The Jewish Community of Ioannina: History and Civilization

Authors:

Pages: 318-328

Abstract:

The first historic evidence about the Jewish Community of Ioannina appears in 1319 in an Order of the Emperor Andronicus B’. During the 16th century, many historical sources mention the Ioanniniote Jews as traders whose trade was directed not only to the Greek towns and villages, but also to the Adriatic coast and Venice. By the centuries, the Jewish community had a surprising increase, and in fact, during the 18th century and the Ali Pasha era (1789–1822) became a flourishing community. At that time it was organized in three big quarters, inside and around the fortress of Ioannina, and finally reached the population of about 4.000 persons. In its spiritual life, the Jewish community, since its beginnings, cultivated close relationships with the biggest Jewish community of the Balkans, which was that of Thessaloniki, as well as with the mother community of Jerusalem. So, by the time, there appeared in Ioannina wise Rabins (the so called “Hahams”), who were very educated persons and writers. Some of those wise Rabins cultivated poesy, religious and secular, and so, since the 18th century, a local poesy (the so called “Pighioutim” poems) had been developed, written in the Ioanniniote dialect and serving to various spiritual manifestations of the community. Little later, during the 19th century, we meet satirical poesy too. From the 17th century on, the Jewish community kept the “Talmud Tora” religious schools, but at the beginning of the 19th century the cosmopolitan “Alliance Israélite” School was founded, a local branch of the famous “Alliance Israélite Universelle”. In this school, many outstanding persons taught, among them the writer Josef Eliya. In his writings he combined the Jewish tradition, the French culture and the Greek reality and also he became one of the greatest modern Greek-Jewish poets. But, because of his radical ideas, he was expelled from the “Alliance Israélite” School and went to Athens where he continued his original work. On March 25th, 1944, the whole Jewish Community of Ioannina, composed by 1870 persons, was deported by the Nazis to the Auschwitz extermination camp.

Keywords:

history, civilization, Jewish community in Ioannina, “Pighioutim” poems, Alliance Israélite Universelle, Josef Eliya

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