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		Benjamin of Tudela
The Jewish chronicler Benjamin of Tudela left Tudela [Spain] in either 1159 or 1163 and returned in 1172. During that time his journeys took him to Jewish communities throughout the world and he made a record of his observations of these communities in his diary that has come to be known as the Book of Travels. It is one of the most interesting and detailed accounts of the East during the period of the crusades before the rise of Saladin. Among the places Benjamin visited include Bagdad, Alexandria, Thebes, Constantinople, Aleppo, and Tyre. He account records his observations of people and groups as varied as the Assassins in Lebannon to Pope Alexander III in Rome. His descriptions of the crusader states are the most valuable aspect of his work for students of the crusades. For example, he describes Jerusalem in the waning years of Latin control as...            ...a small city, fortified by three walls. It is full of people who the Mohammedans call Jacobites,            Syrians, Greeks, Georgians, and Franks, and people of all tonques. It contains a dying house for            which the Jews pay a small rent annually to the King on condition that besides the Jews no other            dyers be allowed in Jerusalem. There are about 200 Jews who dwell under the tower of David in            one quarter of the city.* *Selection taken from The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela [Listed below] Benjamin of Tudela [Full Text] The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela Internet Sacred Texts Archive Benjamin of Tudela [Partial Text]The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela University of Michigan Map of Benjamin of Tudela's Travels Through the Crusader States- University of Michigan Jews and the Crusades- Crusades-Encyclopedia (c) Andrew Holt, April 2005- Permission is given for electronic copying and distribution in print for educational and personal use. No permission is granted for commercial use.