Distribution of Jews, based on Benjamin de Tudela (1170)

Benjamin de Tudela lived in Spain in 1170 and travelled in the Mediterranean and Middle East. His report gives one of the best estimates of number of Jews in many cities in this period.

The book "The chosen few" of Botticini and Eckstein in 2012 uses this information to get a best estimate of number of people. The original report of Benjamin de Tudela does not give the same values for all areas. In some cases he reports estimates, in other households etc, so they should be adjusted for a good comparison.

The travel of Petechiah of Regensburg in the same period (somewhere between 1170 and 1187) was also well documented. It is pity that he did not mention sizes of Jewish communities. Both of them did not estimated the numbers of the Ashkenazi and Iberian population.

In case you want to read the context of a specific location, you can have a look at the sourcebook or the text at Project Gutenberg.

Based on The chosen few from Botticini and Eckstein, Table A.2
CountryCityRaw valuesAdjusted values
SpainTudela
Saragossa
Tortosa
Tarragona
Gerona
FranceNarbonne3001500
Beziers
Montpellier
Lunel3001500
Posquiers40200
Bourg de St. Gilles100500
Arles2001000
Marseilles3001500
ItalyGenoa210
Pisa20100
Lucca40200
Rome2001000
Capua3001500
Pozzuoli
Naples5002500
Salerno6003000
Amalfi20100
Benevento2001000
Melfi2001000
Ascoli40200
Trani2001000
Bari00
Taranto3001500
Brindisi1050
Otranto5002500
BalkansCorfu15
Larta100500
Aphilon30150
Anatolica
Patras50250
Lepanto100500
Crissa2001000
Corinth3001500
Thebes200010000
Egripo2001000
Jabustrisa100500
Rabonica100500
Simonn Potamo50250
Wallachia region
Gardiki
Asia MinorArmylo4002000
Vissena100500
Salonica5002500
Demetrizi50250
Drama140700
Christopoli20100
Abydos
Constantinople250012500
Rhaedestrus4002000
Gallipoli2001000
Kales50250
Chios4002000
Samos3001500
Rhodes4002000
ItalyMessina2001000
Palermo15007500
Syracuse
Marsala
Catania
Petralia
Trapani
Rome
Lucca
GermanyVerdun
Cologne
Regensburg
Metz
Treves
Coblenz
Andernach
Bonn
Cologne
Bingen
Munster
Worms
Strassburg
Wurzburg
Manten
Bamberg
Freising
Regensburg
BohemiaPrague
FranceAuxerre
Paris
Cyprus
ArmeniaCuricus
Asia MinorMalmistras
Antioch the Great1050
Ladikya100500
JordaniaGebal
LebanonKadmus
Tarabulus (Tripolis)
Gubail (Byblus)150750
Beirut50250
Sidon20100
Area with Druses00
Sarepta
Tyre5002500
Land of IsraelAcre2001000
Haifa
Carmel
Capernaum
Caesarea2001000
Keilath00
Ludd15
Sebastiya00
Nablus00
Mount Gilboa
Unnamed village00
Gibeon the Great00
Jerusalem2001000
Bethlehem210
Hebron
Beit Jibrin315
Shiloh
Gibeah of Saul00
Nob210
Ramleh3001500
Jaffa15
Jabneh00
Ashdod00
Askelon2401200
Ludd *Lydda)
Jezreel15
Sepphoris
Tiberias50250
Tymin
Meron
Almah50250
Kades00
Banias
SyriaDamascus300015000
Galid60300
Salchah
Baalbee
Tadmor (Palmyra)200010000
Karjaren15
Emesa20100
Hamth70350
Sheizar
Dimin
Aleppo500025000
Balis1050
Kalar Jabar200010000
MesopotamiaRakka7003500
Harran20100
Ral-el-Ain2001000
Nisibis10005000
Geziret Ibn Omar400020000
Mosul700035000
Nineveh
Arbela
Rahbah200010000
Karkisiya5002500
Pumbedita (El-Hanbar)300015000
Hadara1500075000
Okbbara1000050000
Baghdad40000200000
Gazigan500025000
Babylon300015000
Hillah500025000
Tower of Babel
Kaphri2001000
Synagogue of Ezechiel
Korsonath3001500
Ain Siptha
Kefar El-Keram
Unnamed village
Unnamed village
Kufa700035000
Sura
Shafjathib
Pumdebita (El-Hanbar)
Arabian PeninsulaHillah
Kheibar (Khaybar)5000010000
Teimai (Teman=Yemen)
Tilmas (Saadah)10000020000
Tanai (Taymai)30000050000
Location in al-Yemen (could be Aden, the capital of Yemen in this period)30003000
MesopotamiaBasra1000050000
Sepulchre of Ezra15007500
PersiaSusa70007000
Sepulchre of Daniel
Rudbar2000020000
Nihawand40004000
Land of Mulahid
Amadiai in present Iraq2500025000
Hamadan3000030000
Tabaristan40004000
Isfahan1500015000
Shiraz1000010000
Ghazni in Afghanistan8000080000
Samarkand (in Uzbekistan)5000050000
Central AsiaTibet
Naisabur
Land of Khuzistan
Island of Kish500500
ArabiaKatifa50005000
IndiaKhulam (Quilon)
Ibrig30003000
ChinaChina
Al-Gingaleh10001000
Chulan00
YemenZebid
Aden
EgyptAbyssinia
Assuan
Seba
Heluam300300
Land of Zawilah
Desert of Sahara
Kutz300300
Fayum200200
Cairo700035000
Bilbais300300
Ramses
Al-Bubzig200200
Benha6060
Munhe Sifte500500
Samnu200200
Damira700700
Lammanah500500
Alexandria300015000
Damietta200200
Simasin100100
Sunbat
Elim
Rephidim00
Mount Sinai
Tur Sinai
Damletta
Tanis4040