Baza, Spain
BAZA (Arabic Basta), town N.E. of Granada in S.E. Spain. Baza was annexed to Granada after Almeria's defeat by the army under *Samuel b. Joseph ha-Nagid's command (c. 1039). In the 11th century there was a Jewish community in Baza whose residents were employed mostly in the silk industry. The Jewish quarter was located opposite the present-day cathedral of Santiago. A mikveh with three bath chambers has been uncovered and is a good example of 11th-century Arabic bathhouse architecture.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
EI, 1 (19602), S.V. Basta; M. Gómez-Moreno, in: Al Andalus, 12 (1947), 151–5; Ashtor, Korot, 2 (1966), 92–93.
Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.
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