alternatehistory.com

While the Empire of Lithuania was a multiethnic state with dozens of nationalities composing it, three stood out among the rest - Lithuanians, Ruthenians and Russians. These three nations composed the majority of the empire's population and dominated the rest, and in this particular field Lithuania was ironically similar to Visegrad, which was also dominated by three primary ethnicities. Of course, the equality between the three of them was hardly existent in the Empire, unlike in it's western neighbour. However, nowadays many people say that calling Lithuania "an empire of three nations" is a misnomer, because there was an invisible, but very important fourth nation - the Jews.

It is no surprise to most people that Lithuania was surprisingly tolerant of Jewish religion and activity, and has been so since it's inception, but one should not be mistaken - this did not come from simple goodwill. In the early years of the Grand Duchy, Jewish settlers were among the wealthiest in the nation, and tolerating them was necessary to collect taxes and keep up trade in the nation, and as time went on, the Jewry became more and more important to the nation's economy, diplomacy and culture, pretty much integrating into the Empire as full citizens, and they responded to tolerance with loyalty. Much like in the past, Lithuanian rulers were in favor of Jewish trade and flourishing culture for the sake of collecting a hefty amount of tax. Obviously, one can't simply swing too much to the other side, either - not all of the reasons for this tolerance were materialistic, simple acceptance of foreign beliefs also played a part.

Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the number of Jews living in the Empire of Lithuania steadily increased due to immigration from the rest of Europe, most notably during the Twenty Years' War. This brutal conflict sparked a renewal of anti-semitism across Central Europe, especially in Germany - people were searching for any possible boogeyman to rally against in face of this insane horror, and Jews were the obvious choice. Spain had expelled it's Jewish population in the late 15th century, many German states followed during the Twenty Years' War, and in all of these cases the majority of the Jews fled to Lithuania, which was renown for it's acceptance of their nation. Calculating the exact number of Jews living in Lithuania at the time is tough due to lack of accurate census data, but it is measured that in 1780, almost 8% of the population of the Empire of Lithuania was either Jewish or half-Jewish, although this number is disputed by some historians, who state that it also includes Karaites, Tatars and other "privileged minorities".

In Lithuania, the Jews fulfilled a number of roles and jobs. Many were moneylenders, although this monopoly was being pushed out by Lithuanian or Ruthenian banks, but their most common position was as merchants or traders. Due to the high number of connections among the Jewish diaspora, they were able to supply the nation's towns, cities and villages with goods from the entire Empire and beyond, and it's been stated that almost every major population center in the country had at least one Jewish merchant. Lithuanian Jews, also called "Litvaks" were and are stereotypically seen as cold, well educated and stoic, focused on business on learning rather than social interaction - and this stereotype has a grain of truth in it, Litvaks were usually far more educated than the average peasant, they ran numerous colleges ("yeshivas") for theological education, but at the same time they were quite distant from the "gentiles". The heart of the Jewish nation was Vilnius, named Vilna by the Jews themselves, and commonly called the "New Jerusalem" due to it's impact in the nation's culture, philosophy and theology. This is where many of the most famous theologians of Judaism in this period originated from and spread their beliefs.

While the Jews had a number of rights not shared by Lithuanians or Slavs, one stood out - outside of the elite Karaite Guard, they were completely exempt from any type of military service. While this was fine in the past, problems arrived when Grand Hetman Aleksandras Chodkevičius and the military junta ascended to power. The Hetman, whose main backbone was the military, did not trust the Jewry much for this reason, fearing that their lack of military service would turn them into opponents of the main regime - and thus, the Hetmanate sought to weaken the standing of the Jews as much as possible. Numerous synagogues and yeshivas were closed, taxes for the Jews were raised, and even though the government cited "lack of funds" as the reason, both they and the Litvaks knew what was happening. Some, fearing that the Hetmanate is planning to expel the Jews, were readying their wagons, while others were even planning to rebel. In the end, however, these actions turned the Jews into loyalists of the Emperor - despite being a gentile, Jonas II was much more supportive of Jews and returned them their old rights, and in response the Litvaks swore fealty to him.

Many centuries have passed since the beginning of a Jewish diaspora in Lithuania. Called "Lita" by the Jews themselves, this vast nation had become their new homeland, and many of them was as fiercely patriotic of it as the Lithuanians themselves. Of course, at the same time retaining their old beliefs and traditions. Challenges still await for this hardy nation, of course...

----

The next chapter will deal with these three symbols:

View attachment 326852