The Travels of Rabbi Petachia of Ratisbon

This text narrates the travels of Rabbi Petachia, a medieval rabbi from Regensburg, Germany, who set out to see the Middle East. He travels through Prague, Russia, and Armenia to reach Baghdad, Susa, and Palestine, returning through Constantinople. He tells of the synagogues he visited, the wonders he saw (including the tombs of Ezra and Ezekiel), and those he heard about (including the realm of Magog and the river which does not flow on the Sabbath), which are carefully distinguished. The years of the travel are not precisely stated, but he came to Baghdad after 1180, and he visited Jerusalem under the Crusaders, who were expelled in 1187. This text, compiled from Petachia's notes by Judah the Pious, also of Regensburg, has extensive annotation by the translator and William F. Ainsworth, secretary of the Syro-Egyptian Society.