Haim Farhi

Haim Farhi
Artistic impression
Born	حيم فارحي 1760
Died	August 21, 1820 (aged 60)
Residence	Acre, Israel
Nationality	Ottoman
Other names	Haim El Muallim
Employer	Ahmad al-Jazzar
Known for	Financial vizier and de facto ruler of Acre.

Haim Farhi (Hebrew: חיים פרחי‎‎, Khayim Farkhiy; Arabic: حيم فارحي‎‎, also known as Haim "El Mu'allim" المعلم lit. "The Teacher"), (1760 – August 21, 1820) was an adviser to the governors of the Galilee in the days of the Ottoman Empire. Among the Jews he was known as Hakham Haim, because of his Talmudic learning.

Farhi was chief advisor to Ahmad al-Jazzar of Acre, whose whims included blinding Farhi and leaving him physically scarred. Until his assassination in 1820, instigated by Farhi's own protege Abdullah Pasha, Farhi was the financial vizier and de facto ruler of Acre. After the murder, Abdullah Pasha ordered Farhi's body cast into the sea and confiscated all his property. Two of Farhi’s brothers, Soliman and Rafael, living in Damascus, organized a siege against Abdullah Pasha in Acre to exact revenge.

After the Ottoman conquest of the Levant from the Mamluks in 1516, Galilee became part of its empire. Vast areas of Turkey, Asia, North Africa and Southeastern Europe were ruled almost autonomously by local governors. The Levant in particular, split into numerous feuding power centers.

Rule over the 'Sanjak of Acre' (roughly present-day northern Israel) was supposed to derive from the authority of the Damascus governorate and its Walis. In the 18th century, a powerful local leader, Zahir al-Umar, effectively severed ties with the empire and initiated widespread reforms, improving road infrastructure and security, and encouraging Christian and Jewish merchants to settle in the area and revive commerce.

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