Page 9 - FINAL catalogue.cdr

history

1522 - 1912

In December 1522 Suleiman the
Magnificent conquered Rhodes after a
six-month siege. The few Jews left on
Rhodes after the persecution and the
oppression they suffered under the
Knights, welcomed the Ottoman Turks
with open arms. A new age was dawning
for the Jews of Rhodes, and in the
following centuries Rhodes came to be
known as “Little Jerusalem”.
In 1523 Sephardic Jews, who had taken
refuge in the Ottoman Empire after being
expelled from the Iberian Peninsula,
settled on the island, congregating in the
city in organised communities. Eco-
nomic and political privileges motivated
the newcomers, who came to Rhodes in
large numbers, increasing the size of the
existing Jewish community. As a sepa-
rate millet, Jews were allowed to practice
their religion and run their own schools.
They enjoyed internal auto-nomy, self-
administration and a number of com-
mercial and financial benefits.
Relations between the Sephardic and the
Romaniote Jews, whose community on
the island had a centuries-long history
behind it, were strained at first, as they
differed from one another not only in
language and certain customs and
traditions, but also in the ritual followed
during worship. Within a decade the
Sephardim had assimilated the few
remaining Romaniote Jews, and im-
posed their own ways.
There was a small amount of friction
with the Christians, especially where
work was concerned. Attitudes to the
Jews took a distinct downward turn when
the effects of the riots following the
Η οικογένεια Χούνιου, Ρόδος 1911.
The Huniou family, Rhodes 1911. blood libel in Damascus reached Rhodes in 1840. At that time the Jewish
Community of Rhodes numbered between 2.000 and 4.000 people.
The economic crisis and political instability of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th
c. were felt on Rhodes. By 1910 the Jews of Rhodes had already begun to react by
emigrating in large groups, primarily to colonies in Africa and to the U.S.A. In
1912, following the war between Turkey and Italy, Rhodes was taken over by
Italian forces.
Χάρτης της πόλης και του λιμανιού της Ρόδου, χαρακτικό του J. Perrier,
Voyage pittoresque dans L'Empire Ottoman. Atlas, Παρίσι 1842.
Map of Rhodes city and port, engraving by J. Perrier, Voyage pittoresque dans
L'Empire Ottoman. Atlas, Paris 1842.

Μέλη των
οικογενειών
Μάγιο και
Χασσών, Ρόδος
1912.
Members of the
Mayo and
Hasson families,
Rhodes 1912.