Abraham Judaeus Bohemus

Abraham Judaeus Bohemus , in Polish also Abraham z Pragi and Abraham Czech (* before 1495; † 1533 in Lemberg ) was a Jewish banker and tax collector of the Polish kings.

Life

Abraham initially served as a banker under King Vladislav II of Bohemia and Hungary , emigrated to Poland around 1495 and settled in Cracow , where he and Maximilian I remained bankers. Thanks to the recommendations of King Vladislav II and Maximilian I, he quickly became the banker of the Polish King Alexander the Jagiellon and later of Sigismund I.

In 1512 he was appointed by Sigismund I to collect the taxes to be paid by Jews in Greater Poland and Mazovia and from 1514 also in Lesser Poland , thus in all of Poland. The Jewish communities in Cracow and elsewhere refused to obey him and forbade him for his harsh behavior. Therefore, Sigismund I placed Abraham under his sole jurisdiction, warned the Jews and especially the rabbis to cooperate with Abraham and forbade any excommunication. Abraham used his influence at the royal court to act there as a shtadlan .

In 1518 he received the royal privilege to settle and trade all over Poland. Through the efforts of Queen Bona Sforza , he settled in Lemberg, where he ran a large goods and money office as well as a trading post.

literature

• Abraham Judaeus Bohemus . In: Encyclopedia Judaica . 2nd Edition. tape 1 . Detroit 2007, ISBN 978-0-02-865929-9 , pp. 313 .
• Majer Bałaban: Abraham Judaeus Bohemus . In: Polski Słownik Biograficzny . tape 1 . Krakow 1935, p. 8 .

Web links

• Rafał Żebrowski: Abraham Judaeus Bohemus. In: Polski Słownik Judaistyczny. Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma, accessed March 24, 2016 (Polish).