The Tragic History of the Jews of Spain (PART ONE)

The settlement of Jews in the Iberian Peninsula is very ancient. Don Isaac Abarbanel, the 15th-century leader of Spanish Jewry, wrote that Babylonian conqueror Nebuchadnezzar brought Jews to Spain as slaves after the First Temple’s destruction.

The earliest documented history of Spanish Jewry dates back at least 2,000 years to when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem and took tens of thousands of Jews with them back to Europe, some of whom settled in Spain. Very little is known regarding these early Jewish settlements.

What is known is that anti-Jewish sentiment existed early on. In 305 CE, the pre-Catholic Church convened at the Synod of Elvira, near Granada. There, they issued 80 canonical decisions, several of which were intended to ostracize the Jews from the general Spanish community. Canon 16 prohibited the marriage of Christians with Jews. Canon 49 prohibited Jews from blessing their crops, and Canon 50 refused communion to any cleric or lay person who ate with a Jew.

Early Christian Persecutions

In 409 CE, the Vandals captured the Iberian Peninsula from the collapsing Roman Empire, and three years later, the Visigoths conquered the Peninsula. Under these Germanic Christians, laws were instituted that persecuted the Jews.

Following the conversion of King Recared to Catholicism in 587, and his declaration at the third Council of Toledo that his kingdom would be officially Catholic, the situation deteriorated for the Jews. Going forward, the Jews would be the only group that did not join in the religious unity of the country, and this distinction would repeatedly lead to their persecution.

In 612 C.E., in a horrific declaration, Visigoth King Sisebut ordered that all Jews submit to baptism within the year or undergo “scourging, mutilation, banishment, and confiscation of goods.” As a result, many Jews emigrated, and many who remained became Christians outwardly to escape the danger but continued practicing Judaism secretly. It is also clear from history that not all the Jews who remained converted, as evidenced by the number of additional decrees directed against Jews during the 7th century. However, these decrees were enforced inconsistently, and bribes to the rulers helped encourage “tolerance” of the Jewish citizens, though the situation remained very dangerous for the Jews.

Muslim Rule and the Golden Age of Spain

In 711 C.E., Muslim soldiers known as Moors crossed over from North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula. They were led by General Tariq ibn Ziyad, who advanced his army of nearly ten thousand men across the strait and landed at a location he called Jabal Tariq (Mount Tarik), today known as Gibraltar. The Moors engaged in battle with the Christian Visigoth soldiers and eventually killed their monarch, King Roderick, thus beginning Muslim rule in Spain.

Since the Christians had persecuted the Jews so severely, the Jews welcomed the Muslim conquerors in the 8th century, so much so that it was said that the Jewish population of Toledo “opened the gates” of the city and welcomed the Muslim invaders. Incredibly, the conquered cities of Córdoba, Málaga, Granada, Seville, and Toledo were, for a time, even placed under the control of the Jewish inhabitants that the Moorish invaders had armed.

Although the Arabs had successfully conquered Spain, they lacked the necessary skills to effectively form a government or social infrastructure for their new land. Therefore, they assigned the Jews leadership roles in governing, investment, and policymaking, conditional on the Jews recognizing their subservience to their Arab leaders. Some of the highest-ranking officials of Spain at this time were Jews.

The conditions in Spain improved so much under Muslim rule that Jews from Europe and North Africa came to live in Spain during this Jewish renaissance. It became the largest Jewish community in the world. Thus began the period known as the Golden Age of Spain.

In addition to their political success, Jews flourished economically. Due to the Jews’ connections with their fellow Jews worldwide, the Jews were a natural choice for developing Spain via trade. Additionally, since the Muslim and Christian worlds were engaged in war and were not communicating directly, the Jews served as the middlemen to foster trade throughout the Far East, Middle East, and Europe.

The Jews were outstanding doctors and served the medical needs of the non-Jews and Jews of Spain, including the leaders of the land. Among the most famous doctors were Maimonides, Nachmanides, Rabben Nissim of Gerona, and Rabbi Chasdai ibn Shaprut. The Jews of Spain also gained renown in astronomy, philosophy, math, and science.

Most importantly, Jews excelled in Torah study, and many of the outstanding Torah leaders of the time resided in Spain.

Great scholars who lived and taught in Spain and whose works are studied to this day include Rabbi Yitzchak Alfasi, Ri Migash, Rambam, Ramban, Rashba, Ritva, Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra, Rabbeinu Bachya ibn Pakuda, and Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi.

Indeed, things were so good for Jews in Spain that to our very day, a large portion of the Jewish world is known as Sephardi, meaning “Spanish.” The other major group would later become known as Ashkenazi, meaning “German.” In the Introduction to Chovos ha-Levavos (Duties of the Heart), the primary work of the 11th-century Jewish scholar, Rabbi Bachya ibn Pakuda, defines Sephardim as Jews from Muslim lands and Ashkenazim as Jews who come from Christian lands. Despite the numerous Muslim lands that existed, Spain was chosen as the identifying one due to its prominence as the leading and most significant Jewish community.

Thanks to the Jews, within a century of their conquest of Spain, the Moors had developed a civilization based in Cordoba that surpassed any in Europe. At the end of the eighth century, it was the most populous, cultured, and industrious land of all Europe and remained so for centuries.

The Jewish Leaders of Spain

Around 912, Abd-ar-Rahman III chose as his court physician and minister Rabbi Chasdai ben Isaac ibn Shaprut. Rabbi Chasdai was renowned for his brilliant diplomacy and unsurpassed medical skills and knowledge. In addition to his role in the government, Rabbi Chasdai was a Torah scholar who built and supported the Torah learning academies in Spain. He also had a fascinating correspondence with the King of Khazar and was a patron of Rabbi Menahem ben Saruq, Rabbi Dunash ben Labrat, and other Jewish scholars.

Rabbi Shmuel HaNagid was a student of the great Rabbi Chanoch, who had been brought to Cordova as a child among the legendary “Four Captives” during the lifetime of Rabbi Chasdai Ibn Shaprut. Rabbi Shmuel’s brilliance and fluent mastery of Arabic language, grammar, and literature eventually propelled him to the office of vizier. Despite his involvement in government affairs, Rabbi Shmuel also served as the rabbi of his flourishing community, the director of the Yeshiva of Granada, and a supporter of Jewish scholars. Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid died in Granada in 1055 and was mourned by both the Jewish and Arab populations. His son, Rabbi Yosef Hanagid, succeeded him.

The End of the Golden Age

Notwithstanding the Jews’ success and prosperity under Muslim rule, the Golden Age of Spain began to decline as the Muslims battled the Christians for control of the Iberian Peninsula and Spanish kingdoms. Although Islamic rule continued in large parts of Spain, the Peninsula was divided into numerous small Muslim kingdoms, each with its own ruler, and these small kingdoms began fighting among themselves. Once the Muslims were no longer united, the Christian armies gained a foothold on the Peninsula, eventually leading to the collapse of Moorish supremacy.

With the weakening of Muslim authority, there was a simultaneous rise in antisemitism even in areas that had been tolerant and respectful of the Jews. In 1066 — only 11 years after Rabbi Shmuel Hanagid’s passing — a Muslim mob stormed the royal palace in Granada and murdered his son, the vizier Rabbi Yosef Hanagid. They also massacred most of the city’s Jewish population. Accounts of the Granada Massacre state that more than 1,500 Jewish families were murdered in just one day.

In 1090, the situation deteriorated further in the Muslim-controlled areas with the invasion of the Almoravids, a Muslim sect from Morocco. Even under the Almoravids, things were somewhat bearable for the Jews. However, in 1148, when the more extreme Almohads invaded Spain, Jews were forced to flee, be killed, or accept Islam. The Almohads confiscated Jewish property in Spain, closed the famous Jewish educational institutions, and destroyed synagogues throughout the land. Among the Jews who fled from the Almohads were the Rambam (Maimonides) and his family.

Early Christian Rule in Spain – Tolerant but Short-Lived

With the increasing Christian control over Spain, things began to look up for the Jews. Alfonso VI, the conqueror of Toledo (1085), was tolerant and benevolent toward them. He even offered the Jews full equality with Christians and the rights granted to the nobility, hoping to draw the wealthy and industrious Jews away from the Moors. To show their gratitude to the king for the rights granted them and their enmity towards the Almohads, the Jews volunteered to serve in the king’s army. There were 40,000 Jews who served, distinguished from the other combatants by their black-and-yellow turbans. The king’s favoritism toward the Jews became so apparent that Pope Gregory VII warned him not to permit Jews to rule over Christians.

At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the condition of the Jews once again worsened. Catholics started antisemitic riots in Toledo in 1212, which spread with attacks against Jews across Spain.

The Church became increasingly and openly antagonistic towards the Jews. A papal bull issued by Pope Innocent IV in April 1250 further prohibited Jews in Spain from building new synagogues without special permission, outlawed conversion to Judaism and forbade many forms of contact between Jews and Christians. Jews were also forced to live separately in the Juderia (Jewish ghettos).

Disputation of Barcelona-1263

During the rule of King James of Aragon, the Spanish monarchy started to take an interest in Jewish philosophy and religion, to better understand the Jews and convince them to convert. In 1263, King James convened a special council of Dominican and Jewish clergymen to debate three key theological issues: whether the Messiah had already appeared, whether the Messiah was divine or human, and which religion was the true faith.

Ramban (Nachmanides), a tremendous scholar and leader of the community, was required to represent the Jews, while Pablo Christiani, an apostate Jew, represented the Church. Ramban kept a record of the debate, which is still studied today. After the debate, King James gave the Ramban 300 gold coins and stated that he had never heard anyone so wrong defend his case so well. Yet, Ramban realized he could no longer remain in Spain and immigrated to the Land of Israel, where he died in 1270.

Rabbi Menachem Levine is the CEO of JDBY-YTT, the largest Jewish school in the Midwest. He served as Rabbi of Congregation Am Echad in San Jose, CA from 2007 – 2020. He is a popular speaker and has written for numerous publications. Rabbi Levine’s personal website is https://thinktorah.org. A version of this article was originally published by Aish.