True or false? Israel is the first sovereign Jewish entity since the failure of the Bar-Kochba revolt again Roman rule of Judea in 135.
False.
I know of several others: (1) A Jewish commonwealth briefly existed (for thirty years, as I recall) in Persia in the fifth century, following a revolt against Zoroastrian persecutions. I read about this years ago, and can’t find any linkable information about it on the web [update: a reader provides this link, which references a Jewish kindgom in Babylon (Persia) in the 6th century that lasted for seven years]; (2) Until Islamic times, there were many Jewish Arabian tribes, not all of which followed the rabbinic customs developed by communities influenced by the Mishnaic/Talmudic traditions. These tribes were wiped out by Muhammed’s expansionist warfare, and some scholars think Islam was highly influenced by their beliefs; (3) a “Jewish” (scholars still dispute the origins of the community) Beta Israel kingdom flourished from approximately the 11th to the 14th century in Ethiopia; and (4) Until they were overrun by the Mongols, the Khazars, a Turkic people in Central Asia ran a “Jewish” kingdom for a few centuries; the royal family, many nobles, and some commoners converted in the 9th century, and their descendants kept the faith; some Ashkenazic Jews, including, according to recent genetic studies, a high proportion of Levites (I am one, and perhaps my slightly Asiatic eyes are evidence) have Khazar ancestry.
If anyone knows of other examples, let me know.
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