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Radhanite
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Radhanite
The Radhanites or Radanites (Hebrew: רדנים, romanized: Radanim; Arabic: الرذنية, romanized: ar-Raðaniyya) were early medieval Jewish merchants, active in the trade between Christendom and the Muslim world during roughly the 8th to the 10th centuries. Many trade routes previously established under the Roman Empire continued to function during that period, largely through their efforts. Their trade network covered much of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of India and China.
Only a limited number of primary sources use the term, and it remains unclear whether they referred to a specific guild, to a clan, or generically to Jewish merchants in the trans-Eurasian trade network.
Several etymologies have been suggested for the word "Radhanite". Many scholars, including Barbier de Meynard and Moshe Gil, believe it refers to a district in Mesopotamia called "the land of Radhan" in Arabic and Hebrew texts of the period.[1]
Another hypothesis suggests that the name might be derived from the city of Ray (Rhages) in northern Iran. Still others think the name possibly derives from the Persian terms rah "way, path" and dān "one who knows", meaning "one who knows the way".[2]
Two western Jewish historians, Cecil Roth and Claude Cahen, have suggested a connection to the name of the Rhône River valley in France, which is Rhodanus in Latin and Rhodanos (Ῥοδανός) in Greek. They claim that the center of Radhanite activity was probably in France as all of their trade routes began there.[3]
English-language and other Western sources added the suffix -ite to the term, as is done with ethnonyms or names derived from place names.[4]
The activities of the Radhanites are documented by Ibn Khordadbeh – the postmaster, chief of police (and spymaster) for the province of Jibal, under the Abbasid Caliph al-Mu'tamid – when he wrote Kitab al-Masalik wal-Mamalik (Book of Roads and Kingdoms), in about 870. The Radhanites are otherwise not attested. Ibn Khordadbeh described the Radhanites as sophisticated and multilingual. He outlined four main trade routes used by the Radhanites in their journeys; all four began in the Rhone Valley in southern France and terminated on China's east coast. Radhanites primarily carried commodities that combined small bulk and high demand, including spices, perfumes, jewelry, and silk. They are also described as transporting oils, incense, steel weapons, furs, and slaves.
In his Book of Roads and Kingdoms (Arabic: كِتَاب ٱلْمَسَالِك وَٱلْمَمَالِك, Kitāb al-Masālik wa-l-Mamālik), Ibn Khordadbeh listed four routes along which Radhanites traveled in the following account.
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Radhanite
The Radhanites or Radanites (Hebrew: רדנים, romanized: Radanim; Arabic: الرذنية, romanized: ar-Raðaniyya) were early medieval Jewish merchants, active in the trade between Christendom and the Muslim world during roughly the 8th to the 10th centuries. Many trade routes previously established under the Roman Empire continued to function during that period, largely through their efforts. Their trade network covered much of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of India and China.
Only a limited number of primary sources use the term, and it remains unclear whether they referred to a specific guild, to a clan, or generically to Jewish merchants in the trans-Eurasian trade network.
Several etymologies have been suggested for the word "Radhanite". Many scholars, including Barbier de Meynard and Moshe Gil, believe it refers to a district in Mesopotamia called "the land of Radhan" in Arabic and Hebrew texts of the period.[1]
Another hypothesis suggests that the name might be derived from the city of Ray (Rhages) in northern Iran. Still others think the name possibly derives from the Persian terms rah "way, path" and dān "one who knows", meaning "one who knows the way".[2]
Two western Jewish historians, Cecil Roth and Claude Cahen, have suggested a connection to the name of the Rhône River valley in France, which is Rhodanus in Latin and Rhodanos (Ῥοδανός) in Greek. They claim that the center of Radhanite activity was probably in France as all of their trade routes began there.[3]
English-language and other Western sources added the suffix -ite to the term, as is done with ethnonyms or names derived from place names.[4]
The activities of the Radhanites are documented by Ibn Khordadbeh – the postmaster, chief of police (and spymaster) for the province of Jibal, under the Abbasid Caliph al-Mu'tamid – when he wrote Kitab al-Masalik wal-Mamalik (Book of Roads and Kingdoms), in about 870. The Radhanites are otherwise not attested. Ibn Khordadbeh described the Radhanites as sophisticated and multilingual. He outlined four main trade routes used by the Radhanites in their journeys; all four began in the Rhone Valley in southern France and terminated on China's east coast. Radhanites primarily carried commodities that combined small bulk and high demand, including spices, perfumes, jewelry, and silk. They are also described as transporting oils, incense, steel weapons, furs, and slaves.
In his Book of Roads and Kingdoms (Arabic: كِتَاب ٱلْمَسَالِك وَٱلْمَمَالِك, Kitāb al-Masālik wa-l-Mamālik), Ibn Khordadbeh listed four routes along which Radhanites traveled in the following account.
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