Napoleon's Sanhedrin (1797-1815)

[@nowhereman6019]

Napoleon: "Bring me the CEO of Jews!" Portalis: "Actually they're a regional co-op."

[@matthewwallack601]

Portalis: Tbf, there was a council that acted like a CEO, but it hasn’t met in a while. Napoleon: Define “a while.” Portalis: oh… about 1500 years. Napoleon: Then it’s a bit overdue, isn’t it?

[@marina.chayka]

I never thought Napoleon had asked for Mashiach!

[@laurynassedvydis320]

What I like about your videos is that generally Jewish history is not well integrated into a single narative in national historiographies (it remains a separate subject, taught almost at any university in Europe under various names), but you manage to contextualise it within a "living narative" of big events and big trends.

[@69Wolfeman]

The way this lines up with Historia Civilis' recent uploads in *chef's kiss*

[@geordiejones5618]

People seem to forget that Napoleon took control and rapidly improved the standard of living and made changes that are celebrated to this day. His god of war status often clouds his shrewd administrative eye. Probably the best politico-military leader since Caesar in how much he was able to do in a short time.

[@MajorDenisBloodnok]

Yes, modern France still lives on the basis of Napoleon's creations such as the prefets, the bank of France, the counsel of state, the lycées...and above all, his masterpiece, the Code Civil of the French. He was a great statesman and a genius administrator.

[@kerryannegarnick1846]

He also rolled back progress in other areas, but yes, he was a semi-progressive force in that he pushed for the next stage in social development.

[@maxsonthonax1020]

In short, he was a Bonapartist.

[@bretonneux3389]

@@kerryannegarnick1846 yeah, although you always have to beware of the notion of progress. Usually, anti-napoleonians invoke slavery in the french carribeans and women. It's partly true about slavery in carribeans although, progress about the condition of "former" slaves made by the french & haitian revolutions is often overrated, for political correctness. But when coming to women, it's really BS. The napolenic civil code was heavily sexist by modern standards, but it was both founded on the general opinion of the time, and it didn't degrade the condition of women compared to the previous period : the french revolution being a feministic revolution is a false perception, created by the feminine icons related to the french revolution & republic, and the march of women on Versailles in october 1789. But the french revolution had not really changed anything to the status of women, and the spirit of the french revolution was more sexist than anything else : getting rid of those powdered and effeminate artistocrats in power unable to win battles, submitted to their evil mistresses, and putting back real men in charge, that was the spirit of the french revolution, far more than equal rights for women.

[@kerryannegarnick1846]

@bretonneux3389 idk, that sounds like copium. As a woman with a degree in history, I think you are wrong. Napoleonic Codes were sexist af. Of course, society was far more sexist back then, but the Napoleonic Codes enshrined sexism into law in a place where equality of opportunity was supposed to be the order of the day. Napoleonic Codes pushed Europe started a chain reaction that led directly to the October Revolution and all of the advances society made in response to or as a direct result of said revolution.

[@SeekersofUnity]

Excellent work Sam. A delightful marriage of historical scholarship with good humor. It’s a pleasure to be creating content with and alongside you.

[@kkolodner]

I thought it was your voice reading the rebe's letter.

[@AncientAmericas]

It's great to have you back again!

[@Artur_M.]

Truly amazing video! The 'Polish aspect' of it was presented very well. I'm glad you mentioned the service of Berek in the Polish Legions (BTW it's fortunate that he wasn't among the majority that got shipped off to Saint Domingue/Haiti in 1802). You even pronounced Kock right! And on the map you marked such details like the area around Krakow, where Prince Józef Poniatowski was haistaly rebuilding what was left from the army of the Duchy of Warsaw after the Russian campaign of 1812. A couple of (hopefully fun) additional facts: - Berek's son, Józef Berkowicz (aka Joseph Berkovitz or Berkowitz) fought under his command at Kock and survived. We potentially could hear about him in a future video. - Polish national epic, _Pan Tadeusz_ by Adam Mickiewicz takes part in author's home parts - the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, modern Belarus in the years 1811-1812. It presents Napoleon's invasion of the Russian Empire as a war of liberation (admittedly heavily romanticising it) and features an important and clearly positive Jewish character named Jankiel.

[@SamAronow]

Thank Omniatlas! He fully drew most of the maps in this video.

[@Artur_M.]

* "takes _place_ in author's home parts", of course.

[@Artur_M.]

@@albingowa1507 Indeed, googling it led me to an interesting article by Jaroslaw Kociszewski and Philip Earl Steele _Menachem Begin - a Pole “born in Jerusalem”_ (obviously a metaphorical title) in the New Eastern Europe magazine, which is also accompanied by an episode of KEW talks podcast - Begin in Poland decided to fight for Israel (the whole podcast itself also looks very interesting). Apparently, Begin was also a fan of Maria Konopnicka and liked Juliusz Słowacki (that last bit of information was only in the podcast). Dziekuję za zwrócenie uwagi an ten temat i pozdrawiam! :)

[@donaldseigel4101]

This was one of the best historical videos I have ever had the pleasure of viewing on KZbin! The scholarship, artwork, and voice acting was superb, thank you

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Great story told with your classic narration

[@Antipius]

Amazing! Napoleon is such a fascinating figure... Interesting to see this side of him. Thanks for the amazing videos!

[@davedark27]

I love how both my favorite history channels, historia civilis and Sam aronov, are talking about the Congress of Vienna's colorful characters.

[@מ.מ-ה9ד]

*0:27* Your new portrait caught me COMPLETELY off guard.

[@rigelbound6749]

תגיד אתה לא אחד המודים ב-r/israel?

[@TrialByDance]

I was actually watching another one of your videos when the notification for this popped up. I clicked it at the speed of sound!

[@Caniewaak]

Jack Rackham once again with his masterful performance as Talleyrand in this video

[@PrincessOzaline]

"And for gods sake: Burn his letter" WHOOPS!

[@Pawlakov1]

new Sam sprites! new Sam sprites! new Sam sprites!

[@IsrarulHaque24x7]

I just watched the Congress of Vienna videos on the Historia Civilis channel, where I got introduced to Metternich, Talleyrand, and of course, the adament Alexander I. I was surpised to see them making a cameo in this video. And ofcourse, again an amazing video...!!!

[@AB-et6nj]

Amazing man. All of this while at the frontline personally conducting military campaigns all over Europe.

[@arthur4350]

Great video, and I get that it might be outside the topic but calling the Siege of Jaffa Napoleon's worst war crime ignores the stuff in Haiti and also the Spanish guerrilla war. Maybe this is about Napoleon's direct command but I felt that could have used a qualification and caveat.

[@SamAronow]

I was careful to say "Bonaparte's military career." There was worse stuff that happened under his leadership of France, but he was not the military commander in those campaigns.

[@arthur4350]

@@SamAronow thankyou for that reply. It makes sense.

[@CMY187]

Thank you for this video, Sam. Not enough videos on KZbin explore in detail Napoleon’s governing and administration. Looking forward to more videos from you.

[@MajorDenisBloodnok]

You are totally right. Napoleon is always seen as a soldier but he was a great statesman and a genius administrator. In few years, he created institutions which still are the bases of France : the préfets, the bank of France, the counsel of state, the lycées, the reform of the university, the legion of honor... and his masterpiece, the Code Civil of the French.

[@Costin_Gaming]

"For this we can thank one man" I wonder who it is. "Talleyrand." Of course it's Talleyrand. It's a Napoleonic story, he'd obviously be in it.

[@arsha1434]

Listening your music while doing work I notice your excellent use of music in videos. I really felt the awe and splendor when describing how Napoleons reforms, in particular the Imperial Decree, transformed the life of Jews in Europe. A fantastic video, thank you!

[@theoutlook55]

Extremely interesting. Thanks so much for covering this little known topic.

[@denizalgazi]

Thank you for another fantastic vid! You're looking great too all cleaned up 0:27 ! Shabbat Shalom on this Shabbat HaGadol! 👍

[@ludvigeriksson-jelving4835]

I was actually punching the air at the "-Did jewish medernization work? - Yes." great video

[@enriquekahn9405]

My family (Jews from Strasburg) were rabid ride-or-die Bonapartists right up until the 1870's when they emigrated to America. This video explained why they would simp for a dynasty I would consider power-hungry (if highly charismatic) opportunists.

[@athishnirup1815]

I don't think he did this because he was power hungry, if that's the case then why did he not repel his laws which protected the Jews, when he was taking with emperor alexander the first of Russia in 1808 or 09 because they wanted to fix their relationship, Napoléon pressured tsar to implement more revolutionary laws and give Jews rights and abolish serfdom, which tsar refused and called him a anti Christ.

[@SidheKnight]

Your videos are excellent, Sam. I'm learning a lot about Jewish history.

[@hirumbiffidum9145]

I never really knew that much about S.M.O.M. Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Sad as it may be to learn this I am thankful to have subscribed to this channel.

[@SamAronow]

I mean, considering they are a sovereign entity, what they didn't isn't much worse than what a lot of countries did; and it was the loss of Malta itself that led them to dedicate themselves to being a purely charitable organization.

[@parsifal6094]

01:26 I was about to write that Beethoven didn't start writing his 9th until 1822, but then I remembered hearing the 2nd trio of Schubert during the Kitos war

[@BenLlywelyn]

Thanks for that. Enjoyed it. As a French speaker it would be interesting to learn about Jewish France between Napoleon and WW2.

[@silveryuno]

0:26 The boy becomes a man. The convesation between David Sinzheim and Napoleon was my favourite part of the video. The sections from 11:47 - 23:38 are just fascinating to learn about.

[@xtxond]

Made history sound like a thriller

[@cat_city2009]

Yes, Napoleon was based. That's why the feudal tyrants of Europe went to such lengths to stop him.

[@alex2765]

Very interesting and informative. As a follow up it might be interesting to make a video on the participation of Jewish soldiers in the Napoleonic Wars. For example the career of General Marc François Jérôme Wolff or the 40,000 Jewish soldiers who fought for the Hapsburg Empire between 1792 and 1815. (Source - Jewish Soldiers Against Napoleon- Ilya Berkovich)

[@patrickkelmer6290]

Excellent video. As usual.

[@BeneRomi753]

the new illustration caught me off guard As always, great vid

[@noahtylerpritchett2682]

22:12 Anti-Jews (I don't care if the original term is antisemitic, it means the same thing but I don't like saying antisemitic because other groups are Semitic) anti-Jew haters love to ignore the surname laws. That forced Jews to require European surnames of the respective regions. The people who hate Jews will point out "how can Jews be Middle Eastern and not European when they have European surnames" forgetting they had laws that forced this. Can you make a video about this? And if you already have a video can you link it?

[@SamAronow]

I don't think that's necessary. I do not meet such people on their own terms; they are not arguing in good faith. "Antisemitism" was actually coined in the 1870s to make Jew hatred sound more respectable and scientific.

[@noahtylerpritchett2682]

@@SamAronow ethnic hatred "sounds scientific" 😂😂 God people are so goddamn stupid. I hate traditional coined terms. They need a lot of redefimement.

[@cv4809]

Antisemitic made sense because back then Jews were the only semitic people living in Europe

[@brittanyhayes1043]

@@SamAronow I don't believe any form of hatred, religious or skin color related should be respected. This can be also said with Chrsitan- Jewish relations too.

[@marina.chayka]

Not only surnames were imposed on us, they can also be very antisemitic. One really common Jewish surname is Klein, which means "small" in German. Not very nice

[@Artur_M.]

I'm at work, so I can't really properly watch this video yet but I can already tell it probably will be one of my favorites once I get home and watch it whole in peace. In the meantime I'll leave a 'like' and a comment for the Algorithm. 😉

[@DDD99ism]

Excellent work!! I enjoyed so much!!!

[@ShnoogleMan]

Chabad today: We are everywhere and we are bringing Jews back to Judaism. Chabad then: pls don’t emancipate us napoleon uwu

[@tulsatrash]

It's back!

[@Snackitalist]

Great video! Very informative

[@Achill101]

Nice flashforward between 28:27 and 28:29 - if you missed it, run the video at 0.25 of normal speed.

[@noorhanisahabrahman4929]

great video sam!

[@georgecoll5659]

Great research Sam, I really enjoy this channel and all the knowledge it brings. Thank you for your efforts. Btw, what is the name of the jazzy song with the trumpets near the end? I have heard it in several videos. 🙂 P.S my favourite has to be the silk road trilogy, it would be great to learn more about jewish communities beyond usual places. Maybe in Japan with the Hata Clan?

[@Bear_Arms]

Excellent content!!

[@enclavesoldier8893]

If anyone knows what is the music at 12:29 when the section called “The Grand Sanhedrin” starts. Have a good day and thank you.

[@zacharytrosch3406]

Nice new look!

[@BThomCarter]

Sam. Appreciate these videos. Are you working on a written book to weave the history all together for the diaspora from the fall of Jerusalem under Rome through today as a concise historical review which may be used in schools or the public at large? Has this been done which mirrors your videos?

[@danqueseq01]

New hair cut looks good man

[@calebwelch6393]

Was that Stephan Milo's voice I heard in there?

[@joaovitormatos8147]

"a freed people will not go back to shackles easily" - the guy who literally un-ended slavery

[@fredrikcarlstedt393]

From a nobody to First Consul of France in 14 years. That is very impressive .

[@drewdederer8965]

I was a little confused by your use of "Reformed" in reference to the "New" Catholic Church in France (the one under the French revolutionary Government). "Reformed" in Europe generally refers to the local branch of Calvinism (e.g. German Reformed, Dutch Reformed) which were much more decentralized politically than the French Model. Also the Huguenots (French Calvinists) were mostly a diaspora of their own by this time.

[@SamAronow]

The French Reformed Church is indeed the Protestant Church. It did still exist in France, though much-diminished, its members were generally supporters of the Jewish cause, and their organization was the model for the Israelite consistory.

[@Xerxes2005]

I believe the constitutional church had been effectively abolished with the Concordat of 1801.

[@Yitzhak480]

Great video as always, it's good to see you are back and running. also nice haircut!, I thought for a second you are another historical figure.

[@lacintag5482]

How far will you be going in this series? I assume you'll cover Zionism and the founding of Israel, but will you go all the way to the present day?

[@SamAronow]

Until I get tired of it.

[@lacintag5482]

@@SamAronow Great answer.

[@theklorg305]

@@SamAronow Please don't get tired of it.

[@SamAronow]

I will get tired of it.

[@macizogalaico]

@@SamAronow what if you get to modern dayand you're still not tired yet? will you go back to previous times and explain topics not covered yet, not that relevant to the Main History but more like interesting side-stories or concepts?

[@jeannebouwman1970]

"And for God's sake, burn this letter" no I don't think I will

[@gideonhorwitz9434]

An argument could be maid that the modern Jewish world needs the implementation of a new Sanhedrin. A forum/religious ruling body comprised of the most influential rabbis and religious Scholars from every Jewish denomination. Alow for greater dialogue and inter connectivity between communities ensuring consistency of Jewish practice regardless of denomination keeping the traditions alive and overseeing the reclamation of lost Jewish history Knowledge artifacts and even rituals.

[@zertyuz]

FANTASTIC VIDEO. Thank you, you should be proud of your series. It feels like I can more easily conceptualize how the Jewish people ended up where they did today, the end result of ultimately thousands of years of repression, and how it impacts so many people still today.

[@MrWaterlionmonkey]

This is something i always found ironic. Hitler is often compared to Napoleon and Hitler himself greatly respected Napoleon. Yet Napoleon was responsible for Jewish emancipation.

[@rale_p229]

Who said Hitler respected him? Why would German chauvinistic, fascist, antisemitic and racist dictator respect French liberal enlightened emperor? Their ideologies are total oposites!

[@rale_p229]

Who said Hitler could respect liberal enlightener and French emperor? That's just myth.

[@MrWaterlionmonkey]

@@rale_p229 it isn't a myth. Hitler respected Napoleon. He paid respects to his tomb when he took France. He frequently complimented the French martial spirit. This is well known

[@rale_p229]

@@MrWaterlionmonkey Why would Hitler love somebody who: 1. abolished the Holy Roman Empire 2. smashed Austria and Prussia 3. whose own invasion of Russia failed 4. emancipated Jews

[@rale_p229]

They were opossed ideologically in every way.

[@trorisk]

-It would be interesting to put it in a historical perspective since Rabbi Rashi (11th century) who began writing in French and asked Jews to become monogamous in order to integrate into French customs. -The Great Sanhedrin is the begining of the Ashkenazi expression "happy as a Jew in France". 70 years later France was fighting for the rehabilitation of Dreyfus and once again the Jews of Europe wanted to come to this country "A country that is torn apart, that divides itself to save the honor of a minor Jewish officer, is a country to which one must go quickly." (Emmanuel Levinas).

[@Stoneworks]

This video is fucking awesome. Historia Civilis but for jewish history

[@HundreadD]

First video I've seen of yours and you can count me impressed. I've always admired the heavy focus on scholarship and education that seems to be a core component of Judaism through the centuries, and I can see here that old habits die hard. It also seems that the Pope will abundantly deserve everything that's about to happen to the Papal States in the Risorgimento. I'd also just add an observation that Napoleon was right in several ways when he declared himself to BE the Revolution, though now people can just see it as blustering. It's clear from his policies and his early career that Napoleon wasn't just playing at being a Jacobin but really believed in some of their ideas (see his friendship with Augustin Robespierre)--I mean, he essentially owed his entire career to them as well. He once said that to really understand a person, you should take a look at the world around him when he is 21, and that would be 1790 for him. He was an imperial despot, there was no question about that, but one doesn't simply discard an ideology like Jacobinism or remain unaffected by an event like the Revolution in one's formative years, and I should personally think that it is Napoleon who should be seen as the culmination and ne plus ultra of the 18th century idea of the "Enlightened despot", and rather makes Joseph, Catherine, and Friedrich II all look like rank reactionaries in comparison

[@fabrizioruffo1799]

Whats wrong with the roman Ghetto exactly? it hardly justifies being forcibly annexed by Piedmontese militarists

[@EladLerner]

New graphics! Hooray!

[@kerryannegarnick1846]

Damn what’s that song that plays in the background during 24:00? That’s a jam.

[@מ.מ-ה9ד]

8:03 That is incredibly ironic that Irish Republicans supported a Jewish state because it was fit for their interests back than, While today, most Irish Republicans oppose that and support Palestinian nationalists because they believe Israel was a colonial project of imperialist Britain and they see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a "Palestinian struggle against the remains of British imperialism" because it fits for their own interests of their past (and many would argued also current) struggle against British imperialism. What's even dumber is that because Irish Republicans fiercely supports Palestinian nationalism, there are Ulster unionists that waves Israeli flags only because the Republicans wave Palestinian flags... And all are using the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for their own cynical interests.

[@SamAronow]

It's the other way around. The IRA only switched sides on the IP conflict during the Troubles, as one of the Protestant Militias were British Israelites and flew the Israeli flag due to that.

[@מ.מ-ה9ד]

@@SamAronow Oh, nice to know. It is even more ironic since British Israelism is essentially antisemitic. They believe that the Jews are "fake Jews". Nevertheless, both does that because of stupid reasons.

[@alejandroretyu]

@@מ.מ-ה9דA white catholic ethnostate doesn’t like Jews. How crazy!! 😂 But in all seriousness I totally agree. It’s gotten even more ridiculous after oct 7th

[@tropics8407]

Wow. I had no idea 😳 brilliant series. 👏👏

[@jasonwelle]

You're back! 😀

[@samwill7259]

Man...how the HELL do we get from this, this shining beacon of liberalism and freedom for the Jewish people to the same country that would permit the Dreyfus Affair only a century or so later?

[@SamAronow]

Thiers.

[@thibautnarme6402]

Action-Reaction, not forgetting either that the Enlightenment (and so liberalism) had been preceded by a millennium of Jewish discrimination, expulsion,... Tbh the elements of conservatism and of the old Christian worldview are already there in the Emperor's entourage, to the point he even had to placate them momentarily. So it's not surprising that a century later it could go in this exact direction...

[@SamAronow]

There were also factions of future revolutions that encouraged hatred of Jews, much as in Germany.

[@fabrizioruffo1799]

Jews were heavily supportive of the third republic so people who were not keen on it focused their anger on them as well

[@bijtmntongaf]

new maps go hard

[@sampuspitakumarajiva8930]

10:12 man you sound like Tupac. Do you Jews have a song something like "Ghetto Gospel"?

[@athishnirup1815]

I have a question, I hope you can answer this, did Napoléon restore the temple of solomon, a historical Jewish religious site which was once destroyed, a lot of people say he did restore the temple of solomon.

[@SamAronow]

No. The Temple was where the Dome of the Rock is, and Napoleon never took Jerusalem.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

The Freemasons of France reached their golden age under Napoleonic rule. Napoleon himself actually had a low opinion of the Freemasons, calling them "a pile of imbeciles who assemble for good cheer and for the execution of many ridiculous follies" but he tolerated them and members of his family joined them. He also supported many of the same liberal views they held and to a great extent allowed them to become more public. In return to what they perceived as his support and patronage many lodges displayed Napoleon's bust as a centerpiece and the Grand Orient made it taboo for Masons to challenge his rule. This sudden access to influence and prominence was what the Freemasons of France euphemistically called the restoration of the Temple of Solomon. By this they meant their philosophical Temple of Solomon, not the historical physical one. So, yes, it can be said that he did restore the Temple of Solomon, but not the Jewish one, and that had nothing to do with Jewish history.

[@athishnirup1815]

@@andrewsuryali8540 Thanks

[@matthewdavid6134]

Great work, I loved it as always, but this kinda made me sad, I keep flipflopping on whether or not I see Napoleon as a villain or not, and I still can't really decide, but in regards to Jewish freedom he should be seen as a hero.

[@SamAronow]

Here's my take on it: Napoleon's rule was not necessarily a comprehensive victory for liberalism- he was an absolute dictator who re-enslaved the Caribbean colonies and took away property rights for women. Furthermore, his defeat was inevitable, and failing that he was going to die of cancer soon anyway. But he was really important for spreading the general concepts of civil rights, where previously it had been limited to a handful of wealthy, educated commoners, and that ended up being much more important than anything on the battlefield. Think of it like the American Revolution: it was not good for everyone, but it created an environment for ideas that could transcend the limitations of the humans who set it up.

[@matthewdavid6134]

@@SamAronow Hmmm that is a good take on it, understanding that he pushed the ideas that later generations would make good on, even if his own liberal record was mixed

[@omarbradley6807]

@@SamAronow There is a problem with the analogy here, Napoleon did not took away property rights from women, in fact the women did not have property rights even if there was some ideas floating around, in fact in 1795 the convention forbiden Women from being beneficiaries of land properties and heritage. Under Napoleon there was no step back, actually here is were the analysis have a flaw. Under Napoleon, the women *got* the right to Heredate, properties, own properties and land, and maybe it will surprise many, but the women earned the right to vote, every single divorced or widowed woman, as well as chef de familie or Household Leader, was able to vote. The harsher take is the one of the colonies, but it must be remembered who the Caribean reconquest begun under Barras and the Directory. Furthermore slavery was abolished in the metropolitan France, but never in the colonies. What happen was who France lost it's colonies to the British, (who keep the slavery by the ways) and then when the peace of Amiens was declared France got their colonies back, and *mantained* the slavery, thus in reality Napoleon did not move against previous policies, but mantained the status quo. Even if then he will abolish it once and for all, the most intresting thing was who the one who bringed it up as a terrible thing was no one of his oponents but Napoleon himself, he disliked the slavery, and the colonialism, and he did nothing, that was something who he expresed a lot, especially in the Memorial De Sainth Helena.

[@athishnirup1815]

Napoléon wasn't a dictator, he did establish a republic, but it's complicated, he said that the Republic should serve the bonapartist monarchy and the monarch serves the people, the monarch is the life time president of France who serves his people, but The Republic serves the monarch, it's complicated as I said.

[@macizogalaico]

@@athishnirup1815 he was a dictator because he took control by force of the State and then ruled the it as self-proclaimed emperor, meaning he did see himself as the leader and ruler of france, while a president or prime minister merely serve as the head of the governing body and do not posses the absolute powers that napoleon did. it's actually quite simple, in many revolutions and rebellions there'll be no strong leader at first but then a cunning person will seize power with charisma and successes in battle. similarly to the concept of the dictatorship of the proletariat, in which for order to true freedom to exist there must be a period first of high political control to dismantle the institutions seemed anti-revolutionary and to ensure the effort doesn't tear itself apart

[@bobmcbob9856]

Throughout the Napoleonic wars I keep seeing the Serbian revolt in the corner of the map & that has me wondering about how Jews in the Balkans were treated by Christian Balkan nations during revolts & later wars to expel the ottomans. I know there were severe reprisals for Ottoman actions against local Muslim populations, but I wonder how the Jews of Belgrade fared in the Serbian revolts, how the massive Jewish population of Thessaloniki fared during the Greek revolution & the Balkan Wars, & how the Jews of Sarajevo, Mostar, and Višegrad (I only know of the latter community from reading The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andrić) fared in the turbulent events of late Ottoman Bosnia (revolts by Bosnian Muslims against military reforms, the Serb revolt in Herzegovina, the Austrian occupation, etc.) and under the later Austrian administration

[@SamAronow]

That's a good question and I'll have to look into it. I can say that Jews were treated absolutely _horribly_ in the Greek War of Independence and that they weren't really accepted into Greek society until World War I- granted, most Jews in Greece lived in Thessaloniki, which wasn't part of Greece until 1912.

[@bobmcbob9856]

@@SamAronow Thanks for the answer. Keep up the great work. Seeing familiar events in European & Middle Eastern history through a Jewish lens has been very cool.

[@cv4809]

Is that really the serbian revolt

[@bobmcbob9856]

@@cv4809 Yes, the first Serbian revolt/uprising under Karađorđe happened in the 1810s in the Sanjak of Smederevo, which is what we can see in the corner of the map

[@MichaBerger]

Is the pronunciation "Sanheedrin" a tradition I hadn't heard before, or a personal idiosyncrasy? The Greek is Συνέδριον [Synadrion], borrowed into Aramaic as סנהדרין. I would have expected a matrix lexionis yud after the hei if there were a long /i/ sound there. But it's not written סנהידרין. And usually pointed סַנְהֶדְרִין [Sanhedrin].

[@SamAronow]

That's how I learned to pronounce it in school in the US.

[@MichaBerger]

@@SamAronow thanks. Yeshiva day schools in NY teach Sanhedrin. Similarly the yeshivot in Israel (from Ponovezh to the Yeshivot Hesder), R JB Soloveitchik teaching in Yiddish, etc... That's why I asked, I only know the communal norms of one subset of communities. Shabbat Shalom!

[@MichaBerger]

@@SamAronow PS: So upset with myself that I forgot to add in my first comment: I am *SO* happy I found your channel! Continue the great work!

[@jonyprepperisrael60]

great new animation

[@MichaBerger]

Hungarian Jews under the Chasam Sofer resisted any modernization that they thought would rupture custom or the transmission of or loyalty to halakhah. Including resisting adopting family names. Eventually the government randomly assigned them names. Which explains many Jewish surnames. A community could be simply split up and assigned colors: Schwartz (black), Weiss (white), Blau (blue), Gruen (Green), Roth (Red),... Or they would name someone very tall "Klein" (little), or a little person Gross (large). Etc...

[@matthewbrotman2907]

It can be theorized that the Zionist idea of adopting Hebrew surnames caught on with the Ashkenazim because they were not very attached to names that a) were forced on them and b) only existed for ~200 years.

[@SamAronow]

I have ancestors named Red and Black, but they were in Podolia, not Hungary.

[@thibautnarme6402]

@@SamAronow Usually in onomastics Red and Black refers to hair colors. Typically a byname becoming a surname. So unless evidences otherwise, I wouldn't see too much out of the Hunagarian example, especially because ironic names are also a tradition as long as giving nicknames to people (e.g. Crassus, Charles the Bold,...)

[@SamAronow]

So why are various translations of Green and White also common among Jewish surnames?

[@thibautnarme6402]

@@SamAronow Both colors are also in wide use in the Anglo and German world. White can apply to hair or skin complexion (meaning whiter than the average in the community) For Green, I've seen explanations ranging from clothing color to moral value (in French green was associated with vigor et youth), all could be true in some case. Colors could also have a wide range of symbols and be used to denote ironically or not a person's moral or physical traits. Typically color-based names top surname rankings. So either Jewish communities were like any other communities regarding bynames, or they understood that colors were widespread names and adopted them to avoid signaling jewishness with their last name. Again both can be true depending on context.

[@HistoricalStoriesoftheBi-qm3te]

Fantastic

[@brandonco536]

Great work, Sam! I believe you got the maps off from omniatlas, right? So, where could I get access to them? That would be so cool, man. Keep it up.

[@Gallalad1]

These French chanceries. Are they still a thing now?

[@SamAronow]

Yes, though some local consistories have opted out of the Central Consistory. Recently they have been trying to create one for Islam. The excuse for it not being possible is that Sunni Islam is non-hierarchical, but so is Judaism (at least sans Temple) An important aspect of this is that all clergy organized under a consistory- even Catholic priests- are paid and regulated by the state; though the Jewish Consistory wasn't state-funded until the July Revolution of 1830.

[@Gallalad1]

@@SamAronow fascinating. Is this system unique to France? Because it seems oddly reasonable and effective

[@SamAronow]

Israel has state-sponsored clergy but just has the national rabbinate without the oversight of a consistory. This is because Israel's religious policy was inherited from the Ottomans rather than France. I think it would be great to subject the rabbinate to a civilian consistory- much better IMO than creating separate institutions for Reform and Conservative Judaism.

[@Gallalad1]

@@SamAronow I'm inclined to agree. From what I've seen about how Israeli Jews are organised (admittedly mostly from you) it seems like the ultra orthodox have far too much power and influence

[@SamAronow]

Right, this is what I was alluding to with "these were not going to be like the rabbinates of old." What I had in mind was the Maamad of Amsterdam, which was _supposed_ to have a mix of rabbis and laymen but was quickly totally taken over by rabbis.

[@yisroelackerman]

I can't believe Rabbi Schneur Zalman did what you say he did. I was wondering about why he was opposed to Napoleon. ... Wow ..

[@valmarsiglia]

Ah, bless you for using some Nyman music. From _The Draughtsman's Contract_ iirc..?

[@jeannebouwman1970]

Is there a Jewish lawfull way to reassemble a sanhedrin?

[@metanoia6781]

What happened to your hair?

[@jerredhamann5646]

U know ur getting older when the cartoon u use to represent urself is graying and aging

[@patrickrankin3150]

Damn bro you got Stephen Milo for a quote eh

[@מ.מ-ה9ד]

*7:20* How did Haim Farhi lost his eye? Well, I'm glad you asked! *kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6bXmWl6jZqsaa8* (English subtitles are available)

[@SamAronow]

You ought to know that Kan is region-locked and you need to set your VPN to Israel just to watch any of their content (including news). It is my eternal frustration. It's like an inverted Great Firewall.

[@formulaone07]

​@@SamAronow Kan's predecessor entity Channel 1 produced a spectacular series called והארץ הייתה תוהו ובוהו-תולדות ארץ ישראל. It covers all the history of the Land of Israel up until the 20th century and is available here on KZbin on Kan's channel.

[@e.k193]

Based Napoleon

[@andrews1732]

Great and informative video. Thank you. However I find the portraits of important figures very clever, the persona you keep showing as the "speaker" is annoying and serves no purpose. Grerat video nonetheless.

[@jonyprepperisrael60]

I noticed question number 10 wasn't answered

[@SamAronow]

Sinzheim's answer to that was a simple no. He said it with many more words, but it was one of the most straightforward questions.

[@patrickkelmer6290]

22:03 surnanames?

[@SamAronow]

He refers to my misspelling onscreen. Despite having a massive head start on making this video, technical difficulties still managed to turn the editing process into an unpleasant race against the clock.

[@patrickkelmer6290]

@@SamAronow still a great video though.

[@williamg231]

5:20 anyone else have the urge to go to a potion 🧪 shop ran by a strange witch 🧙‍♀️?

[@kiritugeorge4684]

Napoleon: A people once liberated will not be easily returned to the ghetto Haitians: You should know, we taught you that lesson ourselves

[@Jonathan-bx1po]

Great video! Rabbi Farhi probably needs a video in his own right.

[@sagetmaster4]

Let's GO

[@Pennythrowervid]

What would it take for you to go to yeshiva in har nof?

[@gameplayerz8765]

The general defending Acre was Cezzar Ahmed Pasha not that guy

[@lukelee7967]

Nice Spaceballs reference

[@JaJDoo]

talleyrand, what a chad

[@tzvi7989]

kinda funny how chabad seem to have forgotten about their founder's anti-emancipation actions tbf