Bendich Ahin (died 1402),[1] also known as Maestro Bendit and Baruch Chaim (Hebrew: בָּרוּךְ חַיִּים, Barukh Ḥayyīm),[Note 1] was a fourteenth-century Jewish physician, astrologer, and mathematician in Arles.

In 1369, Ahin became court physician to Queen Joanna I of Naples.[3] In recognition of his medical services, he was exempted from Jewish taxes and tallages. The privilege was extended to his descendants.[4] According to Nostradamus, Ahin's astrological knowledge led him to predict the Queen's tragic death.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ The name "Ahim" corresponds to the Hebrew name Ḥayyim, which Provençal Jews pronounced Aym, Ayn, or Ain.[2]

References

  1. ^ Koren, Nathan (1973). Jewish Physicians: A Biographical Index. Jerusalem: Israel Universities Press. p. 11. ISBN 0-7065-1269-3.
  2. ^ Gross, Henri (1897). Gallia judaica: Dictionnaire géographique de la France d'aprės les sources rabbiniques (in French). Paris: Librairie Léopold Cerf. p. 83.
  3. ^ Depping, Georges Bernard (1845). Les juifs dans le moyen âge: Leur état civil, commercial et littéraire. Paris: Didier. p. 334.
  4. ^ Kober, Adolf (October 1944). "Jewish Converts in Provence from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century". Jewish Social Studies. 6 (4): 363. JSTOR 4464615.
  5. ^ Caesar de Nostredame (1614). L'histoire et chronique de Provence. Lyon. p. 427.
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