The Other Zions: The Lost Histories of Jewish Nations [Hardcover]

Eric Maroney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 2009

The Other Zions tells the fascinating and little-known stories of independent Jewish states, kingdoms, and tribes throughout history. Though Israel is the only Jewish nation most people can name, there have been many more. Author Eric Maroney introduces readers to the Jews of Khazaria, Adiabene (modern day Iraq), Ethiopia, Birobidzhan (modern day Russia), Himyar (modern day Yemen), and more. Leading readers through the rich histories of these communities, this accessible book digs into the intriguing myths that surround many, including the legends of the "lost tribes of Israel."

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The Zionist movement viewed the establishment of a Jewish state as a remedy for Jewish “powerlessness.” In the late nineteenth century, Jews seemed condemned to exist as a despised minority within Christian or Islamic cultures. This well-done and revealing study shows that, even after the final, futile revolt against Roman rule in Judea in the first century, A.D., Jews exercised sovereignty in several regions outside the traditional Jewish homeland. Some of these Jewish states have already been well documented by primary sources; others are shrouded in legend, but their existence is credible. Maroney acknowledges the difficulty in separating fact from fiction and avoids unwarranted speculation. The Khazars, a Turkic people, established a state in the Caspian region and made Judaism their state religion in the ninth century. They may even have attempted missionary work in the emerging Russian state. In the Arabian peninsula, Jewish tribes controlled strips of territory but were overwhelmed by the Islamic tide in the seventh century. This is an informative and surprising examination of some obscure aspects of Jewish history. --Jay Freeman

Review

Eric Maroney has written a lively and engaging account of Jewish political entities outside the Land of Israel over the past two millennia. Both the mythical narratives and the documented historical experiences discussed in this volume attest to the diverse manifestations of Jewish national sentiment among diasporic communities from ancient times to modern. (Roshwald, Aviel )

Any reader who seeks to learn about Jewish-governed states in unexpected lands and the history of conversions to Judaism in those states would do well to savor this engaging and well-researched study. (Kevin Alan Brook )

This well-done and revealing study shows that, even after the final, futile revolt against Roman rule in Judea in the first century, A.D., Jews exercised sovereignty in several regions outside the traditional Jewish homeland. . . . This is an informative and surprising examination of some obscure aspects of Jewish history. (Booklist )

The Other Zions captures the real and the imagined power of the concept of Zion. (Jewish Book World )

Maroney’s book covers a remarkable amount of ground....He writes well, lays out evidence and arguments clearly, and appears to be a reliable guide through the thicket of anecdote, rumour and legend which enshrouds the history of many of these far-off times and places. (Outlook )

The Other Zions challenges the dominant myth that the Zionist movement was the fulfillment of a millennia-old and singular desire of Diaspora Jews to be 'returned' to their home in the Land of Israel. Eric Maroney's work demonstrates that, from ancient times to the present, the Jews' ability to craft homelands for themselves in regions far from their imagined point of origins has been an important—if overlooked—part of their history. (Barry Trachtenberg )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (December 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442200456
• ISBN-13: 978-1442200456
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,088,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Maroney is the author of Religious Syncretism, and The Other Zions: The Lost Histories of Jewish Nations. His fiction has appeared in Our Stories, The MacGuffin, Arch, Segue, The Literary Review, Eclectica, The Montreal Review, Per Contra, Pif, and Forge.

For more: http://www.arts.cornell.edu/econ/em75/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Discovery, April 6, 2010

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N. Hashimzade (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Other Zions: The Lost Histories of Jewish Nations (Hardcover)

This is a truly fascinating book. Quite apart from being an excellent piece of scholarly research, it is written in a lively and transparent language, and gives a vivid picture of Jewish people and Jewish states from the ancient times to modernity in so many different parts of the world. I only knew about Khazars and Birobidzhan, but the rest was an exciting discovery. The book also helped to put together all bits and pieces of what I knew about the history of Jewish people and Jewish culture. I grew up in Baku, then in the Soviet Union, with large proportion of Jewish population (the most prominent Jewish natives of Baku being Lev Landau and Mstislav Rostropovich, as well as Garry Weinstein who later changed his name to Kasparov); the common language, of course, was Russian, but as in any large multi-ethnic city, our everyday Russian was interspersed with words from other languages, - primarily Azerbaijani, Armenian and Yiddish. None of my Jewish classmates spoke Yiddish at home, though, and Birobidzhan was sort of a standing joke. All my Jewish friends from Baku are now in Israel or in the USA, and Baku is no longer the place it used to be, for a number of reasons, one of these being the loss of Jewish people and Yiddish culture. Eric Maroney's book made me think again about the fates of peoples, cultures, and languages. I highly recommend this book to those interested in the history of Jewish people and, more generally, in the history of civilization.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lost History, February 5, 2010

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J. Frankel "lastbender" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Other Zions: The Lost Histories of Jewish Nations (Hardcover)

The Other Zions is a superb book. Maroney writes for the well educated, intelligent reader who is interested in the interstices of human history. It accomplishes a number of things. First and foremost it is an informed speculation and discussion about Jewish states other than Israel. I knew of the Khazars and the Jews of Ethiopia, but only in general. I had no idea the other states existed. Because Maroney writes for a general audience he is not afraid to explore where myth and legend merge with history. But don't be mistaken, the scholarship of the book is scrupulous, and the arguments are analytic and clear.
In his introduction he states that the book is meant to be a counter-example to Zionism, which conceives of the Jewish State as the Jewish Homeland, always centered on the land of Israel. Zionism has defined in our time Jewish notions of the state, as well as the opposition to that state. By exploring these other nations of Jews, he reminds us that Jews were practical in their pursuit of security over the years.
I think it serves as a counter-example to another modern assumption, and that is that Jews are a European people who, after 2,000 years of exile, returned to colonize an alien land. The fact is the Jews are an ethnic, linguistic and religious minority in the region (broadly conceived), like the Kurds, Berbers and Armenians, and have been continuously for many thousands of years. Even in the world of the bible, Jews were not confined to the 2 kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Jewish biblical experience stretched from Persia to the Arabian Peninsula and Ethiopia, and to Egypt. The other Zions he describes radiate out from this world.
As in his other work, Religious Syncretism, Maroney takes a known but obscure phenomenon and uses it to broaden what at times can be an idiotic and fruitless modern debate.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cogent and insightful., February 4, 2010

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A. Canfora "Novel Reader" (Huntington, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Other Zions: The Lost Histories of Jewish Nations (Hardcover)

Mr Maroney's exceptionally lucid work sheds light on complex topic without ever losing his compelling narrative thread. In a style equal parts even-handed and insightful, he has crafted a work as engrossing as it is informative.