The Changing Attitude and Policy towards Israel
• Prague Spring 1968
• The velvet Revolution
• Is there Life after Death? The Rebirth of Jewish Life.
Reading:
Jonathan Kaufman, A Hole in the Heart of the World - Being Jewish in Eastern Europe
Leave for Europe!!!: April 20th 2010
UNIT IV – Central Europe
Lecturer – Shalmi Barmore
T.A. – Josh Weinberg
Session 1: Mon. March 15, 2010
3:30pm – 4:30pm
General Introduction to Central Europe from Romanesque to Baroque
• The Formation of Christian Europe around the Millennium
• Feudalism and Christian Society
• The Holy Roman Empire
• The Rise of Towns, Trade and Monetary Economy
• Culture - Architecture, Art, Philosophy, Science
• Religious Reform, Religious Wars, Counter Reform.
Reading: Norman Davies, Europe - A History
• ChV Medium- The Middle Ages c. 750 – 1270
• ChVI Pestis:Christendom in Crisis, c.1250 – 1493
• Ch VII Renatio: Renaissances and Reformations, c. 1450 - 1670
Session #2 4:45pm –6pm: The Czech Lands till Maria Theresa:
Consolidation of Czech State 9th – 114th Centuries
• Charles IV – Holy Roman Emperor. Prague's Gothic Golden Age.
• Jan Huss and Hussite Revolution
• Rudolph II( Habsburg) – Holy Roman Emperor. Prague's Renaissance
• Golden Age Thirty Year's War – Baroque Counter Reform
• Maria Theresa
Reading: Mary R. Anderson, The Stones of Prague- History, Pattern and Memory
Wed March 17th Session #3: 14:30-16:00 - The Ashkenazi Jews in the Middle Ages
• The Jew in Christian Society
• Ashkenazi Scholarship – Rashi and the Tosafists
• Synagogues, Cemeteries and Social Institutions
• The Golden Age of Jewish Prague – Meisel, Maharal but not the Golem
• Modernity Blood Libels, Expulsions and other forms of persecutions
Reading: Haim Hillel Ben Sassoon ed, A History of the Jewish People - Part V: The Middle Ages
Hillel Kieval, Languages of Community, The Jewish Experience in the Czech Lands
Ch 1. Czech Landscape, Hapsburg Crown: The Jews of Bohemia and Moravia to 1918
Optional:
Jacob Katz, Tradition and Crisis- Jewish society at the End of the Middle Ages;
Part I The basis of Existence
Part II: Communal Institutions and Structure, Ch 9, The Form and structure of the Kehila. Ch 17, Religious Institutions
Session 4: 16:30-17:30 - Reform of Joseph II
• Movement of National Revival
• Tomasz Masaryk and Czechoslovakia
• Twofold Process of Jewish Emancipation: Germanization and Modernization
• Kafka and the Golem
Reading:
The Edict of Tolerance - Jospeh II
Hillel Kieval ibid: The rest of Ch 1.
Ch 4: Pursuing the Golem of Prague; Jewish Culture and the Invention of Tradition,
Ch 5: On Myth, History and National Belonging in the 19th Century
Session 5: Thurs. March 18th (15:00-16:30) -The Course of Modern German History: Was Nazism its logical out come or an aberration?
• Romanticism, Liberalism and Nationalism. The identity of Culture
• Industrial Revolution and the rise of Metropolis
• The Crisis of Modernity and Anti Semitism
• Racism and Nazi Ideology
Reading:
Amos Elon, The Pity of it All, A History of Jews in Germany 1743 – 1933 Introduction
Optional: George Mosse, The Crisis of German Ideology
Ch 1, From Romanticism to Volk
Ch16, A German Revolution
Ch 17, The Anti Jewish Revoluttion
Sun March 21st – Tour of Yad Vashem (With Shalmi Barmore)
Session #6 9:30-11:00 - The Holocaust: The Twisted Road to Auschwitz
• Nazi Germany and the Jews
• Thereisenstadt
• The Precious Legacy
Reading:
Karl Schleunes, Retracing the Twisted Road: Nazi policies towards the German Jews 1933 - 1939
Mon. March 22th Session #7: 13:30-14:45 The Jews of Germany – Was their Love Blind?
• Enlightenment and Bildung
• Acculturation and Assimilation
• Reform of Judaism
• The Golden age of Weimar
Reading:
Amos Elon, ibid, Ch8 “Assimilation and its Pains,”
Ch 10, “The End”
Session #8: 15:00 – 16:15 - Summary of Jewish Germany
Session #9: 9:00-10:30 Wed. March 24th - A brief outline of Hungarian history: Who are the Magyars?
• Creation and consolidation of Hungarian Kingdom.
• Under the Ottomans – 1526- 1696.
• Hungary part of the Habsburg Empire then the Austro-Hungarian Empire since 1867.
• Turn of the 20th century - financial and industrial boom
• Trianon Hungary – national humiliation; radical revolution and obsession with revisionism that link fate with Hitler's Germany
• The unique path of Hungarian Jews: Germanisation leading to emancipation leading middle class leading to cultural Magyarizers and economic modernizers
• Budapest Fin de Siecle – Judapest
• Collapse of Habsburg regime – collapse of Jewish/gentry alliance.
• Bela Kun- "The Jewish Revolution", The Red Terror, The White Terror
• Jewish responses to Interwar Hungarian Fascism.
• Jews in Communist Hungary
History of the Jews in Hungary
JudaPest - Cool articles on Jewish Budapest
Pesah Vacation – חופשת פסח
Session #10: Thurs. April 8th (16:15-17:15) – T.A. Session - The Golem of Prague
Session #11: Mon. April 12th (יום השואה)
"The Life and Times of Franz Kafka"
Reading: Intro to Kafka
Session #12: Wed. April 14th (14:30-15:30) (15:45-16:45) - Presentations and final projects
Session #13: Thurs. April 15th (15:00-16:00)
Session #14: Mon. April 19th (13:00-14:30) (יום הזיכרון) -Life after Death – Communism and the Jews
• Jews in the Communist Regime, The Communist Regime and the Jews
• The Changing Attitude and Policy towards Israel
• Prague Spring 1968
• The velvet Revolution
• Is there Life after Death? The Rebirth of Jewish Life.
Reading:
Jonathan Kaufman, A Hole in the Heart of the World - Being Jewish in Eastern Europe
Leave for Europe!!!: April 20th 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Crescent & Star
Stephen Kinzer, a world reknown journalist, wrote an excellent book entitled Crescent & Star Turkey: Between Two Worlds. As hte Burea Chief of the New York Times in Istanbul from 1996-2000, Kinzer captures some of the most poignant issues pertaining to modern Turkey. We have scanned and uploaded the first few chapters of this book for you to read. I highly recommend checking out this book as it is superbly written and comfortable to read.
Modern Turkish Historical Timeline
Seeing as the previous timeline below leaves us at 1924, here is a link to another timeline that deals with the modern period.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Monday, February 15, 2010
A Timeline of Turkish History from 7500 BCE - 1924 CE
7500BC: The earliest known human inhabitants of Turkey are believed to belong to the Neolithic period and the remains of their settlements still exist in a place called Catal Hoyuk which is near the modern day Turkish city of Konya. Archaeological artefacts from these people include statues, pottery and wall paintings.
2600-1900BC: By the time of the Bronze Age the first large scale permanent settlements or cities of Turkey were already established. A people of indo-European origins known as the Hittites emerged as the dominant force and through taking over existing cities in Turkey were able to establish themselves as the elite ruling class who governed the other peoples living in Turkey at the time. The Hittites had their own religion which worshiped the sun goddess and the storm god.
1200-600BC: Hittite hegemony was gradually replaced by smaller, more local power centres each governed by different people. Two of the most famous ruling peoples from this period were the Mysians and the Phrygians who had invaded Anatolia and settled at a place called Gordium near Ankara which is the modern day capital city of Turkey. Further south the Lydians had established their own stronghold near what is today called Izmir, which exerted its dominance over the local region. It was in Lydia where the first coins were produced and circulated and this area flourished until the Persians invaded in 547BC.
550-323BC: The Persians invaded and took control over most of what is now modern day Turkey under the leadership of king Cyrus. The Persians administered these lands and the indigenous people with considerable difficulty over the next two hundred years until they were defeated in battle by Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Alexander was able to invade and take control of Turkey and a vast amount of land stretching all the way to India. He maintained this empire up until his death. After Alexander died the lands over which he had control were split up among his generals each of whom assumed control or some area.
250BC: By this time Anatolia was ruled by several city states the most powerful of which was the kingdom of Pergamum. It was here that several cultural developments took place in the fields of medicine and literature with the establishment of a vast library and medical centre.
129BC: The last king from the Pergamum dynasty died without an heir leaving the way open for the Romans to take control. The Romans had previously established some kind of presence in various parts of Turkey however it was at this point that they assumed complete control and declared Turkey to be part of the official Roman province of Asia. The situation was to remain like this for the next three hundred years.
At this stage in Turkey's history timeline we move to CE.
47CE: Christianity starts to spread through Turkey through the teachings of St Paul who was able to take advantage of the modern road system built by the Romans in order to travel between cities and spread the word.
330CE: Under the leadership of Constantine the former Roman province of Asia was transformed into a new Rome which had superseded the original Roman centre in Italy. This was able to happen because the Roman Empire was suffering from attacks and rebellions from European tribes at this time. Constantinople was declared the new capital city and people under their rule were allowed freedom of religion.
527-565CE: Eastern Rome or Byzantium increased its power and territory under Justinian who was able to conquer Italy, North Africa and the Balkans. The great Church of Sancta Sofia was built which can still be seen today in Turkey.
1037-1109CE: The Byzantines are defeated by the Seljuk's in battle at Manzikert, who took the Roman Emperor prisoner and assumed control of Turkey. The Seljuk's developed their own style of architecture which can still be seen across Turkey today.
1288CE: the beginning of the Ottoman era takes place with the establishment of the capital in Bursa which is later moved to Adrianople in 1402.
1452CE: Mehmut the Conqueror captures Constantinople from the Byzantines thus consolidating Ottoman power over all of Turkey.
1520-1566CE: The Ottomans are at the height of their power under Sulaiman the Magnificent who was able to expand the empire northwards up to the gates of Vienna. Jerusalem is also rebuilt and the Turkish capital Istanbul is developed. The Ottoman navy is especially powerful and patrols the waters of the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
1832CE: Ottoman power starts to wane as the Greeks rebel and declare independence. Over the next century many other Ottoman subjects break off from Ottoman rule.
1853-1856: Crimean war takes place against the Russians with the British and French supporting the Turkish army.
1876: The last of the great Ottoman rulers, Sultan Abdul Hamid II assumes control of the empire and institutes a new constitution which he does away with soon after in order to assume direct personal control.
1908: A group of disgruntled Turks who are in favour of western style reform and modernisation known as the Young Turks act to restore the constitution.
1909: Turkish Parliament deposes Sultan Abdul Hamid and places his brother Mehmet V in his place.
1919: The former Greek subjects are now powerful enough to invade and take control of parts of Turkey including the town of Smyrna.
1920-1922: The Turkish war of independence. The Greeks who had reached almost as far as Ankara are pushed back by the Turks through fighting.
1924: The modern Turkish state is born with its own national constitution. Many western style reforms are introduced including a ban on polygamy and a switch from the Arabic alphabet to the Latin alphabet.
2600-1900BC: By the time of the Bronze Age the first large scale permanent settlements or cities of Turkey were already established. A people of indo-European origins known as the Hittites emerged as the dominant force and through taking over existing cities in Turkey were able to establish themselves as the elite ruling class who governed the other peoples living in Turkey at the time. The Hittites had their own religion which worshiped the sun goddess and the storm god.
1200-600BC: Hittite hegemony was gradually replaced by smaller, more local power centres each governed by different people. Two of the most famous ruling peoples from this period were the Mysians and the Phrygians who had invaded Anatolia and settled at a place called Gordium near Ankara which is the modern day capital city of Turkey. Further south the Lydians had established their own stronghold near what is today called Izmir, which exerted its dominance over the local region. It was in Lydia where the first coins were produced and circulated and this area flourished until the Persians invaded in 547BC.
550-323BC: The Persians invaded and took control over most of what is now modern day Turkey under the leadership of king Cyrus. The Persians administered these lands and the indigenous people with considerable difficulty over the next two hundred years until they were defeated in battle by Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Alexander was able to invade and take control of Turkey and a vast amount of land stretching all the way to India. He maintained this empire up until his death. After Alexander died the lands over which he had control were split up among his generals each of whom assumed control or some area.
250BC: By this time Anatolia was ruled by several city states the most powerful of which was the kingdom of Pergamum. It was here that several cultural developments took place in the fields of medicine and literature with the establishment of a vast library and medical centre.
129BC: The last king from the Pergamum dynasty died without an heir leaving the way open for the Romans to take control. The Romans had previously established some kind of presence in various parts of Turkey however it was at this point that they assumed complete control and declared Turkey to be part of the official Roman province of Asia. The situation was to remain like this for the next three hundred years.
At this stage in Turkey's history timeline we move to CE.
47CE: Christianity starts to spread through Turkey through the teachings of St Paul who was able to take advantage of the modern road system built by the Romans in order to travel between cities and spread the word.
330CE: Under the leadership of Constantine the former Roman province of Asia was transformed into a new Rome which had superseded the original Roman centre in Italy. This was able to happen because the Roman Empire was suffering from attacks and rebellions from European tribes at this time. Constantinople was declared the new capital city and people under their rule were allowed freedom of religion.
527-565CE: Eastern Rome or Byzantium increased its power and territory under Justinian who was able to conquer Italy, North Africa and the Balkans. The great Church of Sancta Sofia was built which can still be seen today in Turkey.
1037-1109CE: The Byzantines are defeated by the Seljuk's in battle at Manzikert, who took the Roman Emperor prisoner and assumed control of Turkey. The Seljuk's developed their own style of architecture which can still be seen across Turkey today.
1288CE: the beginning of the Ottoman era takes place with the establishment of the capital in Bursa which is later moved to Adrianople in 1402.
1452CE: Mehmut the Conqueror captures Constantinople from the Byzantines thus consolidating Ottoman power over all of Turkey.
1520-1566CE: The Ottomans are at the height of their power under Sulaiman the Magnificent who was able to expand the empire northwards up to the gates of Vienna. Jerusalem is also rebuilt and the Turkish capital Istanbul is developed. The Ottoman navy is especially powerful and patrols the waters of the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
1832CE: Ottoman power starts to wane as the Greeks rebel and declare independence. Over the next century many other Ottoman subjects break off from Ottoman rule.
1853-1856: Crimean war takes place against the Russians with the British and French supporting the Turkish army.
1876: The last of the great Ottoman rulers, Sultan Abdul Hamid II assumes control of the empire and institutes a new constitution which he does away with soon after in order to assume direct personal control.
1908: A group of disgruntled Turks who are in favour of western style reform and modernisation known as the Young Turks act to restore the constitution.
1909: Turkish Parliament deposes Sultan Abdul Hamid and places his brother Mehmet V in his place.
1919: The former Greek subjects are now powerful enough to invade and take control of parts of Turkey including the town of Smyrna.
1920-1922: The Turkish war of independence. The Greeks who had reached almost as far as Ankara are pushed back by the Turks through fighting.
1924: The modern Turkish state is born with its own national constitution. Many western style reforms are introduced including a ban on polygamy and a switch from the Arabic alphabet to the Latin alphabet.
Spain gets rabbi with Marrano roots for first time since Inquisition
For the first time since the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, a descendant of forcibly-converted Spanish Jews will return to Spain to serve as a rabbi.... (Read more)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Medeival Hebrew Poetry
Check out some cool websites which go into more detail about poetry and the poets who wrote them in connection with our lecture from Monday:
http://www.medievalhebrewpoetry.org/
The Poet of Malaga - About Shlomo Ibn Gvirol
Poems of R. Yehudah HaLevi - (Hebrew)
More to come...
http://www.medievalhebrewpoetry.org/
The Poet of Malaga - About Shlomo Ibn Gvirol
Poems of R. Yehudah HaLevi - (Hebrew)
More to come...
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Spain - Turkey Syllabus
Kivunim: Civilization 5770/2009-2010 Academic Write-up
UNIT III – Spain/Turkey
Main Lecturers: Renee Levine Melammed, Yaron Ben Naeh, Alon Liel
Teaching Assistant: Josh Weinberg
Session 1: Mon. Jan. 25th (13:30-14:30) – Debrief from Morocco - TA
Session 2: Wednesday January 27, 2010 (14:30-15:30 - 15:45-16:45)
Prof. Renée Levine Melammed
Introduction: A History of the Jews in Spain
Pre-Islamic Era
Reading:
• Yitzhak Baer, A History of the Jews in Christian Spain, 1, 1-22. JPS: Philadelphia, 1961 (1st ed.); 1992 (2nd ed.).
The Islamic Conquest - 15:45-16:45
• Eliyahu Ashtor, “The Conquest of Spain,” The Jews of Moslem Spain, 1, 3-42, 407-410. JPS: Philadelphia, 1973.
Thursday Jan. 28th (15:00-16:00) – TA Session
Session 3: “The Golden Age of Spain”
Monday Feb. 1st (16:00-17:30)
Reading:
• “Al-Andalus: The So-Called ‘Golden Age’ of Spanish Jewry” – Menachem Ben Sasson
• Eliyahu Ashtor, “Hasdai ibn Shaprut,” The Jews of Moslem Spain, op. cit., 1, 155-227, 419-428.
Session 4: The Reconquista
Wed. February 3rd (14:30-15:30) (15:45-16:45)
Reading:
• Jonathan Ray, The Sephardic Frontier: The Reconquista and the Jewish Community in Medieval Iberia, 1-35. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006.
Christian Rule and Convivencia (15:45-16:45)
• Haim Beinart, "The Jews of Castile," in Moreshet Sepharad: The Sephardi Legacy, op. cit., 1: 11-41, ed. H. Beinart. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1992.
• Yom Tov Assis, "The Jews in the Crown of Aragon and its Dominions," ibid., 1: 44-102.
Session 5: T.A. Session
Thurs. Feb 4th (15:00-16:00)
Session 6: The Conversos and the Inquisition
Mon. Feb 8th (16:00-17:30)
Reading:
• Haim Beinart, “The Great Conversion and the Converso Problem,” in Moreshet Sepharad, op. cit., 1: 346-382.
• Michael Glatzer, “Pablo de Santa Maria on the Events of 1391,” Antisemitism through the Ages, ed. Shmuel Almog, 127-137. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1988.
Session 7: The Expulsion of the Jews and the Moslem Experience
Wed. February 10th (14:30-15:30) (15:45-16:45)
Reading:
• Haim Beinart, “The Expulsion from Spain: Causes and Results,” in Moreshet Sepharad, op. cit., 2: 11-42.
• Note: “Edict of Expulsion”, pp. 28-31.
The Sephardi Diaspora – (15:45-16:45)
• Renée Levine Melammed, “The Portuguese Experience” and “Italy,” in A Question of Identity: Iberian Conversos in Historical Perspective, 51-67, 187-193; 109-133, 203-209. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Session 8: T.A Session
Thurs. Feb 11th (15:00-16:00)
Session 9: An Introduction to Turkey and the Ottoman Empire
Mon. Feb 15th (12:00-13:00)
Reading:
• “The Ottomans”: http://wsu.edu/~dee/OTTOMAN/OTTOMAN1.HTM
• Maps: http://www.naqshbandi.org/ottomans/maps/default.htm
http://lexicorient.com/e.o/atlas/h-ottomans.htm
Session 10: The Jews of the Ottoman Empire - Prof Yaron Ben Naeh
Wed. Feb. 17th (14:30-15:30) (15:45-16:45)
Reading:
• Chapter • 12 • The Ottoman Jews p. 256
• Aspects in the character of Ottoman Jewry. Dr. Yaron Ben-Naeh
o Ben-Naeh - Reading #3
Session 11: T.A. Session
Thurs. Feb 18th (15:00-16:00)
Session 12: Israel-Turkey Relations from 1947-2010. Dr. Alon Liel
Mon. Feb 22nd (12:00-13:00)
Reading:
• “Turkey–Israel - Relations under Severe Strain” Dr. Alon Liel
• “The Strategic Depth Doctrine of Turkish Foreign Policy” – Alexander Murinson
Session 13: Israel-Turkey Relations Continued – Dr. Alon Liel
Wed. Feb. 24th (14:30-15:30) (15:45-16:45)
Session 14: T.A. Session
Thurs. Feb. 25th (15:00-16:00)
March 2nd – Leave for Spain!
UNIT III – Spain/Turkey
Main Lecturers: Renee Levine Melammed, Yaron Ben Naeh, Alon Liel
Teaching Assistant: Josh Weinberg
Session 1: Mon. Jan. 25th (13:30-14:30) – Debrief from Morocco - TA
Session 2: Wednesday January 27, 2010 (14:30-15:30 - 15:45-16:45)
Prof. Renée Levine Melammed
Introduction: A History of the Jews in Spain
Pre-Islamic Era
Reading:
• Yitzhak Baer, A History of the Jews in Christian Spain, 1, 1-22. JPS: Philadelphia, 1961 (1st ed.); 1992 (2nd ed.).
The Islamic Conquest - 15:45-16:45
• Eliyahu Ashtor, “The Conquest of Spain,” The Jews of Moslem Spain, 1, 3-42, 407-410. JPS: Philadelphia, 1973.
Thursday Jan. 28th (15:00-16:00) – TA Session
Session 3: “The Golden Age of Spain”
Monday Feb. 1st (16:00-17:30)
Reading:
• “Al-Andalus: The So-Called ‘Golden Age’ of Spanish Jewry” – Menachem Ben Sasson
• Eliyahu Ashtor, “Hasdai ibn Shaprut,” The Jews of Moslem Spain, op. cit., 1, 155-227, 419-428.
Session 4: The Reconquista
Wed. February 3rd (14:30-15:30) (15:45-16:45)
Reading:
• Jonathan Ray, The Sephardic Frontier: The Reconquista and the Jewish Community in Medieval Iberia, 1-35. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2006.
Christian Rule and Convivencia (15:45-16:45)
• Haim Beinart, "The Jews of Castile," in Moreshet Sepharad: The Sephardi Legacy, op. cit., 1: 11-41, ed. H. Beinart. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1992.
• Yom Tov Assis, "The Jews in the Crown of Aragon and its Dominions," ibid., 1: 44-102.
Session 5: T.A. Session
Thurs. Feb 4th (15:00-16:00)
Session 6: The Conversos and the Inquisition
Mon. Feb 8th (16:00-17:30)
Reading:
• Haim Beinart, “The Great Conversion and the Converso Problem,” in Moreshet Sepharad, op. cit., 1: 346-382.
• Michael Glatzer, “Pablo de Santa Maria on the Events of 1391,” Antisemitism through the Ages, ed. Shmuel Almog, 127-137. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1988.
Session 7: The Expulsion of the Jews and the Moslem Experience
Wed. February 10th (14:30-15:30) (15:45-16:45)
Reading:
• Haim Beinart, “The Expulsion from Spain: Causes and Results,” in Moreshet Sepharad, op. cit., 2: 11-42.
• Note: “Edict of Expulsion”, pp. 28-31.
The Sephardi Diaspora – (15:45-16:45)
• Renée Levine Melammed, “The Portuguese Experience” and “Italy,” in A Question of Identity: Iberian Conversos in Historical Perspective, 51-67, 187-193; 109-133, 203-209. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Session 8: T.A Session
Thurs. Feb 11th (15:00-16:00)
Session 9: An Introduction to Turkey and the Ottoman Empire
Mon. Feb 15th (12:00-13:00)
Reading:
• “The Ottomans”: http://wsu.edu/~dee/OTTOMAN/OTTOMAN1.HTM
• Maps: http://www.naqshbandi.org/ottomans/maps/default.htm
http://lexicorient.com/e.o/atlas/h-ottomans.htm
Session 10: The Jews of the Ottoman Empire - Prof Yaron Ben Naeh
Wed. Feb. 17th (14:30-15:30) (15:45-16:45)
Reading:
• Chapter • 12 • The Ottoman Jews p. 256
• Aspects in the character of Ottoman Jewry. Dr. Yaron Ben-Naeh
o Ben-Naeh - Reading #3
Session 11: T.A. Session
Thurs. Feb 18th (15:00-16:00)
Session 12: Israel-Turkey Relations from 1947-2010. Dr. Alon Liel
Mon. Feb 22nd (12:00-13:00)
Reading:
• “Turkey–Israel - Relations under Severe Strain” Dr. Alon Liel
• “The Strategic Depth Doctrine of Turkish Foreign Policy” – Alexander Murinson
Session 13: Israel-Turkey Relations Continued – Dr. Alon Liel
Wed. Feb. 24th (14:30-15:30) (15:45-16:45)
Session 14: T.A. Session
Thurs. Feb. 25th (15:00-16:00)
March 2nd – Leave for Spain!
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