Shulim or Nikolai Aleksandrovich Notovich (Russian: Николай Александрович Нотович; August 13, 1858 – after 1934), known in the West as Nicolas Notovitch, was a Crimean[1] Jewish adventurer who claimed to be a Russian aristocrat,[citation needed] spy[2][3] and journalist.
Notovitch is known for his 1894 book claiming that during the unknown years of Jesus, he left Galilee for India and studied with Buddhists and Hindus before returning to Judea. Notovitch's claim was based on a document he said he had seen at the Hemis Monastery while he stayed there.[4][5] The consensus view amongst modern scholars is that Notovitch's account of the travels of Jesus to India was a hoax.[5][6]
Notovitch also wrote some political books on the role of Russia in war.[7][8]
- ^ Born in Kertch on August 25th (13th Julian) 1858. Dictionnaire national des contemporains Vol. 3, Paris 1901, p. 274; Klatt, Norbert. 2011. Jesus in Indien: Nikolaus Alexandrovitch Notovitchs „Unbekanntes Leben Jesu“, sein Leben und seine Indienreise (2nd ed.). Göttingen: Norbert Klatt Verlag (Electronic resource; ISBN 978-3-928312-32-5; First print edition Stuttgart 1986)
- ^ India Office Records: Mss Eur E243/23 (Cross)
- ^ Public Record Office: FO 78/3998
- ^ McGetchin, Douglas T., Indology, Indomania, and Orientalism, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 2009, ISBN 083864208X. p. 133: "Faced with this cross-examination, Notovich allegedly confessed to fabricating his evidence."
- ^ a b New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1: Gospels and Related Writings by Wilhelm Schneemelcher and R. Mcl. Wilson (Dec 1, 1990) ISBN 066422721X p. 84: "a particular book by Nicolas Notovich (Di Lucke im Leben Jesus 1894) ... shortly after the publication of the book, the reports of travel experiences were already unmasked as lies. The fantasies about Jesus in India were also soon recognized as invention... down to today, nobody has had a glimpse of the manuscripts with the alleged narratives about Jesus"
- ^ Price, Robert M. (2003). The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable is the Gospel Tradition?. Prometheus Books. p. 93. ISBN 978-1591021216 "It remains quite clear that Notovitch's Unknown Life of Jesus was a hoax."
- ^ La Russie et l'alliance anglaise: étude historique et politique. Paris, Plon-Nourrit, 1906.
- ^ L'Europe à la veille de la guerre. Paris A. Savine, 1890