Arrival and early history The earliest significant Jewish presence in the Iberian Peninsula is typically traced back to the
Roman period, during the first centuries CE. Evidence includes an amphora discovered in
Ibiza, stamped with two Hebrew letters in relief, indicating possible trade between
Judaea and the
Balearics in the first century. Additionally, the
Epistle to the Romans records
Paul's intent to visit Spain, hinting at a Jewish community in the region during the mid-first century CE. Josephus writes that Herod Antipas was deposed and exiled to Spain, possibly to
Lugdunum Convenarum, in 39 CE. Archaeological evidence of a Jewish presence in Spain prior to the third century CE is limited. However, from the third to sixth centuries, inscriptions confirm the existence of Jewish communities, particularly in the more Romanized regions of the south and east, such as
Toledo,
Mérida,
Seville, and
Tarragona. Additionally, these inscriptions suggest a Jewish presence in other locations, including
Elche,
Tortosa,
Adra, and the Balearic Islands. Rabbinic literature from the
Amoraic era references Spain as a distant land with a Jewish presence. For example, a tradition passed down by
Rabbi Berekiah and
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, quoting second-century
tanna Rabbi Meir, states: "Do not fear, O Israel, for I help you from remote lands, and your seed from the land of their captivity, from
Gaul, from Spain, and from their neighbors." Medieval legends often traced the arrival of Jews in Spain to the
First Temple period, with some associating the biblical
Tarshish with
Tartessus and suggesting Jewish traders were active in Spain during the Phoenician and
Carthaginian eras. One such legend from the 16th century claimed that a funeral inscription in
Murviedro belonged to
Adoniram, a commander of King
Solomon, who had supposedly died in Spain while collecting tribute. Another legend spoke of a letter allegedly sent by the Jews of Toledo to Judaea in 30 CE, asking to prevent the crucifixion of Jesus. These legends aimed to establish that Jews had settled in Spain well before the Roman period and to absolve them of any responsibility for the death of Jesus, a
charge often leveled at them in later centuries. Rabbi and scholar
Abraham ibn Daud wrote in 1161: "A tradition exists with the [Jewish] community of Granada that they are from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, of the descendants of
Judah and
Benjamin, rather than from the villages, the towns in the outlying districts [of Israel]." Elsewhere, he writes about his maternal grandfather's family and how they came to Spain after Jerusalem's destruction in 70 CE: "When
Titus prevailed over Jerusalem, his officer who was appointed over
Hispania appeased him, requesting that he send to him captives made-up of the nobles of Jerusalem, and so he sent a few of them to him, and there were amongst them those who made curtains and who were knowledgeable in the work of silk, and [one] whose name was Baruch, and they remained in
Mérida."
Under Late Roman and Visigothic rule (4th–7th century) Around 300 CE, the
Synod of Elvira, an ecclesiastical council convened in southern Spain, and enacted several decrees to restrict interactions between Christians and Jews. Among the measures were prohibitions on intermarriage between Jews and Christians, communal dining, and the participation of Jews in blessing fields. Despite these efforts, aimed to diminish Jewish influence on Christian communities, evidence indicates that everyday social relations between Jews and Christians continued to be prevalent in various locales. By the mid-5th century, Spain came under the control of the
Visigothic Kingdom, following a period of significant instability caused by Barbarian invasions that led to the collapse of the
Western Roman Empire. Initially, the Christian
Visigoths practiced
Arianism and, while they generally did not engage in the persecution of Jews, they did not extend particular favor to them either. It was not until the reign of
Alaric II (484–507) that a Visigothic king concerned himself with the Jews, as evidenced by the publication of the
Breviary of Alaric in 506, which incorporated Roman legal precedents into Visigothic law. The situation for Jews in Spain shifted dramatically after the conversion of the Visigothic monarchs to
Catholicism under King
Reccared in 587. As the Visigoths sought to unify the realm under their new religion, their policies towards Jews evolved from initial marginalization to increasingly aggressive measures aimed at their complete eradication from the kingdom. Under successive Visigothic kings and under
ecclesiastical authority, many orders of expulsion, forced conversion, isolation, enslavement, execution, and other punitive measures were made. By 612–621, the situation for Jews became intolerable and many left Spain for nearby northern Africa. In 711, thousands of Jews from North Africa accompanied the Muslims who invaded Spain, subsuming Catholic Spain and turning much of it into an Arab state, Al-Andalus.
Jewish Life in al-Andalus (711–1085) In 711, Muslim forces crossed the
Strait of Gibraltar from North Africa and launched a
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. 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
dhimmis—protected but second-class monotheists—permitted to practice their religion with relative autonomy in exchange for paying a
special tax. Within half a century of the Islamic conquest, the
Umayyad dynasty—overthrown by the
Abbasids in 750—established an
independent emirate in al-Andalus, with
Córdoba as its capital. In 929, the Umayyad emir
'Abd al-Raḥmān III declared himself
caliph, asserting full political and religious independence from eastern Islamic authority and initiating a new era of prosperity that increasingly attracted Jewish migrants from the less stable east. During this period of rising stability and cultural exchange,
Ḥasdai ibn Shaprūṭ, a Jewish physician, scholar, and court official, emerged as a trusted advisor to the caliph. He played a key role in the Jewish cultural renaissance of the period, fostering the work of Hebrew poets and scholars such as
Menaḥem ben Saruq and
Dunash ben Labraṭ. He 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 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. During this period, the Jews served as merchants, artisans and craftsmen, and were hired by the government for those services. By the 9th century, some members of the Sephardic community felt confident enough to take part in
proselytizing amongst Christians. This included the heated correspondences sent between
Bodo Eleazar, a former Christian
deacon who had converted to Judaism in 838, and the Bishop of
Córdoba 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. In 1031, the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba disintegrated into smaller Muslim principalities known as
taifas. Some were ruled by
Berber military leaders, and Jewish courtiers often held influential roles. Jewish intellectual life flourished in Spain's major urban centers. Commentaries on the Bible and Talmud were developed, and a vibrant poetic tradition emerged. One of its most prominent figures was
Samuel ha-Nagid (Samuel ibn Naghrillah), who served as vizier and military commander of the
Muslim principality of Granada between 993 and 1056. A prolific poet and halakhic scholar, Samuel emphasized his Jewish identity and role as a representative of the Jewish community in official correspondence. The cultural Golden Age of Jewish life in Muslim Spain produced major Hebrew poets whose works spanned from secular themes—such as love, friendship, and nature—to sacred hymns and religious reflection. Among the most prominent were
Solomon ibn Gabirol,
Moses ibn Ezra, and
Judah ha-Levi (c. 1075–1141). Born in
Tudela, ha-Levi became renowned for both his secular and liturgical poetry, particularly his celebrated "
Zion poems" that express deep yearning for the Land of Israel. He also authored
The Kuzari, a philosophical dialogue defending Judaism and critiquing rationalist philosophy and other faiths; in it, he ultimately affirms the centrality of the Land of Israel and reflects that remaining in the diaspora is a form of hypocrisy. One notable contribution to Christian intellectualism from this period is
Ibn Gabirol's
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.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-
Rabbanite polemics of
Karaites. The cultural and intellectual achievements of the Arabs, and much of the scientific and philosophical speculation of
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
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. 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,
crucified Jewish
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. An estimated 4,000 Jews were reportedly killed during the Granada riots, though some historians question this figure, viewing it as a possible exaggeration typical of historical number reporting.
Under Christian and Berber rule (1085–1215) In the late 11th century, Christian kingdoms in northern Iberia intensified their campaign to reconquer Muslim-held territories, known as the "
Reconquista". The
conquest of Toledo by King
Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085 marked a turning point. Facing mounting external pressure, Muslim rulers invited the
Almoravids—a fundamentalist Berber group—to defend their lands. The Almoravids established an empire spanning parts of Iberia and West Africa and expelled Jews from administrative positions in Granada and Seville. Despite relatively better conditions, Jews in Christian Spain also faced restrictions. In 1081,
Pope Gregory VII forbade the Castilian king from appointing Jews to positions of power. In 1108, the Jewish advisor Solomon ibn Farusal was murdered, and by 1118,
Alfonso VII banned both Jews and recent Jewish converts to Christianity from holding authority in Toledo. Nevertheless, Jewish scholarship persisted. The historian
Abraham ibn Daud, active in Toledo during this time, authored the
Sefer ha-Qabbalah and translated key works across disciplines. in
Córdoba In 1147–1148, much of Islamic Spain fell to the
Almohads, another Berber dynasty, even more intolerant than the Almoravids. They abolished the protected status for Jews and Christians, imposing forced conversions. As a result, many Jews fled to other parts of the Muslim world or sought refuge in Christian Iberia and southern France. Among them were members of the
Ibn Tibbon family, who became renowned translators of Jewish and philosophical texts. One of the most significant Jewish figures of this era was Moses ben Maimon, known as
Maimonides (or the Rambam). Born in Córdoba, he was forced to flee persecution multiple times—first to
Fez, Morocco, later to the Land of Israel, and finally to Egypt, where he settled in
Fustat. A towering figure in Jewish thought, Maimonides was a physician, legal codifier, philosopher, and religious leader. His
Mishneh Torah systematized Jewish law, earning widespread authority, while his
Guide for the Perplexed sought to reconcile
Jewish theology with
Aristotelian philosophy. His writings influenced both Jewish and broader intellectual traditions across the medieval world. Meanwhile, Jewish cultural life continued in Christian Spain. Authors such as
Yehuda Alharizi, Meshullam da Piera, and Todros Abulafia contributed to a growing body of Hebrew prose and poetry. In Portugal, the Sephardim were given important roles in the sociopolitical sphere and enjoyed a certain amount of protection from the Crown (e.g.
Yahia Ben Yahia, first "Rabino Maior" of Portugal and supervisor of the public revenue of the first King of Portugal,
D. Afonso Henriques). Even with the increasing pressure from the Catholic Church, this state of affairs remained more or less constant and the number of Jews in Portugal grew with those fleeing from Spain.
Rising pressures (1215–1391) ritual, 14th-century Spain , Toledo, constructed circa 1350. By the 13th century, Jewish life in Spain had largely shifted to Christian territories, following a decline under Almoravid rule and the harsh repression of the Almohads, with only small communities remaining under Muslim control.
Alfonso X of Castile, nicknamed
The Wise, ruled from 1252 to 1284 and was noted for his patronage of literature, science, and translation. Alfonso surrounded himself with scholars of diverse backgrounds, including Jews, and promoted the School of Translators of Toledo. This institution became a major intellectual hub, facilitating the translation of works from Arabic and Hebrew, thus contributing to the transmission of classical and scientific knowledge in medieval Europe. Under Alfonso's reign, the
Siete Partidas, a comprehensive legal code, was compiled and promulgated, imposing significant restrictions on Jews. These included regulations inspired by the
Fourth Council of the Lateran (1215), such as the mandatory wearing of distinguishing clothing, prohibitions on the construction of new houses of worship, residential segregation, bans on interfaith marriages and nursing arrangements, and other forms of social and legal marginalization. Additionally, Alfonso's
Cantigas de Santa Maria, a celebrated collection of devotional songs, contains several compositions that reflect negative views toward Jews. A pivotal moment in Jewish–Christian relations during this period was the
Barcelona Disputation of 1263, a formal debate convened by royal order between Jewish and Christian scholars. Representing the Jewish side was
Nachmanides, a prominent philosopher, kabbalist, and commentator from
Girona. The debate, while framed as a theological exchange, was part of broader Church efforts to challenge Jewish beliefs and promote conversion. Around 1280,
Moses de León, a Jewish mystic and writer in Castile, composed or disseminated the
Zohar, a foundational work of
Kabbalah. Written in
Aramaic and attributed pseudepigraphically to the 2nd-century sage Rabbi
Shimon bar Yochai, the
Zohar became one of the most influential texts in Jewish mystical tradition. The 14th century witnessed increasing hostility toward Jews, partly fueled by the activities of
Dominican preachers, who traveled across the Iberian Peninsula delivering sermons against Judaism and inciting anti-Jewish sentiment among Christian populations. One of the most prominent figures was
Vicente Ferrer, a Dominican friar active in the latter half of the century. His preaching played a significant role in the social atmosphere that culminated in the
pogroms of 1391, a wave of violent anti-Jewish riots that devastated Jewish communities across Spain.
Waves of violence, forced conversions, and expulsion (1391–1492/1497) depicting the massacre of Jews in Toledo In the summer of 1391, a wave of
violent anti-Jewish riots swept across the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. The unrest began in Seville and rapidly spread to other parts of Castile and Aragon, affecting towns such as Córdoba, Toledo,
Cuenca, Burgos,
Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, and
Girona. Only the Jews of
Portugal and
Navarre were spared. During the riots, Jewish quarters were attacked and looted, synagogues were destroyed, thousands of Jews were murdered, and thousands more were forcibly baptized into Christianity. While many Jews fled or resisted, others accepted conversion under extreme duress; some chose martyrdom, and a few prominent figures converted voluntarily. One of those was
Solomon ha-Levi, a leading rabbi from Burgos who converted and later became known as Pablo de Santa María, a bishop and vocal opponent of Judaism. The Jewish communities of Valencia and Barcelona were wiped out entirely, while others were severely diminished, prompting many survivors to relocate to rural regions. The 15th century saw the intensification in the persecution of Jews across the Iberian Peninsula. Beginning in 1411, the Dominican friar
Vincent Ferrer led preaching campaigns, prompting both forced conversions and harsh segregation measures. In the 1410s, a new wave of violence and restrictive legislation targeted Jewish communities. The same decade saw the
Disputation of Tortosa (1413–1414), a prolonged public spectacle initiated by
Pope Benedict XIII and led by the convert
Gerónimo de Santa Fe. Though framed as a religious debate, it forced Jewish scholars to defend their faith under duress. The event, lasting nearly two years, led to widespread despair, numerous conversions, and harsh new laws. During this period, the first
Limpieza de sangre (Purity of Blood) laws emerged, barring conversos from certain positions based on ancestry. The earliest known case arose in Toledo in 1449, amid a tax revolt that also targeted conversos. Though
Pope Nicholas V condemned these laws, certain religious orders, such as the
Hieronymites, later received papal permission to enforce them as criteria for entry into monastic life. In 1478, the
Catholic Monarchs,
Ferdinand II of Aragon and
Isabella I of Castile, received papal authorization to establish the
Spanish Inquisition as a permanent tribunal under royal control. Its purpose was to identify and punish conversos suspected of secretly practicing Judaism. The first tribunal was established in Seville in 1480, and additional ones were gradually established throughout Spain. At the Inquisition's helm stood
Tomás de Torquemada, a
Dominican friar who led a powerful faction at court advocating for the expulsion of the Jews. In January 1483, likely with royal approval, the Inquisition ordered the expulsion of Jews from Andalusia. In the following years, several murder accusations were leveled against Jews. In 1485, the inquisitor
Pedro de Arbués was assassinated at the
cathedral of Zaragoza in a plot attributed primarily to conversos; although contemporary sources noted the involvement of some old Christians, only conversos were prosecuted, with many tortured, executed, or having their property confiscated, suggesting that the trials were also used to remove influential converso officials. In 1491, the infamous '
Holy Child of La Guardia'
blood libel involved the false accusation of Jews and conversos for the ritual murder of a Christian child; confessions were extracted under torture, and all defendants were burned at the stake, despite no evidence that a child had disappeared. With the
fall of the
Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim stronghold in Iberia, in January 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella quickly moved to expel the Jewish population from their kingdoms. On March 31, 1492, they issued the
Alhambra Decree, mandating that all Jews in Castile and Aragon either convert to Christianity or leave the country within four months. Although Jews were technically allowed to sell their property and take portable goods (excluding gold, silver, and currency), the short timeframe, restrictions, and widespread exploitation made fair transactions nearly impossible. Several thousand chose baptism and remained, and some of them continued to practice Judaism in secret. Others chose exile, but the exact number is unknown. Estimates range from a few tens of thousands to approximately 200,000 expelled.
Abraham Senior, the elderly court rabbi of Castile, converted to Christianity under royal sponsorship. In contrast,
Don Isaac Abravanel, a leading financier, biblical commentator, and statesman, joined his fellow Jews in leaving Spain. Many Jews fled to the nearby kingdoms of Portugal and Navarre, where they were temporarily welcomed, while others sailed to more distant lands across the Mediterranean and beyond. In 1497, just five years after the expulsion from Spain, King
Manuel I of Portugal issued a decree mandating the forced conversion of all Jews in his realm. Although initially welcoming Jewish refugees from Spain, Manuel reversed course under pressure from the Catholic Monarchs, whose daughter
Isabella of Aragon he sought to marry. Rather than permitting Jews to leave the country, as many had planned, Manuel banned emigration and orchestrated mass baptisms. Jewish families were told to bring their children to public squares under the pretense of official registration or medical inspection, only for the children to be taken and baptized without parental consent. In other cases, entire communities were herded into churches and forcibly converted en masse. These coerced converts, known as New Christians (
Cristãos-Novos), were legally forbidden from practicing Judaism, yet many continued to observe Jewish customs in secret. ==Expulsion and dispersion==