200 years of Jewish life in shtetl Kaushany in Bessarabia

17 
 
 
The earliest reference to the Jews in Bessarabia dates from the 14
th
 century.  There is 
evidence that there was an uninterrupted Jewish presence in the Moldavian and Walachian 
Principalities for centuries before the 14
th
 century emigration into the area.  “… Jews partly came 
from Palestine, or were of Byzantine or Khazar origin and since the immigration from other 
European lands had not yet started, where else could they have come from”
18
.  A document from 
1574 established the fact of the Jewish presence in Moldavia during the reign of Prince Roman 1 
(1391-1394) and Alexander Bun (Alexander the Good) (1401-1433)
19
.   A number of Jewish 
communities in southern Bessarabia had been in existence since the 15
th
 century.  In the 16
th
-17
th
 
centuries there was a rabbinical court functioning in Akkerman (Cetatea Alba)
20
, which is less 
than 60 miles from Kaushany.  There were also Jewish communities from the 16
th
 century in 
Kiliya and Izmail, both towns on the Danube River in Bessarabia.  Jewish sources like the 
Encyclopedia Judaica
21
  mention that “A number of tombstones in the ancient Jewish cemetery 
in Kaushany, thought to date from the 16
th
 century, indicate that there may have been Jews living 
in the place in this period”
22
.  Unfortunately this is impossible to confirm because the Jewish 
cemetery or cemeteries were destroyed in Kaushany after World War II.  There are very few 
reminders of the existing cemeteries in Kaushany
23
. 
From the 16
th
 century to 1812 
 
In 1538, the Principality of Moldavia was defeated by the army of Suleyman the 
Magnificent, and for almost three hundred years it was a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. 
Moldova was never incorporated into the Ottoman Empire, and no Turks settled in the country.  
                                                 
18
 Schulsohn, S. J. (n.d.). Immigration and Settlement of the Jews in Bukovina. New York: 
http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/bukowinabook/buk1_001.html.  
19
 Broghauz, & Efron. (1908-1913). Jewish Encyclopedia. St. Petersburg, Russia. 
 
20
 The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, Bessarabia. (n.d.). New York: YIVO, Bessarabia. 
21
 Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. (2007). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Detroit: Macmillan. 
22
 Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2007. Kaushany, Eliyahu Feldman. 
23
 See section Jewish Cemetery, in Chapter III. 

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18 
 
For a long time it had a special status, paying an annual tribute of gold and horses, and was ruled 
by the Moldovan princes, the gospodars
24
.   
 
Flag of the Ottoman Empire 1453-1844 
 
 
 
 
Moldavia and the town of Kaushany, 1648 
 
Excerpt from the Historical Atlas of Central Europe 
(Magocsi & Matthews, 1993). 
 
 
Bessarabia is on the map between the rivers Prut and 
Dniester and the Black Sea. 
 
 
 
The southern part of Bessarabia, see on the map above, was part of the Silistre Eyalets 
(province) of the Ottoman Empire.  The Kaushany region was part of that territory under direct 
Ottoman control or Tatar rule, and Kaushany became a residence of Tatar Khan.  The Tatars 
themselves paid tribute to the Ottoman Empire.   
 
The most famous Moldovan
25
 of the 18th century was the Prince of Moldavia, Demetrius 
Kantemir.  He was a writer, a political leader and a scientist.  He led ten thousand Moldovans on 
                                                 
24
 Gospodar or hospodar is a term of Slavonic origin, meaning “lord” or “master”.  The term was used for the rulers 
of Wallachia and Moldavia from the 15
th
 century to 1866. 

---

19 
 
the Russian side in their fight against the Turks. After the Turks were victorious, Kantemir fled 
and settled in Russia.  Peter the Great awarded him the title of Prince of the Russian Empire. 
Demetrius Kantemir wrote Descriptio Antiqui et Hodierni Status Moldaviae
26
 the first and the 
most complete description of the Moldovan geography, history, government, and daily life.  
 
In the first chapter which is about geography, Kantemir wrote about Ancient and Modern 
Moldavia: “Nogai Horde (Nogai tatars) were divided in 2 branches: Orak-ogly and Orumbet-
ogly.  These two branches preserved careful their tribal traditions.  As their ancestors did, these 
nomad people live in the steppe, and they do not have towns, except Kaushany on the river 
Botna... “
27
. 
 
In the 16
th
 century, Jewish immigration to Moldavia came from Galicia, Poland and 
Germany.  They were mostly of Ashkenazi descent but some Sephardic merchants from 
Constantinople also began to reside in Bessarabia.  Kantemir’s work also included a description 
of the life of Jews: their rights, occupations and relations with their neighbors.  Kantemir 
described the town of Kiliya in the southern part of Bessarabia, where Jews used to live and trade 
from the 15
th
 century.  He says that Kiliya was a small but famous port where ships from as far 
as Egypt and Venice would be anchored. Kantemir described Kiliya as a cosmopolitan town with 
Turks, Jews, Christians and Armenians living together peacefully.  In the political section, the 
Jews were mentioned among other peoples living in Moldavia.  According to the author, Jews 
were allowed to build wooden synagogues but not stone structures.  Jews were citizens of the 
nation but paid an annual tax that was higher than other citizens.  Jews were engaged exclusively 
in commerce and 
tavern keeping.  The author reported that“…foreign traders, 
Turks, Jews and 
                                                                                                                                                             
25
 Terms Moldovan and Moldavian have the same meaning. First used in Moldavia, Romania and the second – in 
Russia, Europe.  
26
 Kantemir, D. (1714, Latin, 1973, Russian). Descriptio Moldaviae (Biblioteka Academiae Mosqvitanae 
Scientiarum. Kishinev. 
27
 Kantemir, 1714, Latin, 1973, Russian, p.34. 

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