Captive Redemption and Prisoner Exchange as Statecraft in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Religion and Politics in the Medieval Mediterranean
Captive Redemption and Prisoner Exchange as Statecraft in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Religion and Politics in the Medieval Mediterranean
In his article, “רוטמן, י. (2014). פדיון שבויים וחילופי שבויים כמעשה מדיני ביהדות, בנצרות ובאסלאם – התהוותו של נוהג ימי ביניימי. שבויים (קובץ בעריכת מרב מאק): מרכז זלמן שזר לחקר תולדות העם היהודי ומכון ון ליר בירושלים”, Professor Youval Rotman examines the development of captive redemption practices across Judaism, Christianity and Islam from the 2nd to the 10th centuries CE. Through analysis of religious texts, historical documents and contemporary accounts, he demonstrates how ransoming captives evolved from individual acts into institutionalized religious and communal obligations.
Professor Rotman argues that while both religious communities developed parallel customs of redeeming captives as a public act, they operated through different institutional frameworks. He shows how this practice emerged in response to changing political circumstances, particularly as religious and political identities became increasingly intertwined in the medieval Mediterranean world. Using the redemption of religious artifacts like icons and Torah scrolls as a case study, Professor Rotman illustrates how captive redemption served not only to rescue individuals but also to preserve collective religious identity. His comparative analysis provides important insights into how religious communities stepped in to fill gaps left by state authorities in protecting their coreligionists, and how practices of ransoming captives helped shape communal responsibility and religious authority in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.
