tion can provide mutual benefits for immigrants and the places they migrate to. Various examples of such a situation can be found in history.
   It is known that the Ottoman Empire - one of the largest empires in history - benefited from the forced migration of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492.[2] In this article, I present a case study of a family that migrated to the imperial lands during the Ottoman Empire and was protected by the sultans there. In return, this family contributed to the empire with various services. This family - the Hamon family - which was expelled from Spain after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, settled in the Ottoman lands and assumed critical positions in the empire’s administration. They managed to be close to the Sultans thanks to their profession as physicians, which they continued for generations, and they influenced the policymaking of the Ottoman Empire with services such as interpreting and mediation. Thanks to their expanded network, they also played an active role in the foreign policy of the Ottoman Empire. In short, they held important positions in the Ottoman Palace. The forced migration of the Hamon family thus not only benefited themselves but also the Ottoman Empire. That is, the Hamon family, getting rid of the threat of oppression and death, took important positions in the empire; whereas, the Ottoman Empire benefited from their services by welcoming them. In this context, the Hamon family, the protagonist of this article, serves as a case study to show that migration can have a positive impact on immigrants and their new homes.
   This article examines the situation in the first century after the Hamon family settled in the Ottoman lands, which exists in history and literature but has not been adequately scrutinized.[3] The works of Abraham Galanté[4], Henri Gross[5] and Uriel Heyd[6] can be characterized as the pioneering and most significant studies on the Hamon family. After them, Arslan Terzioğlu, Cengiz Şişman and Naim A. Güleryüz enriched the literature on the Hamon family.[7] This article, which is created by compiling existing resources in different languages[8], aims to emphasize the contribution and benefit of migration for immigrants and the places where they settled, within the framework of the theme of crossings. Using the example of the Hamon family, it highlights the positive situation brought by interaction rather than emphasizing the negative aspects of migration.

 

Jewish Physicians in the Ottoman Palace

The first contact between Ottomans and Jews dates back to the founding years of the Ottoman state, long before the expulsion of Sephardim from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492 and their migration to Ottoman lands. The Ottoman Empire hosted Romaniote Jewish communities from the Byzantine period. With the Ottoman conquests, the Jewish population in the empire increased rapidly. In addition to being a subject of the empire, the Jewish population also took part in the Ottoman court.[9]  Jewish physicians, who were trained in Europe’s oldest and most famous universities such as Salamanca, Coimbra, Padua, and Bologna, were appointed as physicians in the palace by the Ottoman sultans as they worked with the kings in the European palaces.[10]  In the 15th century, Murad II appointed Ishak Pasha, one of the most important medical scholars of the period, as the chief physician. In return for his services, he issued an edict exempting him and his family from all taxes. With this decision, the tradition of Jews being physicians in the palace began and continued for generations.[11] 
   As the situation during the reign of Murad II shows, Jewish physicians already served in the Ottoman court before the Hamon family migrated to the Ottoman lands. The existence of these physicians is also reflected in Ottoman archival documents. For example, while there is no Muslim physician in the records existing in the foundation of Mehmed II, who conquered Istanbul, there are names of one Christian and three Jewish physicians. The names of the Jewish physicians on the list are Moses, Elias, and Abraham.[12]  In addition to these three names, the most important Jewish physician of the time - Mehmed II’s personal physician - was Jacob of Gaeta who was of Italian origin. This physician, who later converted to Islam and took the name Hekim[13] Yakub, participated in the expeditions of Mehmed II, was appointed as the treasurer in charge of the treasury, and had a strong political influence in the Ottoman palace by taking the titles of Pasha and Vizier. Furthermore, it is known that he took part in many negotiations between the Ottomans and Venice and took on diplomatic missions.[14]
   After the immigration waves that started in 1492, there was a significant increase in the number of Jewish physicians from the Iberian Peninsula working in the Ottoman palace. An Ottoman archival document reflecting the early years of the 16th century recorded that there were two Jewish physicians in the palace, Abraham and Joseph. Heyd claims that this document belongs to the period of Bayezid II.[15] It is known that five out of twenty physicians in the Ottoman palace in 1536 were Jewish. According to the number in 1548, fourteen of the thirty physicians in the palace were Jewish. In the first decade of the 17th century, according to the year of 1609, 41 of the 62 physicians were Jewish. As the statistics show, while a quarter of the total number of physicians consisted of Jewish physicians in 1536, in 1548 this ratio was close to half. According to the rate in 1609, Jewish physicians constituted two-thirds of the total number of physicians. The rapid increase in the number of Jewish physicians within the total number of physicians is remarkable.[16]

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The Activities of the Hamon Family

The members of the Hamon family served the empire by taking on various roles such as translators and intermediaries, but they came to the fore with the profession of physician that they continued for generations. With the advantage of such a profession, they became close to the sultans, were effective in taking certain political decisions, and took on diplomatic duties. [17] 
   The Hamon family, one of the most influential Jewish families that served in the Ottoman court, is of Spanish origin. Isaac Hamon, one of the most important members of the family living in the Iberian Peninsula before emigrating to the Ottoman lands, worked as a physician in the palace of Abd’allah, the last Emir of Granada. He stood out as an important personality like other Jews who played important roles in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. To exemplify, he was active in the state administration thanks to his closeness to the Emir. The seizure of Granada by the Christians in 1492 and the completion of the Reconquista not only ended the Muslim domination in the region but also damaged the existence of the Jewish community in the region and their lives in the peninsula. Shortly after the fall of Granada, after the expulsion decree against the Jewish population, over 100,000 Jews were dispersed to different lands, mostly in the Mediterranean basin.[18] The Hamon family migrated to the Ottoman lands, as did many Jews. It is estimated that the family reached the Ottoman lands in 1493. 
   The three most influential members of the family who lived in the Ottoman lands in the 16th century were Joseph Hamon, Moshe Hamon, and his son Joseph Hamon.[19] Joseph Hamon was born in 1450 in Granada. He can be described as the founder of the Hamon family in the Ottoman lands. He first worked as a private physician for Sultan Bayezid II and then for Selim I. During his tenure, he accompanied the sultans on their expeditions. In the reign of Bayezid II, the sultan ordered him to become a Muslim and gave him three days to do so. Joseph Hamon, who was called to the palace at the end of three days, expressed his loyalty to Judaism and stated that he would not give up his religion even if it cost him his life. Bayezid appreciated the attitude of his beloved physician and allowed him to continue his duty.[20] Some sources claim that Bayezid II died of poisoning by Joseph Hamon, but there is no clear evidence of this.[21] After Bayezid’s death, Joseph continued his duty during the reign of Selim I and accompanied the sultan in his campaigns. While returning from the Syria-Palestine expedition organized by Selim in 1518, he got ill and died on the way back. Joseph, who served two sultans for 25 years, protected the Jewish communities and contributed to the scientific life thanks to the influence he gained.[22]
   After Joseph, his son Moshe Hamon, like his father gained great influence in the Ottoman court. It is a common historiographical view that Moshe is the most influential member of the Hamon family.[23] His influence was noted in the writings of many people who came to the Ottoman lands at that time. For example, Nicolas de Nicolay, who was an envoy in the delegation to Suleiman the Magnificent, stated that there were many Jewish physicians in Istanbul, that Jewish physicians were experts at the art of medicine, and that they left other nations behind because they knew Greek, Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew. After emphasizing the qualifications of Jewish physicians, he mentioned that the ‘great Turk’ had private physicians who were rewarded with very high salaries and gifts. He stated that Moshe Hamon was the head of private physicians and that he was loved and respected by everyone because of his knowledge, experience, and prestige.[24] Moreover, important figures such as Samuel Usque[25], Cristóbal de Villalón[26], Hans Dernschwam[27] and Ogier Ghislain Busbecq[28] also included him in their writings which are considered as important primary sources.[29] Moshe’s contact with many people who had been in the Ottoman lands and his recognition by the aforementioned writers indicate that he was an influential and well-known person. 

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                                                   Image 1: A depiction of a Jewish Physician at the Ottoman court.[30]

                                                   

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    Some developments during the reign of Sultan Suleiman also support this view. The first case proving that the sultan took Moshe Hamon’s views into account in the edict issued against the blood libel[31] accusations against the Jews. This accusation against the Jewish community by Christians also occurred in the Ottoman lands, albeit very rarely. In 1545, a blood libel accusation took place in Amasya, which later turned out to be untrue. Local Armenians in Amasya claimed that Jews had killed an Armenian boy and used his blood for the Passover feast. This rumor spread quickly and accusations and attacks against the Jewish community began. Local Ottoman authorities intervened. After severe torture, the Jews were forced to take the blame and the Ottoman authorities were convinced to punish them. However, in the following period, the Armenian child, who was believed to have been murdered, was found. The Ottoman authorities then corrected the mistake and punished the Armenians who had accused the Jews. Upon the incident, an edict was issued by the sultan upon Moshe Hamon’s request. The edict prohibited similar accusations and ordered that the matters be brought to the imperial court in case such an event was repeated.[32] This incident shows that Moshe Hamon influenced the sultan and the decision-making process. His influence managed to secure protection for the Jewish community against unfair accusations. The issuance of such an edict upon Moshe Hamon’s request reflects Moshe’s influence over the Sultan and is also significant in terms of showing the Sultan’s sensitivity towards the Jewish community. 
   The increase in Moshe Hamon’s power is also reflected in his salary. Heyd, who worked on archival documents in which salaries were recorded in the Ottoman Empire, has shown that Moshe’s salary increased regularly. In addition to being the person with the highest salary among other Jewish physicians, he had almost the same salary as the chief Muslim physician during his time as a palace physician. According to the archival data of 1548-1549[33], there were seventeen Muslim physicians, chief physician Seyyid-i Ali Kaysunizade, and thirteen to fourteen Jewish physicians in the palace. Among the Jewish physicians, Moshe Hamon had the highest salary with 75 akçe[34], whilst Kaysunizade, the head of the Muslim physicians, was receiving 80 akçe per day at that time. This comparison tells how well Moshe earned. In the archival document, the presence of Moshe Hamon as well as the other members of the Hamon family and the salaries of other Jewish physicians are also noteworthy. Firuz, Isaac, and Moshe’s son-in-law, Joseph, are the physicians with the highest salary after Moshe, with 30 akçe per day. Then comes David and Moshe’s son Joseph, who received 25 akçe per day.
   Moshe Hamon’s power was at its peak during the middle of the 16th century, as is evident from the money he earned. Thanks to the influence he gained in the palace, Moshe was also influential in the foreign policy of the Ottoman Empire. As a result of his connections in Europe and his knowledge of foreign languages, he mediated the negotiations with Venice and played an important role in the Ottoman-Venetian peace agreement. The Venetian representative gave him 1000 ducats and his nephew 500 ducats, which is an indication of the value given to him.

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Moshe Hamon’s Contributions to the Jewish Community

After the migrations that took place after 1492, Sephardic communities became dominant in the Ottoman Empire, and the power of the spiritual leader of the Romaniote Jewish community weakened. Moshe Hamon became one of the prominent figures of the Ottoman Jewish community, thanks to the weakening of the Romaniote leader’s authority, the activity he gained in the palace, and the support to the Jewish community in various ways. He made an effort to solve the problems between the congregations and restore order. A turmoil arose within the Salonica community, one of the largest congregations of the 16th century, and Moshe had those who did not obey the rules be brought to Istanbul, tried and punished in order to stop this turmoil. As can be understood from this event, he assumed a leadership role in the Jewish community and played an active role in solving problems.
   Moshe Hamon made great efforts to protect his coreligionists and Jewish communities. After the blood libel accusation in Amasya, besides the edict where he was instrumental in issuing, he convinced the sultan and paved the way for the admission of many exiled Jews to the Ottoman lands. He requested help from the sultan to bring Doña Gracia and her family, one of the most important and powerful figures of the period in the Jewish community and who were under pressure in Venice, to the Ottoman lands, and this request was accepted by the sultan. Mendes and Nasi families, who settled in the Ottoman lands after this event, became one of the most important figures of the empire in the following years and served the empire on various subjects.
   In addition to the social contributions of Moshe Hamon to the Jewish communities, his contributions to cultural life are also known. In order to revive the Jewish intellectual life and improve education, he established a yeshiva[35] in Istanbul and helped students to study with the scholarships he established. In addition to this, he also engaged in various intellectual activities. He was a manuscript collector, and this situation was the subject of Ogier Ghislain Busbecq’s Turkish Letters, who came to the Ottoman lands as the Habsburg ambassador. While collecting coins and manuscripts to take back to his emperor, Busbecq came across an ancient manuscript in Istanbul. He wrote that this manuscript belonged to Moshe Hamon, the physician of Sultan Suleiman, and that he wanted to buy the manuscript, but Moshe wanted 100 ducats for the manuscript, which was too expensive for him.[36] Moshe also had a work in Turkish dedicated to Suleiman the Magnificent in which he described dental diseases in detail and talked about dental surgeries. After an introductory chapter in Arabic, he talked about various pains and their causes, the anatomy of the mouth, various dental diseases, the treatments of these diseases, and the drug recommendations that would have the best effect.[37] According to Arslan Terzioğlu, this book was as old as its Western counterparts and one of the most valuable books of the period.[38]

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                                   Image 2: The miniature of Moshe Hamon’s book on dental health.[39]

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   In return for all these services of Moshe, the sultan issued an edict exempting the Hamon family from certain taxes. There is a debate whether the edict was issued during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent or Mehmed II, but it is likely that it was issued during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. Known as the Law of Evlad-ı Musa[40], this edict orders Moshe Hamon and his family to be protected and exempt from taxes.[41]

   After the death of Moshe Hamon, his son Joseph Hamon also practiced the profession of physician like his father. Joseph, who was Selim II’s personal physician, took an active role in Jewish literary and public life. He could not be as effective as his father in political and diplomatic issues in the Ottoman palace. He remained behind Don Josef Nasi because his diplomatic skills were weak and Josef Nasi’s influence was at its peak at that time.[42] Similarly, Moshe’s grandson, Isaac, was interested in medicine in Istanbul and gained influence in the Ottoman administration during the reign of Murad III. In addition to the members of the Hamon family, names such as Salomon Ashkenazi and Daniel Fonseca also worked as physicians in the palace and undertook diplomatic missions in the empire. However, as Heyd states, none of them was as effective as Moshe Hamon in policymaking, intellectual life, and leading the Jewish community.[43]

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Conclusion

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Everything taken into account, even if the forced migration of the Hamon family in 1492 occurred as a result of a negative situation, it did not create a negative impact on the Ottomans, who were the rulers of the new lands to which they migrated. On the contrary, their migration led to positive results. At this point, factors related to the sultan and his courts and the attitudes towards Jewish communities were decisive. The Hamon family left the Iberian Peninsula because they were under pressure to the point that they faced death. When they settled in the Ottoman lands, they were welcomed, valued, and deemed worthy of important duties such as physicians and diplomats in the palace. In return, they served and contributed to the empire with the knowledge and experience they brought from the Iberian Peninsula. As can be seen from the example of the Hamon family, migration, which can be considered as a kind of crossing, caused positive results for the immigrants and the region where they settled. The forced migration story of the Hamon family can be shown as an example of the benefits of migration for both the family and the Ottoman court, and it is a positive reflection of the crossing theme.

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Bibliografie

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[1]* This article is based on my presentation at the summer school and conference on ‘Crossings’ organized in Rabat on 22-26 May 2023 under the COST Action PIMo (CA18140) – People in Motion: Entangled Histories of Displacement across the Mediterranean project.

 N. Fasel, E. G. T. Green, O. Sarrasin, ‘Facing Cultural Diversity. Anti-Immigrant Attitudes in Europe’, European Psychologist 18 (2013) 253.

[2] The fact that the Ottoman Empire profited from the immigration of Jews is reflected in the chronicle called Seder Eliyahu Zuta, written by Jewish historian Eliyahu Kapsali who lived between 1483 and 1555. Kapsali emphasized the compassion of Sultan Bayezid II, who accepted the Jews and ordered their protection. He also noted that the Jews responded to such a favor by teaching the Turks how to make weapons. N. Arslantaş, Yahudiler ve Türkler. Yahudi Tarihçi Eliyahu Kapsali’nin (1483-1555) Seder Eliyahu Zuta İsimli Kroniği Bağlamında Bir İnceleme [Jews and Turks. An Examination in the Context of Jewish Historian Eliyahu Kapsali’s (1483-1555) Chronicle Seder Eliyahu Zuta] (Istanbul 2013). For more detailed information on how the Ottomans benefited from Jewish immigration, see: H. Inalcik, ‘Foundations of Ottoman-Jewish Cooperation’ in: Avigdor Levy ed., Jews, Turks, Ottomans. a shared history, Fifteenth through to Twentieth Century (Syracuse 2002).

[3] Although the names mentioned in the following lines have made important contributions to the subject, research on the Hamon family could be expanded. In particular, the lack of Turkish literature on the subject is striking, and deep archival research may lead to new data.

Robert Tignor e.a., Worlds Together, Worlds Apart. From 1000 CE To The Present 2 (New York 2018) 501.

[4] A. Galanté, Médecins Juifs au service de la Turquie (Istanbul 1938).

[5] H. Gross, ‘La famille juive des Hamon. Contribution à l'histoire des Juifs en Turquie’, Revue des études juives 56/111 (1908).

[6] U. Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’, Oriens 16 (1963). Heyd included Ottoman archival documents in his article. His work is of particular importance as it brings together different sources and brings previously unused archival documents to the literature.

[7] Arslan Terzioğlu presented new information about Moshe Hamon’s book on dental medicine, while Cengiz Şişman created a new interpretation by using sources in different languages in his encyclopedia entries. On the other hand, Naim A. Güleryüz has written an article on the Hamon family in Turkish, introducing the subject to a different audience. A. Terzioğlu, ‘Musa bin Hammun ve onun Diş Tababetine dair Türkçe bir kitabı’ [Moshe Hamon and his Turkish Book on Dentistry], Tarih ve Toplum Dergisi [Journal of History and Society], 106 (1992); A. Terzioğlu, ‘Un Traité Turc Inconnu De Moses Hamon Sur L’Art Dentaire Du Début Du XVIe Siècle’ in G. Freudenthal, S. S. Kottek eds., Mélanges d’histoire de la médecine hébraïque (Leiden 2022) ; C. Sisman, ‘Hamon Family’, ‘Hamon, Joseph’, ‘Hamon, Moses’, ‘Hamon, Aaron’ in: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, N. A. Stillman ed.,  http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.haifa.ac.il/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_SIM_0009179, accessed 09 May 2023; N. Güleryüz, ‘Topkapı Sarayında Üç Kuşak Saray Hekimi. Hamon Ailesi’ [Three Generations of Palace Physician in Topkapı Palace. The Hamon Family], Osmanlı İstanbulu [Ottoman Istanbul] IV (2016).

[8] It is aimed to use comparative historiography method by evaluating different sources.

[9] T. K. Ünlü, Portekiz’den Osmanlı Topraklarına Yahudi Göçü. Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda Sefaradların Sosyo-Kültürel Tarihi [Jewish Immigration from Portugal to the Ottoman Lands. The Socio-Cultural History of the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire] (Istanbul 2023) 87-90.

[10] U. Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’, Oriens 16 (1963) 152.

[11] M. Franco, Essai Sur L’Histoire Des Israelites De L’Empire Ottoman Depuis Les Origenes Jusqu’a Nos Jours (Paris 1897) 30-31; M. S. Sharon, Türkiye Yahudileri [Jews of Turkey] (Istanbul 1993) 35.

[12] As Heyd states, this information can be found in the foundation records of Mehmed II. Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’, 154.

[13] This word means physician in Turkish.

[14] Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’, 154-155.

[15] Ibidem, 154-155.

[16] N. Güleryüz, ‘Topkapı Sarayında Üç Kuşak Saray Hekimi. Hamon Ailesi’ [Three Generations of Palace Physician in Topkapı Palace. The Hamon Family], Osmanlı İstanbulu [Ottoman Istanbul] IV (2016), 798-799.

[17] C. Sisman, ‘Hamon Family’ in: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, N. A. Stillman ed.,  http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.haifa.ac.il/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_SIM_0009179, accessed 09 May 2023; Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’, 159.

[18] There is a difference in the opinions of Spanish and Jewish historians about the number of Jews who left the Iberian Peninsula after the 1492 Exile. Spanish historian Luis Suárez Fernández wrote that about 100,000 Jews living in the Kingdom of Castile emigrated, while another historian, Miguel Angel Ladero Quesada, set this figure as 75,000 based on the taxes paid to the Kingdom. Contrary to the views of Spanish historians, Israeli historian Yitzhak Baer assumed the number of immigrants to be 200,000. See: A. M. Ginio, Between Sepharad and Jerusalem: history, identity and memory of the Sephardim (Leiden 2015) 37-40.

[19] Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’, 155; Sisman, ‘Hamon Family’.

[20] Güleryüz, ‘Topkapı Sarayında Üç Kuşak Saray Hekimi: Hamon Ailesi’, 801.

[21] C. Sisman, ‘Hamon, Joseph’ in: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, N. A. Stillman ed., http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.haifa.ac.il/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_SIM_0009190, accessed 09 May 2023.

[22] Ibidem; Güleryüz, ‘Topkapı Sarayında Üç Kuşak Saray Hekimi. Hamon Ailesi’, 800-801.

[23] Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’, 170; Sisman, ‘Hamon, Moses’.

[24] N. de Nicolay, Les Navigations Pérégrinations et Voyages, Faicts en La Turquie (Anvers 1576) 168-169.

[25] M. A. Cohen, Samuel Usque’s Consolation for the Tribulations of Israel (Skokie, Illinois 2002) 211.

[26] C. de Villalón, Pedro’nun Zorunlu İstanbul Seyahati [Viaje de Turquía], F. Carım trans. (Istanbul 2002) 49-54.

[27] H. Dernschwam, İstanbul ve Anadolu’ya Seyahat Günlüğü [Tagebuch einer Reise nach Konstantinopel und Kleinasien], Yaşar Önen trans. (Ankara 1992) 389.

[28] O. G. de Busbecq, The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, Vol. 1 (of 2); F. H. B. Daniell, C. T. Forster ed., (e-book, 2016) 417-418, http://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/53629/pg53629-images.html, accessed 09 May 2023.

[29] Sisman, ‘Hamon, Moses’.

[30] This illustration is from Nicolas de Nicolay’s Les Navigations Pérégrinations et Voyages, Faicts en La Turquie (Anvers 1576). After mentioning the high number of Jewish physicians in the Ottoman court, Nicolay stated that they were dressed differently from Turkish physicians and cited this illustration as an example to get an idea of how they dressed. Nicolay, Les Navigations Pérégrinations et Voyages, Faicts en La Turquie, 170, https://archive.org/details/wing_zp_5465_s587/page/n239/mode/2up, accessed 05 October 2023. The contributor of this image is the Newberry Library.

[31] The term blood libel is an accusation of ritual murder. It refers to the false claim that Jews kidnapped Christian children and used their blood for ritual purposes. H. R. Johnson, Blood Libel: the Ritual Murder Accusation at the Limit of Jewish History (Michigan 2012) 1-2.

[32] S. J. Shaw, ‘Christian Anti Semitism in the Ottoman Empire’, Belleten, 54 (1990) 1103.

[33] The archival data dated 1548-1549 cited by Heyd in his article is from Başbakanlık Arşivi, Maliye Defterleri, nr. 7118. Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’, 158.

[34] The akçe or akça is the silver currency that had been minted and used since the early times of the Ottoman Empire. For more information, see: H. Sahillioğlu. ‘Akçe’. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/akce, accessed 29 July 2023.

[35] Yeshiva can be defined as the schools where the Jewish texts such as Torah, Mishnah and Talmud are scrutinized at an advanced level. Y. Besalel, Yahudilik Ansiklopedisi (Cilt III) [Encyclopedia of Judaism (Vol 3.)] (Istanbul 2001) 783.

[36] Busbecq, The Life and Letters of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, Vol. 1 (of 2), 417-418.

[37] Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’, 169; Güleryüz, ‘Topkapı Sarayında Üç Kuşak Saray Hekimi. Hamon Ailesi’, 803.

[38] Terzioğlu compares Moshe’s book with Artzney Büchlein [Le petit Livre de médecine], published in 1530, in Leipzig, Zene Artzney [Médecine des dents], published in Mainz, in 1532, and Bartolomeo Eustachio’s Libellus de dentibus, published in Venice in 1563. A. Terzioğlu, ‘Un Traité Turc Inconnu De Moses Hamon Sur L’Art Dentaire Du Début Du XVIe Siècle’ in G. Freudenthal, S. S. Kottek eds., Mélanges d’histoire de la médecine hébraïque (Leiden 2022) 111-122: 122.

[39] The miniature of Moshe Hamon by İlter Uzel. A. Z. İzgöer ed., 16. Yüzyıl Osmanlı Tabibi Musa Bin Hamon ve Diş Tababetine Katkısı [16th Century Ottoman Physician Moshe Hamon and his Contribution to Dental Medicine] (Istanbul 2012) Cover Page, https://zeytinburnu.istanbul/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/dokuman_musabinhamon.pdf, accessed 05 October 2023.

[40] The son of Moses.

[41] H. Gross, ‘La famille juive des Hamon. Contribution à l'histoire des Juifs en Turquie’, Revue des études juives 56/111 (1908) 8-14; C. Sisman, ‘Hamon, Moses’ in Encyclopedia of Jews in Islamic World, N. A. Stillman ed. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.haifa.ac.il/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_COM_0009200, accessed 09 May 2023; Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’ 155-170; Güleryüz, ‘Topkapı Sarayında Üç Kuşak Saray Hekimi. Hamon Ailesi’, 802-805.

[42] Ibidem, 805.

[43] Heyd, ‘Moshe Hamon, Chief Physician to Sultan Süleymân the Magnificent’, 170.

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