The Manuscript Found in Saragossa (91 page)

‘What do you want from me?' I asked him. ‘Are you trying to devour me with your gaze? What is your business with me?'

‘I have no business with you,' the stranger replied. ‘I simply intend to murder you if you betray the secret of the Gomelez.'

These few words made my situation clear to me. I realized that I must give up all peace of mind and a dark anxiety, the inevitable companion of all wealth, overwhelmed me.

It was already late. The stranger invited me to his house, had a meal prepared and carefully shut the door. Then he fell to his knees before me and said, ‘Sovereign of the caves, receive my homage! But if you fail in your duty, I will kill you as once Billah Gomelez killed Sefi.'

I asked my strange vassal to rise, then sit down and tell me who he was. The stranger did as I wished and spoke as follows:

Azariah held the office of high priest in the famous temple of Solomon and left chronicles which some of his descendants continued. Solomon, who had done so much for the house of Adonaï, tarnished his old age by allowing his wives publicly to worship their idols. Azariah was justly angry, and wanted to oppose this sacrilege, but eventually on reflection realized that ageing monarchs have to show their wives some understanding, so he shut his eyes to these excesses which he had been unable to prevent and died high priest.

Azariah was the father of Amariah II, the grandfather of Ahitub II, the great-grandfather of Zadok II and the great-grandfather of Shallum, who was the father of Hilkiah, the grandfather of Azariah III, the great-grandfather of Seriaiah and the great-great-grandfather of Jehozadak, who was led into exile in Babylon.

Jehozadak had a younger brother called Obadiah and it is precisely from him that we are descended. He was not yet fifteen years old when he was made a page in the king's household and changed his name to Sabdek. There were other young Hebrews there whose names were also changed. Four of them refused to have any contact with the king's kitchens because of the unclean meat that was served there. So they lived on water and roots, and yet were well nourished, while Sabdek, who ate the portions intended for all four of them, despite this became thinner every day.

Nebuchadnezzar was a great king although he was too much ruled by his ambitions. In Egypt he had seen colossi sixty feet high, which is why he commanded that his own statue should be erected in the same dimensions, that it should be gilded and that everyone
should prostrate themselves before it and worship it. The young Israelites who would not eat unclean meat refused also to bend the knee before a statue. Sabdek, on the other hand, did so fervently and in his memoirs, written in his own hand, he commanded his descendants to bow before kings, their statues, their favourites, their mistresses and even their lap–dogs.

Obadiah, or Sabdek, was the father of Salathiel, who lived in the time of Xerxes, whom we Jews called Ahasuerus. This King of Persia had a favourite called Hamman, an extraordinarily arrogant and haughty man. Hamman had it proclaimed that any person who did not prostrate himself before him would be hanged. Salathiel was the first to pay this homage to him. But when Hamman was hanged himself Salathiel was also the first to bow before Mardochee.

Salathiel was the father of Malachiel and the grandfather of Zaphad, who lived in Jerusalem at the time when Nehemiah was governor. The Jewish women and girls were not very attractive. Moabites and Ashdodites were preferred to them. Zaphad married two Ashdodites. Nehemiah cursed him, hit him with his fist and, as that holy man reports himself in his chronicle, tore out the hair of his beard. In spite of this, Zaphad recommended to his descendants in his memoirs that if other women should please them no note should be taken of the opinion of the Jews.

Zaphad was the father of Naasson, the grandfather of Elphad, the great-grandfather of Zorobabel, who in turn engendered Elhuan and was the grandfather of Jehosabhebet. He lived at a time when the Jews rebelled against the Maccabees. Jehosabhebet, being by nature opposed to war, sought refuge in Kassiat, a Spanish town then inhabited by the Carthaginians.

Jehosabhebet was the father of Jonathan and the grandfather of Kalamil, who went back to Jerusalem when he discovered that peace had returned to that country. But he kept his house at Kassiat and the other property he had acquired in the vicinity of the town. As you will remember, our family divided into two branches during the exile in Babylon. Jehozadak, the head of the senior line, was a decent, pious Israelite and all his descendants have followed his example. I don't know why there was such hate between the two branches, but the elder line had to emigrate to Egypt, where it served the God of Israel
in the temple founded by Onias. This line died out, or rather it lived on only in the person of Ahasuerus, known as the Wandering Jew.

Kalamil was the father of Eliphas, the grandfather of Elishua and the great-grandfather of Ephraim. In his time the Emperor Caligula wanted to erect a statue of himself in the temple at Jerusalem. The whole sanhedrin assembled. Ephraim, one of its members, was of the opinion that not only the emperor's statue, but that of his horse, which was already a consul, should be erected. But Jerusalem rose up in revolt against Petronius, the pro-consul, and the emperor had to abandon his project.

Ephraim was the father of Nebayoth. In his time Jerusalem rose up against Vespasian. Nebayoth did not wait to see how events turned out, but came to Spain, where our family, as I have already said, had considerable possessions. Nebayoth was the father of Jehosub, grandfather of Simran and the great-grandfather of Rephaiah, who was the father of Jeremiah. Now Jeremiah became astrologer to the court of Gonderic, the King of the Vandals.

Jeremiah was the father of Ezbon, the grandfather of Uzego and the great-grandfather of Jeremoth, who was the father of Anathot and the grandfather of Alemeth. In Alemeth's time Youssouf ben Taher invaded Spain with a view to conquering and converting the country. Alemeth presented himself to the Moorish chief and asked his permission to be converted to the religion of the prophet.

‘You well know, my friend,' said the chief, ‘that on judgement day all the Jews will be transformed into donkeys and will have to carry believers to paradise. So if you adopt our faith we will risk one day finding ourselves short of mounts.'

This was not a very courteous reply, but Alemeth found consolation in the way he was treated by Massoud, brother of Youssouf. Massoud kept him by him and entrusted him with several missions to Africa and Egypt. Alemeth was the father of Sufi, the grandfather of Gumi and the great-grandfather of Jeser, who was the father of Shalloum, the first
sarraf
or paymaster of the court of the mahdi.

Shalloum settled at Kairouan and had two sons, Makir and Mahab. The first remained at Kairouan, the other came to Spain, entered the service of the Cassar Gomelez and maintained contact with the Gomelez in Africa and Egypt.

Mahab was the father of Jehophelet, the grandfather of Malkiel, the great-grandfather of Behrez and the great-great-grandfather of Dehod, who was the father of Sachamer, the grandfather of Shova, the great-grandfather of Achieg and the great-great-grandfather of Bereg, who had a son, Abdon.

Realizing that the Moors were being driven out of all of Spain, Abdon became a convert to Christianity two years before the fall of Granada. King Ferdinand was his godfather. In spite of that, Abdon remained in the service of the Gomelez, abjured the prophet from Nazareth in his old age, and reverted to the faith of his ancestors.

Abdon was the father of Mehrital and the grandfather of Asael. In Asael's time Billah, the last legislator of the inhabitants of the caves, murdered Sefi. One day Sheikh Billah summoned Asael and spoke to him as follows:

‘You know that I have killed Sefi. His death was predestined by the prophet, who desires the caliphate to revert to the descendants of Ali. I have therefore formed an alliance of four families. The Isids of Babylon, the Kabyles of Egypt, and the Benazars of Africa. The chiefs of these three families undertake, in their own name and in that of their descendants, to send in turn every three years a courageous, intelligent, experienced, prudent – even cunning – man to our caves. His task will consist in verifying that all that happens in our caves is according to the laws. In cases where they are broken, he has the right to kill the sheikh, the six chiefs of the tribes living in the caves – in short, all those who have brought guilt upon themselves. As a reward for his services, he will receive seventy thousand pieces of pure gold or one hundred thousand sequins converted into your currency.'

‘Powerful sheikh,' replied Asael, ‘you have only named three families. Which will be the fourth?'

‘Yours,' said Billah, ‘and for that you will receive thirty thousand gold pieces a year. But you must undertake to maintain contact and write letters. You will even take part in the running of the caves. If, on the other hand, you should fail in any way, one of the families is charged with the task of killing you at once.'

Asael wanted time to think but his cupidity triumphed and so he accepted this commitment for himself and his descendants.

Asael was the father of Gerson. The three families received every
three years seventy thousand gold pieces. Gerson was the father of Mamoun, that is to say, of me. Faithful to the obligations of my grandfather, I have assiduously served the sovereign of the caves. After the epidemic of the plague I drew on my own fortune to pay the Benazars the seventy thousand pieces which were their due. I have just paid homage to you and sworn you unswerving loyalty.