Szlachta historians and chroniclers. These involve a presumed descent from the ancient Iranian tribe known as Sarmatians, who in the Second century AD occupied land that is today's Ukraine, or from Japheth, one of Noah's sons - by contrast, the peasantry were said to be the offspring of another son of Noah, Ham — and hence subject to bondage under the Curse of Ham—and the Jews as the offspring of Shem). Other fanciful theories included its foundation by Julius Caesar, Alexander the Greator regional leaders who had not mixed their bloodlines with those of 'slaves, prisoners or aliens'. Another theory describes
Yoel Baal Shem Yoel Baal Shem Yoel Baal Shem () was an Orthodox Jewish scholar of Halacha and Kabbalah who lived in Zamość (; Yiddish: Zamoshtsh) during the 17th century. He became renowned as a Baal Shem (lit; Master of [Divine] Names) for performing miracles, commanding demons and authoring Kabalistic amulets. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880–1950) writes in his memoirs Yoel married before the age of 20 and started learning Kabbalah. Upon a dream, Yisrael Yosef sent his son Yoel to Prague to learn kabbalah from Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem. Yoel became one of the closest students of Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem who