B

This chapter focuses exclusively on medieval Jewish civilization, from the fall of the Roman Empire to about 1492. It includes alphabetically organized entries, written by scholars from around the world, include biographies, countries, events, social history, and religious concepts. Jews were distinguished from their non-Jewish neighbors already by the observance of certain biblical laws and rabbinical customs, including the almost universal prohibition against shaving the beard and the custom for males to wear some sort of head covering. The 'Abbasid caliphate, in the early tenth century, permitted Jews and Christians to serve sometimes in the capacity of true bankers, in Baghdad, Syria (including Palestine) and Egypt. The system of privileged banks was widespread all around Italy and assumed a structure with a particular relevance in the more developed cities. In Florence the concessions concerned one bank at the time.