The birth place of Judaism is in modern day Iraq. It has been known by many names throughout history. In ancient times it was called Sumer the positioning of Ur of the Chaldea and the birth place of Abraham. Tigris and Eu-prates meet at a place with a very famous name Babylon. Where the rivers part is known as Assyria not to be confused with modern day Syria. This region is the birthplace of civilization. The civilization that developed and were highly advanced in terms of mathematics and even law. The religious culture was very pagan that included human sacrifice.
It was in this environment that Abraham rejected polytheism to embrace pure monotheism. Abraham moves from Ur of the Chaldea, to Haran, in Assyria, and ultimately to Israel. He brought with him traditional laws as well as Hammurabi’s Code. The book of genesis is not only a creation story it is also a treaties in opposition to the Mesopotamian creation story. The pagan god spits onto dirt and creates man while in Genesis God makes man from dirt and breathes his spirit into him. The similarities are very interesting. Thus we find that Mesopotamian culture influence he future of biblical law and as seen even the creation story itself has parallels with its pagan antithesis. This interaction is the essence which defined Judaism.
Though the bible is primarily a religious text it also tells us a lot about political events as well. The political reality was that there were empires competing with each other. This was Egypt and Assyria. The land bridge that connected Africa and the Arabian peninsular was a source of competition between the two empires. Sandwiched in the middle was the Israelis. This was a period known as era of the Kings. After the death of king Solomon in 10th century BCE two political realities occurred one in northern Israel and one in Judea. One believing in allying with the Egyptians the other with the Mesopotamians. This pendulum of policy eventually lead to the northern Israelis seeking self determination. This was a disturbing decision in that they were a small state sandwiched between two great powers. By this time she was supposed to be under the Assyrian sphere of influence and was subsequently invaded. In 733 BCE under Tiglath-Pilesar they were invaded conquered and exiled into Iraq.
This was the the first and longest-lasting exilic community. The first deportation was a small one. The Assyrians returned in 721 BCE and according to the bible 27'000 Jews were exiled. This number seems small in modern f=day comparisons however when taken in light of the age they lived and the few number of people in the world this was a catastrophic event by any standards. The 27'000 Jews would later be known as the ten lost tribes of Israel. Though modern academics reject this notion and see it as a loss of identity this is not the view of Jewish scholars. The Jews spread to as far as Azerbaijan. Later they re-joined the Judean exiles of the year 586 BCE.
In 621 BCE, the extraordinary reformer King Josiah rid Israel of pseudo-pagan activities. Mesopotamia went through major political changes with emergence of Babylonia as the new major power. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted the Jews to pay tribute to him as they had done to the Assyrians. However a series of kings defied this which shows the fiercely independent nature of the Jewish people. The first was Jehoiachin, refusing to pay taxes, this lead to his exile in in 597 BCE. It is interesting to note the bible focuses on the masses refusal to listen to their prophets. The Irony here is that their prophets told them to ally themselves with Babylon pay the tribute so the can be left alone to worship in peace. King Jehoiachin was replaced by Zedekiah whose rebellion was met with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem. Then came Gedaliah ben Ahikam, was nominated governor and later assassinated, and Judean independence ended.
Jews established themselves in various industries and many were exiled to ruined cities. The word Tel Aviv means a city built on a ruined city. It is believed the biggest banking house in Mesopotamia was controlled by a Jewish family. When Cyrus the great took over all other empires in the region Jews were aloud to return to Israel. Many Jews hose not to return to Israel due to the harsh conditions that awaited them. Nehemiah who was the kings cup bearer returned to Israel and named governor. The king sent Ezra a scribe who made the Torah the law of the land. This state of affairs continued until the conquest of Jerusalem by U mar ibn Al-kitab in 638/640 CE.
The Zoroastrian were the first of the anti-Semites. The rise of anti-antisemitism an be seen to coincide with the decline of Sassanian Empire. We see many examples of this in Europe where as the economy declines anti-immigration rises. Anti-Christianism rose as well until the total conquest of the Sassanian empire by the Muslims. It is interesting to note that under Muslim rule there not one but two golden ages of Judaism in which Jewish culture flourished as well as scholarship. This was n Baghdad and Andalusia also known today as Spain.
The Geonic Era ranged from 650 to approximately 1050 and this is when the Babylonian Talmud was established as authority. Jewish thought and Philosophy developed under the rule and the influence of Islam. This fly contrary to the modern hostilities between the two communities and it very possible that co-existence can be achieved if this kind of historical knowledge is promoted as opposed to the confrontational kind. This came to an abrupt end with the arrival of the Mongols. They used books from the great Baghdad library as a bridge to cross the Tigris river many valuable books were lost both Islamic and Judaic and millions of people were killed including many Jewish officials and citizens. This was known as the Abbasid caliphate.
The Jews in Andalusia or Spain where at the for front of philosophical inquiry. They with their Muslim counter parts had translated many of the old Greek texts of Aristotle, Plato and the like into Arabic. This had some influence in Judaism as well. Contrary to popular belief the Renaissance did not spontaneously happen. Europeans didn't wake up one day and were filled with the light of enlightenment. They had their Jewish and Muslim forebears to thank by translating analyzing and adding on to the Greek philosophical enquirers they too benefited form these works. How ever with the decline of Andalusia European antisemitism was rampant with the often repeated accusation that Jews killed Christ. After the conquest of Spain Muslims and Jews wee given a choice Christianity or death many chose their faith and died. This would later be known as the Spanish inquisition. This event ranks right up there with the Holocaust. The enlightenment picked up steam in Italy after a lot of th works that were originally in Arabic were translated into Latin the language of learning at the time.
The thing about Jewish history it is one of triumph over adversity it is one of struggle and survival and most important it is marked by remarkable individuals who would go on to change the world.
