An Overlooked Jewish Community: The Jews of Rodoscuk in the 17th Century

Abstract

This article addresses the intercommunal relations between the 17th century Jewish community of Rodoscuk and other social groups. It examines the community’s social structure, housing distribution and economic activities, placing particular emphasis on its interactions with Muslims in areas like trade, religious practices and social dynamics. By drawing on local court records, particularly the Qadi Registers, this article reveals how these interactions were shaped by the legal and social frameworks of their day, highlighting the complexities of coexistence in those contexts. In doing so, it evidences not only that Rodoscuk’s Jewish community took part in vibrant economic exchanges with its Muslim neighbors but also that it engaged with common social and religious contexts. Via a detailed analysis of these records, this study offers new insights into the nature of intercommunal relations in Rodoscuk. It challenges the often-assumed narrative of segregation and conflict in Ottoman society by testing existing claims in the literature through the case of the Jews of Rodoscuk. It concludes that Jews in this region in fact lived in relative harmony with Muslims and other groups in their vicinity.