Ottoman Jewish Tombstones
Title: Tombstone of a Rabbanit
Artist: unknown
Date: September 1, 1597
Medium: shell stone
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Credit line: Karaite 13-4- 14 in https://jewishturkstones.tau.ac.il/
Showy displays of wealth in death were frowned upon by Ottoman Jewish and Muslim scholars in theory, but differed in practice, as with this tombstone of a rabbi’s widow. On either side of epitaph’s mihrab-shaped dome, there are two candleholders for use in elaborate burial and visiting ceremonies. The mihrab itself was assimilated into Jewish tombstone art to symbolize the gate of heaven. Despite this assimilation, Ottoman Jewish people distinguished their concepts of honor and social status from their Muslim counterparts. For example, rabbis’ wives were expected to not remarry after their husband’s death, preserving his memory and therefore his honor. As a rabbi’s widow, this woman would also have been expected to have an elaborate tombstone to correlate with the honor held by her husband as a leader of their community.
Title: Tombstone with Braided Belt
Artist: unknown
Date: February 14, 1693
Medium: marble
Location: Tekirdağ, Turkey
Credit line: Tekirdağ A-1- 16 in https://jewishturkstones.tau.ac.il/
Despite its dirtied façade, the Islamic influence on this Jewish woman’s coffin is clear. The tombstone’s epitaph, etched in Hebrew, is split into four sections, like the quadripartite garden of Qur’anic Paradise. This may represent a hope that the deceased will go to heaven. Each section has a mihrab-shaped frame, another common Islamic motif. Running down the middle is a braided belt that implies the deceased was engaged or married, a motif also seen on Muslim tombstones in the Gangar Mountains of Pakistan. The detailed ornamentation and lengthy epitaph set the deceased apart from her community, contrasting Jewish and Muslim thinking of the time that everyone should be buried in the same plain fashion regardless of wealth.
Title: Tombstone with Cypresses
Artist: unknown
Date: December 11, 1694
Medium: marble
Location: Tekirdağ, Turkey
Credit line: Tekirdağ A-1- 234 in https://jewishturkstones.tau.ac.il/
This tombstone of a Jewish woman, identified as the wife of a man named Shlomo, recalls several Ottoman Muslim elements. Lining her epitaph are two cypresses, which were seen in Ottoman gardens as the tallest trees and therefore the closest to Heaven. The mihrab-like frame, ornamental lines, and encircled star all resemble intricately-detailed Ottoman decorated manuscripts. In Iraqi Jewish cemeteries, the Star of David typically indicated that the deceased was a man; however, in Ottoman Jewish cemeteries like this one, stars were used regardless of gender. Mihrabs are similarly seen on Muslim tombstones of the same time, even though Islamic doctrine forbade praying to the dead, as it was seen as a form of idolatry. The marble used for this tombstone was most likely mined from Marmara Island, a source of pride for the Ottoman Empire – and therefore lending itself to the community’s perception of collective honor.