Ottoman Smyrna (today Izmir) was an important center of Sephardic life in the 17th century. In Jewish memory, the city is linked to Sabbatai Zevi’s (1626–1676) Messianic movement, which began in Smyrna in 1648, and ended there in 1666. Sabbatai Zevi’s claim that he was the Messiah resulted in great swaths of the Jewish community of Europe and the Levant experiencing unprecedented Mes…
Smyrna(3,669 words)
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Barnai, Jacob, “Smyrna”, in: Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture Online, Original German Language Edition: Enzyklopädie Jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur. Im Auftrag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig herausgegeben von Dan Diner. © J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart/Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland 2011–2017. Consulted online on 27 September 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-8894_ejhc_COM_0816>
First published online: 2017
First print edition: 20221116
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