There have been several threads about possible Jewish kingdoms in medieval Europe. My aim here is lower - a feudal domain during the classical feudal period (Baron Rothschild doesn't count) with a hereditary Jewish lord, which lasts at least two, and preferably at least three, generations.
Since feudalism is fundamentally a military institution, such a domain would have to occur in a place where there are Jewish soldiers and military commanders, which in medieval Europe pretty much means Spain. I can think of at least one potential candidate: Samuel ha-Nagid, an 11th-century warrior-statesman who commanded the armies of Granada and served as vizier during the 1030s-1050s. (He also wrote Hebrew war poetry in the Arabic style.) It seems to me that the Granadan ruler could easily have granted him some land - possibly around Lucena, which had a Jewish majority at the time - either instead of or in addition to the title of vizier.
Could it have lasted? The Almoravid and Almohad invasions would be a major problem. But assuming that a Jewish domain could survive these, it might be able to find a place in a feudal patchwork where, after all, Muslim lords cheerfully fought other Muslims in the service of Christian kings and vice versa. (Hell, it was even possible for a Christian to fight for the Muslims and still be a hero of the Reconquista.) Sooner or later, one of the Christian or Muslim kingdoms would squash it, but I could imagine it lasting a century or two.
Any other ideas?
Since feudalism is fundamentally a military institution, such a domain would have to occur in a place where there are Jewish soldiers and military commanders, which in medieval Europe pretty much means Spain. I can think of at least one potential candidate: Samuel ha-Nagid, an 11th-century warrior-statesman who commanded the armies of Granada and served as vizier during the 1030s-1050s. (He also wrote Hebrew war poetry in the Arabic style.) It seems to me that the Granadan ruler could easily have granted him some land - possibly around Lucena, which had a Jewish majority at the time - either instead of or in addition to the title of vizier.
Could it have lasted? The Almoravid and Almohad invasions would be a major problem. But assuming that a Jewish domain could survive these, it might be able to find a place in a feudal patchwork where, after all, Muslim lords cheerfully fought other Muslims in the service of Christian kings and vice versa. (Hell, it was even possible for a Christian to fight for the Muslims and still be a hero of the Reconquista.) Sooner or later, one of the Christian or Muslim kingdoms would squash it, but I could imagine it lasting a century or two.
Any other ideas?