Travels of Benjamin of Tudela (c. 1165–1173)

Timeline

1. 1165–1167Iberian Peninsula · Iberian PeninsulaBenjamin set out from Tudela, passing through Zaragoza, Barcelona, and other places, recording in detail the numbers, occupations, and relations with local Muslim and Christian rulers of Jewish communities in Aragon, Catalonia, and frontier cities of al-Andalus, revealing the pattern of religious coexistence in 12th-century Iberia.
2. 1167–1173France and Italy · Western EuropeThe traveler passed through southern French ports and Italian city-states, recording the urban life of Jews and Christians in Rome, Pisa, and elsewhere, then sailed eastward, laying the foundation for subsequent accounts of Byzantium, the Levant, and the Persian Gulf, and inaugurating a tradition of medieval Jewish geographical writing.