According to most accounts, the earliest Jewish settlements in Africa were in places such as
Egypt,
Tunisia,
Libya, and
Morocco. Jews had settled along the
Upper Nile on the island of
Elephantine in Egypt. These communities were augmented by subsequent arrivals of Jews after the destruction of the
Second Temple in
Jerusalem in 70 CE, when 30,000 Jewish slaves were settled throughout
Carthage by the Roman emperor
Titus. Africa is identified in various Jewish sources in connection with
Tarshish and
Ophir. The
Septuagint, and
Jerome, who was taught by Jews, and very often the Aramaic
Targum on the
Prophets, identify the Biblical Tarshish with Carthage, which was the birthplace of a number of
rabbis who are mentioned in the
Talmud.
Africa, in a broader sense, is clearly indicated where mention is made of the
Ten Tribes who were driven into exile by the Assyrians and journeyed into Africa. Connected with this is the idea that the river
Sambation is in Africa. The Arabs, who also know the legend of the Banū Mūsā ("Sons of Moses"), agree with the Jews in placing their land in Africa. As early as Roman times, Moroccan Jews had begun to travel inland in order to trade with groups of
Berbers, most of whom were
nomads who dwelt in remote areas of the
Atlas Mountains. Jews lived side by side with Berbers, forging both economic and cultural ties; some Berbers even began to practice
Judaism. In response, the Berbers' spirituality transformed Jewish rituals, painting it with a belief in the power of
demons and
saints. When the Muslims swept across the North of Africa, Jews and Berbers jointly defied them. Across the Atlas Mountains, the legendary Queen
Kahina led a tribe of seventh-century Berbers, Jews, and other North African ethnic groups in battle against encroaching Islamic warriors. In the 10th century, as the social and political environment in
Baghdad became increasingly hostile to Jews, many Jewish traders who lived and worked there moved to the
Maghreb, particularly to
Tunisia. Over the following two to three centuries, a distinctive social group of traders who were active throughout the Mediterranean world became known as the
Maghrebi, passing this term of identification on from father to son. According to certain local Malian history, an account in the
Tarikh al-Sudan may have recorded the first Jewish presence in West Africa which coincided with the arrival of the first
Zuwa ruler of Koukiya and his brother, who settled near the
Niger River. He was only known as Za/Zuwa Alyaman (which means that "He comes from Yemen"). Local traditions state that Zuwa Alyaman was a member of one of the
Yemenite Jewish communities which were either transported or voluntarily moved from the
Himyarite Kingdom by the Ethiopian
Kingdom of Axum in the sixth century after the defeat of
Dhu Nuwas. The
Tarikh al-Sudan states that there were 14 Zuwa rulers of Kukiya after Zuwa Alyaman before the rise of Islam in the region. There is debate on whether or not the
Tarikh al-Sudan can be understood in this manner. The Jewish history of Mali begins in the 8th century, when multilingual African-Jewish Radhanites first settled in Timbuktu in the Songhai Empire. These medieval merchants established a trading center in the city, from which a network of trading routes were created through the desert.
Trade and the establishment of communities Manuscript C of the
Tarikh al-fattash describes a community called the Bani Israeel that in 1402 CE existed in
Tindirma, possessed 333 wells, and had seven leaders: • Jabroot bin-Hashim • Thoelyaman bin-Abdel Hakim • Zeor bin-Salam • Abdel-latif bin-Solayman • Malik bin-Ayoob • Fadil bin-Mzar • Shaleb bin-Yousef It is also stated that they had an army of 1500 men. Other sources say that other Jewish communities in the region were formed by migrations from Morocco, Egypt, and Portugal. When the Scottish explorer
Mungo Park traveled through West Africa in the late 18th century he was informed by an Arab he met near
Walata of there being many Arabic speaking Jews in Timbuktu whose prayers were similar to the
Moors. Some communities are said to have been populated by certain Berber Jews like a group of Kal Tamasheq known as
Iddao Ishaak that traveled from North Africa into West Africa for trade, as well as those escaping the Islamic invasions into North Africa.
Islamic era In the 15th century, many
Moors and Jews, who were fleeing persecution in Spain, migrated south to the
Timbuktu area, which was part of the
Songhai Empire at that time. Among them was the Kehath (Ka'ti) family, which was descended from Ismael Jan Kot Al-yahudi of
Scheida, Morocco. The sons of this prominent family founded three villages which still exist near Timbuktu --
Kirshamba,
Haybomo, and
Kongougara. In 1492,
Askia Muhammad I came to power in the previously tolerant region of Timbuktu and decreed that Jews must convert to Islam or leave; Judaism became illegal in Mali, as it did in Catholic Spain that same year. This was based on the advice of
Muhammad al-Maghili. This would lead to many of these Jews to assimilate into West African tribes which many of them lived amongst. Such as the
Fulani,
Wolof, &
Soninke ethnic groups in particular. This would also conclude to mass conversion to Islam since these native populations which they lived amongst were predominately Muslim. As the historian
Leo Africanus wrote in 1526: Leo Africanus further wrote: == Jews of the Sahara ==