Chief Rabbis of Turkey

32 Records

Name List · Turkey · Sephardic · Jeff Malka Collection

Background

Under Ottoman Rule and the Turkish Republic (1454-2007)

When the Jews expelled from Spain accepted the generous offer of Bayazid II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and chose to settle in Turkey, the existing local Jewish community was already well organized and had a Chief Rabbi (Hakham Bashi in Turkish), the well know Rabbi Moshe Capsali in function from 1454 to 1497. After his successor Elia Mizrahi who was in the position during the years 1497-1526, most of the subsequent Turkey Chief Rabbis were descendents of the newcomers, the Sephardim.

Chief Rabbis of Turkey

Under the Ottoman Rule and the Republic (1454-2007). Compiled by Mathilde A. Tagger.

SurnameGiven NameFunction PeriodTitle
CapsaliMoshe1454 - 1497Hakham Bashi
MizrahiElia1497 - 1526Hakham Bashi
ComitanoMordekhai1526 - 1542Hakham Bashi
 Tam ben Yahia1542 - 1543Hakham Bashi
Rosanes haLeviEli1543Hakham Bashi
 Eli ben Haim1543 - 1602Hakham Bashi
BashanYehiel1602 - 1625Hakham Bashi
MitraniYosef1625 - 1639Hakham Bashi
BenyaesYom-Tov1639 - 1642Hakham Bashi
BenyakarYom-Tov Hanania1642 - 1677Hakham Bashi
KamhiHaim1677 - 1715Hakham Bashi
BenreyYehuda1715 - 1717Hakham Bashi
LeviShemuel1717 - 1720Hakham Bashi
RosanesAbraham1720 - 1745Hakham Bashi
AlfandariShelomo Haim1745 - 1762Hakham Bashi
YitshakiMeir1762 - 1780Hakham Bashi
PalomboEli1780 - 1800Hakham Bashi
BenyakarHaim Yaakob1800 - 1835Hakham Bashi
LeviAbraham (Pasha)1835 - 1839Hakham Bashi
HaimShemuel1839 - 1841Hakham Bashi
FreskoMoshe1841 - 1854Hakham Bashi
AvigdorYaakob1854 - 1870Hakham Bashi
GeronYakir1870 - 1872Hakham Bashi
LeviMoshe1872 - 1909Hakham Bashi
NahumHaim (Effendi)1909 - 1920Hakham Bashi
LeviShabetay1920 - 1922Hakham Bashi
ArielIsak1922 - 1926Hakham Bashi
BejeranoHaim1926 - 1931Hakham Bashi
SakiHaim Isak1931 - 1940Hakham Bashi
SabanRafael David1940 - 1960Hakham Bashi
AsseoDavid1961 - 2002Hakham Bashi
HalevaIsak2003 -Hakham Bashi
Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the tremendous contributions and lifelong dedication of Mathilde Tagger, z”l who made this index available. For many years, and right until her untimely death, Mathilde Tagger was a very close friend and collaborator with Jeff Malka. Together they worked to promote Sephardic genealogy research and educate the public about its enormous potential.

In addition, we express our grateful appreciation to Dr. Jeff Malka for his monumental ongoing effort to collect and make accessible Sephardic genealogical information, and for his generosity in contributing his extraordinarily valuable collection to JewishGen.

Searching This Database

This collection can be searched via the JewishGen Turkey Database, the JewishGen Jeff Malka Collection or the JewishGen Sephardic Collection.

Databases like this one are made possible entirely through volunteer effort and generous donors. Your contribution helps fund transcription, research, and preservation of Sephardic Jewish records.

Support the Sephardic Research Division