The Sassoon Family

The Sassoon family, is a Jewish family that traces its roots to the ancient Kingdom of Israel, in 70 A.D., the family’s ancestors (Ibn Shoshan) were forced into exile with other Israelites after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. The family was initially forced to settle in Roman Empire’s territories in modern day Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece until the 10th century. Later most of the family members settled in Spain and Portugal where they accumulated immense wealth and became advisors to monarchs and headed the treasury of Alfonso VIII of Castile. The Ibn Shoshan family included scholars, kabbalists, poets, grammarians, philosophers, physicians, rabbis, and court ministers. In 1495 during the Spanish Inquisition the family was once again forced to flee and settled in Thessaloniki, Greece and in the 1600s as their name evolved to Sassoon they were moved by the Ottoman Empire to Baghdad. Later one branch moved to Mumbai, India, and then emigrated to China, then England, while another branch moved back to Thessaloniki and later established trading posts in Aleppo, Syria, Egypt, and other nations.

From the 18th century, the Sassoons were one of the wealthiest families in the world, with a corporate empire spanning the entire continent of Asia and later South America.