History of the Jews in Spain
The history of the Jews in the current-day Spanish territory stretches back to Biblical times according to Jewish tradition, but the settlement of organised Jewish communities in the Iberian Peninsula possibly traces back to the times after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The earliest archaeological evidence of Hebrew presence in Iberia consists of a 2nd-century gravestone found in Mérida. From the late 6th century onward, following the Visigothic monarchs' conversion from Arianism to the Nicene Creed, conditions for Jews in Iberia considerably worsened.
After the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in the early 8th century, Jews lived under the Dhimmi system and progressively Arabised. Jews of Al-Andalus stood out particularly during the 10th and the 11th centuries, in the caliphal and first taifa periods. Scientific and philological study of the Hebrew Bible began, and secular poetry was written in Hebrew for the first time. After the Almoravid and Almohad invasions, many Jews fled to Northern Africa and the Christian Iberian kingdoms. Targets of antisemitic mob violence, Jews living in the Christian kingdoms faced persecution throughout the 14th century, leading to the 1391 pogroms. As a result of the Alhambra Decree of 1492, the remaining practising Jews in Castile and Aragon were forced to convert to Catholicism whereas those who continued to practise Judaism were expelled, creating diaspora communities. Tracing back to a 1924 decree, there have been initiatives to favour the return of Sephardi Jews to Spain by facilitating Spanish citizenship on the basis of demonstrated ancestry.
An estimated 40,000 to 50,000 Jews live in Spain today.
Early history
The earliest significant Jewish presence in the Iberian Peninsula is generally traced back to the first centuries CE, when the region, known to the Romans as Hispania, was part of the Roman Empire. This presence is supported by both archaeological finds and literary sources.Among the early artifacts of likely Jewish origin discovered in Spain is an amphora from the first century CE, discovered in Ibiza, part of the Balearic Islands. The vessel bears two Hebrew characters, suggesting Jewish contact with the region, likely through trade between Judaea and the Balearics. Additionally, a signet ring from Cádiz, dating to the 8th–7th century BCE, features an inscription generally considered Phoenician, though some scholars interpret it as "paleo-Hebraic," possibly indicating a Jewish presence in biblical times. Two trilingual Jewish inscriptions from Tarragona and Tortosa, dated between the 2nd century BCE and the 6th century CE, further support evidence of early Jewish settlements. A tombstone from Adra, inscribed with the name of a Jewish infant, Annia Salomonula, dates to the 3rd century CE.One of the earliest references possibly indicating a Jewish presence in Roman-era Spain is Paul the Apostle's Epistle to the Romans. Paul's stated intention to travel to Spain to preach the gospel has been interpreted by many as evidence of established Jewish communities in the region during the mid-first century CE. Flavius Josephus, in The Jewish War, records that Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great and tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, was exiled by Emperor Caligula to Spain in 39 CE. However, in his later work, Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus identifies the location of Antipas's banishment as Gaul.
Rabbinic literature from references Spain as a distant land with a Jewish presence. The Mishnah, redacted around 200 CE, implied that there was a Jewish community in Spain, and that there was communication with the Jewish community in the Land of Israel. A tradition passed down by Rabbi Berekhiah 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." From a slightly later period, Midrash Rabbah, and Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, both, make mention of the Jewish diaspora in Spain and their eventual return. Among these early references are several decrees of the Council of Elvira, convened in the early fourth century, which address proper Christian behaviour with regard to the Jews of Spain, notably forbidding marriage between Jews and Christians.
Thus, while there are limited material and literary indications for Jewish contact with Spain from a very early period, more definitive and substantial data begins with the third century. Data from this period suggest a well-established community, whose foundations must have been laid sometime earlier. Some suggest that substantial Jewish immigration probably occurred during the Roman period of Hispania. The province came under Roman control with the fall of Carthage after the Second Punic War. It is likely that these communities originated several generations earlier in the aftermath of the conquest of Judea, and possible that they originated much earlier. It is within the realm of possibility that they went there under the Romans as free men to take advantage of its rich resources and build enterprises there. These early arrivals 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-Roman War, and especially after the defeat of Judea in 70. One questionable estimate places the number carried off to Spain at 80,000. Subsequent immigrations came into the area along both the northern African and southern European sides of the Mediterranean.
As citizens of the Roman Empire, the Jews of Spain 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 Synod of Elvira, although early examples of priesthood-inspired antisemitism, 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 those that pertained 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. Canon 48 forbade Jews from blessing Christian crops, and Canon 50 forbade sharing meals with Jews; repeating the command to Hebrew the Bible indicated respect to Gentile.
Although the spread of Jews into Europe is most commonly associated with the Diaspora that ensued from the Roman conquest of Judea, emigration from Judea 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. 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.
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.
Around 300 CE, the Synod of Elvira, an ecclesiastical council held in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, addressed the interactions between Christians and Jews, which were relatively common at the time, with some Christians even admiring Jewish practices. To mitigate Jewish influence on Christian society, the council enacted several edicts aimed at reinforcing separation between the two groups. Canon 16 prohibited intermarriage between Christians and Jews, Canon 78 imposed penalties on Christians committing adultery with Jewish women, Canon 48 forbade Jews from blessing Christian crops, and Canon 50 prohibited shared meals between Christians and Jews.
Severus of Minorca's Letter on the Conversion of the Jews, from the 5th century, recounts the alleged conversion of Menorca's Jewish population in 418. Following the arrival of Saint Stephen's relics in Magona, Severus launched a campaign against the local Jews. Fearing violence and inspired by the Maccabees, the Jews stockpiled weapons. Severus mobilized Christians, accused Jewish leaders of plotting, and inspected the synagogue's weapons. This led to a riot, with Christians seizing and burning the synagogue. Within a week, all 540 local Jews were converted by force.
In comparison to Jewish life in Byzantium and Italy, life for the early Jews in Hispania and the rest of southern Europe was relatively tolerable. This is due in large measure to the difficulty the Church had in establishing itself in its western frontier. In the west, Germanic tribes such as the Suevi, the Vandals, and especially the Visigoths had more or less disrupted the political and ecclesiastical systems of the Roman empire, and for several centuries the Jews enjoyed a degree of peace their brethren to the east did not.
In Jewish tradition
Medieval Jewish legends often traced the arrival of Jews in Spain to the First Temple period. 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.Several early Jewish writers wrote that their families had lived in Spain since the destruction of the first temple. Isaac Abravanel stated that the Abravanel family had lived on the Iberian Peninsula for 2,000 years.