Abraham of Saragossa

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ABRAHAM OF SARAGOSSA

ABRAHAM OF SARAGOSSA (early ninth century), merchant in Muslim Spain who traded mostly with the Franks and eventually settled in the Frankish kingdom. There he received (around 835) a privilegium from Louis the Pious, one of the three extant privileges granted to Jewish merchants by a Carolingian monarch. It became the standard for succeeding privileges, including the following aspects: court oaths and trial procedures, services and representation, right to trade, and imperial protection. According to this privilege, Abraham entrusted himself to the emperor in a manner similar to a royal vassal.

bibliography:

Roth, Dark Ages, index; Ashtor, Korot, 1 (19662), 188; Baron, Social2, 4 (1957), 48–50; mgh, Formulae Merowingici et Karolini Aevi (1882), 325, no. 52.

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Abraham of Saragossa

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