Joseph Nasi

Old Yishuv
A sepia photograph shows three elderly Jewish men sporting beards and holding open books, posing for the camera. Against a backdrop of leafy vegetation, the man in the centre sits, wearing a black hat and caftan, while the two others stand, wearing lighter clothes and turbans.
Jewish community in the Land of Israel under Mamluk and Ottoman rule
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Joseph Nasi (1524, Portugal – 1579, Constantinople), known in Portuguese as João Miques, was a Portuguese Sephardi diplomat and administrator, member of the House of Mendes/Benveniste, nephew of Dona Gracia Mendes Nasi, and an influential figure in the Ottoman Empire during the rules of both Sultan Suleiman I and his son Selim II. He was a great benefactor of the Jewish people.[1]

A court Jew,[2] he was appointed lord of Tiberias,[3] with the expressed aim of resettling Jews in Palestine and encouraging industry there; the attempt failed, and, later, he was appointed Duke of Naxos.[4] Nasi also supported a war with the Republic of Venice, at the end of which Venice lost the island of Cyprus to the Ottomans.[5] After the death of Selim, he lost influence in the Ottoman Court, but was allowed to keep his titles and pension for the remainder of his life.

  1. ^ Yosef Eisen (2004). Miraculous journey: a complete history of the Jewish people from creation to the present.
  2. ^ Hillgarth, p.171
  3. ^ Pasachoff & Littman, p.163
  4. ^ Freely, p.168
  5. ^ "Joseph Nasi (c. 1524 - 1579)". Jewish Virtual Library.