Jewish History in Anatolia — article by Molly McAnailly Burke, with 2024 editorial corrections
Nedim Yahya was a dedicated member of the Quincentennial Foundation, the organisation that commemorated 500 years of Jewish life in Türkiye following the Ottoman welcome of the Sephardic Jews in 1492. His commitment to preserving and sharing the history of the Turkish-Jewish community is reflected in every page of this article, which is published here in his honour.
Biblical and historical sites in modern Türkiye
Ancient roots: Abraham, the diaspora, Sardis, Ephesus — plus: migrations and expulsions predating 1492
By now everyone must be aware that Türkiye is a pivot point for the world’s three great monotheistic religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. But because it is predominantly Muslim, many people today are unaware just how much Old Testament history is located in modern Türkiye. Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağ), where Noah and his family ran aground after the deluge, is located in the east of the country, near Doğubayazıt. Noah’s descendants covered most of Anatolia, and one of them, Canaan’s son Heth, is thought to be a progenitor of the Hittites.
The biblical and geographical associations in this opening section — Abraham’s birthplace in Urfa, the Garden of Eden, Noah’s landing on Ararat — are faith traditions and interpretive theories rather than archaeologically established facts. Jewish and Christian tradition associates the Ark’s landing with Ararat; Islamic tradition places it at Cudi Dağı in southeastern Türkiye. Both carry religious significance; neither has been archaeologically confirmed. This article presents these traditions as part of the rich tapestry of Anatolian religious heritage, and readers are invited to engage with them as such.
Abraham, the earliest of the Hebrew patriarchs, is believed by Muslims to have been born in a cave in today’s Urfa and almost certainly lived in Harran in the 18th century BC. Later it was a refuge for Jacob when he was escaping from Esau; Jacob’s well is still there today. Even the Garden of Eden is thought by some to have been in Türkiye, since this is where the Tigris and Euphrates rise.
Yet today’s main religions were often built on the foundations of earlier, proto-monotheistic beliefs which have since faded away but nonetheless left their mark. Four thousand years ago the Hittites’ primary deity was the weather god Teshub, and there were Moon-God worshipping Sabians all over what is now southeastern Türkiye, their temple in Harran considered the greatest in Mesopotamia. There were Persian-originated Mithraists as well, worshipping the God of Light at Nemrut Dağı, Pergamum and Olympus.
Jewish communities exerted considerable influence on the trade routes of Anatolia from very early times, and though it has never been other than a minority religion many ancient biblical sites are in this country. The Jewish bible (known to Christians as the Old Testament) is a collection of writings that go back to the 10th century BC and share many legends in common with Christianity and Islam, such as the Flood and the landing of Noah on a mountain top.
Noah had three sons, Ham, Shem and Japheth; according to Genesis 10, the latter left descendants between Persia, Syria and most of Eastern Anatolia. Ham’s people travelled along the coasts of North Africa and into the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Noah’s grandson Asshur was the ancestor of the great Assyrians who built their empire along the northern Tigris (Dicle). Another grandson, Arphaxad, was an ancestor of Abraham. Heth, son of Canaan, is presumed to be the father of the Hittites who ruled central Anatolia from the second millennium into the 6th century BC, and there are a number of references to this civilization in the Bible.
The Assyrians captured northern Israel in 722 BC, and two years later King Sargon resettled over 27,000 Israelites in northern Mesopotamia. In 560 BC the Babylonians conquered Judah, and again many Israelites were deported, exiled or “dispersed” to other lands. As they strove to maintain their heritage and identity they became known as the Jews of the diaspora. Some returned to rebuild Jerusalem, while others built centers of Jewish culture in the Mesopotamian regions.
But the greatest expansion of the diaspora occurred after the conquests of Alexander the Great (332–323 BC), when migration from Palestine was encouraged. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70 caused another wave. It is thought that by the 2nd century AD there may have been a million Jews settled in Asia Minor, located in most of the major trading cities.
The synagogue of Sardis, about fifty miles inland from İzmir, was once one of the largest in history, built first in 220 BC and rebuilt in the 3rd century AD. The enormous hall was part of the municipal bath-gymnasium complex, lavishly decorated inside with mosaic floors and marbled walls. Though later destroyed by earthquake, much of the magnificent original floor-tiles remain and attract tourists from all over the world. A partial reconstruction was undertaken in the 1970s, indicating the high standing of the community.
The beautifully restored ancient Greek city of Ephesus is still one of the wonders of the world, and was dedicated to the goddess Artemis. It was also a significant stopping point during the Jewish diaspora of 60–120 AD. At the southern tip of the city flows the Maeander River, whose valley has witnessed the rise and fall of seven great historical cities including Priene, Miletos, Didyma and Aphrodisias, many of whose synagogues still remain.
A history predating 1492: migrations, expulsions, and the early Ottoman welcome
The history of the Jews in Anatolia started many centuries before the migration of Sephardic Jews. Remnants of Jewish settlement from the 4th century BC have been uncovered in the Aegean region. The historian Josephus Flavius records that Aristotle “met Jewish people with whom he had an exchange of views during his trip across Asia Minor.”1 Ancient synagogue ruins have been found in Sardis, near İzmir, dating from 220 BC, and traces of other Jewish settlements have been discovered near Bursa, in the southeast, and along the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. A bronze column found in Ankara confirms the rights the Emperor Augustus accorded the Jews of Asia Minor.
Josephus does not cite Aristotle directly. He quotes Clearchus of Soli, a student of Aristotle, who claims in his work On Sleep that Aristotle described meeting a learned Jew during his travels in Asia Minor. The account appears in Josephus’s Against Apion (I.22). Scholars debate whether the meeting is historical or a literary device; either way it testifies to Jewish presence and intellectual reputation in the region by the 4th century BC.
Jewish communities in Anatolia flourished and continued to prosper through the Turkish conquest. When the Ottomans captured Bursa and made it their capital, they found a Jewish community oppressed under Byzantine rule. The Jews welcomed the Ottomans as saviours. Sultan Orhan gave them permission to build the Etz ha-Hayyim (Tree of Life) synagogue, which remained in service until around fifty years ago.
This section gives the capture of Bursa as 1324. The historically established date is 1326. This error also appears in the Burke article on this site; both have been corrected. Bursa subsequently became the first Ottoman capital.
Early in the 14th century, when the Ottomans had established their capital at Edirne, Jews from Europe — including Karaites — migrated there.1 Similarly, Jews expelled from Hungary in 1376, from France by Charles VI in September 1394, and from Sicily early in the 15th century found refuge in the Ottoman Empire. In the 1420s, Jews from Salonika, then under Venetian control, fled to Edirne.2
The article places a Sicilian Jewish expulsion “early in the 15th century.” The major, well-documented expulsion of Jews from Sicily occurred in 1492, as part of the same Spanish Crown edict that expelled Jews from Spain itself (Sicily was then under Aragonese rule). There were earlier local pressures and restrictions on Sicilian Jews in the preceding centuries, but a full territorial expulsion in the early 15th century is not firmly established in the scholarly record. Readers should treat this date with caution; it may reflect a confusion with the 1492 expulsion.
Ottoman rule was much kinder than Byzantine rule had been. From the early 15th century onward, the Ottomans actively encouraged Jewish immigration. A letter sent by Rabbi Yitzhak Sarfati from Edirne to Jewish communities in Europe invited his fellow Jews to “leave the torments they were enduring in Christendom and to seek safety and prosperity in Türkiye.”3
When Mehmet II “the Conqueror” took Constantinople in 1453, he encountered an oppressed Romaniot (Byzantine) Jewish community which welcomed him with enthusiasm. Sultan Mehmet II issued a proclamation to all Jews: “… to ascend the site of the Imperial Throne, to dwell in the best of the land, each beneath his vine and his fig tree, with silver and with gold, with wealth and with cattle…”4
The phrase “each beneath his vine and his fig tree” is a direct allusion to Micah 4:4, a biblical image of peace and prosperity. Its use in Mehmet II’s proclamation was a deliberate signal to the Jewish community, invoking their own scriptural language to convey welcome and security. The original source text has a transcription error (“Dine”) which has been silently corrected here.
In 1470, Jews expelled from Bavaria found refuge in the Ottoman Empire.5
The original text attributes the 1470 Bavarian expulsion to “Ludvig X.” Duke Ludwig X of Bavaria ruled from 1516 to 1545 — he cannot have expelled anyone in 1470. The mid-15th-century expulsions from Bavarian territories are more plausibly associated with Duke Ludwig IX of Bavaria-Landshut (1417–1479), who did persecute and expel Jews from his territories. The Galante source cited in the original footnote should clarify the exact ruler; the name as printed is incorrect.
The Ottoman era: an umbrella of humanity
Since Ottoman times Türkiye has been consistently associated with religious freedom, which paved the way for today’s secular state. In the 12th century, during the time of the 3rd Crusade, the brilliant Ayyubid Muslim leader Saladin had the famous philosopher, rabbi and physician Maimonides as a prominent figure at his court.
The original article states that Maimonides was Saladin’s “personal physician.” This is a common popular error that should be clarified. Maimonides did serve in the Ayyubid court in Cairo, but as physician to Al-Fadil, Saladin’s chief vizier, and later to Al-Afdal, Saladin’s son and successor. He was not Saladin’s personal physician, and it is not established that he treated Saladin directly, though the two were contemporaries in Cairo. The confusion may stem from Maimonides’ famous letter declining an invitation to serve Richard the Lionheart, in which he references his duties to the sultan’s family.
Additionally, describing Maimonides simply as a “philosopher and writer” understates his significance considerably. Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204) was one of the most influential Jewish thinkers in history — a rabbi, legal scholar, philosopher, and physician whose works include the Mishneh Torah (a codification of Jewish law), the Guide for the Perplexed (a landmark of Jewish philosophy), and numerous medical treatises. He is considered by many the greatest Jewish scholar of the medieval period.
When the Ottomans captured Bursa from the Byzantines, they found an oppressed Jewish community who recognized the newcomers as liberators. Sultan Orhan gave them permission to build the Etz-ha-Hayyim synagogue which was in use until recent times.
The original article gives the date of the Ottoman capture of Bursa as 1324. The historically established date is 1326, when Sultan Orhan’s forces completed the siege and took the city. It subsequently became the first Ottoman capital.
In fact so hospitable were the Ottomans to Jewish refugees that, in the early 15th century, Rabbi Yitzhak Sarfati of Edirne sent a letter to Jewish communities in Europe entreating them to leave behind the torments they had endured under Christianity “and seek safety and prosperity in Türkiye” as part of their path back to the Holy Land. This remarkable document — one of the earliest recorded invitations of its kind — testifies to how genuinely different the Ottoman treatment of Jewish communities was perceived to be, even centuries before the famous welcome of 1492.
“The Catholic monarch Ferdinand was wrongly considered as wise, since he impoverished his country with the expulsion of the Jews, and enriched ours.”— Sultan Beyazıd II, on the expulsion of Jews from Spain, 1492 (attributed)
In the summer of 1492, under the reign of the enlightened Sultan Beyazıd II — whose dream it was to make his empire an “umbrella of humanity” — approximately 150,000 Sephardim escaped death or forced conversion under the Edict of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain. They were officially welcomed into the Ottoman Empire and settled in Istanbul, Edirne, Bursa, and many other cities, receiving land, tax exemptions, encouragement and assistance from the government. These new citizens established the first Hebrew-language printing press in the Ottoman Empire in 1493.
The original article states the Sephardic Jews “established the first printing press in 1493.” This needs qualification. They established the first Hebrew-language printing press in the Ottoman Empire in 1493 — a historically significant achievement. However, printing technology already existed widely across Europe and had arrived in the region through other channels. The claim that this was simply “the first printing press” is misleading without that qualifier.
As years went by, a number of famous Ottoman court physicians and diplomats were members of the Jewish community. At the beginning of the 16th century the Jewish community of Istanbul numbered around 30,000, making it one of the most significant Jewish communities in Europe. For many years there were more Jewish doctors in Istanbul than Muslim.
The original article states that the total Jewish community of Istanbul was 300,000 in 1900. This figure is significantly higher than most demographic historians place it. Scholarly estimates for the late Ottoman period generally put the Jewish population of Istanbul at approximately 70,000–80,000. The 300,000 figure may reflect a conflation with the total Jewish population across the entire Ottoman Empire, or may be a transcription error. The earlier figure of 30,000 at the start of the 16th century is consistent with the historical record.
In the late 19th century Dr. Isik Pasa Molho, an Admiral in the Ottoman army, and Dr. Raphael Dalmediko, a Colonel, helped found the 98-bed Orahayim hospital, which still operates today.
One of the most important areas of Jewish settlement in Byzantine and Ottoman times was Balat, located along the upper reaches of the Golden Horn. Many of the people who lived here were from Macedonia, and during its “golden age” in the 18th and 19th centuries there were six synagogues. The oldest and most significant is the Ahrida, which predates the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul and has an altar shaped like Noah’s ark.
Many Jewish denominations have also been represented in Istanbul. Aside from the Sephardim of Spain, there were Ashkenazi Jews who came from the Crimea and a Karaite minority who had a stronghold in an area near Galata Tower.
The modern community: Atatürk, migration, and Turkish-Jewish life today
In the 1930s, the revolutionary secularist leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk invited many eminent Jewish professors fleeing persecution in Germany to settle in Türkiye. This was a significant and well-documented policy: dozens of Jewish academics from Germany found refuge in Turkish universities, where they made lasting contributions to Turkish academic and scientific life.
The original article states that Atatürk “during the war provided safe passage for many to Palestine.” This contains an important anachronism: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk died on November 10, 1938 — nearly a year before the Second World War began in September 1939. He could not have enacted wartime policies.
The wartime period — including the complex question of Jewish refugee passage through Türkiye, the Struma disaster of 1942, and the eventual facilitation of Jewish emigration to Palestine — falls under the presidency of İsmet İnönü, who led Türkiye from 1938 to 1950. That record is significantly more complicated than “safe passage” suggests, involving intense pressure from Germany, Britain, and the Soviet Union, and producing both moments of genuine humanitarian effort and painful failures. The Struma disaster is the most prominent example of where those pressures produced tragic outcomes.
Atatürk’s genuine legacy with respect to the Jewish community is the professor invitation programme of the 1930s and his broader secularisation project, which established the framework of religious equality that the Jewish community benefited from throughout the 20th century.
Since the late 1940s, the Jewish community of Türkiye has dwindled considerably, primarily through emigration to the newly established State of Israel. Over 100,000 Turkish Jews now live in Israel, and the community in Türkiye numbers only about 27,000, most of whom live in Istanbul.
Nonetheless the community remains vibrant. It maintains a large modern high school in Ulus, 16 functioning synagogues, and a Quincentennial Museum dedicated to 500 years of peace and tolerance, as well as celebrating the illustrious Jewish citizens who have contributed to the rich tapestry of Turkish culture. The newspaper Shalom has approximately 4,000 subscribers and is printed in both Turkish and Ladino — the Judeo-Spanish language that Sephardic Jews brought from Spain in 1492 and which is still spoken today, five centuries later, in Istanbul. The community also maintains an excellent bookshop with Jewish guidebooks and history books about Türkiye and Ottoman times.
“Seek safety and prosperity in Türkiye.”— Rabbi Yitzhak Sarfati of Edirne, letter to Jewish communities in Europe, early 15th century
Jewish tourists and visitors to Istanbul will enjoy a stroll around the ancient district of Galata, home to the Neve Shalom synagogue where many weddings and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs take place today. The district of Balat, with its colourful Ottoman-era houses and the ancient Ahrida Synagogue, offers a vivid window into centuries of Jewish life along the Golden Horn.
The Quincentennial Foundation, whose committee included Nedim Yahya — in whose memory this article is dedicated — has been instrumental in documenting, preserving, and celebrating this extraordinary heritage. Five hundred years after Beyazıd II opened the gates of his empire to the Jews of Spain, the community that arrived on those ships remains woven into the cultural fabric of Istanbul, their language alive, their synagogues active, their story still being written.