throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the grand merchant families who formed the nucleus of the baghdadi jewish community travelled widely building their fortunes across the middle east and asia. they continuously strove to maintain a balance between embracing the european culture that characterized the mostly british elite upper class to which they aspired, and a steadfast fidelity to their ancestral faith and traditions. they expressed their devotion to jewish traditions through the sponsoring of elaborate synagogues, religious seminaries, ritual scrolls and books across asia and the middle east.