Yahia Ben Yahi III

Who was Yahia Ben Yahi III?

Yahia Ben Yahi III, also known as Jahia Negro Ibn Ya'isch, was a Sephardi Jew born in Cordoba, Al-Andalus, in 1115 to Yahia Ben Rabbi, also known as Yahya Ha-Nasi, Yahya Ibn Yaish or Dom Yahia "o Negro", the son of Yahia Ben Rabbi and said to be a direct descendent of the Exilarchs of Babylon.

King Afonso I of Portugal entrusted Yahia Ben Yahi III with the post of supervisor of tax collection and nominated him the first Chief-Rabbi of Portugal. King Sancho I of Portugal continued his father's policy, making José Ben Yahia, the grandson of Yahia Ben Rabbi, High Steward of the Realm. The clergy, however, invoking the restrictions of the Fourth Council of the Lateran, brought considerable pressure to bear against the Jews during the reign of King Dinis I of Portugal, but the monarch maintained a conciliatory position. Yahia ben Yahi III died in 1185 in Lisbon, Portugal.

At some point, some of Yahia Ben Yahi III's descendants seem to have converted to Christianity. Among these, no longer Jews, but Mozarabs, would be Yahia Ben Bakr, Bakr Ben Yahia and Aloandro Ben Bekar, all Governors of the city of Faro, in the Algarve.