The History and Genealogy of the Family and Surname DANDASHI USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by the Dandashi Family . Web Site address: http://JewishGen.org/family/dandashi.html ************************************************** The History and Genealogy of the Family and Surname DANDASHI Its Judaic origin: DAN in Canaan, the Ancient Land of Israel its European surnames: DANDY (in Belgium and France), DANDYS (in Spain ?) Its Turkish spelling variations under the former Ottoman Empire: DANDYSHLY, DANDISHLY, DANDASHLY, DANDASHLI, DINDASHLY, DNDASHLY, DNDSHLI its recent French and other spelling variations around the world: DANDACHI, DANDACHY, DANDICHI, DNDACHE, DANDASH, DNDASHI and its most recent American variation: DANDASHI Abbreviations C.E. : Common Era. B.C.E.: Before the Common Era Note Dates were followed by either B.C.E. (Not B.C.) or by C.E. (Instead of A.D.) as prefered in Jewish history. A journey in history from: DAN ....~ DANDY.... ~ DANDYS ?.... ~ DANDYSHLY..... ~ DANDASHLI,.... to DANDASHI. The sole purpose of this family history is not to glorify the surname Dandashi, but rather to offer and to share with the world some factual, educational, private and personal records and extensive research of its history and genealogy. Many distinguished family names have been produced by the Judaic and European cultures, not the least of which was Dandashi with its Judaic origin: DAN in Canaan, the Ancient Land of Israel, its European surnames: DANDY (in Belgium and France) and DANDYS (in Spain ?), Its Turkish surname spelling variations under the former Ottoman Empire: DANDYSHLY, DANDISHLY, DANDASHLY, DANDASHLI, DINDASHLY, DNDASHLY, DNDSHLI, its recent French and other spelling variations around the world: DANDACHI, DANDACHY, DANDICHI, DNDACHE, DANDASH, DNDASHI, and its most recent American variation: DANDASHI. Many spelling variations, hence, were found. These different spellings frequently occurred, even between father and son. Preferences for the spelling variations usually arose from a division of the family, or for religious reasons, or sometimes for self-serving reasons. Official civil records and scribes spelt the name as it sounded, and depending on the educational level and linguistic knowledge of the recording civil service personnel in every nation, sometimes in several different ways in the lifetime of the same person. The surname Dandashi is distinguished by the achievements of its family members over hundreds of years of told and recorded family history, by its Judaic survival in the shadow of mighty powerful forces and Empires: the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Roman, Christian and Islamic Militants, Turkish, and recent Dictatorships of the Middle East, and not by a Royal or Imperial ancestries and descent to which the family Dandashi claims no known or documented roots or origin. History tells us that by the Middle Ages, Jews had settled all over Europe. Their lives and destiny depended on the local conditions under which they lived. Global politics, economics and religions were as important then as they are today. Jews in France and today’s Belgium where the Dandashi family once settled, Germany, Northern Italy and England, called Ashkenazim, were living under and influenced by Christian rule; they mastered the studies of the Jewish law and Civil Codes; while Jews in Spain, called Sephardim, found themselves living under and influenced by Islamic rule in an era later called the Golden Age, pioneered poetry, architecture, arts, literature and philosophy. Eventually the majority of both Sephardim and Ashkenazim were chased east and westward of Europe by the Christian and Moslem rules of Europe, thus most of the Ashkenazic communities were expelled from France and England in the thirteen and fourteenth century, and Moslem Spain was overran by Christian forces with the result that the Sephardic communities were finally expelled in 1492 C.E. and ended up in Eastern European countries and in some countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Expelled by the political and religious forces of Europe, a Jewish family known as Dan (and then Dandy) found itself divided and wondering about in Europe, North Africa and finally settled in the Promise Land of Israel near Jerusalem, and continued to live there until the region was overran by the Islamic Ottoman Imperial forces whose mission was to conquer and to convert, all non-Moslem and non-Turkish cultures, heritages, languages and religions into an Islamic Turkish cultural swimming pool that lasted over 400 years. The history and roots of the family Dandashi begin, as does all history, in a misty origin. We know almost nothing for sure about the told life of the family in the Jewish settlement in Canaan, the Ancient Land of Israel, in the ancient village Dan in the north extremity of Ancient Israel, under Moses and Joshua between 1300 B.C.E. and 1200 B.C.E. Nevertheless, the family Dandashi is said to have an age-old Judaic heritage and roots in ancient Canaan: The Ancient Land of Israel, to wonder about in Europe for many centuries, and to have had its longest European settlement in today's Belgium with the surname Dan (thus bearing the name of the ancient Judaic village they once originated from) and much later with the surname Dandy around 1215 C.E. when Church Militant passed anti-jewish laws that forced the family to move on and seek settlement in France where it continued to bear the surname Dandy : an adjective describing an always elegant and charming man who gives exaggerated attention to his dress and physical appearance and presents, produces and adopts something good or excellent in its class. Among many expelled Jewish families, the family Dan (Dandy) was forced out of France in 1305 C.E. to find itself again divided in Spain (with the surname Dandys ?), and in other parts of Eastern Europe (notably in Turkey where Jewish communiti es of some consequence grew up and played an important role in the era of the former Ottoman Empire); and finally in 1492 C.E. was expelled from Spain to temporarily wonder about in North Africa; and finally settled again near Jerusalem thus realizing the family’s age-old hope and dream of returning to Jerusalem. After Solomon's death, Palestine was divided into two separate states: Judah in the south with its capital Jerusalem, and Israel in the north where the Dandashi family is believed to once have settled and lived in the ancient village Dan in the north extremity of Israel. History tells us that the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed in 722 B.C.E. by the imperial power that controlled Mesopotamia, called Assyria. Survivals of the Kingdom of Israel escaped to join the Judeans the only Hebrew left. Historians note that the word "Jew" is simply an abbreviation of Judean. In 586 B.C.E., Judah was conquered and Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and the Jews were driven into exile in Babylonia after living a precarious life in the shadow of powerful empires. Persia conquered Babylonia in 536 B.C.E. and allowed the jewish exiles to return home to establish the Second Jewish Commonwealth that continued for six hundred years to be eventually destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. The Romans destroyed the Second Temple and banned Jews from Jerusalem for more than 70 years. By 250 C.E. many native Jewish families dispersed throughout the world; among them a family that called itself Dan (known today as Dandashi) reached Europe and settled in today's Belgium. Only scattered Jewish settlements existed in Europe until the tenth century. The family with the surname Dan (thus bearing the name of the ancient village they once originated from) and then with the surname Dandy continued there until 1215 C.E. when Church Militant passed anti-jewish laws forcing the family and most other Jews to leave and to temporarily settle in France. Once again, among many expelled Jewish families, the family was forced out of France in 1305 C.E. to find itself divided in Spain, and in other parts of Eastern Europe (notably in Turkey); and in 1492 C.E. was expelled from Spain to temporarily wonder about in North Africa; and finally settled again near Jerusalem. As one of handful wealthy influential families in Turkey and the Middle East region at the time, and for unknown reasons to today’s researchers, the Ottoman Emperor, the Sultan, granted the Jewish Turkish Dandashi family the imperial titles and status of Pasha, Bek and Agha along with the ownership of all the land and villages, termed lately Ikta’a, stretching over a large portion of what was known then as Natural Syria, known today as Syria, Lebanon and their neighboring countries as established by the British-French Colonial Accords that divided the region and established its current geo-political boundaries in the early 1900. Both family branches, the Jewish Turkish Dandashis and their cousins near Jerusalem, became united under the Dandyshly, or Dandashly and sometimes pronounced Dindashly, Lordship that extended far beyond what is known today as Al-Beka'a Valley and its mighty surroundings where they all resided and ruled their Ikta’a in the region for over 400 years. This Emperor or Sultan Grant was evidenced by a signed written order, called Sok or Faraman by the Sultan, preserved in the Archives of the former Ottoman Empire, thus appointing the family’s eldest leader: Ishmael Pasha Dandyshly as Lord of the Land and its people, bearing a Turkish spelling version for the family surname as Dandyshly or Dandashly and often pronounced then Dindashly. The family ever since became a silent jewish family and played an important behind-the-scene role in the political, economic and social events of the region. After nearly 400 years of recent Moslem Turkish Imperial rule, the Dandashi family's Jewish heritage was lost and its values that once embraced the age-old Jewish wisdom, knowledge and social justice were corrupted by wealth and power; many of its members grew up with nothing in particular and lived a non-religious extravagant life, and many others, weak lost and confused, converted to other religions to protect their future self-interest and to enhance their future existence and power in the region un der its past moslem royalties and its recent military dictatorships. It is very important to note that most Dandashis, especially those who recently had no choice and were forced by some self-proclaimed socialist military dictatorships to continue to reside in the Middle East region in poverty with indignity but with honor and pride of their family’s heritage and also had no choice but to carry different or multiple Middle Eastern national identity cards and passports, do not consider themselves as Syrians or Lebanese or Arab Nationals of any kind. She or He will simply respond to you with a smile and a great pride I am Dandashi, thus having and expressing no sense of local nationalism and no feelings for, or allegiance to, an Arab or any Middle-Eastern nation. In the nineteenth century, the family with its mighty wealth sided with the emerging Capitalism after the dawn of the industrial revolution of Europe. Most family members were educated in the West in private and public British and French schools and universities primarily in Great Britain and France, and recently in the United States and Germany. Politically, although unspoken and unexpressed publicly fearful of death by the anti-semitic forces and dictatorships of the Middle-East, the family Dandashi sided with the West and secretly supported and continues, since 1948 C.E., to support the rebirth, reestablishment, peaceful existence, security, prosperity and freedom of the State of Israel, the Third Jewish Commonwealth. Also, in silence, many lawyers, intellectuals, philanthropists and highly educated members of the Dandashi family have been very proud Humanists or Masons and said to be members and supporters of Grand Masonic and Humanist Lodges around the world. It must be noted that until early 1900, and with a few exceptions motivated by wealth and power gains, the Dandashis did allow or approve out-of-family, and cross-cultural marriages; they always married from within the family to protect the family's identity, tradition, wealth, power and culture. Hence, they maintained to a large extent a distinct characters and personalities that to a very large extent do not resemble the original inhabitants of Arabia and strongly suggest other possible ancient roots prior to their existence in Canaan in the Land of Israel, other than what was postulated once around the dandashis' discussion tables thus contemplating their ancient roots as ancient Jewish Yemenites! There is no coherent or strongly convincing stories told from generation to generation that support the theory of having ancient roots in the ancient Kingdom of Yemen prior to their settlement in Canaan in the Land of Israel in the ancient village Dan in the north extremity of Ancient Israel under Moses and Joshua. Objectivity in genealogical research dictates that having such roots as ancient Jewish Yemenites is not inadmissible or impossible, however, It is more probable, but also not certain, that today’s Dandashis were originally Babylonian Jews. The family Dandashi, although lived as a closed aristocratic family for hundreds of years wondering about in Europe and the Middle East, has been known for its dandyism, a trait that still exist today thus marking a passion for elegance, charm, beauty, goodness and perfection. Moreover, the family although regrettably lost its Jewish heritage but managed to maintain at all times its tradition of humbleness, humanism and utmost forms of generosity. The late President of the Republic of France General De Gaul, among many other dignitaries throughout our history, expressed on many private and public occasions, and documented on official colonial visit records of France, his utmost admiration for the Dandashi family and its generosity and leadership. Since the early days of its existence, the family has always stressed to its children the importance of enlightenment, knowledge, achievement, search for the truth, helping and serving humanity, and education especially in the field of law, literature, economics and politics. After the 1950, some Dandashis elected to pursue professions as Engineers, Architects, Business Administrators, Entrepreneurs, Bankers, and Medical Doctors in Western Europe and the US. It should be noted that after 1960, there have been continuous attempts to distort and obscure the history, contributions and surname of the Dandashi family, among few other distinguished families, by recent self-proclaimed socialist military dictatorships fearing the return of these families to power in the region. They actually altered and destroyed existing families’ public records; rewrote these families’ surname in several different sarcastic distorted ways even in the same lifetime of the same person; confiscated titles and land ownership; and in particular publicly labeled all Dandashis as Ikta’ii Bourgeois, Imperialist Agents of the West, Jewish Zionist Agents of Israel... to mention a few labels. Moreover, they treated most dandashis with indignity and humiliation, denied them employment and privileges in all sectors thus driven them into the utmost forms of poverty and starvation, and distorted educational history books that once mentioned the family name Dandashi and were taught in public schools prior to 1970s. Their aim has also been to glorify and justify their own self-serving families’ history and portraits that could elevate them up to a so-called historic world class status they long dreamed of attaining while living under the protection of, and working for, their Lords of the land. It has often been said: you put two Dandashis around a discussion table, and you will get four different opinions. In a very large and worldly divided family numbering over 10,000 living members around the world; a family that lost its Judaic heritage tempted by extreme wealth and power under the Ottoman Empire; a family that became weary and tired of being expelled from one country to another and being divided and wondering about in the world; a family who lately became targeted by Extremists and military dictatorships and lived, and continues to live, under many different political and social systems around the world for hundreds of years; individual, religious and cultural differences are expected to prevail as a matter of adaptation and survival. It is said that the ancient Dandashi family was very religious and very proud of its jewish faith and heritage to the point of being viewed and depicted under the early Islamic rule as major enemy and threat to the prophecy and expansion of Islam. Nowadays, as evidence of the individual, religious and cultural differences in the family, there are few extremely wealthy Dandashis, immigrant and naturalized by the Saudi Royal family, residing in Saudi Arabia permanently and consider themselves arabs and moslems living extravagant lives. There are others in Europe who became christians via marriage and personal relationships. Recently, many family members have been very active in reclaiming the family's heritage. Individuals who may claim to be genuine Dandashis and would disagree with these findings, are strongly and respectfully urged to present any hidden evidence they may have thus explaining the family history otherwise. Others who may carry the family name, but for some self-serving reasons may feel offended or disappointed by these historical and factual findings of its Judaic European Turkish Middle Eastern heritage, are strongly urged to research their true genealogical origin and family roots prior to their ancestors have adopted the family name Dandashi or considered themselves as Dandashis via numerous mechanisms, e.g. the old Lordship and Plantations Rule of the region that prevailed for hundreds of years which allows members of the farming families and servants to adopt the surname of their Lord of the land; also via seeking the protection and the support of a then very wealthy and powerful family, or via hidden or recent acknowledged marriage and parenthood. They should also have the courage to return to their ancient roots and change their surname thus proudly reflecting their true genealogical origin. There are also individuals who recently claimed to be Dandashis, and the family recognizes that they are not and classifies them as Banadik meaning not genuine, such that in seeking revenge against the family, they have strongly attempted to distort and to challenge the heritage and achievements of the family with published fabrications and hypothesis that are characteristics of many alike opportunists inhabitants of the Middle East region, to suit their current self-serving engagements with, and financial support of, their masters. To those Intruders or Banadik and Opportunists, the family wishes them well and stresses that the factual preserved history, age-old tradition and achievements of the family Dandashi around the world speak for itself and need no defense. Finally we note that in the New World, the surname Dandashi recently produced few prominent people whose achievements earned them a place in some of the history books of the 20th century. Biographies of the family’s most cited members in the world are briefly highlighted in many worldly references such as the Marquis publications. Major Genealogical Research Resources This family history represents a brief summary of private and public records and the told and recorded life of the family Dandashi around the world, supported by over 15 years of extensive serious genealogical research and travel in many nations that was passed on from fathers to sons, first-hand personal knowledge of and connection with more than one thousand living members of the family, interviews, and readings and references among which primarily are 1) Archives of the former Ottoman Empire in Turkey, along with 2) Records prior to 1893 held by Archives de la Ville de Paris, 3) Civil Census prior to 1893 held by Archives Departementals de France, 4) Remaining family private correspondences, letters, land titles and ownership, residency and travel papers, passports and identifications, etc... 5) Private individuals and resources from around the world that do not wish to be identified, and 6) Resources of the American Jewish Historical Society.