Jewish history
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'''Jewish history''' is the [[history]] of the [[Jewish people]], [[Judaism|faith]], and [[Jewish culture|culture]]. Since Jewish history encompasses nearly four thousand years and hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes. Additional information can be found in the main articles listed below, and in the specific [[Jewish history#Jewish History by Country.2FRegion|country histories]] listed in this article.
== Ancient Jewish history (to 150 CE) ==
{{main|History of ancient Israel and Judah}}
===Ancient Israelites===
For the first two periods the history of the Jews is mainly that of the [[Fertile Crescent]]. It begins among those people who occupied the area lying between the [[Nile]] river on the one side and the [[Tigris]] and the [[Euphrates]] rivers on the other. Surrounded by ancient seats of culture in [[Egypt]] and [[Babylonia]], by the deserts of [[Arabia]], and by the highlands of [[Asia Minor]], the land of [[Canaan]] (later known as [[Israel]], then at various times [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], [[Coele-Syria]], [[Judea]], [[Palestine]], the [[Levant]], and finally Israel again) was a meeting place of civilizations. The land was traversed by old-established trade routes and possessed important harbors on the [[Gulf of Akaba]] and on the [[Mediterranean]] coast, the latter exposing it to the influence of other cultures of the Fertile Crescent.
Traditionally Jews around the world claim descent mostly from the ancient Israelites (also known as [[Hebrews]]), who settled in the land of Israel. The Israelites traced their common lineage to the biblical patriarch [[Abraham]] through [[Isaac]] and [[Jacob]]. Jewish tradition holds that the Israelites were the descendants of Jacob's twelve sons (one of whom was named [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]]), who settled in Egypt. While in Egypt their descendants were enslaved by the Egyptian [[pharaoh]], often identified as [[Ramses II]]. In the Jewish tradition, the Israelites emigrated from [[Egypt]] to Canaan (the [[The Exodus|Exodus]]), led by the prophet [[Moses]]. This event marks the formation of the Israelites as a people, divided into twelve tribes named after Jacob's sons.
[[Image:1759 map Holy Land and 12 Tribes.jpg|thumb|250px|left|1759 map of the tribal allotments of Israel]]
Jewish tradition and the Bible (Genesis through Malachi) tells that the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty one years after which they conquered [[Canaan]] under the command of [[Joshua]], dividing the land among the twelve tribes. For a time, the twelve tribes were led by a series of rulers known as [[Judges]]. Afterwards, an Israelite monarchy was established under [[Saul the King|Saul]], and continued under King [[David]] and [[Solomon]]. King David conquered [[Jerusalem]] (first a Canaanite, then a Jebusite town) and made it his capital. After [[Solomon]]'s reign the nation split into two kingdoms, [[Israel]], consisting of ten of the tribes (in the north), and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (in the south). Israel was conquered by the [[Assyria]]n ruler Shalmaneser V in the [[8th century BCE]]. There is no commonly accepted historical record of those ten tribes, which are sometimes referred to as the [[Ten Lost Tribes of Israel]].
===Exilic and post-exilic periods===
The kingdom of Judah was conquered by a [[Babylon]]ian army in the early [[6th century BCE]]. The Judahite elite was exiled to Babylon, but later at least a part of them returned to their homeland, led by prophets [[Ezra]] and [[Nehemiah]], after the subsequent conquest of Babylonia by the [[Persians]]. Since [[Zoroastrianism]] was the state religion of the Persian Empire, the extent to which Zoroastrianism has been an influence in the development of [[Judaism]] is a subject of some debate among scholars (''See [[Christianity and world religions#Possible relationship with Zoroastrianism through Judaism|Christianity and world religions]]'').
Already at this point the extreme fragmentation among the Israelites was apparent, with the formation of political-religious factions, the most important of which would later be called [[Sadduccees]] and [[Pharisees]].
===Hellenistic Judaism===
{{main|Hellenistic Judaism}}
Currents of Judaism influenced by [[Hellenistic philosophy]] developed from the 3rd century BC, notably the [[Jewish diaspora]] in [[Alexandria]], culminating in the compilation of the [[Septuagint]]. An important advocate of the symbiosis of Jewish theology and Hellenistic thought is [[Philo]].
===The Hasmonean Kingdom===
{{main|Hasmonean|l1=Hasmonean Kingdom}}
[[Image:Hasmoneese rijk.PNG|thumb|The extent of the Hasmonean kingdom.]]
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Hasmonean-map.jpg|thumb|right|The Hasmonean Kingdom {{deletable image-caption|1=Saturday, 29 December 2007}}]] -->
The Persians were defeated by [[Alexander the Great]]. After his demise, and the division of Alexander's empire among his generals, the [[Seleucid Kingdom]] was formed. A deterioration of relations between hellenized Jews and religious Jews led the Seleucid king [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]] to impose decrees banning certain [[Judaism|Jewish religious rites and traditions]]. Consequently, the orthodox Jews revolted under the leadership of the [[Hasmonean]] family, (also known as the [[Maccabees]]). This revolt eventually led to the formation of an independent Jewish kingdom, known as the [[Hasmonaean Dynasty]], which lasted from [[165 BCE]] to [[63 BCE]]. The Hasmonean Dynasty eventually disintegrated as a result of civil war between the sons of [[Salome Alexandra]], [[Hyrcanus II]] and [[Aristobulus II]]. The people, who did not want to be governed by a king but by theocratic clergy, made appeals in this spirit to the Roman authorities. A Roman campaign of conquest and annexation, led by [[Pompey]], soon followed.
==Roman rule==
Judea under Roman rule was at first an independent Jewish kingdom, but gradually the rule over Judea became less and less Jewish, until it came under the direct rule of Roman and later Christian administration (and renamed the ''[[Iudaea Province]]''), which was often callous and brutal in its treatment of its Judean subjects. In [[66|66 CE]], Judeans began to revolt against the Roman rulers of Judea. The revolt was defeated by the future Roman emperors [[Vespasian]] and [[Titus]]. In the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|Siege of Jerusalem]] in [[70|70 CE]], the Romans destroyed much of the Temple in Jerusalem and, according to some accounts, plundered artifacts from the temple, such as the [[Menorah (Temple)|Menorah]]. Judeans continued to live in their land in significant numbers, until the [[2nd century]] when [[Sextus Julius Severus|Julius Severus]] ravaged Judea while putting down the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]]. 985 villages were destroyed and most of the Jewish population of central Judaea was essentially wiped out, killed, sold into slavery, or forced to flee. Banished from Jerusalem, the Jewish population now centred on [[Galilee]].
===The diaspora===
{{main|Jewish diaspora}}
Many of the Judaean Jews were sold into [[slavery]] while others became citizens of other parts of the [[Roman Empire]]. The book of [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] in the [[New Testament]], as well as other [[Pauline]] texts, make frequent reference to the large populations of [[Hellenistic Judaism|Hellenised Jews]] in the cities of the Roman world. These Hellenised Jews were only affected by the [[diaspora]] in its spiritual sense, absorbing the feeling of loss and homelessness which became a cornerstone of the Jewish creed, much supported by persecutions in various parts of the world. The policy towards [[proselytism]] and conversion to Judaism, which spread the Jewish religion throughout the [[Hellenistic civilization]], seems to have ended with the wars against the Romans and the following reconstruction of Jewish values for the post-Temple era.
Of critical importance to the reshaping of Jewish tradition from the Temple-based religion to the traditions of the Diaspora, was the development of the interpretations of the Torah found in the [[Mishnah]] and [[Talmud]].
=== Land of Israel ===
{{main|History of the Jews in the Land of Israel}}
In spite of the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt, Jews remained in the land of Israel in significant numbers. The Jews who stayed in Palestine went through numerous experiences and armed conflicts against consecutive occupiers of the Land. Some of the most famous and important Jewish texts were composed in Israeli cities at this time. The [[Jerusalem Talmud]], the completion of the [[Mishnah]] and the system of [[niqqud]] are examples.
==Byzantine period ==
{{main|Jews of Byzantium}}
Jews were widespread throughout the Roman Empire, and this carried on to a lesser extent in the period of Byzantine rule in the central and eastern Mediterranean. The militant and exclusive Christianity and [[caesaropapism]] of the [[Byzantine Empire]] did not treat Jews well, and the condition and influence of diaspora Jews in the Empire declined dramatically.
It was official Christian policy to convert Jews to Christianity, and the Christian leadership used the official power of Rome in their attempts. In 351 CE the Jews revolted against the added pressures of their Governor, one named [[Gallus]]. Gallus put down the revolt and destroyed the major cities in the Galilee where the revolt had started. Tzippori and Lydda (site of two of the major legal academies) never recovered.
Nonetheless it is in this period that the Nasi in Tiberias, Hillel II created an official calendar which needed no monthly sightings of the moon. The months were set, and the calendar needed no further authority from Judea. At about the same time, the Jewish academy at Tiberius began to collate the combined Mishnah, braitot, explanations, and interpretations developed by generations of scholars who studied after the death of [[Judah HaNasi]]. The text was organized according to the order of the Mishna: each paragraph of Mishnah was followed by a compilation of all of the interpretations, stories, and responses associated with that Mishnah. This text is called the [[Jerusalem Talmud]].
The Jews of Judea received a brief respite from official persecution during the rule of the Emperor [[Julian the Apostate]]. Julian's policy was to return the kingdom to Hellenism and he encouraged the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem. Julian's rule lasted only from 361 to 363, so there was no chance to carry out this promise before Christian rule was restored over the Empire. Beginning in 398 with the consecration of [[St. John Chrysostom]] as [[Patriarch]], the Christian rhetoric against Jews continued to rise with a series of sermons such as "Against the Jews" and "On the Statues, Homily 17" where John preaches against "the Jewish sickness". <ref> Wendy Mayer and Pauline Allen, John Chrysostom: The Early Church Fathers (London, 2000), p. 113, 146. </ref> Such heated language would build a climate of distrust and hate of the large Jewish settlements, such as those in Antioch and Constantinople.
In the beginning of the fifth century, the [[Emperor Theodosius]] issued a set of decrees which established official prosecution against Jews. Jews were not allowed to own slaves, build new synagogues, hold public office or try cases between a Jew and a non-Jew. Intermarriage between Jew and non-Jew was made a capital offense as was a Christian converting to Judaism. Theodosius, furthermore, did away with the [[Sanhedrin]] and abolished the post of [[Nasi]]. Under the [[Emperor Justinian]] the authorities restricted the civil rights of Jews <ref> Cod., I., v. 12 </ref>, and threatened their religious privileges. <ref> Procopius, Historia Arcana, 28 </ref> The emperor also interfered in the internal affairs of the synagogue <ref> Nov., cxlvi., Feb. 8, 553 </ref>, and forbade, for instance, the use of the Hebrew language in divine worship. The recalcitrant were menaced with corporal penalties, exile, and loss of property. The Jews at Borium, not far from Syrtis Major, who resisted the Byzantine General [[Belisarius]] in his campaign against the [[Vandals]], were forced to embrace Christianity and their synagogue was converted to a church. <ref> Procopius, De Aedificiis, vi. 2 </ref>
Justinian and his successors of course had concerns outside the province of Judea, and there were insufficient troops to enforce these regulations. As a result, ironically, the sixth century saw a wave of new synagogues built with beautiful mosaic floors. Jews assimilated into their lives the rich art forms of the Byzantine culture. There exist mosaics showing people, animals, menorahs, zodiacs, and Biblical characters. Excellent examples of these synagogue floors have been found at Beit Alpha (which includes the scene of Abraham sacrificing a ram instead of his son Isaac along with a gorgeous zodiac), Tiberius, Beit Shean, and Tzippori.
The precarious existence of Jews under Byzantine rule did not long endure, largely for the explosion of the Muslim religion out of the remote Arabian peninsula (where large populations of Jews resided, see [[History of the Jews under Muslim Rule]] for more). The [[Muslim]] [[Caliphate]] ejected the Byzantines from the Holy Land (or the [[Levant]], defined as modern Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria) within a few years of their victory at the [[Battle of Yarmouk]] in 636. A testament of the cruelty of the Byzantines towards the Jews can be noted in the great number of Jews who fled remaining Byzantine territories in favour of residence in the Caliphate over the subsequent centuries.
Yet, the size of the Jewish community in the Byzantine Empire was not affected by attempts by some emperors (most notably Justinian) to forcibly convert the Jews of Anatolia to Christianity, as these attempts met with very little success.<ref> [[George Alexandrovič Ostrogorsky|G. Ostrogorsky]], History of the Byzantine State </ref> The exact picture of the status of the Jews in Asian Minor during the Byzantine rule is still being researched by historians (for a sample of views, see, for instance, J. Starr "The Jews in the Byzantine Empire, 641-1204", S. Bowman, "The Jews of Byzantium", R. Jenkins "Byzantium", Averil Cameron, "Byzantines and Jews: Recent Work on Early Byzantium," Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 20) Although there is some evidence of occasional hostility by the Byzantine populations and authorities, no systematic persecution of the type endemic at that time in Western Europe (pogroms, the stake, mass expulsions etc.) has been recorded in Byzantium. <ref> The Oxford History of Byzantium, C. Mango (Ed) (2002) </ref>. Much of the Jewish population of [[Constantinople]] remained in place after the conquest of the city by [[Mehmet II]]. See also {{main|History of the Jews in Turkey}}
===The Khazar conversion===
{{main|Khazars}}
A curious historical event did occur as a result of this emigration. Sometime in the 7th or 8th century, the [[Khazars]], a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic tribe]] in what is now the Ukraine, seems to have converted to Judaism. The completeness of this conversion is unclear, but certainly there had been a Jewish population in the [[Crimea]] since the Hellenistic era, and these may have been reinforced by Jews leaving the fickle Byzantine governance. Influenced and threatened as they were by both Islam and the Byzantine Empire, and receiving much tangible benefit from their Jewish population, it is speculated that Khazar rulers converted to Judaism in an effort to remain neutral as a safeguard to their independence. After the rise of the [[Kievan Rus']] the Khazars disappear from history, and modern DNA studies indicate no contribution to modern Ashkenazim.
==Islamic and Crusader periods==
{{main|History of the Jews under Muslim rule}}
{{main|History of the Jews and the Crusades}}
{{seealso|Siege of Jerusalem (1099)}}
As part of the diaspora a large number of Jews had taken up residence in the Arabian peninsula, out of the control of the Roman state which, in both its pagan and Christian incarnations, persecuted them greatly. The [[History of the Jews under Muslim rule]] as at times as unstable as their history elsewhere: they were ejected from western Arabia shortly after the death of [[Muhammad]] in the mid-7th Century.
Despite such setbacks, the Jews controlled much of the commerce in Palestine and as [[dhimmi]] prospered despite certain restrictions against them. Culturally, the Jews continued to advance, and the niqqud seems to have been invented in Tiberias in the era of Islamic Caliphate. Preferring the benign discrimination of the Arabs to the outright slaughter frequently suffered under Christian rule, the Jews defended Jerusalem and Haifa against the Crusaders in 1099 during the [[First Crusade]]: failure, in this instance, meant [[Wiktionary:massacre|massacre]]. At the time of the First Crusade there were Jewish communities throughout the country which included Jerusalem, Tiberias, Ramleh, Ashkelon, Caesarea, and Gaza. While these population centres were not specifically targeted by the [[Crusader states|Crusader Kingdoms]], Jewish quality of life under Crusader rule was undoubtedly worse and more dangerous.
=== Mamluk period ===
[[Nachmanides]] settles in the Old City of Jerusalem in 1267 and since then there has been a continuous Jewish presence there.
=== Ottoman period ===
{{main|History of the Jews in Turkey}}
Jews lived in the geographic area of Asia Minor (modern Turkey, but more geographically either Anatolia or Asia Minor) for more than 2,400 years. Initial prosperity in Hellenistic times faded under Christian Byzantine rule, but recovered somewhat under the rule of the various Muslim governments which displaced and succeeded rule from Constantinople. For much of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] period, Turkey was a safe haven for Jews fleeing persecution, and it continues to have a small Jewish population today.
At the time of the [[Battle of Yarmuk]] when the [[Levant]] passed under Muslim Rule, thirty Jewish communities existed in Haifa, Sh’chem, Hebron, Ramleh, Gaza, Jerusalem, and many in the north. Safed became a spiritual centre for the Jews and the [[Shulchan Aruch]] was compiled there as well as many Kabbalistic texts. The first Hebrew printing press, and the first printing in Western Asia began in 1577.
===Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East===
{{main|History of the Jews in Spain}}
{{seealso|Islam and Judaism}}
{{seealso|Mizrahi Jew}}
{{seealso|History of the Jews under Muslim rule}}
During the Middle Ages, Jews were generally better treated by Islamic rulers than Christian ones. Despite second-class citizenship, Jews played prominent roles in Muslim courts, and experienced a "Golden Age" in the [[Moorish Spain]] about 900-1100, though the situation deteriorated after that time. [[Riots]] resulting in the deaths of Jews did however occur in North Africa through the centuries and especially in [[Morocco]], [[Libya]] and [[Algeria]] where eventually Jews were forced to live in ghettos. <ref> Maurice Roumani, The Case of the Jews from Arab Countries: A Neglected Issue, 1977, pp. 26-27. </ref>
The [[11th century]] saw Muslim pogroms against Jews in Spain; those occurred in Cordoba in 1011 and in [[1066 Granada massacre|Granada in 1066]].<ref>[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=412&letter=G&search=Granada Granada] by Richard Gottheil, Meyer Kayserling, ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]''. 1906 ed. </ref> Decrees ordering the destruction of synagogues were enacted in the Middle Ages in [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Iraq]] and [[Yemen]]. Jews were also forced to convert to Islam or face death in some parts of Yemen, Morocco and [[Baghdad]] at certain times.<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Jews_in_Arab_lands_(gen).html The Treatment of Jews in Arab/Islamic Countries]</ref> The [[Almohad]]s, who had taken control of much of Islamic Iberia by [[1172]], far surpassed the [[Almoravides]] in fundamentalist outlook, and they treated the ''dhimmis'' harshly. Jews and Christians were expelled from [[Morocco]] and Islamic Spain. Faced with the choice of either death or conversion, many Jews emigrated.<ref>[http://www.theforgottenrefugees.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=39 The Forgotten Refugees]</ref> Some, such as the family of [[Maimonides]], fled south and east to the more tolerant Muslim lands, while others went northward to settle in the growing Christian kingdoms.<ref>[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Sephardim.html Sephardim]</ref><ref> Kraemer, Joel L., ''Moses Maimonides: An Intellectual Portrait'' in ''The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides'' pp. 16-17 (2005) </ref>
The situation where Jews both enjoyed cultural and economical prosperity at times but were widely persecuted at other times was summarised by G.E. Von Grunebaum :
<blockquote>"It would not be difficult to put together the names of a very sizeable number of Jewish subjects or citizens of the Islamic area who have attained to high rank, to power, to great financial influence, to significant and recognized intellectual attainment; and the same could be done for Christians. But it would again not be difficult to compile a lengthy list of persecutions, arbitrary confiscations, attempted forced conversions, or pogroms."<ref>G.E. Von Grunebaum, "Eastern Jewry Under Islam," 1971, page 369.</ref></blockquote>
Historian [[Martin Gilbert]] writes that in the 19th century the position of Jews worsened in Muslim countries.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}
There was a massacre of Jews in [[Baghdad]] in 1828.<ref>Morris, Benny. Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001. Vintage Books, 2001</ref> In 1839, in the eastern Persian city of [[Meshed]], a mob burst into the Jewish Quarter, burned the synagogue, and destroyed the [[Sefer Torah|Torah scrolls]]. It was only by forcible conversion that a massacre was averted.<ref name=Gilbert179>[[Martin Gilbert|Gilbert, Martin]]. ''Dearest Auntie Fori. The Story of the Jewish People''. Harper Collins, 2002, pp. 179-182.</ref> There was another massacre in Barfurush in 1867.<ref>Morris, Benny. Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001. Vintage Books, 2001</ref>
In 1840, the [[History of the Jews in Syria|Jews of Damascus]] were falsely accused of having murdered a Christian monk and his Muslim servant and of having [[blood libel|used their blood]] to bake [[Matzo|Passover bread]] or Matza. A Jewish barber was tortured until he "confessed"; two other Jews who were arrested died under torture, while a third converted to Islam to save his life. Throughout the 1860s, the [[History of the Jews in Libya|Jews of Libya]] were subjected to what Gilbert calls punitive taxation. In 1864, around 500 Jews were killed in [[Marrakech]] and [[Fes, Morocco|Fez]] in [[Morroco]]. In 1869, 18 Jews were killed in [[Tunis]], and an Arab mob looted Jewish homes and stores, and burned synagogues, on [[Djerba|Jerba Island]]. In 1875, 20 Jews were killed by a mob in [[Demnat]], Morocco; elsewhere in Morocco, Jews were attacked and killed in the streets in broad daylight. In 1891, the leading Muslims in [[Jerusalem]] asked the Ottoman authorities in [[Constantinople]] to prohibit the entry of Jews arriving from [[Russia]]. In 1897, synagogues were ransacked and Jews were murdered in [[Tripolitania]].<ref name=Gilbert179/>
[[Benny Morris]] writes that one symbol of Jewish degradation was the phenomenon of stone-throwing at Jews by Muslim children. Morris quotes a 19th century traveler: "I have seen a little fellow of six years old, with a troop of fat toddlers of only three and four, teaching [them] to throw stones at a Jew, and one little urchin would, with the greatest coolness, waddle up to the man and literally spit upon his Jewish [[gaberdine]]. To all this the Jew is obliged to submit; it would be more than his life was worth to offer to strike a Mahommedan."<ref>Morris, Benny. Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001. Vintage Books, 2001</ref>
According to [[Mark Cohen]] in ''The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies'', most scholars conclude that Arab anti-Semitism in the modern world arose in the nineteenth century, against the backdrop of conflicting Jewish and Arab nationalism, and was imported into the Arab world primarily by nationalistically minded Christian Arabs (and only subsequently was it "Islamized").<ref> [[Mark Cohen]] (2002), p.208 </ref>
==Europe and Eurasia==
{{main|Jews in the Middle Ages}}
Jewish populations had existed in Europe, especially in the area of the former Roman Empire, from very early times, with converts to Judaism joined by traders and later by member of the exodus. There are records of Jewish communities in France (see [[History of the Jews in France]]) and Germany (see [[History of the Jews in Germany]]) from the 4th century, and substantial Jewish communities in Spain even earlier.
Norman Cantor and other twentieth century historians dispute the conventional idea that the Middle Ages was a uniformly difficult time for Jews. Early medieval society, before the Church became fully organized, was tolerant. Between 800 and 1100 there were 1.5 million Jews in Christian Europe. They were fortunate in not being part of the feudal system as serfs or knights, thus were spared the oppression and constant warfare that made life miserable for most Christians. Unlike lay Christians, most Jews were literate; they were cleaner and thus healthier than Christians, for example, dying in fewer numbers during the Black Death; and they were able to live under Jewish law, which was much fairer and more humane. In relations with the Christian society, they were protected by kings, princes and bishops, because of the crucial services they provided in three areas: financial, administrative and as doctors. Christian scholars interested in the Bible would even consult with Talmudic rabbis. All this changed with the reforms and strengthening of the Roman Catholic Church, especially the creations of the Franciscan and Dominican preaching monks, and the rise of envious and competitive middle-class, town-dwelling Christians. By 1300 the friars and local priests were using the Passion Plays at Easter time, which depicted Jews in contemporary dress killing Christ, to teach the general populace to hate and murder Jews. It was at this point that persecution and exile became endemic. Finally around 1500, Jews found security and a renewal of prosperity in Poland.<ref>Norman F. Cantor, The Last Knight: The Twilight of the Middle Ages and the Birth of the Modern Era, Free Press, 2004. ISBN-10: 0743226887, p. 28-29</ref>
By and large, Jews were heavily persecuted in Christian Europe after 1300. Since they were the only people allowed to lend money for interest (forbidden to Catholics by the church), some Jews became prominent moneylenders. Christian rulers gradually saw the advantage of having a class of men like the Jews who could supply capital for their use without being liable to excommunication, and the money trade of western Europe by this means fell into the hands of the Jews. However, in almost every instance where large amounts were acquired by Jews through banking transactions the property thus acquired fell either during their life or upon their death into the hands of the king.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Jews thus became imperial "servi cameræ," the property of the King, who might present them and their possessions to princes or cities.
According to [[James P. Carroll|James Carroll]], "Jews accounted for 10% of the total population of the [[Roman Empire]]. By that ratio, if other factors had not intervened, there would be 200 million Jews in the world today, instead of something like 13 million."<ref>Carroll, James. ''[[Constantine's Sword]]'' (Houghton Mifflin, 2001) ISBN 0-395-77927-8 p.26</ref>
Jews were frequently massacred and exiled from various European countries. The persecution hit its first peak during the [[Crusades]]. In the [[First Crusade]] (1096) flourishing communities on the Rhine and the Danube were utterly destroyed; see [[German Crusade, 1096]]. In the [[Second Crusade]] ([[1147]]) the Jews in France were subject to frequent massacres. The Jews were also subjected to attacks by the [[Shepherds' Crusade]]s of 1251 and [[1320]]. The Crusades were followed by expulsions, including in, [[1290]], the banishing of all English Jews; in [[1396]], 100,000 Jews were expelled from France; and, in 1421 thousands were expelled from Austria. Many of the expelled Jews fled to Poland.
The worst of the expulsions occurred following the [[reconquista]] of [[Andalus]], as the [[Moorish]] or Arab Islamic government of Spain was known. With the ejection of the last Muslim rulers from Grenada in 1492, the [[Spanish Inquisition]] followed and the entire Spanish population of around 200,000 [[Sephardic Jews]] were expelled. This was followed by expulsions in 1493 in [[Sicily]] (37,000 Jews) and Portugal in [[1496]]. The expelled Spanish Jews fled mainly to the Ottoman Empire, Holland, and North Africa, others migrating to Southern Europe and the Middle East.
In the 17th century, almost no Jews lived in Western Europe. The relatively tolerant Poland had the largest Jewish population in Europe, but the calm situation for the Jews there ended when Polish and Lithuanian Jews were slaughtered in the hundreds of thousands by the cossacks during [[Chmielnicki uprising]] ([[1648]]) and by the [[Swedish wars]] ([[1655]]). Driven by these and other persecutions, Jews moved back to Western Europe in the 17th century. The last ban on Jews (by the English) was revoked in [[1654]], but periodic expulsions from individual cities still occurred, and Jews were often restricted from land ownership, or forced to live in [[ghettos]].
With the [[Partition of Poland]] the Jewish population shifted to the [[Russian Empire]], [[Austro-Hungary]], and [[Prussia]], the three countries which divided [[Poland]] among themselves.
See [[Jewish history (Russia and the Soviet Union)]] for more.
=== The European Enlightenment and Haskalah (18th century) ===
During the period of the [[European Renaissance]] and Enlightenment, significant changes were happening within the Jewish community. The [[Haskalah]] movement paralleled the wider Enlightenment, as Jews began in the [[18th century]] to campaign for emancipation from restrictive laws and integration into the wider European society. Secular and scientific education was added to the traditional religious instruction received by students, and interest in a national Jewish identity, including a revival in the study of Jewish history and Hebrew, started to grow. Haskalah gave birth to the Reform and Conservative movements and planted the seeds of [[Zionism]] while at the same time encouraging cultural assimilation into the countries in which Jews resided. At around the same time another movement was born, one preaching almost the opposite of Haskalah, [[Hasidic Judaism]]. Hasidic Judaism began in the 18th century by [[Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov]], and quickly gained a following with its more exuberant, mystical approach to religion. These two movements, and the traditional orthodox approach to Judaism from which they spring, formed the basis for the modern divisions within Jewish observance.
At the same time, the outside world was changing, and debates began over the potential emancipation of the Jews (granting them equal rights). The first country to do so was France, during the [[French Revolution]] in [[1789]]. Even so, Jews were expected to integrate, not continue their traditions. This ambivalence is demonstrated in the famous speech of [[Clermont-Tonnerre]] before the [[National Assembly]] in 1789:
<blockquote>"We must refuse everything to the Jews as a nation and accord everything to Jews as individuals. We must withdraw recognition from their judges; they should only have our judges. We must refuse legal protection to the maintenance of the so-called laws of their Judaic organization; they should not be allowed to form in the state either a political body or an order. They must be citizens individually. But, some will say to me, they do not want to be citizens. Well then! If they do not want to be citizens, they should say so, and then, we should banish them. It is repugnant to have in the state an association of non-citizens, and a nation within the nation..."</blockquote>
=== 19th century ===
Though persecution still existed, emancipation spread throughout Europe in the [[19th century]]. [[Napoleon]] invited Jews to leave the [[Ghetto#Jewish ghettos in Europe|Jewish ghettos in Europe]] and seek refuge in the newly created tolerant political regimes that offered equality under Napoleonic Law (see [[Napoleon and the Jews]]). By [[1871]], with Germany’s emancipation of Jews, every European country except Russia had emancipated its Jews.
Despite increasing integration of the Jews with secular society, a new form of anti-Semitism emerged, based on the ideas of race and nationhood rather than the religious hatred of the Middle Ages. This form of anti-Semitism held that Jews were a separate and inferior race from the [[Aryan]] people of Western Europe, and led to the emergence of political parties in France, Germany, and Austria-Hungary that campaigned on a platform of rolling back emancipation. This form of anti-Semitism emerged frequently in European culture, most famously in the [[Dreyfus Trial]] in France. These persecutions, along with state-sponsored [[pogrom]]s in Russia in the late 19th century, led a number of Jews to believe that they would only be safe in their own nation. See [[Theodor Herzl]] and [[History of Zionism]].
At the same time, Jewish migration to the United States (''see [[History of Jews in the US|Jews in the US]]'') created a new community in large part freed of the restrictions of Europe. Over 2 million Jews arrived in the United States between 1890 and 1924, most from Russia and Eastern Europe.
== 20th century ==
{{main|History of Israel}}
{{see also| History of Zionism}}
Though Jews became increasingly integrated in Europe, fighting for their home countries in [[World War I]] and playing important roles in culture and art during the [[1920s]] and [[1930s]], racial [[anti-Semitism]] remained. It reached its most virulent form in the killing of approximately six million Jews during the [[Holocaust]], almost completely obliterating the two-thousand year history of the Jews in Europe. In 1948, the Jewish state of [[Israel]] was founded, creating the first Jewish nation since the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, subsequent wars between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the flight in the face of persecution of almost all of the 900,000 Jews previously living in Arab countries.
== 21st century ==
Today, the largest Jewish communities are in the United States and Israel, with major communities in France, Argentina, Russia, England, and Canada.
For statistics related to modern Jewish demographics see the article ''[[Jewish population]]''.
The [[Jewish Autonomous Oblast]], created during the [[Soviet]] period, continues to be an [[autonomous oblast]] of the Russian state<ref>Fishkoff, Sue ([[October 8]], [[2008]]). [http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/041008/revival.shtml "A Jewish revival in Birobidzhan?"] Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. Accessed on [[June 8]], [[2008]].</ref>. The [[Chief Rabbi]] of [[Birobidzhan]], [[Mordechai Scheiner]], says there are 4,000 Jews in the capital city<ref>Paxton, Robin ([[June 1]], [[2007]]). [http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?AID=525676&cid=84435&NewsType=80052 "From Tractors to Torah in Russia's Jewish Land"]. Federation of Jewish Communities. Accessed on [[June 8]], [[2008]].</ref>. [[Governor]] [[Nikolay Mikhaylovich Volkov]] has stated that he intends to, "support every valuable initiative maintained by our local Jewish organizations." <ref>[http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?AID=221939 "Governor Voices Support for Growing Far East Jewish Community"] ([[November 15]], [[2004]]). Federation of Jewish Communities. Accessed on [[June 8]], [[2008]].</ref> The [[Birobidzhan Synagogue]] opened in [[2004]] on the 70th anniversary of the region's founding in [[1934]]<ref>[http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?AID=166969 "Far East Community Prepares for 70th Anniversary of Jewish Autonomous Republic"] ([[August 30]], [[2004]]). Federation of Jewish Communities. Accessed on [[June 8]], [[2008]].</ref>
== Jewish history by country or region ==
{{main|Jewish ethnic divisions}}
For historical and contemporary Jewish populations by country, see [[Jews by country]].
== See also ==
<div style="width:80%; -moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
*[[History of the Jews during World War II]]
*[[Judaism]]
*[[Jew]]
*[[Timeline of Jewish history]]
*[[Jewish population]]
*[[Historical Jewish population comparisons]]
*[[Jews by country]]
*[[Lists of Jews]]
*[[Jewish ethnic divisions]]
*[[Jewish refugees]]
*[[Jewish exodus from Arab lands]]
*[[Crypto-Judaism]]
</div>
*[[Josephus]], a famous Jewish historian from [[Roman Empire|Roman]] times
== References and further reading ==
*[http://www.dinur.org/1.html?rsID=219 The Jewish History Resource Center]. Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
*[http://www.dinur.org/resources/resourceCategoryDisplay.aspx?categoryid=780&rsid=478 Resources> Modern Period> 20th Cent.> History of Israel> State of Israel] The Jewish History Resource Center, Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
*[http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ Jewish Virtual Library]. Extremely comprehensive
*[http://www.encyclopaediajudaica.com/ Jewish History and Culture Encyclopaedia] Official Site of the 22 Volume Encyclopaedia Judaica
*[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jewishsbook.html Internet Jewish History Sourcebook] offering homework help and online texts
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/israelite_religion.htm Israelite Religion to Judaism: the Evolution of the Religion of Israel].
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/greek_influence.htm Greek Influence on Judaism from the Hellenistic Period Through the Middle Ages c. 300 BCE- 1200 CE].
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/jewish_sects.htm Jewish Sects of the Second Temple Period].
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/samaritan_origin.htm The Origin and Nature of the Samaritans and their Relationship to Second Temple Jewish Sects].
*[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/eb2bk.htm Jewish History Tables].
*Barnavi, Eli (Ed.). ''A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1992. ISBN 0-679-40332-9
*[http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Jewish_History.htm Crash Course in Jewish History]
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/68870/jewish/Jewish-History.htm Jewish History] chabad.org
*[http://www.zehut.net/main_id.asp?id=22 Video Lectures in Hebrew about The Jewish Nation in History]
==Footnotes==
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;"><references/></div>
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