Hakham Bashi (Turkish: Hahambaşı) is the Turkish name for the Chief Rabbi of the nation. // Chief rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ...

History

Chief Rabbi Jacob Saul Dwek, Hakham Bashi of Aleppo, Syria, 1908.

The institution of the Hakham Bashi was established by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II, as part of his policy of governing his exceedingly diverse subjects according to their own laws and authorities wherever possible. Religion was considered as primordial aspect of a communities 'national' identity, so the term Ethnarch has been applied to such religious leaders, especially the (Greek Orthodox) Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (i.e. in the Sultan's imperial capital, renamed Istanbul in 1930 but replaced by Ankara as republican capital in 1923). As Islam was the official religion of both court and state, the Chief Mufti in Istanbul has a much higher status, even of cabinet rank. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Aleppo (or Halab Arabic: , ) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–65) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (Ä°stanbul, 1453–1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–22 Mehmed VI... Mehmed II Mehmed II (March 30, 1432 – May 3, 1481; nicknamed el-Fatih, the Conqueror) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to 1446, and later from 1451 to 1481. ... Ethnarch refers generally to political leadership over a common ethnic group or heterogeneous kingdom. ... Greek Orthodox Church can refer to any of several hierarchical churches within the larger group of mutually recognizing Eastern Orthodox churches: the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... Throne inside the Patriarchade of Constantinople. ... Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: , historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the countrys second largest city after Ä°stanbul. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Because of the size and nature of the Ottoman state, containing a far greater part of the diaspora then any other, the position of Hakham Bashi has been compared to that of the Jewish Exilarch. For other uses, see Diaspora (disambiguation). ... This article needs cleanup. ...

In the Ottoman Empire, and as such, the Hakham Bashi was the closest thing to an overall Exilarchal authority among Jewry everywhere in the Middle East in early modern times. They held broad powers to legislate, judge and enforce the laws among the Jews of Ottoman Turkey and often sat on the Sultan's divan. This article needs cleanup. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or a member of the Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... This article should be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ...

The office also maintained considerable influence outside the Ottoman Empire, especially after the forced migration of numerous Jewish communities and individuals out of Spain (after the fall of Granada in 1492) and Italy. A signed copy of the Edict of Expulsion The Alhambra Decree was issued in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain (Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, married in 1469), following the final triumph over the Moors after the fall of Granada. ... Not to be confused with 1492: Conquest of Paradise. ...

The Chief Rabbi of the modern, secular Republic of Turkey is still known as Hakham Bashi.

List of individuals holding the title Hakham Bashi

Moses b. ... Elijah Mizrachi (c. ... Yakir Gueron or Preciado Gueron was a Turkish-Jewish rabbi. ... Chaim (Haim) Nahum Effendi (1872–1960) was a Jewish scholar, jurist, and linguist of the early 1900s. ...

Chief rabbis of Egypt since 1920

Chief rabbis of Turkey since 1920

Ishak Haleva (1940, Ä°stanbul) is the current Hakham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) of Turkey. ...

See also

• History of the Jews in Turkey

Jews have lived in the geographic area of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) for more than 2,400 years. ...

References

• Hirschberg, Haim Ze'ew (1997). "Hakham Bashi". Encyclopedia Judaica (CD-ROM Edition Version 1.0). Ed. Cecil Roth. Keter Publishing House. ISBN 965-07-0665-8
• Lewis, Bernard (1984). The Jews of Islam. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-00807-8