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List Of Converts To Judaism
This article lists nations, groups or tribes, as well as notable individuals, who have converted to Judaism. This article does not differentiate between the different branches of Judaism. See also Who is a Jew? on issues related to the acceptance of conversions throughout the Jewish community. A number of prominent celebrities, such as Madonna, Demi Moore, and Ariana Grande have become followers of a "new age" version of Kabbalah (see Kabbalah Centre), derived from the body of Jewish mystical teaching also called Kabbalah, but do not consider themselves – and are not considered – Jewish. Converted nations, groups or tribes Converted nations, groups or tribes from non-Abrahamic religions * Conversions throughout the Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Empire periods (actual numbers and extent of proselytization disputed) * Idumeans (disputed), Edom, 2nd century BCE, conquered and converted by John Hyrcanus * * * * * * * Ituraeans (disputed), Lebanon and ...
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Conversion To Judaism
Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. "Thus, by converting to Judaism, the religion, a gentile becomes not only a Judahist—one who practices Judaism—but a jew. Such a one is then part of the Jewish community as much as of the community of Judaism" The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring denomination. Furthermore, a conversion done in accordance with one Jewish denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination. Normally, though not always, the conversions performed by more stringent denominations are recognized by less stringent ones, but not the other way around. A formal conversion is also sometimes undertaken by individuals whose Jewish ancestry is questioned or uncertain, even if they were raised Jewish, but may not ac ...
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Aristobulus I
Judah Aristobulus I or Aristobulus I (; el, Ἀριστόβουλος, Aristóboulos) was the first Hasmonean king of Judaea from 104 BCE until his death in 103 BCE. He was the eldest of the five sons of John Hyrcanus, the previous leader. Josephus states that he was the first Jew in "four hundred and eighty three years and three months" to have established a monarchy since the return from the Babylonian Captivity. Aristobulus was not only the first king from the Hasmonean lineage, but the first of any Hebrew king to claim both the high priesthood and kingship title. The Sadducees and the Essenes were not concerned about Aristobulus taking the title of king, but the Pharisees were infuriated; They felt that the kingship could only be held by the descendants of the Davidic line. The Pharisees began a massive rebellion, but Aristobulus died before any attempt to depose of him could occur. The major historical sources of his life are Josephus's '' Wars of the Jews'' and ''Ant ...
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Dhu Nuwas
Dhū Nuwās, ( ar, ذُو نُوَاس), real name "Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar" ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), "Yosef Nu'as" ( he, יוסף נואס), or "Yūsuf ibn Sharhabīl" ( ar, يُوْسُف ٱبْن شَرْحَبِيْل, link=no), also known as "Masruq" in Syriac, and ''Dounaas'' () in Medieval Greek, was a Jewish king of Himyar between 517 and 525–527 AD, who came to renown on account of his persecutions of peoples of other religions, notably Christians, living in his kingdom. History Ibn Hisham's '' Sirat Rasul Allah'' (better known in English as ''the Life of Muhammad''), describes the exploits of Yūsuf Dhū Nuwās. Ibn Hisham explains that Yūsuf was a convert Jew who grew out his sidelocks (''nuwas''), and who became known as "he of sidelocks." The historicity of Dhū Nuwās is affirmed by Philostorgius and by Procopius (in the latter's ''Persian War''). Procopius writes that in 525, the armies of the ...
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Tub'a Abu Kariba As'ad
Abū Karib As’ad al-Kāmil, ( ar, أسعد الكامل), called "Abū Karīb", full name: Abu Karib As'ad ibn Hassān Maliki Karib Yuha'min, was king ( Tubba', ar, تُبَّع) of the Himyarite Kingdom (modern day Yemen). He ruled Yemen from 378-430. ʼAsʽad is cited in some sources as the first of several kings of the Arabian Peninsula to convert to Judaism, although some scholars doubt it. He was the first one to cover the Kaaba with the kiswah. Conversion While some sources agree that Abu Karab was the first of the Himyarite kings to convert to Judaism, the circumstances of his conversion are immersed in myth and legend. According to the traditional account, Abu Karib undertook a military expedition to eliminate the growing influence of Byzantium in his northern provinces. His forces reached Medina, which was then known as "Yathrib". Not meeting any resistance, they passed through the town, leaving one of the king’s sons behind as governor of the town. A few days la ...
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Himyarite Kingdom
The Himyarite Kingdom ( ar, مملكة حِمْيَر, Mamlakat Ḥimyar, he, ממלכת חִמְיָר), or Himyar ( ar, حِمْيَر, ''Ḥimyar'', / 𐩹𐩧𐩺𐩵𐩬) (fl. 110 BCE–520s CE), historically referred to as the Homerite Kingdom by the Greeks and the Romans (its subjects being called Homeritae), was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to classical sources, their capital was the ancient city of Zafar, relatively near the modern-day city of Sana'a. Himyarite power eventually shifted to Sana'a as the population increased in the fifth century. After the establishment of their kingdom, it was ruled by kings from dhū-Raydān tribe. The kingdom was named Raydān.Jérémie Schiettecatte. Himyar. Roger S. Bagnall; Kai Brodersen; Craige B. Champion; Andrew Erskine; Sabine R. Hu ...
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Samaw'al Ibn 'Adiya
As-Samaw’al bin ‘Ādiyā’ ( ar, السموأل بن عادياء بن رفاعة بن الحارث بن كعب / he, שמואל בן עדיה) was an Arabian poet and warrior, esteemed by the Arabs for his loyalty, which was commemorated by an Arabic idiom: "''awfá min as-Samaw’al''" ( / more loyal than al-Samaw'al). He lived in the first half of the 6th century. His clan converted to Judaism when they were in Southern Arabia. Later, they moved to northern Arabia, settling in Taima, where al-Samw'al was born and lived most of his life. He's the maternal grandfather of Safiyya bint Huyayy, one of prophet Mohammed's wives. Background His full name is disputed among Arab scholars. His name is said to be al-Samaw'al Bin 'Adiya or al-Samaw'al Bin 'Arid Bin 'Adiya or al-Samaw'al Bin Awfa or al-Samaw'al Bin Hayyan or al-Samaw'al Bin Hayya. Ibn Durayd said that he was son of a priest called Haroun Ibn 'Amran and that he was from the tribe of Banu Ghassan. While al-Jawali ...
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Bulan (Khazar)
Bulan was a Khazar king who led the conversion of the Khazars to Judaism. His name means "elk" or " hart" in Old Turkic. The date of his reign is unknown, as the date of the conversion is hotly disputed, though it is certain that Bulan reigned some time between the mid-8th and the mid-9th centuries. Nor is it settled whether Bulan was the Bek or the Khagan of the Khazars. The renowned scholar D. M. Dunlop was certain that Bulan was a Khagan; however, more recent works, such as ''The Jews of Khazaria'' by business studies student and amateur researcher Kevin Brook, assume that he was the Bek due to references to him leading military campaigns. Khazar tradition held that before his own conversion, Bulan was religiously unaffiliated. In his quest to discover which of the three Abrahamic religions would shape his own religious beliefs, he invited representatives from each to explain their fundamental tenets. In the end, he chose Judaism. In the Khazar Correspondence, King Jo ...
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Khazaria
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, and Kazakhstan. They created what for its duration was the most powerful polity to emerge from the break-up of the Western Turkic Khaganate. Astride a major artery of commerce between Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia, Khazaria became one of the foremost trading empires of the early medieval world, commanding the western marches of the Silk Road and playing a key commercial role as a crossroad between China, the Middle East and Kievan Rus'. For some three centuries (c. 650–965) the Khazars dominated the vast area extending from the Volga-Don steppes to the eastern Crimea and the northern Caucasus. Khazaria long served as a buffer state between the Byzanti ...
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Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, and Kazakhstan. They created what for its duration was the most powerful polity to emerge from the break-up of the Western Turkic Khaganate. Astride a major artery of commerce between Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia, Khazaria became one of the foremost trading empires of the early medieval world, commanding the western marches of the Silk Road and playing a key commercial role as a crossroad between China, the Middle East and Kievan Rus'. For some three centuries (c. 650–965) the Khazars dominated the vast area extending from the Volga-Don steppes to the eastern Crimea and the northern Caucasus. Khazaria long served as a buffer state between the Byzanti ...
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Monobaz II
Monobazus II was the son of Queen Helena of Adiabene and King Monobazus I. He is known as Monobaz in the Babylonian Talmud. Like his younger brother Izates bar Monobazus and his mother, Monobazus became a convert to Judaism. He ruled as king of Adiabene after the death of his brother Izates around 55 CE. The date of his death is unknown but he is known to have been alive and on the throne during the First Jewish-Roman War, when he gave aid to the Jewish rebels against the Roman Empire. Two 'kinsmen' of Monobazus, Monobazus and Kenedaeus, fought on the side of the Jews in the battle against Cestius. The 'sons and brothers of Izates the king' were taken hostage to Rome after the war. The Talmud relates that Monobazus: "dissipated all his own hoards and the hoards of his fathers in years of scarcity. His brothers and his father's household came in a delegation to him and said, 'Your father saved money and added to the treasures of his fathers, and you are squandering them.' He replie ...
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Symacho
Symacho (fl. early 1st century CE) was the daughter of King Abinergaos I of Characene. She was converted to Judaism by Ananias of Adiabene. Symacho married Izates bar Monobaz during the latter's sojourn in Charax as a youth. She presumably went with him when he left to take up his throne in Adiabene Adiabene was an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, corresponding to the northwestern part of ancient Assyria. The size of the kingdom varied over time; initially encompassing an area between the Zab Rivers, it eventually gained control of N .... Iraqi Jews Judaism in Adiabene Jewish royalty Converts to Judaism from paganism 1st-century women Princesses Ancient Jewish women 1st-century Jews {{Judaism-bio-stub ...
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Izates Bar Monobaz
Izates II (Greek: Ἰζάτης, he, זוטוס בן מונבז; ca. 1-54 CE) was king of the Parthian client kingdom of Adiabene from approximately 30 to 54. He is notable for converting to Judaism. He was the son of Queen Helena of Adiabene and Monobaz I of Adiabene. Queen Helena was also said to be the wife of King Abgarus of Edessa and thus the queen of Edessa too. During his youth Izates was sent by his father to the court of King Abinergaos I of Characene in Charax Spasinu. While in Charax Izates became acquainted with a Jewish merchant named Ananias, who familiarized him with the tenets of the Jewish religion, in which he became deeply interested. Izates married King Abinergaos' daughter Symacho who had been converted to Judaism through the efforts of Ananias. His mother had been previously won over to Judaism without his knowledge. On returning home and ascending the throne on the death of his father (c. 31 CE), Izates discovered the conversion of his mother; and he hi ...
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