Jewish copper plates of Cochin

{{Short description|10th-century Indian copper plate manuscript}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Infobox artifact | name = Jewish copper plates of Cochin | image = Jewish copper plates of Cochin - (plate I, side I) (early 11th century AD).jpg | image_caption = Jewish copper plates of Cochin (plate I, side I) | writing = Vatteluttu Script (with Grantha characters) | created = c. 1000 CE | material = Copper | language = Old Malayalam or Middle Tamil | symbols = | discovered_place = Kochi, India }} thumb|Jewish copper plates (c.1000 CE)|431x431px '''Jewish copper plates of Cochin''', also known as '''Cochin plates of Bhaskara Ravi-varman''', is a royal charter issued by the medieval Chera king of Kerala, south India to Joseph Rabban, a Jewish merchant magnate of Kodungallur.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Karashima |first=Noburu |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-concise-history-of-south-india-9780198099772 |title=A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |location=New Delhi |pages=139 and 146–47}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Narayanan |first=M. G. S |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0YDCngEACAAJ |title=Perumals of Kerala |publisher=CosmoBooks |year=2013 |location=Thrissur (Kerala) |pages=451–52 |isbn=978-81-88765-07-2 |orig-year=1972}}</ref> The charter shows the status and importance of the Jewish colony in Kodungallur (Cranganore, or Muyirikkode) near Cochin on the Malabar Coast.<ref name=":2" />

The charter is engraved in Vattezhuthu (script) with additional Grantha characters in the vernacular of medieval Kerala on three sides of two copper plates (28 lines).<ref name=":2" /><ref name="The Exploration of the Jewish Antiq">{{cite journal|last1=Fischel|first1=Walter J.|title=The Exploration of the Jewish Antiquities of Cochin on the Malabar Coast|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|date=1967|volume=87|issue=3|pages=230–248|doi=10.2307/597717|jstor=597717}}</ref> It records a grant by king Bhaskara Ravi Varma (Old Malayalam/Middle Tamil: Parkaran Iravivanman) to Joseph/Yusuf Rabban (Old Malayalam/Middle Tamil: Issuppu Irappan) of the rights of merchant guild anjuman (Old Malayalam/Middle Tamil: anjuvannam) along with several other rights and privileges.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Narayanan |first=M. G.S. |date=2002 |title=Further Studies in the Jewish Copper Plates of Cochin |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/037698360202900204?journalCode=ihra |journal=Indian Historical Review |language= |volume=29 |issue=1–2 |pages=66–76 |doi=10.1177/037698360202900204 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Rabban is exempted from all payments made by other settlers in the city of Muyirikkode (at the same time extending to him all the rights of the other settlers). These rights and privileges are given perpetuity to all his descendants. The document is attested by a number of chieftains from southern and northern Kerala.<ref name=":2" />

Anjuvannam, the old Malayalam/Middle Tamil form of hanjamana/anjuman<ref name=":3" /> was a south Indian merchant guild organised by Jewish, Christian, and Islamic merchants from the Middle Eastern countries.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Subbarayalu |first=Y. |date=2015 |title=Trade guilds of south India up to the tenth century |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2348448915574403?icid=int.sj-abstract.similar-articles.2& |journal=Studies in People's History |language= |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=21–26 |doi=10.1177/2348448915574403 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The document is dated by historians to c. 1000 CE.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> It is also evident from the tone of the copper plates that the Jews were not newcomers to the Malabar Coast at the time of its decree.<ref name=":2" />

The plates are carefully preserved in an iron box, known as the Pandeal, within the Paradesi Synagogue at Mattancherry (Cochin).<ref name="The Exploration of the Jewish Antiq"/><ref name=":3" />

== Text == The plate is engraved in vernacular of medieval Kerala using the Vattezhuthu (script) with additional Grantha characters.<ref name=":2" /> The charter ends with a list of witnesses to the deed which includes several chieftains of southern and northern Kerala, the Commander of the Eastern Forces, and the Officer who Takes Down Oral Communications.<ref name=":2" />

{{cquote|Svasti Sri!

This is the gift [prasada] that His Majesty [Tiruvati], King of Kings [Ko Konmai Kontan Ko], Sri Parkaran Iravivanmar, who is to wield sceptre for several thousand years, was pleased to make during the thirty sixth year opposite to the second year of his reign, on the day when he was pleased to reside at Muyirikkottu.

We have granted to Issuppu Irappan, the [guild of] ancuvannam, tolls by the boat and by other carts, ancuvannam dues, the right to employ the day lamp, decorative cloth, palanquin, umbrella, kettledrum, trumpet, gateway, arch, arched roof, weapon and rest of the seventy two privileges. We have remitted duty and weighing fee.

Moreover, according to this copper-plate grant given to him, he shall be exempted from payments made by other settlers in the town to the king [koyil], but he shall enjoy what they enjoy.

To Issuppu Irappan, proprietor of the ancuvannam, his male and female issues, nephews, and sons-in-law, ancuvannam shall belong by hereditary succession as long as the sun and moon endure—

Prosperity!

This is attested by Kovarttana Mattandan, the utaiyavar of Venatu.

This is attested by Kotai Cirikantan, the utaiyavar of Venpalinatu.

This is attested by Manavepala Manaviyan, the utaiyavar of Eralanatu.

This is attested by Irayaran Cattan, the utaiyavar of Valluvanatu.

This is attested by Kotai Iravi, the utaiyavar of Netumpuraiyurnatu.

This is attested by Murkkan Cattan, the Commander of the Eastern Forces.

This writing is executed by Vanralaceri Kantan-Kunrappolan, the Officer who Takes Down Oral Communication. | sign = | source = Translated by M. G. S. Narayanan ('Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala',1972){{sfn|Narayanan|1972|pp=79–82}} }}

==Dating and analysis== thumb|307x307px|Jew's Pond' (the Jutakkulam) at Madayi, Cannanore It is evident from the language of Jewish copper plates that the Jews were not newcomers to the Malabar Coast at the time of its decree. The language of the plates "certainly prove that they [the Jews] were present in the midst of the local people [of Kerala] for at least several generations if not centuries".<ref name=":3" /> Historian Nathan Katz states that the Kochi Jews trace their history to many centuries earlier for good reasons, yet these plates are more likely from the 10th or 11th-century CE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Katz |first=Nathan |date=2005 |title=The Historical Traditions of the Jews of Kochi |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/025764300502100201?journalCode=siha& |journal=Studies in History |language= |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=129–130 |doi=10.1177/025764300502100201 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Traditional dating === The traditional date for the Jewish copper plates according to the Cochin Jews is 4th century CE (379 CE).<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Fischel |first=Walter J. |date=1967 |title=The Exploration of the Jewish Antiquities of Cochin on the Malabar Coast |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/597717 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=87 |issue=3 |pages=233–234 |doi=10.2307/597717 |jstor=597717 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The plates have also been variously dated from a period ranging from the 4th to the 11th-century CE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spector |first=Johanna |date=1972 |title=Shingli Tunes of the Cochin Jews |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/833956 |journal=Asian Music |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=23–28 |doi=10.2307/833956 |jstor=833956 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref> For example, a date was documented in a letter dated 1676 CE from the leaders of Cochin Jews to Portuguese-Sephardic community of Amsterdam (using their own extant calendar). The letter said, among other things, "...now all this was written and sealed with the King's seal, and cut on a bronze tablet with an iron pen and diamond point, so that his successors may never accuse us of lying or change the agreement. This was done in the year 4520 after the creation of the world, and that bronze tablet is still present to our eyes." The year corresponding to 4520 "after the creation of the world" is 490 CE (5th century AD).<ref name=":1" />

=== Scholarly dating === The inscription is dated to the 38th regnal year of Chera king Bhaskara Ravi (given as "the thirty sixth year opposite to the second year of his reign", a style of dating fairly common in the Chera country).<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Narayanan, (1972) |first=M. G. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2vp0SW6Gj3IC |title=Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala |publisher=Kerala Historical Society |year=1972 |pages=25––28}}</ref> The year of investiture of Bhaskara Ravi, a contemporary to Chola king Rajendra, was found to be 962 CE and hence the plates were dated to 1000 CE.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /> Prominent historians, such as Y. Subbarayalu,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Subbarayalu |first=Y. |url=https://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg/publication/1210 |title=Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |year=2009 |pages=160}}</ref> Ranabir Chakravarti,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chakravarti |first=Ranabir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eOuGDAAAQBAJ |title=Indo-Judaic Studies in the Twenty-First Century |publisher=Palgrave MacMillan |year=2007 |pages=32|isbn=978-0-230-60362-2 }}</ref> Noboru Karashima,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-concise-history-of-south-india-9780198099772?cc=us&lang=en& |title=A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-809977-2 |editor-last=Karashima |editor-first=Noboru |pages=146–47 |chapter=States in Deccan and Kerala}}</ref> Kesavan Veluthat,<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Veluthat |first=Kesavan |url=https://orientblackswan.com/details?id=9788125046516 |title=The Political Structure of Early Medieval South India |publisher=Orient Longman |year=1993 |pages=118–120}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Veluthat |first=Kesavan |url=https://publications.efeo.fr/en/livres/628_south-indian-horizons-felicitation-volume-for-francois-gros-on-the-occasion-of-his-70th-birthday |title=South Indian Horizon: Felicitation Volume for François Gros |publisher=École Française D'Extrême-Orient |year=2004 |pages=482–83 |chapter=Mahodayapuram-Kotunnallur: a Capital City as a Sacred Centre}}</ref> Pius Malekandathil,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Malekandathil |first=Pius |date=2007 |title=A Study on the Merchant Groups of Kerala and the Channels of Their Trade |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25165196 |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=50 |issue=2/3 |pages=263 |issn=0022-4995 |jstor=25165196}}</ref> Elizabeth Lambourn,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lambourn |first=Elizabeth A. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/in/universitypress/subjects/history/south-asian-history/abrahams-luggage-social-life-things-medieval-indian-ocean-world?format=HB&isbn=9781107173880 |title=A Social Life of Things in the Medieval Indian Ocean World |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2018 |pages=50}}</ref> Ophira Gamliel<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gamliel |first=Ophira |date=2018 |title=Revisiting the Premodern History of Jews in Kerala |journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=53 |doi=10.1177/0019464617745926 |issn= |s2cid=149268133 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and Manu Devadevan,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Devadevan |first=Manu V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRnxDwAAQBAJ&q=The+%27Early+Medieval%27+Origins+of+India |title=The 'Early Medieval' Origins of India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9781108857871 |pages=133 |chapter=Changes in Land Relations and the Changing Fortunes of the Cera State}}</ref> in general, agree with the c. 1000/1001 CE dating.<ref name=":5" />

Some recent findings slightly modifies the initial year of Bhaskara Ravi (from 962/63 CE to 959/60 CE).<ref name=":28">{{Cite book |last=Devadevan |first=Manu V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exzhDwAAQBAJ&q=The+%E2%80%98Early+Medieval%27+Origins+of+India |title=The 'Early Medieval' Origins of India |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9781108494571 |location= |pages=150 |chapter=Changes in Land Relations and the Changing Fortunes of the Cēra State}}</ref>

=== Political context === The decree of the plates by the Chera ruler of Kerala can be taken in the context of the expansion of the neighboring Chola Empire (and the possible constant threats, including that of military action, from them). The Cochin Jewish community likely were already supporting the Chera state and once the Chola attacks on Kerala began (in the late 10th century CE), these plates and rights granted therein are "quite possibly" the reward for the financial or military assistance and support from the Jewish leader to the Chera king at Kodungallur.<ref name=":3" />

== Legacy == [[File:Jewish copper plates of Cochin (2017 replica).jpg|thumb|A modern replica of the Jewish copper plates presented to the Prime Minister of Israel by the Prime Minister of India. |307x307px]]The grant is or was cherished by both "Black Jews"<ref name=":3" /> and the "White Jews" (the Spanish Jews) of Cochin as a historical document and their "original" settlement deed.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="The Exploration of the Jewish Antiq"/>

* During the visit of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to India in 2003, the then provincial tourism minister presented him with a replica of the Jewish copper plates.<ref>{{cite news |date=10 September 2003 |title=Sharon delighted with gift from Kochi |url=http://www.hindu.com/2003/09/11/stories/2003091108060400.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031027084148/http://www.hindu.com/2003/09/11/stories/2003091108060400.htm |archive-date=27 October 2003 |access-date=6 July 2017 |work=The Hindu |agency=United News of India (UNI)}}</ref> * Similar replicas were also gifted by Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a state visit to Israel in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 5, 2017 |title=Here's what PM Narendra Modi gifted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/heres-what-pm-narendra-modi-gifted-israeli-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-on-his-israel-visit-4736447/ |work=The Indian Expresss |location=New Delhi}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite journal|last1=Fischel|first1=Walter J.|title=The Exploration of the Jewish Antiquities of Cochin on the Malabar Coast|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|date=1967|volume=87|issue=3|pages=230–248|doi=10.2307/597717|jstor=597717}} * {{cite book|last1=Narayanan|first1=M. G. S.|author-link1=M. G. S. Narayanan|title=Cultural Symbiosis in Kerala|date=1972|publisher=Kerala Historical Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2vp0SW6Gj3IC|language=en}}

Category:10th-century inscriptions Category:11th-century inscriptions Category:Vatteluttu Category:Kodungallur Chera kingdom Category:Judaic inscriptions Category:Malayalam inscriptions Category:Copper objects Category:Archaeological corpora Category:Chera dynasty Category:Kerala history inscriptions Category:Cochin Jews Category:Judaism in Kerala