Joseph Azar (merchant)

Joseph Azar (fl. 14th century CE?) was a Jewish merchant and aristocrat in Kochi (Cochin), on the Malabar Coast in south India. He was a descendant of Joseph Rabban, a prominent merchant on the Malabar Coast in early 11th century CE.[1] According to tradition, Azar was a member of one of the leading Jewish families — along with the Zakkars and the Aarons — that fled from Kodungallur (Muyirikode) to Kochi in the 14th century.[2]

Tradition sometimes also dates Joseph Azar to the 16th century CE.[3]

In 1340, Joseph Azar became embroiled in a succession dispute with his brother. The ensuing strife led to the intervention of neighboring potentates and the end of exclusive Jewish privileges on the Malabar Coast.[1][3] According to local tradition, Kochi's first synagogue was built there in 1344 by Joseph Azar.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Katz, Nathan (2000). Who Are the Jews of India?. University of California Press. p. 15. Joseph Azar was the last in the line of Joseph Rabban
  2. ↑ Katz, Nathan (2000). Who Are the Jews of India?. University of California Press. pp. 38–39.
  3. 1 2 Mendelssohn, Sidney (1920). The Jews of Asia: Especially in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. pp. 109 and 130-31.
  4. ↑ Katz, Nathan (2000). Who Are the Jews of India?. University of California Press. p. 38.

See also

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