Hannover is chiefly known for his work entitled
Yeven Mezulah (, Venice, 1653; translated into English as
Abyss of Despair in 1950). It describes the course of the
Khmelnytsky Uprising in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from a Jewish perspective. Hannover in this work gives a brief description of the
Polish Crown of the time and of the relations between the Poles, Jews and Cossacks, and the causes which led to the uprising. He also gives a very vivid picture of Jewish life in Poland and the
yeshivot. This work, owing to its literary value, was translated into
Yiddish (1687), into
German (1720), and into
French by Daniel Levy (published by
Benjamin II, Tlemçen, 1855). This last translation was revised by the historian J. Lelewel, and served as a basis for
Meyer Kayserling's German translation (also published by Benjamin II, Hanover, 1863).
Kostomarov, utilizing
Salomon Mandelkern's
Russian translation, gives many extracts from it in his
Bogdan Chmielnicki (iii. 283-306). In the late 20th century historians began to dispute the numbers given in
Yeven Mezulah. They claim it overstates Jewish casualties during the
Bohdan Khmelnytsky rebellion in 1648 and 1649. These authors question it as a reliable historical source in spite of its literary qualities.
Yeven Mezulah was criticized in particular by
Shaul Stampfer, Edward Fram,
Paul Robert Magocsi's "Ukraine: A History", and
Petro Mirchuk. == Other works ==