Diplomacy in an Age of Armageddon: A Look at David Reubeni’s Rhetorical Strategy
When and Where
Description
Diplomacy in an Age of Armageddon: A Look at David Reubeni’s Rhetorical Strategy
Alan Verskin Samuel J Zacks Chair in Jewish History ~ University of Toronto
Tuesday, 12 March 2024 at 4:30 p.m. (EST) In person: Natalie Zemon Davis Conference Room Room 2098 - Sidney Smith Hall (100 St George St.)
Online: via Zoom: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/8295319716
In 1524 David Reubeni appeared in Venice, claiming to be the emissary of a vast Arabian Jewish kingdom. To Jews, he promised that he would use his army to rescue them from persecution and return them to the Holy Land. To Christians, he promised that, in exchange for weapons, his army would unite with them against an ascendant Ottoman Empire. In order to rally Christians and Jews to his cause, he skillfully drew upon a set of messianic hopes that they held in common. This talk explores Reubeni’s strategy and the reasons that many found his message to be so plausible.
Alan Verskin works on religious, legal, and social history in both Jewish and Islamic contexts, from the middle ages through the nineteenth century. His most recent book, Diary of a Black Jewish Messiah: The Sixteenth-Century Journey of David Reubeni through Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, explores Jewish messianic responses to Iberian forced conversion and expulsion.
