The Lord judges nations

Solomon ben Joseph ha-Kohen

1077

Aged parchment with four columns of Hebrew script written in black ink.
Please login or register for free access to Posen Library
Register
Already have an account?
Engage with this Source

Solomon wrote this martial poem to celebrate the Fātimid victory over the Seljuks in Cairo in 1077, a remarkable instance of interreligious relations. The Fātimid caliphate was Shī‘ī, and the poet notes that God has benefited “the house of ‘Alī.” Among many striking features, Solomon’s description of God’s protection of the Muslim leadership is particularly noteworthy.

Read more

Related Guide

Early Medieval Poetry

9th to 12th Century

You may also like

Fragment of a worn page depicting two birds facing each other among branches and fruits, with a decorated border.
Tooltip info icon

Winter kept its vow

Winter kept its vow,   fulfilled its promise to the lily of the valley. A summer day had waited all through winter.   Then the lightning came, proclaiming that the earth had given painless birth  …
View Source
Illustration of a bearded, crying man in a robe and turban, his head surrounded by a gold halo, crouching beside a shrouded figure, also haloed, lying on a wooden bed.
Tooltip info icon

Betrothed to the earth’s dust

Betrothed to the earth’s dust, whose husband is the dirt, far from any lad, she lost her maidenhood. As she approached the [burial] mounds, to join their graves—   She was a woman in her maidenhood.…
View Source

For the mountain of Zion

For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate (Lamentations 5:18)   I will groan and be astonished. For the mountain of Zion I will complain,   and I will have mercy upon its dust. For the mountain of…
View Source

I bear my wandering

[The Jewish people:]I bear my wandering; I take delight in my exile.I serve my subjugator; I am hopeful in my sickness.Let my captivity be pleasing to me, let me not reject the [moral message of]…
View Source

When I sent you that knife

When I sent you that knife, I thought its name was an omen, and indeed the augury and presage became true: the knife signifies that you are inhabiting my heart, its cutting signifies rupture and…
View Source

See the nature of the winds

See the nature of the winds, blowing from four corners,   divided at times, and given control. Sometimes one is roused up, and its power becomes mighty,   and sometimes it is assuaged, and its power…
View Source