Editing Sephardic Jews (section)

=== Jews in Muslim Iberia ===
{{Main|Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain}}
{{see also|Al-Andalus}}
[[File:Al-andalus_229.png|thumb| 13th-century depiction of a Jew and Muslim playing chess in [[Al-Andalus]]]]In 711 CE, Muslim forces crossed the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] from North Africa and launched a [[Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula|successful military campaign]] in the Iberian Peninsula. This conquest resulted in the establishment of Muslim rule over much of the region, which they referred to as "[[Al-Andalus]]". The territory would remain under varying degrees of Muslim control for several centuries.{{sfn|Gerber|2021||pp=|p=164}} The Jewish community, having faced persecution under Visigothic rule, largely welcomed the new Muslim rulers who offered greater religious tolerance. Under Islamic rule, Jews, like Christians, were designated as ''[[dhimmi]]s''—protected but second-class monotheists—permitted to practice their religion with relative autonomy in exchange for paying a [[Jizya|special tax]].

To the Jews, the [[Moors]] were perceived as, and indeed were, a liberating force. Wherever they went, the Muslims were greeted by Jews eager to aid them in administering the country. In many conquered towns the garrison was left in the hands of the Jews before the Muslims proceeded further north.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} Both Muslim and Christian sources claim that Jews provided valuable aid to the Muslim conquerors. Once captured, the defense of Cordoba was left in the hands of Jews, and [[Granada]], [[Málaga|Malaga]], [[Seville]], and [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]] were left to a mixed army of Jews and Moors. Although in some towns Jews may have been helpful to Muslim success, because of the small numbers they were of limited impact.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The [[Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain|Golden Age of Sephardic Jewry]] flourished during this period, particularly in cities like Cordoba, Granada and Toledo. Jewish scholars, poets, philosophers and scientists thrived, contributing to the broader intellectual life of Al-Andalus. Jews in Muslim Spain played significant roles in trade, finance, diplomacy, and medicine. In spite of the restrictions placed upon the Jews as ''dhimmis'', life under Muslim rule was one of great opportunity and Jews flourished as they did not under the Christian Visigoths. Many Jews came to Iberia, seen as a land of tolerance and opportunity, from the Christian and Muslim worlds. Following initial Arab victories, and especially with the establishment of [[Umayyad]] rule by [[Abd-ar-rahman I|Abd al-Rahman I]] in 755, the native Jewish community was joined by Jews from the rest of Europe, as well as from Arab lands, from Morocco to [[Babylon]].{{citation needed|date=October 2018}} Jewish communities were enriched culturally, intellectually, and religiously by the commingling of these diverse Jewish traditions.{{explain|date=October 2018}}

Arabic culture, of course, also made a lasting impact on Sephardic cultural development. General re-evaluation of [[scripture]] was prompted by Muslim anti-Jewish [[polemics]] and the spread of [[rationalism]], as well as the anti-[[Rabbinic Judaism|Rabbanite]] polemics of [[Karaite Judaism|Karaites]]. The cultural and intellectual achievements of the Arabs, and much of the scientific and philosophical speculation of [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek culture]], which had been best preserved by Arab scholars, was made available to the educated Jew. The meticulous regard the Arabs had for grammar and style also had the effect of stimulating an interest in [[philology|philological]] matters in general among Jews. Arabic became the main language of Sephardic science, philosophy, and everyday business, as had been the case with Babylonian ''[[geonim]]''. This thorough adoption of the Arabic language also greatly facilitated the assimilation of Jews into Moorish culture, and Jewish activity in a variety of professions, including medicine, commerce, finance, and agriculture increased.

By the ninth century, some members of the Sephardic community felt confident enough to take part in [[Proselytism|proselytizing]] amongst Christians. This included the heated correspondences sent between [[Bishop Bodo|Bodo Eleazar]], a former Christian [[deacon]] who had converted to Judaism in 838, and the Bishop of [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]] [[Álvaro of Córdoba (Mozarab)|Paulus Albarus]], who had converted from Judaism to Christianity. Each man, using such [[epithets]] as "wretched compiler", tried to convince the other to return to his former faith, to no avail.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

The Golden Age is most closely identified with the reign of [[Abd al-Rahman III]] (882–942), the first independent [[Caliph of Cordoba]], and in particular with the career of his Jewish councilor, [[Hasdai ibn Shaprut]] (882–942). Within this context of cultural [[patronage]], studies in Hebrew, literature, and linguistics flourished.

Hasdai benefitted world Jewry not only indirectly by creating a favorable environment for scholarly pursuits within Iberia, but also by using his influence to intervene on behalf of foreign Jews: in his letter to [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[Helena Lekapene|Princess Helena]], he requested protection for the Jews under Byzantine rule, attesting to the fair treatment of the Christians of ''al-Andalus'', and perhaps indicating that such was contingent on the treatment of Jews abroad.

One notable contribution to Christian intellectualism is [[Ibn Gabirol]]'s [[Neo-Platonism|neo-Platonic]] ''Fons Vitae'' ("The Source of Life;" "Mekor Hayyim"). Thought by many to have been written by a Christian, this work was admired by Christians and studied in monasteries throughout the Middle Ages, though the work of Solomon Munk in the 19th century proved that the author of ''Fons Vitae'' was the Jewish ibn Gabirol.<ref>Richard Gottheil, Stephen S. Wise, Michael Friedländer, [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=I&artid=17 "Ibn Gabriol, Solomon ben Juday (Abu Ayyub Sulaiman Ibn Yaḥya Ibn Jabirul), known also as Avicebron"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610132813/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=17&letter=I|date=10 June 2008}}, ''JewishEncyclopedia.com''. Retrieved 2011-11-20.</ref>

In addition to contributions of original work, the Sephardim were active as translators. Mainly in [[Toledo School of Translators|Toledo]], texts were translated between Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, and Latin. In translating the great works of Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek into Latin, Iberian Jews were instrumental in bringing the fields of science and philosophy, which formed much of the basis of [[Renaissance]] learning, into the rest of Europe.

In the early 11th century, centralized authority based at Cordoba broke down following the [[Berber people|Berber]] invasion and the ousting of the Umayyads. In its stead arose the independent ''[[taifa]]'' principalities under the rule of local [[Muwallad]], Arab, Berber, or [[Slavic peoples|Slavonic]] leaders. Rather than having a stifling effect, the disintegration of the caliphate expanded the opportunities to Jewish and other professionals. The services of Jewish scientists, doctors, traders, poets, and scholars were generally valued by Christian and Muslim rulers of regional centers, especially as order was restored in recently conquered towns. Rabbi [[Samuel ha-Nagid]] (ibn Naghrela) was the Vizier of [[Granada]]. He was succeeded by his son [[Joseph ibn Naghrela]] who was slain by an incited mob along with most of the Jewish community. The remnant fled to [[Lucena, Córdoba|Lucena]].

[[File:Havdal.jpg|thumb|Observing the [[Havdalah]] ritual, 14th-century Spain|alt=]]
The first major and most violent persecution in Islamic Spain was the [[1066 Granada massacre]], which occurred on 30 December, when a Muslim mob stormed the royal palace in [[Granada]], [[crucifixion|crucified]] [[Jew]]ish [[vizier]] [[Joseph ibn Naghrela]] and massacred most of the Jewish population of the city after rumors spread that the powerful vizier was plotting to kill the weak-minded and drunk King [[Badis ibn Habus]].<ref>Nagdela (Nagrela), Abu Husain Joseph Ibn by Richard Gottheil, Meyer Kayserling, ''Jewish Encyclopedia''. 1906 ed.</ref> According to the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, "More than 1,500 Jewish families, numbering 4,000 persons, fell in one day,"<ref>[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=412&letter=G&search=Granada Granada] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224005745/http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=412&letter=G&search=Granada|date=24 December 2010}} by Richard Gottheil, [[Meyer Kayserling]], ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]''. 1906 ed.</ref> a number contested by some historians who deem it to be an example of "the usual hyperbole in numerical estimates, with which history abounds."<ref>Erika Spivakovsky (1971). "The Jewish presence in Granada". ''Journal of Medieval History''. 2 (3): 215–238. {{doi|10.1016/0304-4181(76)90021-x}}.</ref>

The decline of the Golden Age began before the completion of the Christian ''[[Reconquista]]'', with the penetration and influence of the [[Almoravides]], and then the [[Almohad]]s, from North Africa. These more intolerant sects abhorred the liberality of the Islamic culture of ''al-Andalus'', including the position of authority some ''dhimmis'' held over Muslims. When the Almohads gave the Jews a choice of either death or conversion to Islam, many Jews emigrated. Some, such as the family of [[Maimonides]], fled south and east to the more tolerant Muslim lands, while others went northward to settle in the growing Christian kingdoms.

Meanwhile, the ''Reconquista'' continued in the north throughout the 12th century. As various Arab lands fell to the Christians, conditions for some Jews in the emerging Christian kingdoms became increasingly favorable. As had happened during the reconstruction of towns following the breakdown of authority under the Umayyads, the services of Jews were employed by the victorious Christian leaders. Sephardic knowledge of the language and culture of the enemy, their skills as diplomats and professionals, as well as their desire for relief from intolerable conditions—the very same reasons that they had proved useful to the Arabs in the early stages of the Muslim invasion—made their services very valuable.

However, the Jews from the Muslim south were not entirely secure in their northward migrations. Old prejudices were compounded by newer ones. Suspicions of complicity with the Muslims were alive and well as Jews immigrated, speaking Arabic. However, many of the newly arrived Jews of the north prospered during the late 11th and early 12th centuries. The majority of Latin documentation regarding Jews during this period refers to their landed property, fields, and vineyards.

In many ways life had come full circle for the Sephardim of ''al-Andalus''. As conditions became more oppressive during the 12th and 13th centuries, Jews again looked to an outside culture for relief. Christian leaders of reconquered cities granted them extensive autonomy, and Jewish scholarship recovered somewhat and developed as communities grew in size and importance. However, the Reconquista Jews never reached the same heights as had those of the Golden Age.{{Jews and Judaism sidebar |Communities}}