Nikopol Jewish Cemetery

During the archaeological excavations of the Roman City of Nicopolis (now Nikopol; Bulg.: Никопол; historically Greek: Νικόπολις; Latin: Nicopolis; Turkish: Niğbolu), founded by the emperor Trajan in 98 CE, the remnants of the ancient synagogue dated to 2nd century CE were found. According to the responsa of Solomon Abraham Cohen (Leghorn, 1592), in 967 some Byzantine Jews settled in Nicopolis. After 12th century, a number of Jewish merchants from Ragusa (Dubrovnik), Venice, and Genoa also arrived there. In late 14th Nikopol became an asylum for Ashkenazic exiles from Hungary. In 1393 – 1395 Nikopol was the last residence of Ivan Sisman (Czar of Bulgaria in 1371 – 1395, whose mother Queen Theodora was allegedly a converted Jewess from Veliko Tarnovo), after that it was took by the Ottomans. Approximately at the same time, many Jews from Veliko Tarnovo moved to Nikopol. In late 15th century Nikopol received many Sephardic exiles from Castile and Aragon. The city Rabbi at that period was R. Ḥayyim ben Albalgri (or Al-Bulgari = "the Bulgarian"?). He was succeeded by R. Ephraim Caro of Toledo, father of the prominent R. Josef Caro (1488 – 1575), author of Beit Yosef and Shulkhan Arukh, who was also for the short time between 1523 and 1536 the Rabbi of Nikopol. He established the Beit Yosef yeshiva, and the synagogue Maran Beit Yosef was named after him. About 1530 the famous kabbalist and mystical poet Shlomo Alkabetz (1505 – 1584) visited the city on his way to the Holy Land and met Caro. One of the successors of Caro was Judah Bembassat, a noted Talmudic scholar in his time. Under the Ottoman rule during 16th century the city had one of the biggest and flourishing Jewish communities. There were six synagogues in Nikopol. In 1595 – 1599 the Jewish community was severely damaged during hostilities between Ottomans and Wallachians. Some Jews were taken to Wallachia and executed. In 17th – 18th centuries the community declined. Among the Rabbis of Nikopol in 17th century there were R. Isaac Beja (1570 – 1628), author of Beit Neeman, and R. Reuben Ḥadidah. In 1688 the Jewish population increased with the arrival of war refugees from Smederevo (Semendria; Serbia). During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877 the Jews of Nikopol fled to Plevna (Pleven), and Adrianople, returning after the peace treaty of 1878. The economic situation, which deteriorated after the war, induced many Jews to settle in other Bulgarian towns. In 1904 there were still 210 Jews in Nikopol, but in 1926 only 12 Jewish families remained. During WWII the city received refugees from Germany and other European countries. The Nazis converted Maran Beit Yosef synagogue into a warehouse and stable. Now only a few Jewish families live in Nikopol. The old Jewish cemetery was completely destroyed and overbuilt by the private houses. Only one tombstone without inscription and probably several fragments survived in a private yard.