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In 1523, a man named David Reubeni appeared in Venice, claiming to be the ambassador of a powerful Jewish kingdom deep in the heart of Arabia. In this era of fierce rivalry between great powers, voyages of fantastic discovery, and brutal conquest of new lands, people throughout the Mediterranean saw the signs of an impending apocalypse and envisioned a coming war that would end with a decisive Christian or Islamic victory. With his army of hardy desert warriors from lost Israelite tribes, Reubeni pledged to deliver the Jews to the Holy Land by force and restore their pride and autonomy. He would spend a decade shuttling between European rulers in Italy, Portugal, Spain, and France, seeking weaponry in exchange for the support of his hitherto unknown but mighty Jewish kingdom. Many, however, believed him to favor the relatively tolerant Ottomans over the persecutorial Christian regimes. Reubeni was hailed as a messiah by many wealthy Jews and Iberia's oppressed conversos, but his grand ambitions were halted in Regensburg when the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, turned him over to the Inquisition and, in 1538, he was likely burned at the stake. Diary of a Black Messiah is the first English translation of Reubeni's Hebrew-language diary, detailing his travels and personal travails. Written in a Hebrew drawn from everyday speech, entirely unlike other literary works of the period, Reubeni's diary reveals both the dramatic desperation of Renaissance Jewish communities and the struggles of the diplomat, trickster, and dreamer who wanted to save them.

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In 1869, Hayyim Habshush, a Yemeni Jew, accompanied the European orientalist Joseph Halévy on his archaeological tour of Yemen. Twenty years later, Habshush wrote A Vision of Yemen, a memoir of their travels, that provides a vivid account of daily life, religion, and politics. More than a simple travelogue, it is a work of trickster-tales, thick anthropological descriptions, and reflections on Jewish–Muslim relations. At its heart lies the fractious and intimate relationship between the Yemeni coppersmith and the "enlightened" European scholar and the collision between the cultures each represents. The book thus offers a powerful indigenous response to European Orientalism. This edition is the first English translation of Habshush's writings from the original Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew and includes an accessible historical introduction to the work. The translation maintains Habshush's gripping style and rich portrayal of the diverse communities and cultures of Yemen, offering a potent mixture of artful storytelling and cultural criticism, suffused with humor and empathy. Habshush writes about the daily lives of men and women, rich and poor, Jewish and Muslim, during a turbulent period of war and both Ottoman and European imperialist encroachment. With this translation, Alan Verskin recovers the lost voice of a man passionately committed to his land and people.

Jewish-Arab relations. --- Jews --- Hebrews --- Israelites --- Jewish people --- Jewry --- Judaic people --- Judaists --- Ethnology --- Religious adherents --- Semites --- Judaism --- Arab-Jewish relations --- Palestine problem (To 1948) --- Palestinian Arabs --- Travel --- Social life and customs. --- Ḥabshush, Ḥayyim, --- Halévy, J. --- Halévy, Joseph, --- Haleṿi, Yosef, --- הלוי, יוסף --- הלוי, יוסף, --- הלוי, י. --- Alfityḥi, Ḥayyim ben Yaḥya ben Salim, --- Ḥabshush, Ḥayim ben Yaḥya, --- Habsus, Hayyim, --- Ḥayyim ben Yaḥya ben Salim Alfityḥi, --- חבשוש, חיים, --- חבשוש, חיים בן יחיא --- חבשוש, חיים בן יחיה --- Yemen (Republic) --- Ĭemen (Republic) --- Yaman (Republic) --- Jemen (Republic) --- Ėl'-Iemen (Republic) --- Yaman al-Shamālī --- Republic of Yemen --- Yamanīyah (Republic) --- Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah --- Ǧumhūriyyah al-Yamaniyyah --- يَمَن (Republic) --- Jumhūriyyah al Yamaniyyah --- Yamaniyyah (Republic) --- جمهورية اليمنية --- Republiek van Jemen --- Yeme (Republic) --- República de Yeme --- Емен (Republic) --- Emen (Republic) --- Еменская Рэспубліка --- Emenskai︠a︡ Rėspublika --- Йемен (Republic) --- Република Йемен --- Republika Ĭemen --- Shádiʼááhjí Ásáí Bikéyah --- Jeemen (Republic) --- Jeemeni Vabariik --- Υεμένη (Republic) --- Yemenē (Republic) --- Δημοκρατία της Υεμένης --- Dēmokratia tēs Yemenēs --- República de Yemen --- República del Yemen --- Jemeno --- Yemengo Errepublika --- République du Yémen --- Poblacht Éimin --- Éimin (Republic) --- Yeaman (Republic) --- Pobblaght ny Yeaman --- Eaman (Republic) --- Poblachd Iemein --- Йеменмудин Орн --- Ĭemenmudin Orn --- 예멘 (Republic) --- イエメン (Republic) --- Yemen (Arab Republic) --- Yemen (People's Democratic Republic) --- Description and travel. --- Ethnic relations. --- Република Йемен --- Йемен (Republic) --- Йеменмудин Орн --- Arab Jews. --- Joseph Halévy. --- Judeo-Arabic. --- Muslim-Jewish relations. --- Yemen. --- native guide. --- orientalism. --- travel literature. --- tribes. --- Ḥayyim Ḥabshūsh.