Hakham Bashi[note 1] (Ottoman Turkish:حاخامباشی,Turkish:Hahambaşı,IPA:[haˈhambaˈʃɯ];Ladino:xaxam (חכם) baši; translated into French as:khakham-bachi) is the Turkish name for theChief Rabbi of the nation'sJewish community. In the time of theOttoman Empire it was also used for the chief rabbi of a particular region of the empire, such asSyria orIraq, though the Hakham Bashi ofConstantinople was considered overall head of the Jews of the Empire.
In 1840, a position of Hakham Bashi was established inJerusalem.[4]
Hakham is Hebrew for "wise man" (or "scholar"), whilebaşı is Turkish for "head".
TheKaraites used the word "Hakham" for a rabbi, something not done in Hebrew except by Karaites,Sephardic Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and most Jews other thanAshkenazi Jews,[dubious –discuss] and the Ottoman Turks adopted this usage for this name.[5]
The institution of theHakham Bashi was established by theOttoman SultanMehmet II, as part of his policy of governing his exceedingly diverse subjects according to their own laws and authorities wherever possible. Religion was considered as primordial aspect of a communities 'national' identity, so the termEthnarch has been applied to such religious leaders, especially the (Greek Orthodox)Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (i.e. in the Sultan's imperial capital, renamedIstanbul in 1930 but replaced byAnkara as republican capital in 1923). AsIslam was the official religion of both court and state, theChief Mufti in Istanbul had a much higher status, even of cabinet rank.
Because of the size and nature of the Ottoman state, containing a far greater part of thediaspora than any other, the position of Hakham Bashi has been compared to that of the JewishExilarch.
In the Ottoman Empire, and as such, theHakham Bashi was the closest thing to an overallExilarchal authority amongJewry everywhere in the Middle East in early modern times. They held broad powers to legislate, judge and enforce the laws among the Jews in the Ottoman Empire and often sat on theSultan'sdivan.
The office also maintained considerable influence outside the Ottoman Empire, especially after theforced migration of numerous Jewish communities and individuals out ofSpain (after the fall of Granada in 1492) andItaly.
The Chief Rabbi of the modern, secular Republic ofTurkey is still known asHahambaşı.
The termHakham Bashi was also used for the official Government-appointed Chief Rabbi of other important cities in the Ottoman Empire, such asDamascus andBaghdad.
The position of Hakham Bashi ofPalestine terminated with the appointment of separate Ashkenazi and Sephardi Chief Rabbis in 1921.[6]
| Moses Capsali | 1454–1495 |
| Elijah Mizrachi | 1497–1526 |
| Mordechai Komitano | 1526–1542 |
| Tam ibn Yahya | 1542–1543 |
| Eliyyah Benjamin ha-Levi | 1543 |
| Eliyyah ben Ḥayyim | 1543–1602 |
| Yeḥiel Bassan | 1602–1625 |
| Joseph Miṭrani | 1625–1639 |
| Yomṭov Ben Yaʿesh | 1639–1642 |
| Yomṭov ben Ḥananiah Ben Yaqar | 1642–1677 |
| Ḥayyim Qamḥi | 1677–1715 |
| Judah Ben Rey | 1715–1717 |
| Samuel Levi | 1717–1720 |
| Abraham ben Ḥayyim Rosanes | 1720–1745 |
| Solomon Ḥayyim Alfandari | 1745–1762 |
| Meir Ishaki | 1762–1780 |
| Elijah Palombo | 1780–1800 |
| Ḥayyim Jacob Benyakar | 1800–1835 |
| Abraham ha-Levi | 1835–1836 |
| Samuel ben Moses Ḥayyim | 1836–1837 |
| Moses Fresco | 1839–1841 |
| Jacob Behar David | 1841–1854 |
| Ḥayyim ha-Kohen | 1854–1860 |
| Jacob (or Yakup) Avigdor | 1860–1863 |
| Yakir Geron | 1863–1872 |
| Moses Levi | 1872–1908 |
| Haim Nahum Effendi | 1908–1920 |
| Shabbetai Levi | 1918–1919 |
| Ishak Ariel | 1919–1920 |
| Haim Moşe Becerano | 1920–1931 |
| Haim Ishak Saki | 1931–1940 |
| Rafael David Saban | 1940–1960 |
| David Asseo | 1961–2002 |
| Ishak Haleva | 2002–2025 |
| David Sevi | 2025- |
| Makhlouf Eldaoudi | 1889–1909 |
| Chaim Abraham Gagin | 1842–1848 |
| Isaac Kovo | 1848–1854 |
| Chaim Nissim Abulafia | 1854–1861 |
| Chaim David Hazan | 1861–1869 |
| Abraham Ashkenazi | 1869–1880 |
| Raphael Meir Panigel | 1880–1892 |
| Jacob Saul Elyashar | 1893–1906 |
| Elijah Moses Panigel | 1907-1908 |
| Nahman Batito [he] | 1909-1911 |
| Moshe Yehuda Franco [he] | 1911 |
| Nissim Yehuda Danon [he] | 1916-1918 |
| Jacob Meir | 1921–1939 |
| Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel | 1939–1948 |
| Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel | 1948–1953 |
| Yitzhak Nissim | 1955–1972 |
| Ovadia Yosef | 1972–1982 |
| Mordechai Eliyahu | 1982–1993 |
| Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron | 1993–2003 |
| Shlomo Amar | 2003–2013 |
| Yitzhak Yosef | 2013–2024 |
| David Yosef | 2024– |
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