The Baghdadi Jews who arrived in Calcutta during the 18th and 19th centuries built some of the most powerful merchant dynasties in colonial India. Families like the Sassoons, Ezras, Gubbays, and Cohens accumulated fortunes that rivaled those of the great British trading houses, financing textile mills, real estate empires, and transcontinental trade routes that linked Bombay, Calcutta, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and London.
The Sassoon Dynasty
The Sassoon family, originally from Baghdad, became one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the British Empire. David Sassoon (1792-1864) established his trading house in Bombay in 1832, and his sons and grandsons extended the business across Asia and to England. The family’s philanthropic legacy in India includes the David Sassoon Library in Mumbai, the Sassoon Docks, and several synagogues and hospitals funded for the benefit of all Bombay’s residents.
The Ezra Family and Calcutta
In Calcutta, the Ezra family stood at the center of Baghdadi Jewish community life. Elias David Joseph Ezra funded the construction of the magnificent Magen David Synagogue in 1884. The Ezras were merchants and landowners who shaped the commercial landscape of the Burrabazar district, where the Baghdadi Jewish community was concentrated. Ezra Street in Calcutta still bears the family name.
The Gubbay and Cohen Families
Other prominent Baghdadi families in Calcutta included the Gubbays, who made their fortunes in opium and real estate, and the Cohens, who were major players in the cotton and silk trades. These families built grand mansions in the European quarters of Calcutta and contributed significantly to the city’s cultural institutions, including the Calcutta Turf Club and the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Trade Routes and Commercial Networks
The Baghdadi Jewish merchants operated sophisticated commercial networks that connected India to the wider world. Their multilingual abilities — fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, English, and eventually Hindi — gave them a competitive advantage in cross-cultural business dealings. Many Baghdadi Jews served as brokers and intermediaries between British trading firms and local Indian merchants, accumulating wealth and social standing in the process.
The Community Today
The great Baghdadi Jewish merchant dynasties of Calcutta largely dispersed during the 20th century. Most community members emigrated to Israel, England, the United States, and Australia after Indian Independence and Partition in 1947. Today, fewer than 25 Jews remain in Calcutta, keeping the Magen David and Beth El synagogues alive with the help of Jewish community trusts. Their heritage lives on in the city’s architecture, institutions, and in the memories of the Indian Jewish diaspora worldwide.