Sephardi

Early History

The precise origins of the Sephardim are unclear. There is fragmentary and unconclusory evidence of a Jewish presence on the Iberian Peninsula dating from pre-Roman times. More substantial references date from the period of Roman occupation.

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Evidence which suggests Jewish connections with the Iberian Peninsula inlcudes:

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• References in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, I Kings, and Jonah to the country of Tarshish, which is thought by many to have been located in southern Spain.
• A signet ring found at Cadiz, dating from the 8th-7th century B.C.E.. The inscription on the ring, generally accepted as Phoenician, has been interpreted by a few scholars to be "paleo-hebraic.?
• An amphora dating from at least the first century C.E. found in Ibiza, which bears imprints of two Hebrew characters.

It is thought that substantial Jewish immigration probably occurred during the period of Roman occupation of Hispania. The province came under Roman control with the fall of Carthage after the Second Punic War (218-202 B.C.E.). Exactly how soon after this time Jews made their way onto the scene in this context is a matter of speculation. It is within the realm of possibility that they went there under the Romans as free men to take advantage of its rich resources.

Related Topics:
Hispania - Carthage - Second Punic War - 218 - 202

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However, the spread of Jews into Europe is most commonly associated with the Diaspora which ensued from the Roman conquest of Judea, emigration from Palestine into the greater Roman Mediterranean area antedated the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans under Titus. Any Jews already in Hispania at this time would have been joined by those who had been enslaved by the Romans under Vespasian and Titus, and dispersed to the extreme west during the period of the Jewish Wars, and especially after the defeat of Judea in 70 C.E. One account placed the number carried off to Hispania at 80,000. Subsequent immigrations came into the area along both the northern African and southern European sides of the Mediterranean.

Related Topics:
Diaspora - Conquest - Judea - Palestine - Destruction of Jerusalem - Titus - Vespasian - Jewish Wars - 70 C.E.

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Among the earliest records which may refer specifically to Jews in the Iberian peninsula during the Roman period is Paul's Letter to the Romans. Many have taken Paul's intention to go to Hispania to minister the gospel (15.24, 28) to indicate the presence of Jewish communities there, as has Herod's banishment to Hispania by Caesar in 39 C.E. (Flavius Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 2.9.6). (Although the place of banishment is identified in Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews as Gaul ? specifically Lyons (18.7.2) ? this discrepancy has been "resolved" by "postulating Lugdunum Convenarium, a town in Gaul on the Hispanic frontier" as the actual site.

Related Topics:
Gospel - 39 C.E. - Flavius Josephus - Wars of the Jews - Antiquities of the Jews - Gaul - Lyons

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From a slightly later period, Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus 29.2 makes reference to the return of the Diaspora from Hispania by 165 C.E. Perhaps the most substantial of early references are the several decrees of the Council of Elvira, convened in the early fourth century, which address proper Christian behavior with regard to the Jews of Hispania.

Related Topics:
Midrash Rabbah - 165 C.E. - Decrees - Council of Elvira

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As citizens of the Roman Empire, the Jews of Hispania engaged in a variety of occupations, including agriculture. Until the adoption of Christianity, Jews had close relations with non-Jewish populations, and played an active role in the social and economic life of the province. The edicts of the Council of Elvira, although early (and perhaps precedence-setting) examples of Church-inspired anti-Semitism, provide evidence of Jews who were integrated enough into the greater community to cause alarm among some: of the Council's 80 canonic decisions, all which pertain to Jews served to maintain a separation between the two communities. It seems that by this time the presence of Jews was of greater concern to Catholic authorities than the presence of pagans; Canon 16, which prohibited marriage with Jews, was worded more strongly than canon 15, which prohibited marriage with pagans. Canon 78 threatens those who commit adultery with Jews with ostracism. Canons 48 and 50 forbade the blessing of Christian crops by Jews and the sharing of meals with Jews, respectively.

Related Topics:
Edicts - Precedence - Anti-Semitism - Canonic - Ostracism

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Yet in comparison to Jewish life in in Byzantium and Italy, life for the early Jews in Hispania and the rest of western Europe was relatively tolerable. This is due in large measure to the difficulty which the Church had in establishing itself in its western frontier. In the west, Germanic hordes such as the Suevi, the Vandals, and especially the Visigoths had more or less ravaged the political and ecclesiastical systems of the Roman empire, and for a number of centuries the Jews enjoyed a degree of peace which their brethren to the east did not.

Related Topics:
Byzantium - Italy - Germanic hordes - Suevi - Vandals - Visigoths - Ecclesiastical

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Barbaric invasions brought most of the Iberian Peninsula under Visigothic rule by the early fifth century. Other than in their contempt for Catholics, who reminded them of the Romans, the Visigoths did not generally take much of an interest in the religious creeds within their kingdom. It wasn't until 506, when Alaric II (484-507) published his Brevarium Alaricianum (wherein he adopted the laws of the ousted Romans), that a Visigothic king concerned himself with the Jews.

Related Topics:
Barbaric invasions - Visigothic - Alaric II - 484 - 507 - Brevarium Alaricianum

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The tides began to turn following the conversion of the Visigothic royal family under Recared from Arianism to Catholicism in 587. In their desire to consolidate the realm under the new religion, the Visigoths adopted an aggressive policy concerning the Jews. As the king and the church acted in a single interest, the situation for the Jews deteriorated. Under successive Visigothic kings, as well as under ecclesiastical authority, numerous orders of expulsion, forced conversion, isolation, enslavement, execution, and other punitive proclamations were made.

Related Topics:
Recared - Arianism - 587 - Ecclesiastical

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The Jews of Hispania had been utterly embittered and alienated by Catholic rule by the time of the Muslim invasion. To them, 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. Thus were initiated the two centuries of Muslim rule in the Iberian peninsula which became known as the "Golden Age" of Sephardi Jewry.

Related Topics:
Muslim invasion - Moors

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