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110 pages

English

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Hasdai ibn Shaprut was a Talmudic scholar who lived from 915-975. He was a linguist fluent in Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin, and a renowned physician. The caliph of Cordoba, Abd-ar-Rhaman III, recognized his learning, intelligence, and skills and appointed him court physician, and the inspector general for customs collections. He became a respected diplomatic advisor, particularly when dealing with the Byzantine empire. Shaprut also was appointed Nagid (head) of all the Jews of the caliphate. Because of his great wealth, wisdom, and high rank, he was able to protect and advocate for, not only the Jews of Cordoba, but those Jews throughout the diaspora. He supported and regularly corresponded with leading Talmudic authorities in Babylon and North Africa. An interesting, but disputed, correspondence, written in Hebrew, exists between Shaprut and the Jewish king of the Khazar empire. Shaprut dispatched his personal envoy to travel to Atil, the Khazar capital, to ascertain if the Khazars were, in fact Jewish, and if so, would it be possible for Jews escaping persecution to find safe haven within its borders.

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Historical

Ancient

Fiction

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Publié par	Outskirts Press
Date de parution	09 septembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781977258250
Langue	English

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Safe Haven A Historical Novel All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2022 David R. Gross v1.0
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Outskirts Press, Inc. http://www.outskirtspress.com
ISBN: 978-1-9772-5825-0
Interior Photo © 2022 Axiom Maps. All rights reserved - used with permission. Cover Photo © 2022 www.gettyimages.com. All rights reserved - used with permission.
Outskirts Press and the "OP" logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Bibliography
MAJOR CHARACTER LIST
Yusuf ben Ezia ibn Nasir, (Yusuf), physician, narrator
Abu Yusuf Hasdai ben Ishaq ibn Shaprut, (Hasdai), physician, diplomat
Abd-Ar-Rahman III, (the caliph), caliph of Cordoba and all of Andalusia
Dunash ben Labrat, (Dunash), friend of Hasdai, poet, Hebrew scholar
Menahem ben Saruq, (Menahem), friend of Hasdai, philologist, grammarian of Hebrew
Judah ben Shlomo, (Judah), servant of Hasdai
Abraham ben Moses, (Abraham), Hebrew trader and half-owner of the cargo ship Fair Winds )
Stephanopulus, captain and half-owner of the cargo ship Fair Winds
Hamza ibn Kafeel (Hamza), captain and owner of the ship Shabh
MINOR CHARACTER LIST
Vizier Ibn Bakana, finance vizier to the caliph of Cordoba
Grand Vizier Abu Ahmas, grand vizier to the caliph of Cordoba
Sancho I, (Fat Sancho), deposed king of Leon
Isaac ben Ezia ibn Shaprut, father of Hasdai
Al-Hakan, (crown prince), son of Abd-Ar-Rahman III
Rebecca ibn Hanoth, wife of Dunash
Sarah, housekeeper to Hasdai
King Joseph, king of the Khazars
Achmed, first mate to Hamza
Joshua ben Israel, young Hebrew of Panorma taught fighting skills by Judah
Abu Ahmadi, brother-in-law of Joshua ben Israel
Auda Al Thalabi, uncle of Abu Ahmadi, breeder of fine Sicilian horses
Aser ibn Adheri, prime minister of the caliph of Sicily
Elvira Ramiro, regent of Leon
Count Gonzalo Sanchez, leader of Leon’s army
EUROPE AND THE MIDEAST (750-850 AD)

Printed with permission to publish by Axiom Maps Ltd.
Areas in light green were controlled by the Umayyad caliphates, darker green the Abbasid caliphates, light purple the Byzantine empire, darker purple the Kingdome of the Franks, yellow the Khazar empire.
The capital city of Khazar empire, Atil, is identified as Itil in this map, close to where the Volga river empties into the Caspian Sea.
CHAPTER ONE
Strident banging on our door shook the door and frame enough to vibrate the walls. It brought me out of my bed standing upright, barefoot, on the cold tiles of the floor. The banging was too loud and insistent to be made by a fist. I ran to the door, opened it just enough to see the pommel of a sword poised to continue the incessant pounding.
The soldier holding the sword wore the uniform of the Caliph’s guard. Mail armor protected him from his neck to his waist. His polished helmet had been pushed back on his head from the violent pounding on the door.
"Go summon the physician," demanded the soldier.
Two drops of blood fell from the tip of the sword. Two other soldiers supported a fourth man whose expensive robe was soaked with blood.
I felt something and glanced over my shoulder to see my master, Hasdai ibn Shaprut, standing behind me in his night clothes. He pushed me aside and opened the door wide. "Pick him up, don’t drag him. Follow me," he ordered the soldiers.
He led the way to our treatment room, the first door on the right after the entry. "Put him on the couch with his wound up. What happened?"
The soldier still holding the sword carryied the injured man’s legs. As they lowered the man to the couch he spoke. "He was attacked by a now dead would-be assassin. We were leaving a party in his honor not far from here. The assassin leaped from the shadows and stabbed him."
My master quickly cut away the clothing from the face-down patient. "Was it a knife or a sword?"
"A knife."
"Long, short, wide, narrow?"
"Medium length, a stiletto. Why is that important?"
"I need to know how deep the wound might be."
The patient’s bare back was exposed. Bright red froth burbled from a wound below his right shoulder, spreading across the skin of his back and down his right side.
"Yusuf, go quickly, wake the house. I will need many clean cloths, hot and cold water, and containers of the salted water. First, bring me the box of clean compresses and the flask of distilled white wine from the cupboard. Thank you. Now go."
I glanced over my shoulder as the patient moaned and tried to rise from the couch.
Hasdai put his hand on the small of the injured man’s back to prevent him from rising. "You men hold him down. He must not move, or the bleeding will worsen. Good. I have something in the cupboard that will make him sleep. One of you, press this cloth on the wound and hold it. You two, raise him up so I can give him the medicine."
I returned from awaking the household to find my master slowly pouring a brownish liquid into the corner of the patient’s mouth. It was the concoction made by mixing distilled white wine with the dark sticky substance harvested from the poppy pods grown in his medicinal plant garden.
All three soldiers’ faces were frowned with worry, not certain how their failure to protect the man on the couch would impact them. All of us were crowded around the couch.
Good. Now place Vizier ibn Bakana back face down," ordered Hasdai. "You know this man, Physician?" asked the leader of the soldiers.
"Of course. Does not all of Cordoba know this man and his good works? I am surprised he has enemies who would attack him like this."
"All powerful men have enemies, Physician," responded the leader, "especially if they are good men who obey the teachings of the Quran.".
"I suppose you are correct."
The finance vizier moaned softly. Hasdai ibn Shaprut carefully washed his hands and arms with soap and warm water, then nodded at me to pour distilled wine over his hands.
"Unroll my boiled instruments, Yusuf, and bring the jars of suture to the small table. Move it closer so I can reach it. Thank you."
The suture jars held two kinds of suture, both soaking in the distilled wine. One contained fine silk thread. The other one was made from thin twisted strips of carefully washed cat intestine. It had taken me many weeks of practice to learn to cut the strips of intestine thin enough to meet Hasdai’s standards.
"I would be obliged if you men would stand outside the door while I work on the vizier. Make certain only my servants can enter with the objects Yusuf directed them to bring. Your job is to make certain nobody bothers me."
"Will the vizier live, Physician?" asked the leader.
"I will do the best I can for him," said Hasdai, "but if he lives or not is the will of God. If you know the prayers for the ill or injured, you should recite them now."
Hasdai motioned to me to come closer. "Wash your hands and pour the distilled wine over them," he instructed. "I will need you to hand me the instruments I call for and sometimes to hold one of them for me."
"Yes, Effendi.
"Before you do that, bring the mirror on the stand over and adjust it so the light from the big lamp reflects directly on the wound. Yes, that’s good. Now clean your hands."
"You see, Yusuf, the patient is fortunate the wound is on the right side, if it had been on the left, it probably would have penetrated to his heart. It is between the fourth and fifth rib and has injured the lung, that’s why the blood is bright red and frothy."
"He is the finance vizier?" I was astounded. "What if he dies, will we be blamed?"
"If so, it is God’s will, Yusuf. But I think, with God’s help, we will save this man. We’ll see. Hand me the scalpel."
I watched as Hasdai enlarged the wound. Then he placed between the ribs the device he had designed that spreads tissues and holds them apart. Once the spreader was positioned to his satisfaction, he slowly spread the tissues apart, only stopping when the ribs made a faint cracking sound. He carefully probed the wound with a special clamp that held a soft, clean cloth pledget. He discarded the pledget when it was no longer able to absorb more blood and took up a clean one.
"Ah, good, the wound has only injured a small part of the lung. Observe, Yusuf, I have located the source of the blood. Hand me the curved clamp. Thank you. Now hold the compress in place while I clamp the area. Yes, good, the bleeding has stopped. Now I will have a length of catgut please. Thank you. I will tie this around the lung tissue behind the clamp. Thus. Now I will hold on to the adjacent tissue with this small clamp while I release the large curved one. If I have tied the ligature tight enough there will be no bleeding. Yes, you see, no bleeding. The jars of salted water were boiled and cooled before they were stored?"
"Yes, of course. There are four jars in the cupboard."
"Good, get two of them and pour the salted water into the wound to clean ou