1. AshleyRink
Rlst433
Jewishhistoryinspainresearchpaper
ProfessorReese
Jews in spain:
From as earlyas 300 B.C. the Sephardi orthe SpanishJewshave beenthriving,changing,a growingin
Spainthroughtheirconnectionstotheirfaith,the Spanisheconomyandgovernment,andtoother
culturesaswell.Fromthe goldenage inwhichSpanishJewsandMuslimslivedtogetherharmoniouslyto
the inquisitionin1492, SpanishJewsexperiencedarichhistoryor persecutionandfightfortheirfaith.
The long historyof persecutuioninSpainbeganasearlyas 300 b.c. withthe settlementof manyjewsin
southernsoainunderthe rule of kingSolomon.Edictswere passedunderthe council of Toledoatthis
time that alreadyrestrictedjewsinwhattheycouldown,how teycouldpractice faith,andevenhow
theycouldblesstheircrops. Atthistime,the catholicchurchmet at the council of Elviraand issues80
canonnicdecisionswhichrestrictedandprohibitedcontactwithjewsineatingandduringworship.
100 yearslatera pivotal groupin Spainthat changedthe face of religionwasthe visigoths,anarian
groupfrom Europe hopingtobringand convertspainto Catholicismcompletely.Truly,the visigoths
underthe rule of ToledoIIItriedto convertspainto Christianityaltogether.In613 the processof forcing
jewstoconvertbecame prevalent.The convcertswere called,marranos,andif theywere found
prcatcingany private jewishcustoms,theirchildrenwere takenawasyandtheywere imprisioend.
However,underthe muslimrule of spainduringthe 8th
centuryinwhichthe moors foughtfortheirfaith,
jewslivedmuchmore harminouslyalongsidemuslims.