Upon being accused of the poisoning death of the son of the king, Joseph found himself in a dangerous situation. In response, Joseph sent messengers to
Al-Mutasim ibn Sumadih, the ruler of the neighboring
Taifa of Almería, a traditional enemy of Granada. The Jewish Encyclopaedia (1906) states Joseph was "hiding in a coal-pit, and having blackened his face so as to make himself unrecognizable. He was, however, discovered and killed, and his body was hanged on a cross." However the 1971 edition does not give precise casualty figures. The
Encyclopaedia Judaica also confirms the figures: “According to a later testimony, "more than 1,500 householders" were killed". Joseph's wife fled to
Lucena, Córdoba, with her son Azariah, where she was supported by the community. Azariah, however, died in early youth. According to the Orientalist
Bernard Lewis, the massacre is "usually ascribed to a reaction among the Muslim population against a powerful and ostentatious Jewish vizier”. Lewis writes: Particularly instructive in this respect is an ancient
anti-Jewish poem by
Abu Ishaq, written in Granada in 1066. This poem, which is said to be instrumental in provoking the
anti-Jewish outbreak of that year, contains these specific lines: :Do not consider it a breach of faith to kill them, the breach of faith would be to let them carry on. :They have violated our covenant with them, so how can you be held guilty against the violators? :How can they have any pact when we are obscure and they are prominent? :Now we are humble, beside them, as if we were wrong and they were right! Lewis continues: "Diatribes such as Abu Ishaq's and massacres such as that in Granada in 1066 are of rare occurrence in Islamic history". ==See also==