Excerpt from The Hebrew Review and Magazine of Rabbinical Literature, Vol. 3: Tebath Ab, 5596; January July, 1836 If we retrace the short sketch which we have now submitted to our readers, we find that at the com mencement of the seventh century, the Jews were Oppressed at the two extremities of Europe, in the Spanish peninsula, and the empire of Constantinople That among the Longobardi in Italy, they were placed on an equality with the rest of their conquered fellowcitizens; while in the south of France they enjoyed perfect liberty and consider. Able political in uence. But few of them were settled among the Franks in the northern parts of France, and their congregations in the Roman colonies on the Rhine were equally inconsiderable. The patriarchal dignity, - which was held during ten generations by descend ants of Hillel, who resided at Ti berias, and whose authority over the western Jews had been acknow ledged by the Christian emperors as late as the days oftheodosius II. Had ceased to exist. So that the Jews of Europe, without any visible or authorized chief, and deprived of that centre of unity, which the patriarch had offered to them, stood isolated from each other, without any community of feeling, or fre quent and continuous intercourse. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."