Wikipedia's first sentence called it “name for the chief rabbi of the ottoman empire”. Today it says “turkish name for the chief rabbi of the nation's jewish community”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Hakham Bashi ( Turkish : Hakham Bašsi ) was the name for the Chief Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire, and as such, the Hakham Bashi was the closest thing to an overall Exilarchal authority among Jewry everywhere in the Middle East in early modern times. They held broad powers to legislate, judge and enforce the laws among the Jews of Ottoman Turkey and often sat on the Sultan 's divan . They also maintained considerable influence outside the Ottoman Empire, especially after the forced migration of numerous Jewish communities and individuals out of Spain (in 1492 ) and Italy . The institution of the Hakham Bashi was established by Mehmet II , as part of his policy of governing his exceedingly diverse subjects according to their own laws and authorities wherever possible. Because of the size and nature of the Ottoman state, the position of Hakham Bashi has been compared to that of the Exilarch . The Chief Rabbi of the Republic of Turkey is still known as Hakham Bashi .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17333772.
The opening as it stood in 2010 6 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Hakham Bashi ( حاخامباشی) is the Turkish name for the Chief Rabbi of the nation's Jewish community.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 369341314.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Hakham Bashi ( , ) is the Turkish name for the Chief Rabbi of the nation's Jewish community . In the time of the Ottoman Empire it was also used for the chief rabbi of a particular region of the empire, such as Syria or Iraq , though the Hakham Bashi of Constantinople was considered overall head of the Jews of the Empire.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 642548158.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Hakham Bashi of Salonika (now Thessaloniki ), from Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873 , published under the patronage of the Ottoman Imperial Commission for the 1873 Vienna World's Fair Hakham Bashi ( , , ; ; translated into French as: khakham-bachi ) is the Turkish name for the Chief Rabbi of the nation's Jewish community . In the time of the Ottoman Empire it was also used for the chief rabbi of a particular region of the empire, such as Syria or Iraq , though the Hakham Bashi of Constantinople was considered overall head of the Jews of the Empire. A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages".In Herzog, Christoph; Malek Sharif (eds.).The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy .A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages".In Herzog, Christoph; Malek Sharif (eds.).The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy .A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 961160143.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Turkish term used to refer to the chief rabbi of the Ottoman Empire Hakham Bashi of Salonika (now Thessaloniki ) to the left of a Monastir town dweller and a Salonika hodja (Islamic teacher), from Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873 , published under the patronage of the Ottoman Imperial Commission for the 1873 Vienna World's Fair Hakham Bashi ( , , ; ; translated into French as: khakham-bachi ) is the Turkish name for the Chief Rabbi of the nation's Jewish community . In the time of the Ottoman Empire it was also used for the chief rabbi of a particular region of the empire, such as Syria or Iraq , though the Hakham Bashi of Constantinople was considered overall head of the Jews of the Empire. A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages". In Herzog, Christoph; Malek Sharif (eds.). The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy . A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages". In Herzog, Christoph; Malek Sharif (eds.). The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy . A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages".
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178760680.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Turkish term used to refer to the chief rabbi of the Ottoman Empire Hakham Bashi of Salonika (now Thessaloniki ) to the left of a Monastir town dweller and a Salonika hodja (Islamic teacher), from Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873 , published under the patronage of the Ottoman Imperial Commission for the 1873 Vienna World's Fair Hakham Bashi - חכם באשי ( Ottoman Turkish : حاخامباشی , Turkish : Hahambaşı , IPA: [haˈham baˈʃɯ] ; Ladino : xaxam (חכם) baši ; translated into French as: khakham-bachi ) is the Turkish name for the Chief Rabbi of the nation's Jewish community . In the time of the Ottoman Empire it was also used for the chief rabbi of a particular region of the empire, such as Syria or Iraq , though the Hakham Bashi of Constantinople was considered overall head of the Jews of the Empire. In 1840, a position of Hakham Bashi was established in Jerusalem . A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages". In Herzog, Christoph; Malek Sharif (eds.). The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy . A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages". In Herzog, Christoph; Malek Sharif (eds.). The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy . A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages". In Herzog, Christoph; Malek Sharif (eds.). The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy . There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1290081885. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “name for the chief rabbi of the ottoman empire”. Today it says “turkish name for the chief rabbi of the nation's jewish community”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
name for the chief rabbi of the ottoman empire
Now
turkish name for the chief rabbi of the nation's jewish community
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
