That Russo-Poland should have elected a Jewish king on two occasions, a certain Abraham Prochovnik in 842 and the famous Saul Wahl[9] in the sixteenth century, sounds legendary; but that there was a Jewish queen, called Esterka, is probable, and that some Jews attained to political eminence is beyond reasonable doubt.[10] Records have been discovered concerning two envoys, Saul and Joseph, who served the Slavonic czar about 960, and an interesting story is told of two Jewish soldiers, Ephraim Moisievich and Anbal the Jassin, who won the confidence of Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky of Kiev, and afterwards became leaders in a conspiracy against him (1174).[11] Henry, Duke of Anjou, the successor of Sigismud August on the throne of Poland and Lithuania, owed his election mainly to the efforts of Solomon Ashkenazi.  Ivan Vassilyevich, too, had many and important relations with Jews, and his favorable attitude towards them is amply proved by the fact that his family physician was the Jew Leo (1490).  Throughout his reign he maintained an uninterrupted friendship with Chozi Kokos, a Jew of the Crimea, and he did not hesitate to offer hospitality and protection to Zacharias de Guizolfi, though the latter was not in a position to reciprocate such favors.[12]

In addition there are less prominent individuals who received honors at the hands of their non-Jewish countrymen.  Meir Ashkenazi of Kaffa, in the Crimea, who was slain by pirates on a trip from “Gava to Dakhel,” was envoy of the khan of the Tatars to the king of Poland in the sixteenth century.  Mention is made of “Jewish Cossacks,” who distinguished themselves on the field of battle, and were elevated to the rank of major and colonel.[13] While the common opinion regarding Jews expressed itself in merry England in such ballads as “The Jewish Dochter,” and “Gernutus, the Jew of Venice,” many a Little Russian song had the bravery of a Jewish soldier as its burden.  In everything save religion the Jews were hardly distinguishable from their neighbors.

There are—­writes Cardinal Commendoni, an eye-witness—­a great many Jews in these provinces, including Lithuania, who are not, as in other places, regarded with disrespect.  They do not maintain themselves miserably by base profits; they are landed proprietors, are engaged in business, and even devote themselves to the study of literature and, above all, to medicine and astronomy; they hold almost everywhere the commission of levying customs duties, are classed among the most honest people, wear no outward mark to distinguish them from the Christians, and are permitted to carry swords and walk about with their arms.  In a word they have equal rights with the other citizens.

A similar statement is made by Joseph Delmedigo, who spent many years in Livonia and Lithuania as physician to Prince Radziwill.[14]