On the Names of Livorno in the Hebrew Arabic-Speaking World

Abstract

Whereas the Tunisian Arabic name for people from Livorno (Leghorn) has received attention in the scholarly literature, the same cannot be said for the Baghdadi Judaeo-Arabic name of Livorno. The latter subject is the original and necessary contribution of this article: the Maghreb is not Western Asia. In order to more fully appreciate how the Baghdadi Jewish name for Livorno came into being, the history of the export of Jewish books from Livorno is central. Jewish devotional literature published in Livorno (sometimes specifically for the Iraqi market) or emulating the model of Jewish books from Livorno had a steady market in Baghdad, it could be said almost up to the traumatic exodus of the Jews of Iraq in 1950‑51. Through Baghdad or London, the outreach of such books from or emulating Livorno for use by Jews of Iraqi origin can be said to have extended to ‘Baghdadi Jews’ commercial colonies in India, and probably Burma, Penang, South East Asia’s islands, and Hong Kong.