Druze, or Druse, the

Still another religious faith finds sanctuary in Lebanon during the Arab era.

After Al Hakim (996-1021), the Fatimid caliph of Egypt, proclaims himself an incarnation of God, two of his followers, Hamza and Darazi, formulate the dogmas for his cult.

Darazi leaves Egypt and continues to preach these tenets after settling in southern Lebanon.

His followers become known as Druzes; along with Christians and Muslims, they constitute major communities in modern Lebanon.

The Shia Fatimids establish themselves in Egypt during the same period and drive north against Syria.

The Fatimids are less tolerant of subject peoples than their predecessors.

Intolerance reaches its height under the caliph Abu Ali Mansur al Hakim (966-1021), who destroys churches and causes Christians to flee to the mountains.

When he announces his divinity, his mother murders him.

In the secluded valleys of Mount Hermon in Syria, his followers find tribesmen to adopt his religion, the ancestors of Syria's present-day Druzes.

Muslim rule of Christian holy places, overpopulation, and constant warfare in Europe prompts the Crusades, the first major Western colonial venture in the Middle East.

The behavior of the emotionally unstable sixth Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim, is at times erratic and extremely harsh, particularly toward his non-Muslim subjects.

Named caliph in 996, he depended at first on the Berber regiments in his army for his power.

When he takes control of government, his policies prove to be arbitrary and harsh.

He orders, for example, the sacking of the city al-Fustat (near present-day Cairo), the killing of all dogs (whose barking annoyed him), and bans on various kinds of vegetables and shellfish.

His religious persecutions affect Sunnite Muslims as well as Jews and Christians.

He reactivates earlier discriminatory laws imposed upon Christians and Jews and adds new ones, pressuring all non-Muslims, especially Christians, to convert.

He is said to have forced Jews to wear a small ”golden calf” around their necks.

Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, on October 18, 1009, orders the complete destruction of Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre as part of a more general campaign against Christian places of worship in Palestine and Egypt, which involves a great deal of damage: Adémar de Chabannes recorded that the church of St George at Lydda 'with many other churches of the saints' had been attacked, and the 'basilica of the Lord's Sepulchre destroyed down to the ground'....The Christian writer Yahya ibn Sa'id reported that everything was razed 'except those parts which were impossible to destroy or would have been too difficult to carry away'."

The Church's foundations are hacked down to bedrock.

The Edicule and the east and west walls and the roof of the cut-rock tomb it encases are destroyed or damaged (contemporary accounts vary), but rubble likely protects the north and south walls from further damage.

The "mighty pillars resisted destruction up to the height of the gallery pavement, and are now effectively the only remnant of the fourth-century buildings."

Some minor repairs are done to the section believed to be the tomb of Jesus almost immediately after 1009, but a true attempt at restoration will have to wait for decades.

Christian Europe reacts with shock by expulsions of Jews; the church’s destruction will serve as impetus to later Crusades.

The Anti-Jewish Persecutions in France Under Robert II ("the Pious") (1007–1009)

Between 1007 and 1009, a wave of violent persecution against Jews swept across France, instigated by King Robert II ("the Pious"). This period marked the first large-scale anti-Jewish violence in medieval France, characterized by forced conversions, massacres, and state-sponsored oppression.

Robert II’s Role in the Persecutions

• Robert, known for his rigid religious orthodoxy and intolerance, is credited with ordering forced conversionsof Jews within his realm.
• According to a Hebrew pamphlet from the period, Robert conspired with his vassals to eliminate all Jews who refused baptism, resulting in widespread deaths, including executions and mass suicides.
• The learned Rabbi Senior is listed among the martyrs who perished during these persecutions.
• Jewish communities in major urban centers, including Orléans, Rouen, and Sens, likely faced mob violenceand expulsions.

Context and Religious Intolerance

• Robert II was well known for his harsh stance against heretics, reinstating the Roman imperial custom of burning heretics at the stake.
• His religious fervor extended beyond anti-Jewish persecution; he promoted Church reform and strengthened royal authority over ecclesiastical matters, often in conflict with the papacy.
• His intolerance set a precedent for later Capetian policies, foreshadowing future waves of anti-Jewish violence in medieval France.

Legacy and Consequences

• The persecutions of 1007–1009 were among the earliest known incidents of systematic anti-Jewish violence in medieval Europe, preceding the massacres of the First Crusade (1096).
• They deepened Jewish-Christian tensions, pushing Jewish communities to seek protection from local feudal lords or the Holy Roman Empire, where imperial policies toward Jews were often more pragmatic.
• Robert II’s religious policies reinforced his reputation as an enforcer of Christian orthodoxy, though at the cost of further alienating religious minorities.

While the Capetian monarchy would later temper its treatment of Jewish communities for economic and political reasons, Robert II’s actions marked a dark chapter in the history of medieval France, illustrating the intersection of royal authority, religious zeal, and intolerance.

Jewish Persecutions in Normandy Under Richard II and the Papal Intervention (1007)

In 1007, the Jewish community of Rouen suffered under severe persecutions instigated by Richard II, Duke of Normandy. The violence was so extreme that many Jewish women, seeking to escape the fury of the mob, drowned themselves in the river rather than face capture or forced conversion.

Jacob ben Jekuthiel's Plea to Pope John XVIII

• A prominent Talmudic scholar and communal leader, Jacob ben Jekuthiel, sought to intercede on behalf of persecuted Jews in Lorraine and Normandy.
• He undertook a journey to Rome in an attempt to gain support from Pope John XVIII to halt the persecutions.

Imprisonment and Escape

• Before reaching Rome, Jacob and his family were imprisoned by Duke Richard II of Normandy, placing them in grave danger.
• His eldest son, Judah, was left as a hostage with Richard, while Jacob, his wife, and their three remaining sons managed to continue to Rome, narrowly escaping death.

Papal Intervention in France

• In Rome, Jacob made a substantial donation to the pope—seven gold marks and two hundred pounds—securing an audience with John XVIII.
• In response, the pope issued a direct order to King Robert II of France, instructing him:

  "Not to kill, injure, or rob Jews, nor to deprive them of their religion."

• This intervention represented a rare papal effort to curb anti-Jewish violence, though it is unclear how effectively the decree was enforced.

Aftermath and Significance

• While Pope John XVIII's order may have temporarily eased the severity of the persecutions, anti-Jewish sentiment in Normandy and France persisted, often fueled by royal and ecclesiastical intolerance.
• The event demonstrated the precarious position of Jewish communities, who often had to rely on diplomacy and financial contributions to secure protection from Christian rulers.
• Jacob ben Jekuthiel’s efforts reflected the desperate measures Jewish leaders took to advocate for their communities, engaging even the highest levels of Christian authority in their struggle for survival.

This episode underscores the fragility of Jewish life in medieval Europe, where legal status could rapidly deteriorate under shifting political and religious pressures, requiring constant negotiation, intervention, and resilience.

The Anti-Jewish Persecutions in France Following the Destruction of the Holy Sepulcher (1010)

In 1010, a surge of anti-Jewish violence erupted in France, fueled by rumors and religious tensions following the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem by the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in 1009. This event, though distant, provoked outrage across Christian Europe, and accusations soon arose against French Jewish communities, falsely implicating them in a conspiracy with Muslims.

Origins of the Persecution: The Alleged "Warning Letter"

• According to the chronicler Adhémar of Chabannes, Western Jews had written a letter to their Eastern coreligionists, supposedly warning them about an impending Christian military movement against Muslim-held lands.
• Though Adhémar wrote in 1030, his account is widely questioned, as he has a reputation for fabricating stories.
• His claim, however, reflects the broader anti-Jewish sentiment that had taken root in France following the destruction of the Holy Sepulcher.

The Cluniac and Ecclesiastical Reaction

• Pope Sergius IV, allegedly outraged by the destruction of the Holy Sepulcher, was said to have called for Christian action against Muslims, though historical records of such a papal directive are unclear.
• The Cluniac monk Rodulfus Glaber, writing decades later, blamed the Jews for the Holy Sepulcher’s destruction, spreading the accusation that the Jews of Orléans had sent a letter to the East, prompting the order for the church’s destruction.
• This claim fed into existing prejudices, leading to calls for expulsions and forced conversions.

Persecutions and Expulsions in Limoges and Beyond

• Alduin, Bishop of Limoges (r. 990–1012), responded to these accusations by offering the Jews of his diocese a stark choice: baptism or exile.
• For a month, Christian theologians attempted to convert the Jewish community through disputations, but only three or four Jews converted.
• Many Jews killed themselves rather than convert, while others were forcibly expelled from Limoges.
• Similar expulsions occurred in other French cities, marking one of the earliest waves of widespread anti-Jewish violence in medieval France.

The Retelling and Expansion of the Accusation (1030)

• By 1030, Rodulfus Glaber further embellished the story, claiming that:
  • The Jews of Orléans had secretly sent a beggar to the East with a letter encouraging the destruction of the Holy Sepulcher.
  • This act, once discovered, led to widespread Jewish expulsions and massacres throughout the “Roman world” (Christendom).
  • Some Jews were driven from their cities, others were executed, while still others took their own lives.

Skepticism and the Historical Reality

• Modern historians, such as Count Paul Riant (1836–1888), have dismissed these accounts as popular legends, reflecting anti-Jewish myths common in medieval chronicles.
• There is no concrete evidence that Jews had any role in the destruction of the Holy Sepulcher, but the accusations provided justification for their persecution in Christian territories.

Legacy and Consequences

• These early 11th-century expulsions foreshadowed the increasing religious intolerance of the High Middle Ages, particularly the anti-Jewish violence of the First Crusade (1096).
• The events in 1010 established a pattern where European Christians responded to events in the Holy Land by targeting their Jewish neighbors, a phenomenon that would recur throughout the medieval period.
• This episode demonstrated how myth and rumor could justify real persecution, a theme that would resurface in medieval blood libels and accusations of host desecration in later centuries.

While the story of the Jewish "letter" to the East was likely fabricated, the violence and expulsions that followed in France were tragically real, marking an early chapter in the long history of anti-Jewish persecution in medieval Europe.

A mob attacks Jews returning from a funeral in al-Fustat on December 11, 1011, taking prisoner twenty-three Jewish leaders.

They are condemned to be executed, but their release is ordered by al-Hakim, even though he is certainly no friend of the Jews.