Jewish History 632 - 1650

Pirates and plague loomed, and prized possessions sold for a pittance.

Medieval European Jewry repeatedly faced banishment for both economic and religious reasons.

New, more fanatical Muslim rulers caused the quality of Jewish life in North Africa and Egypt to deteriorate during the 12th and 13th centuries.

Amsterdam became a haven for Jewish refugees from the Inquisition.

Medieval Jews found religious tolerance and economic opportunity in Poland

The accumulation of disasters in the Middle Ages--expulsions, crusades, and the Black Death, to name a few--inspired a steady stream of Jewish immigration to the Holy Land.

Jews got entangled in the Christian quest to recapture the Holy Land from Muslims.

Scholar Norman Roth questions whether the idea of the medieval Church makes sense as a category of analysis for Jewish history.

Jews in the Medieval Islamic Empire

The complex political situation in Muslim Spain impacted Jewish social and cultural life there.