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Christian Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II publicly reprimands the Jewish Patriarch Gamaliel II and strips him of the paid rank of 'praefectus praetorio' which had been held by a Jewish patriarch since 200 AD under the Caesars.
On the death of the Jewish Patriarch Gamaliel II, the patriarchate, and the Jewish council associated with it, is ended.
Under 'Christian' Byzantine rule the Roman empire formally abolishes the Jewish Patriarchate and diverts the Jewish temple tax to the imperial treasury.
The Theodosian Code is published which, among others, imposes the death penalty on any Jew who tries to convert a Christian to Judaism. Emperor Theodosius II now excludes Jews from holding public office.
Byzantine Emperor Justinian publishes edicts that effectively make Judaism an illegal religion. Jews are forbidden to hold civil or military posts even in towns where they are a majority. They are forbidden to use Hebrew in their synagogues, or to celebrate Passover if it fell on a date before Easter.
Under Byzantine Emperor Heraclius Jews are once again banned from Jerusalem.
Any loyalty to Byzantium among the large Middle East Jewish populations and monophysite Christians had been destroyed by the oppressive religious policies of successive Byzantine rulers.
Jews therefore welcome the Muslim armies into Palestine.
Jews therefore welcome the Muslim armies into Palestine.
Byzantine emperor Heraclius commands all Jews in his empire to be baptised into Christianity.
After the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, there is no killing or destruction of property or religious symbols; no expropriations or attempt to force the inhabitants to convert to Islam. The Muslim invaders do not permit themselves to settle, continuing to live in special military compounds. While initially confirming Bishop Sophronius' ban on Jews, Caliph 'Umar later invites seventy Jewish families from Tiberius to settle in Jerusalem near the pool of Siloam. Jews are allowed to build a synagogue which became known as 'the Cave', probably because it was in the vaults underneath the Temple platform.
Under Islamic rule the heads of the two principal academies of Babylonian Jewry are recognised by the Exilarch (Jewish leader), and through him by the Muslim caliphate as final arbiters of Jewish law and the religious heads of all Jewish communities under Muslim rule.
Thus the Babylonian Talmud comes to replace the earlier Palestinian Talmud (3rd century AD) and becomes normative for Judaism.
Thus the Babylonian Talmud comes to replace the earlier Palestinian Talmud (3rd century AD) and becomes normative for Judaism.
In Spain – The Eighth Church Council of Toledo demands that converted Jews sign a written promise not to marry within the forbidden degrees of family relations and that they themselves inflict the death penalty on any person who disobeys the observance of the Catholic faith.
Caliph ALI enters Firuz-Shapur in Iran; the Gaon of Pumbedita and thousands of Jews welcome him with enthusiasm.
Caliph MU'AWIYA (first Umayyad caliph) rules the Islamic world and settles Jews whom he considers faithful allies in Tripoli and in Syria. He transforms the Arab world into a secular state in which religion takes second place.
This begins a period of prosperity for Jews and Christians in Palestine.
This begins a period of prosperity for Jews and Christians in Palestine.
In Spain – The Eleventh Council of Toledo is called upon to destroy "the Jewish pest", prohibits Jewish festivals, and institutes a surveillance of converted Jews.
In Spain – Jews are accused of treason and reduced to slavery.
In Spain – The Muslim invasion under TARIK brings respite to the Jews and leads to a golden era for Spanish Jewry.
In Palestine – Caliph SULEIMAN IBN ABD AL-MALIK builds Ramleh; a quarter of the town is reserved for dyers, a distinctly Jewish industry.
Caliph 'Umar II orders all Jews and Christians (so-called dhimmis) across the Islamic empire to wear distinctive clothing. Jewish women are required to wear tinted shoes with bells.
After the destruction of the last of the UMAYYADs by the 'ABBASID dynasty of caliphs, and the move of their capital (in 762 AD/CE) from Damascus to the newly founded city of Baghdad (with serious economic consequences for Jerusalem), Islam now begins to move away from Qur'anic inclusivity of Jews and Christians and proclaim Islam as the one and only true faith.
King PEPIN III, in overcoming the last stronghold of the Moors in his Frankish empire, gives half of this city, Narbonne, to the Jews in recognition of their help.
In Shia controlled Jerusalem – The 6th Fatimid caliph, AL-HAKIM, orders the destruction of all Christian shrines, and persecutes Sunni Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
In the caliphate of Cordova, Spain – the Jew 'AVICEBRON' (SALOMON IBN GEBIROL), poet, moralist and philosopher, writes 'Fountain of Life' (a mixture of Aristotelian, Neoplatonic and Jewish thought) which significantly influences the development of European medieval thought.
In Britain – Jews (from Rouen) enter, in the wake of the Norman invasion authorized by the Pope.
In Italy – Pope GREGORY VII issues a bull banning Jews from holding any official positions in Christian countries.
The Bishop Rüdiger of Speyer grants privileges to Jews according to the model of the protection letters of LOUIS the Pious.
Trier, France – The first pogrom against Jews by the Catholic Crusaders.
In England – a separate exchequer and special justices are set up at Westminster to deal with the extensive activities of the Jewish community.
In England: Interest rates of Jewish money-lenders averages 50%, rising to a high of 66 2/3%.
Norwich monk, THOMAS of Monmouth, accuses Jews of the ritual murder of a child (WILLIAM of Norwich), encouraged by monks of monasteries heavily indebted to Jewish money-lenders, which causes anti-Jewish riots and murders. THOMAS' book on the subject launches the 'blood libel' against Jews across Europe.
Norwich monk, THOMAS of Monmouth, accuses Jews of the ritual murder of a child (WILLIAM of Norwich), encouraged by monks of monasteries heavily indebted to Jewish money-lenders, which causes anti-Jewish riots and murders. THOMAS' book on the subject launches the 'blood libel' against Jews across Europe.
In Morocco, North Africa – Under the Almohade dynasty, Jews and Christians must now choose between conversion to Islam or emigration. Synagogues and churches are destroyed or turned into mosques. Many Jews and Christians migrate but others agreed to say the formula of the Moslem creed while secretly continuing the observance of their own religion. MAIMUN BEN JOSEPH (father of Maimonides, see 1180AD) who had settled at Fez with his family, writes his "Epistle of Consolation" in which he advises his fellow Jews not to lose heart and faith. His son MOSES writes his "Letter concerning Conversion" to encourage those who felt the gravity of even this outward desertion from the faith of their fathers.
In England – HENRY II's re-establishment of law and order allows Jewish communities to flourish again.
In Morocco – ABU YUSUF YA'QUB AL-MANSUR (ابو يوسف يعقوب المنصور) forces Jews to wear distinguishing clothing of a black tunic with long sleeves, and a yellow scarf as head-covering. (His successor Abu Abdallah changed the color of the gaberdine also to yellow).
In England – The rumour of the crucifixion of the boy (HAROLD of Gloucester) causes a massacre of Jews.
In Islamic Egypt, Maimonides (Moses Ben Maimon or Rambam) becomes the foremost intellectual figure of medieval Judaism. His greatest work, 'Guide for the Perplexed' is an attempt to accommodate philosophy to revealed religion.
In England – Jews receive permission to create cemeteries outside the walls of the city in which they reside rather than having to bring their dead to London for burial.
In England – the rumour of the crucifixion of the boy (ROBERT of Edmonsbury) causes a massacre of Jews.
In France – King PHILIP AUGUSTUS, using the pretext that Jews had crucified a Christian child, expels all Jews from his realm and confiscates their goods.
In England – AARON of Lincoln (a Jew), dies, who financed the building of Lincoln Cathedral, Peterborough and St Albans Abbeys, and at least nine Cistercian convents. The Crown sets up a special exchequer, the Scaccarium Aaronis, to collect his debts, a process which takes 20 years.
In England – RICHARD I's cruel treatment of Jews after his coronation sparks a massacre of Jews in London, Norwich, Lincoln, Stamford, and York, where 500, shut up in the castle, commit suicide with their wives and children in utter despair.
In England – the Jewish community of York is massacred, but HUGH of Lincoln provides protection.
In Scotland – Bishop of Glasgow forbids his churchmen to "ledge their benefices for money borrowed from Jews".
In Scotland – Bishop of Glasgow forbids his churchmen to "ledge their benefices for money borrowed from Jews".
Pope INNOCENT III writes to ALFONSO of Castile that like Cain the murderer Jews are to wander the earth in slavery by their guilt till the time shall come in the last days for their conversion.
In England – King JOHN brutally extorts £44,000 from Jews, using mass arrests and other means.
In England – Archbishop LANGTON assists in engineering the Magna Carta and helps insert three anti-Jewish clauses.
November: The Fourth Lateran Council (12th Ecumenical Council) under Pope INNOCENT III decrees that Jews are to wear different clothing to others for easy identification, be banned from holding civil office or owning land, and are to be confined indoors during passion week.
November: The Fourth Lateran Council (12th Ecumenical Council) under Pope INNOCENT III decrees that Jews are to wear different clothing to others for easy identification, be banned from holding civil office or owning land, and are to be confined indoors during passion week.
In England – The Synod of Oxford at the request of Archbishop STEPHEN LANGTON prescribes that all Jews must wear a distinctive woolen patch on their clothing.
In France – The Council of Narbonne orders Jews to wear a distinguishing badge.
Crusader troops gain control of Jerusalem. Emperor FREDERICK II is crowned king of Jerusalem. He sentences all Jews to perpetual slavery for the crucifixion of CHRIST, yet is reported as saying that, CHRIST, MOSES and MOHAMMED were all self-deceived impostors.
In Western Germany – About three-quarters of the 200 Jewish residents of Frankfurt are massacred and the others forced to flee. (They return to the city around 1270AD under protection of Emperor FREDERICK II, disturbed by his loss of tax revenue).
Franciscans spread a 'blood libel' that causes a massacre of Jews in Valreas.
Pope INNOCENT IV denies the charge of child murder against the Jews and threatens with excommunication any Christians who oppress Jews.
Pope INNOCENT IV denies the charge of child murder against the Jews and threatens with excommunication any Christians who oppress Jews.
September 26: Pope CLEMENT 6th issues a bull contradicting the plague allegation against Jews, blaming Satan, and asserting that Jews suffered as much as any from the plague, but it does not stop the panic and the massacre of Jews.
In England – The murder of a nine-year-old boy (Hugh of Lincoln), found stuffed into a well, causes a massacre of Jews. A local wealthy Jew, Koppin, and eight fellow Jews are formally executed on no firm evidence.
King HENRY III's exactions from Jews become so intolerable that they beg to be allowed to leave his realm. The king refuses and farms them out to his brother RICHARD, Earl of Cornwall, to extort them further.
King HENRY III's exactions from Jews become so intolerable that they beg to be allowed to leave his realm. The king refuses and farms them out to his brother RICHARD, Earl of Cornwall, to extort them further.
In France – King LOUIS IX ('Saint Louis') decrees that Jews must wear a rouelle, a piece of fabric, on their clothing as identification.
In England – King EDWARD I makes usury illegal and opens artisan trades to Jews in the 'Statute of the Jews', arousing furious opposition from London tradesmen.
He orders that all Jews over the age of seven must wear a yellow patch on their clothing.
He orders that all Jews over the age of seven must wear a yellow patch on their clothing.
Jews are expelled from upper Bavaria.
Groups of Jews are arrested throughout England, their property confiscated and 300 are reported hanged.
Franciscans and Dominicans unite in Troyes, France, to provoke a massacre of local Jews.
King EDWARD I of England confiscates the property of his Gascony Jews to fund the ransom for his cousin CHARLES of Salerno, and then expels them.
EDWARD I finally expels all Jews from Britain (according to Schaff c.16,000; Johnson 2,500), confiscates their assets, but protects them from plunder.
In France – JACOB BEN MACHIR (a Jew) becomes dean of the Montpellier medical school.
In France – King PHILIP IV ('the Fair') unfairly orders the expulsion of Jews.
The ecumenical church Council of Vienne denounces the liberality of the Spanish law that required a Jewish witness to the conviction of a Jew.
The Spanish Synod of Valladolid demands intolerance toward the Jewish people.
The Synod of Salamanca forbids the employment of Jewish doctors alleging their intention to exterminate Christians.
Anti-Jewish riots in Poland.
About 300 Jewish communities in Alsace and in Rhineland, in Thuringia, Bavaria and Austria are destroyed on accusation in southern France that Jewish poisoning of wells had caused the plague.
About 300 Jewish communities in Alsace and in Rhineland, in Thuringia, Bavaria and Austria are destroyed on accusation in southern France that Jewish poisoning of wells had caused the plague.
In Strassburg – The entire Jewish population of 2,000 is seized, and those who refuse baptism are burnt to death in their own cemetery and their goods confiscated.
In Frankfurt – The whole Jewish community is massacred, many Jews choosing to burn down their own homes while inside rather than face death at the hands of the angry mob.
In Frankfurt – The whole Jewish community is massacred, many Jews choosing to burn down their own homes while inside rather than face death at the hands of the angry mob.
December: In Catalonia and Valencia – Jewish leaders appeal to the King of Aragon and to the Pope to help improve relations between Jews and Christians.
In Spain – Anti-Jewish riots and massacres, particularly Seville. An estimated 50,000 Jews are murdered in Castile, and the mania spreads to Aragon. Wearing distinctive clothing by Jews is enforced, shaving of beards and cutting their hair round is forbidden, as well as employment in non-Jewish households, the practice of medicine and agriculture.
In France: King CHARLES IV orders all Jews out of his kingdom.
Anti-Jewish riots in Poland.
Jewish-Christian debates at Tortosa, Spain, are used by the authorities to humiliate Judaism.
Pope MARTIN IV issues a bull asserting that he is following his predecessors in commanding that Jews be not interrupted in their synagogue worship, compelled to accept baptism, or persecuted for financial transactions with Christians.
Jews expelled from Vienna and Linz.
Jews expelled from Cologne.
In Florence, Italy – Jewish money-lenders charge a 20% rate of interest.
Jews are expelled from Saxony.
Jews are expelled from Mainz.
Jews are expelled from Augsburg.
Jews are expelled from Bavaria.
In Spain – Friar ALFONSO DE ESPINA alleges in his Fortalicium fidei ('Fortification of the Faith') that children are murdered by Jews and thus stirs up further persecutions.
Jews are expelled from the crown cities of Moravia.
In Frankfurt, Germany – The 110 Jews of the city are forced to lived in a ghetto (Juddengasse). (They number 3,000 in the ghetto by 1610).
In Spain – Queen ISABELLA of Castile marries King FERDINAND of Aragon, inaugurating under their rule a terrible persecution of Jews and ex-Jews, burning alive many thousands, forcing others to flee.
November 1: Pope SIXTUS IV issues a bull authorizing the establishment of the Inquisition in Castile to exterminate 'heretics' (which includes secret Jews).
The Spanish Inquisition in Ciudad Real burns 52 'heretics' in two years. FERDINAND and ISABELLA build a lavish palace from the confiscated wealth of conversos (secret Jews).
Jews are expelled from Perugia, Italy.
Jews are expelled from Perugia, Italy.
In Italy – Jews are expelled from Vicenza.
In Spain – In Toledo the first auto de fe is held in which 750 penitents (including many secret Jews) are marched to the cathedral bareheaded with candles and informed that 20% of their property is confiscated and that they are disqualified from public office.
In Spain – In Toledo the first auto de fe is held in which 750 penitents (including many secret Jews) are marched to the cathedral bareheaded with candles and informed that 20% of their property is confiscated and that they are disqualified from public office.
Jews are expelled from Parma, Italy.
In Florence, Jewish money-lenders charge a 32½% rate of interest.
In Florence, Jewish money-lenders charge a 32½% rate of interest.
In Italy – Jews are expelled from Milan and Lucca.
In Spain – At Seville the Inquisition burns a large number of Hebrew Bibles, and in Salamanca 6,000 copies of the Hebrew Scriptures are burnt.
In Switzerland – Geneva expels its Jews.
In Switzerland – Geneva expels its Jews.
November 4: The Spanish Inquisition's burning of 'heretics' reaches 298 persons (including a large number of secret Jews), with 79 condemned to life-long imprisonment.
March 31: All Jews unwilling to convert by July 31 are expelled from Spain, fuelled by the rumour that Jews had crucified the child of La Guardia.
The senior rabbi of Spain and many thousands convert to Catholicism.
c.100,000 Jews cross into Portugal at the invitation of King MANUEL,
c.50,000 Jews cross to Muslim areas of North Africa and Turkey for safety (see 1495), some end up in Palestine and later develop into a significant Sephardic community.
The senior rabbi of Spain and many thousands convert to Catholicism.
c.100,000 Jews cross into Portugal at the invitation of King MANUEL,
c.50,000 Jews cross to Muslim areas of North Africa and Turkey for safety (see 1495), some end up in Palestine and later develop into a significant Sephardic community.
Jews expelled from Florence and all Tuscany.
Anti-Jewish riots in Poland.
Anti-Jewish riots in Poland.
Jews are expelled from Cracow and Lithuania.
Pope ALEXANDER VI honours King FERDINAND and Queen ISABELLA of Spain with the title "Catholic", listing among the reasons the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (see 1492).
Pope ALEXANDER VI honours King FERDINAND and Queen ISABELLA of Spain with the title "Catholic", listing among the reasons the expulsion of the Jews from Spain (see 1492).
Jews are expelled from Portugal, triggering a mass migration of Jews to the refuge of the Ottoman Empire.
In France – All Jews in Marseille, Narbonne and Lunel are expelled.
Jews regard Poland as the safest country in Europe. It begins to become the Ashkenazi heartland.
In Spain, the entire conversos population (secret Jews) in Guadalupe is expelled by order of the inquisitor-general Deza.
In Spain, the entire conversos population (secret Jews) in Guadalupe is expelled by order of the inquisitor-general Deza.
Jews expelled from Portugal.
Venice initiates a policy of segregating Jews in an island ghetto, all other Italian cities soon segregate Jews also.
In Germany – MARTIN LUTHER challenges the doctrine Servitus Judaeorum ("Servitude of the Jews"), established in Corpus Juris Civilis by Emperor Justinian I in 529.
LUTHER writes –
"Absurd theologians defend hatred for the Jews. …What Jew would consent to enter our ranks when he sees the cruelty and enmity we wreak on them – that in our behaviour towards them we less resemble Christians than beasts?"
February 21: In Regensburg – Expulsion of Jews.
LUTHER writes –
"Absurd theologians defend hatred for the Jews. …What Jew would consent to enter our ranks when he sees the cruelty and enmity we wreak on them – that in our behaviour towards them we less resemble Christians than beasts?"
February 21: In Regensburg – Expulsion of Jews.
In Germany – MARTIN LUTHER publishes a tract 'Dass Jesus Christua ein geborener Jude sei' ('That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew') pleading for tolerance and rejecting the accusations of ritual murder and desecration of the Mass against Jews.
MARTIN LUTHER reports a nearly fatal bout of diarrhoea apparently brought on by his consumption of Kosher food. In a letter to MELANCTHON, LUTHER suggests that the Jewish community had attempted to poison him. LUTHER further suggests that Kosher foods, which he believed to be disagreeable with the constitution of Gentiles, were eaten by the Jews (who, presumably, would not experience adverse effects from their consumption) as a show of superiority over the Gentiles and as a means of separating themselves from the mainstream German culture. He suggests that Kosher foods be banned from Christian nations.
August: In Germany – MARTIN LUTHER refuses to arrange an audience for Rabbi JOSEL of ROSHEIM with LUTHER's prince Elector of Saxony JOHN FREDERICK, who had issued a mandate which prohibited Jews from inhabiting, engaging in business in, or passing through his realm. JOSEL of ROSHEIM writes in his memoirs –
"due to that priest whose name was Martin Luther – may his body and soul be bound up in hell!! – who wrote and issued many heretical books in which he said that whoever would help the Jews was doomed to perdition."
"due to that priest whose name was Martin Luther – may his body and soul be bound up in hell!! – who wrote and issued many heretical books in which he said that whoever would help the Jews was doomed to perdition."
In Italy – Jews are expelled from Naples.
Popes PAUL 3rd and JULIUS 3rd encourage the settlement of displaced Jews and protect them from the Inquisition.
In Palestine – Sultan SULEIMAN the Magnificent completes the defensive walls of Jerusalem, with 34 towers and 7 gates; its first proper fortification in 300 years, and issues an official edict giving Jews a place of prayer (nine feet wide) at the Western Wall. (In 1523 David Rueveni had moved the Jewish place of prayer from Olivet to the Western Wall). Jews even hold government positions.
Popes PAUL 3rd and JULIUS 3rd encourage the settlement of displaced Jews and protect them from the Inquisition.
In Palestine – Sultan SULEIMAN the Magnificent completes the defensive walls of Jerusalem, with 34 towers and 7 gates; its first proper fortification in 300 years, and issues an official edict giving Jews a place of prayer (nine feet wide) at the Western Wall. (In 1523 David Rueveni had moved the Jewish place of prayer from Olivet to the Western Wall). Jews even hold government positions.
In Germany – MARTIN LUTHER writes his pamphlet "The Jews and their lies" (Von den Juden und Ihren Lügen) and "On the Holy Name and the Lineage of Christ" (Vom Schem Hamphoras und vom Geschlecht Christi) stating that the Jews are – "base, whoring people, that is, no people of God, and their boast of lineage, circumcision, and law must be accounted as filth."
The synagogue is a – "defiled bride, yes, an incorrigible whore and an evil slut..." and Jews are full of the "devil's feces... which they wallow in like swine."
LUTHER advocates –
• setting synagogues on fire,
• destroying Jewish prayerbooks,
• forbidding rabbis from preaching,
• seizing Jews' property and money, smashing up their homes, and ensuring that these "poisonous envenomed worms" be forced into labor or expelled "for all time." He also seems to sanction their murder, by writing "We are at fault in not slaying them." (Three years later Luther dies. Hallelujah!).
Rabbi JOSEL OF ROSHEIM refutes Luther's assertions in a voluminous petition to the magistrate of Strasbourg, and the latter thereupon wisely inhibites a new edition of Luther's book.
The synagogue is a – "defiled bride, yes, an incorrigible whore and an evil slut..." and Jews are full of the "devil's feces... which they wallow in like swine."
LUTHER advocates –
• setting synagogues on fire,
• destroying Jewish prayerbooks,
• forbidding rabbis from preaching,
• seizing Jews' property and money, smashing up their homes, and ensuring that these "poisonous envenomed worms" be forced into labor or expelled "for all time." He also seems to sanction their murder, by writing "We are at fault in not slaying them." (Three years later Luther dies. Hallelujah!).
Rabbi JOSEL OF ROSHEIM refutes Luther's assertions in a voluminous petition to the magistrate of Strasbourg, and the latter thereupon wisely inhibites a new edition of Luther's book.
In Germany – Rabbi JOSEL OF ROSHEIM (1478-1554) obtains confirmation from Emperor CHARLES V that Jews are granted permission to charge higher interest rates from borrowers because they pay higher taxes and are not allowed to cultivate land or execise trade. He pays the Emperor 4,400 guilders [3,000 florins] toward the expenses of the French war (allied with the Turks) in coin and gifts to obtain a certificate of protection concerning accusation of ritual murder. This begins a consolidation and strengthening of the Jewish community in Germany. (See 1552).
February 18: In Eisleben, Germany – MARTIN LUTHER the Reformer preaches of the Jews –
"They are our public enemies. They do not stop blaspheming our Lord Christ, calling the Virgin Mary a whore, Christ, a bastard, and us changelings or “meal calves” (Mahlkälber). If they could kill us all, they would gladly do it. They do it often, especially those who pose as physcians – though sometimes they help – for the devil helps to finish it in the end. They can also practice medicine as in French Switzerland. They administer poison to someone from which he could die in an hour, a month, a year, ten or twenty years. They are able to practice this art"
"They are our public enemies. They do not stop blaspheming our Lord Christ, calling the Virgin Mary a whore, Christ, a bastard, and us changelings or “meal calves” (Mahlkälber). If they could kill us all, they would gladly do it. They do it often, especially those who pose as physcians – though sometimes they help – for the devil helps to finish it in the end. They can also practice medicine as in French Switzerland. They administer poison to someone from which he could die in an hour, a month, a year, ten or twenty years. They are able to practice this art"
Rabbi JOSEL of ROSHEIM sends a warning to the emperor Charles V at Innsbruck by a special messenger that Elector Moritz of Saxony intends to invade Tyrol, and the emperor is thus enabled at the last moment to effect his escape.
In Spain – All copies of the Jewish Scriptures in Spanish are seized and burnt, and all booksellers keeping or selling prohibited books (e.g. Jewish Scriptures) are punished with confiscation of goods or death.
May: Cardinal CARAFFA, Grand Inquisitor, becomes Pope PAUL 4th and reverses the policy of Jewish protection.
July 14: All Jews in Rome are forced onto the left bank of the Tiber and surrounded by a wall, with three gates locked at night, in accordance with his papal bull Cum nimis absurdam, which also requires Jewish men and women to wear distinguishing clothing. (This ghetto begins a trend which spreads across Europe).
May: Cardinal CARAFFA, Grand Inquisitor, becomes Pope PAUL 4th and reverses the policy of Jewish protection.
July 14: All Jews in Rome are forced onto the left bank of the Tiber and surrounded by a wall, with three gates locked at night, in accordance with his papal bull Cum nimis absurdam, which also requires Jewish men and women to wear distinguishing clothing. (This ghetto begins a trend which spreads across Europe).
Emperor CHARLES 6th expels all Jews from France.
Pope PIUS 5th counteracts his predecessor's anti-Semitism.
In Ottoman Jerusalem – The Ramban Synagogue is officially closed, resulting from years of complaints by the adjoining al-'Umari mosque about the loud noise of Jewish prayers.
In Ukraine and Poland – Jewish oppression of the peasant population builds great resentment against them. (See 1648).
In London – On suspicion of being Jewish, Portuguese merchants are expelled.
In Frankfurt, Germany – VINCENT FETTMILCH leads a mob of artisans and merchants who raid and plunder Jews in the Ghetto. The Emperor executes the mob's leaders and the Jews are welcomed back to the Ghetto.
In Ukraine and Poland – 100,000 Jews are reported massacred, 300 Jewish communities destroyed, and many thousands more impoverished. Attacks are carried out, among other, by Cossacks under leadership of (Hetman) Khmelnitsky (Chmielnickij). (See 1602).
In Britain – CROMWELL, against fierce opposition, authorizes the return of Jews for the first time since EDWARD I (see 1290).
August 22: In England – Jews petition King Charles II, who grants them a formal written statement of toleration.
In Berlin – The city's Jewish community begins, when the Elector of Brandenburg invites several wealthy Jews to settle in the city.
In London – The city becomes a gold trading centre when MOSES MOCATTA sets up his merchant business.
In Prague – a large crucifix with the words 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts' in gold Hebrew letters is erected on Charles Bridge by the Jewish community in expiation for an act of blasphemy by a Jew.
In London – Limitation of the number of 'Jew Brokers' in the City to twelve.
In Jerusalem – The Jewish Ashkenazic community falls into such debt for the rental of their land and houses that their property is confiscated and they leave the city. About 200 of their families move to Hebron, Safed and Damascus.
Jews of Jerusalem are thus predominantly Sephardic.
Jews of Jerusalem are thus predominantly Sephardic.
The "Jew Bill" is passed in England.
In Poland – Right of last appeal to a Jewish tribunal (bet-din) by Jews in criminal cases is now ended.
June 21: In Uman, Ukraine – After destroying a number of Jewish cities, MAKSYM ZALIZNIAK, a Zaporizhian Cossack and leader of the Koliyivschyna Ukrainian peasant rebellion, together with IVAN GONTA, leads terrible massacres of Poles and Jews in vengeance for cruelties suffered by the peasants.
January 2: In Austria – The Edict of Toleration is issued by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II and extended to Jews the freedom to pursue all branches of commerce, but also imposed new requirements. Jews were required either to create German-language primary schools, or send their children to Christian schools (Jewish schools had previously taught children to read and write Hebrew, in addition to math.)
It also permits Jews to attend state secondary schools. However, a series of laws issued soon after the Edict of Toleration abolishes the autonomy of the Jewish communities, which had previously run their own court, charity, internal taxation and school systems; requires Jews to acquire family names; makes Jews subject to military conscription; and required candidates for the rabbinate to have secular educations.
The Edict allows Jews to practice agriculture, trades, and professions, to set up large businesses, and to attend schools and universities.
It also permits Jews to attend state secondary schools. However, a series of laws issued soon after the Edict of Toleration abolishes the autonomy of the Jewish communities, which had previously run their own court, charity, internal taxation and school systems; requires Jews to acquire family names; makes Jews subject to military conscription; and required candidates for the rabbinate to have secular educations.
The Edict allows Jews to practice agriculture, trades, and professions, to set up large businesses, and to attend schools and universities.
January: In France – A royal decree abolishes the corporal tax (péage corporel) on Jews, which had seemed to ranked them 'alongside animals'.
August: In France – DAVID SINTZHEIM, as delegate to the National Constituent Assembly, calls for emancipation of Jews in eastern France and protests against acts of violence against Jews in Alsace and Lorraine.
August 26: In France – The Declaration of Human Rights is adopted, but it is still another two years before Jews enjoy full civil rights, and another hundred years before Algerian Jews are granted citizenship (see October 1870).
December 23: In the French Constituent Assembly, Count STANISLAS DE CLERMONT-TONNERRE declares –
August 26: In France – The Declaration of Human Rights is adopted, but it is still another two years before Jews enjoy full civil rights, and another hundred years before Algerian Jews are granted citizenship (see October 1870).
December 23: In the French Constituent Assembly, Count STANISLAS DE CLERMONT-TONNERRE declares –
"To the Jews as a Nation, nothing; to the Jews as individuals, everything ...They must not form a political corps or an Order in the state; they must be citizens individually." |
January 28: In France – 4,000 Jews in the south-west obtain citizenship.
September 27: In France – All Jews are emancipated by the National Assembly, and those in Alsace become citizens.
Alsace, France – Anti-Jewish violence erupts. Jewish cemeteries are destroyed and synagogues closed down.
Emperor NAPOLEON ends the Malta slave trade in Jews.
May 17: In France – Emperor NAPOLEON decrees that Jewish shopkeepers must apply to the local prefect annually for a trading licence and for permission to trade in some economic fields. Jews are not allowed to settle in Alsace or to move without special permission. They may not use Hebrew in commercial transactions, and limits may be set on Jewish immigration.
December 11: NAPOLEON decrees that Jews throughout France are to be under a state-supervised system of control. Where they number more than 2,000 in an administrative region (département), 13 regions at this time, they are to establish a synagogue, each of which is led by a rabbi and a layman appointed by Jewish notables and approved by the civil authorities. Each Jewish 'consistory' is to act as liaison between local Jews and the government, collect dues, supervise Jewish religion, educational services, and loyalty to France.
The Central Consistory in Paris is to be headed by a Chief Rabbi, obliged to wear a priestly mitre, who coordinates general Jewish affairs. Their first Chief Rabbi is German born DAVID SINTZHEIM (see 1789).
December 11: NAPOLEON decrees that Jews throughout France are to be under a state-supervised system of control. Where they number more than 2,000 in an administrative region (département), 13 regions at this time, they are to establish a synagogue, each of which is led by a rabbi and a layman appointed by Jewish notables and approved by the civil authorities. Each Jewish 'consistory' is to act as liaison between local Jews and the government, collect dues, supervise Jewish religion, educational services, and loyalty to France.
The Central Consistory in Paris is to be headed by a Chief Rabbi, obliged to wear a priestly mitre, who coordinates general Jewish affairs. Their first Chief Rabbi is German born DAVID SINTZHEIM (see 1789).
In Western Germany – Jews in Frankfurt (incorporated by NAPOLEON into the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806) are no longer obliged to live in the Ghetto as a consequence of the influence of French Revolutionary ideals.
March 11: In Prussia – Jews obtain civil rights, but not full equality and are still excluded from state employment, after the edict of King FREDERICK WILLIAM. Full equality is only available to them after 'Christian' baptism.
April 1: In France – Freedom of religion for Jews is restored.
American Secretary of State (later President) JAMES MONROE removes the Jew MORDECAI NOAH from being US Consul in Tunis (Muslim country) because –
| "the religion which you profess [is] an obstacle to the exercise of your consular functions". |
In Germany – The brothers JACOB and WILHELM GRIMM compose 'The Jew in the Thorn-Bush' which expresses the 'demonic' character of the Jew in Germanic thought.
In Britain – The Duke of Wellington's military campaign in France (against Napoleon) is financed by the Jew NATHAN MAYER ROTHSCHILD.
In Britain – The Duke of Wellington's military campaign in France (against Napoleon) is financed by the Jew NATHAN MAYER ROTHSCHILD.
Summer: In Germany – citizens of Würzburg, Heidelberg, Frankfurt, and Hamburg, riot against Jews, plundering Jewish shops, as they chant the old Crusader war-cry 'Hep hep' (Hierosolyma est perdita – Jerusalem is lost).
In Bosnia – Governor RUZDI PASHA uses a trumped-up charge to levy the Jews of Sarajevo for 50,000 Groschen. He later increases this to 500,000 to be paid within three days, imprisons ten of Sarajevo's leading Jews (among whom is Rabbi MOSHE DANON) and threatens to execute them if the fine is not paid. The night before the execution, contrary to custom on Sabbath-eve, observant Jew RAFAEL LEVI goes out to seek the aid of the Muslim community. In the morning three-thousand Muslims under leadership of AHMED BARJAKTAR BJELAVSKI, a local commander of the Bjelave neighbourhood of Jews and Muslims, storm the gates of the Governor's palace and rescue Rabbi DANON and the rest of the prisoners, then march to the local synagogue where the story of Purim is recounted to them. (Accordingly, the rescue is later dubbed the Sarajevo Purim). Subsequently, 249 Muslim dignatories attach their signatures to a document addressed to the Turkish Sultan denouncing the cruelty of RUZDI PASHA.
In Bosnia – Governor RUZDI PASHA uses a trumped-up charge to levy the Jews of Sarajevo for 50,000 Groschen. He later increases this to 500,000 to be paid within three days, imprisons ten of Sarajevo's leading Jews (among whom is Rabbi MOSHE DANON) and threatens to execute them if the fine is not paid. The night before the execution, contrary to custom on Sabbath-eve, observant Jew RAFAEL LEVI goes out to seek the aid of the Muslim community. In the morning three-thousand Muslims under leadership of AHMED BARJAKTAR BJELAVSKI, a local commander of the Bjelave neighbourhood of Jews and Muslims, storm the gates of the Governor's palace and rescue Rabbi DANON and the rest of the prisoners, then march to the local synagogue where the story of Purim is recounted to them. (Accordingly, the rescue is later dubbed the Sarajevo Purim). Subsequently, 249 Muslim dignatories attach their signatures to a document addressed to the Turkish Sultan denouncing the cruelty of RUZDI PASHA.
In Britain – Anti-Semite and radical social reformer, WILLIAM COBBETT, publicly attacks 'Jew-dogs' who turn London into a 'Jew Wen'.
In Prussia – Jews are excluded from teaching-posts in universities and schools unless they convert to Christianity.
November: IBRAHIM PASHA conquers Palestine and Jerusalem for MUHAMMAD 'ALI of Egypt, resulting in nine years of equality with Muslims before the law for Jews and Christians.
In Jerusalem – The whole of Palestine revolts and for five days mobs of Muslims rampage in Jerusalem against Jews and Christians, but the rebellion is crushed by Egypt.
In Britain – Jewish Christian, BENJAMIN DISRAELI, is elected as Member of Parliament, serving as Prime Minister for a few months in 1868, and again from 1874-1880.
July: In Trieste, Italy – Jews are described in the fascist manifesto as –
"a separate and inassimilable race."
September: The London Society for Promoting Christianity Among the Jews (known as the 'London Jews Society') is given permission to work in Jerusalem.
In Paris – A majority of Jews in the city are foreign born.
In Paris – A majority of Jews in the city are foreign born.
In Syria – Roman Catholic Franciscans of Damascus initiate anti Jewish pogroms in the city.
In France – The first Jewish deputies are elected to the legislature.
In Jerusalem – A Jewish clinic is set up by British Jewish philanthropist Sir MOSES MONTEFIORE, and the Christian "London Jews Society" establishes a hospital offering free medicine on the borders of the Jewish Quarter.
In France – ALPHONSE DE TOUSSENEL publishes his very successful book Les Juifs, Rois de l'Époque to denounce Jewish bankers, especially the ROTHSCHILDS, and Jewish railway builders. This view undoubtedly influenced KARL MARX.
In France – KARL MARX (a Jew) blames the Jew for corrupting the world –
In France – KARL MARX (a Jew) blames the Jew for corrupting the world –
"Money is the jealous God of Israel, besides which no other god may exist. Money abases all the gods of mankind and changes them into commodities. ...It has, therefore, deprived the whole world, both the human world and nature, of their own proper value. ...The god of the Jews has been secularized and has become the god of this world." (Johnson, 1987:351). |
In France – virulently anti-Jewish writer, PIERRE-JOSEPH PROUDHON, concludes a diatribe against them with –
"Satan, Ahriman, was incarnated in the race of Sem". |
And, that Jews must be either sent back to Asia or exterminated.
In Vienna, Austria – The Jewish population of the city reaches 4,000. Many Jewish intellectuals joined the revolutionary forces (consisting mostly of liberal students and nationalists). The “Pillersdorf constitution” grants full civil rights and religious freedom to all religious groups of the Empire including Jews. A number of Jews aere elected to the Parliament, the Jewish tax is removed, as are the restrictive marriage laws.
In Germany – RICHARD WAGNER in his polemic 'Jewry in Music' claims that Jews are unable to master German.
In Palestine – The Ottoman Sultan, in recognition of Britain's part in the Crimean War, allows Jewish Sir MOSES MONTEFIORE to ascend the Temple Mount (Haram) in Jerusalem, carried in a sedan chair (lest his feet touch forbidden areas) while he recites Psalm 121.
Britain insists that Jews be allowed to extend the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem.
Britain insists that Jews be allowed to extend the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem.
July 23: In Britain – The British Oath of Allegiance is modified to allow Jews to sit in Parliament.
In Austro-Hungarian Empire – Jews are granted full civil rights. Vienna is the city in the Habsburg Empire with the largest Jewish population.
October: Algerian Jews (about 35,000) are at last granted citizenship by French Minister of Justice ADOLPHE CRÉMIEUX.
In Jerusalem – The Austrian Emperor visits and is greeted in great admiration by its Jewish population there. The Emperor establishes a fund for aimed at financing the establishment of Jewish institutions and the established the Talmudic school for rabbis in Budapest.
In Jerusalem – The Austrian Emperor visits and is greeted in great admiration by its Jewish population there. The Emperor establishes a fund for aimed at financing the establishment of Jewish institutions and the established the Talmudic school for rabbis in Budapest.
In Odessa, Russia – Greek merchants instigate a pogrom by the authorities against Jews.
In Germany – Proclamation of Empire. In the rest of this decade the newly founded empire is disturbed by financial scandals involving Jews and by Jewish immigration across the Polish frontier. (See 1879).
In Berlin, Germany – Professor of history HEINRICH VON TREITSCHKE (Prussian patriot of Saxon origin) initiates nationalist anti-Semitism with his speeches in Parliament (1871-1874) and in his publications, describing the Jew as hating democratic ideas and the ringleader of social democracy.
In Germany – Proclamation of Empire. In the rest of this decade the newly founded empire is disturbed by financial scandals involving Jews and by Jewish immigration across the Polish frontier. (See 1879).
In Berlin, Germany – Professor of history HEINRICH VON TREITSCHKE (Prussian patriot of Saxon origin) initiates nationalist anti-Semitism with his speeches in Parliament (1871-1874) and in his publications, describing the Jew as hating democratic ideas and the ringleader of social democracy.
September: In Hamburg, Germany – Anarchist WILHELM MARR founds the Anti-Semitic League.
November: Prussian historian HEINRICH VON TREITSCHKE describes Jews, in an essay, as an alien and disruptive element in Germany, claiming that many people were complaining – 'the Jews are our misfortune'. (See 1871 In Germany).
Berlin court preacher ADOLF STOEKER persuades his Christian Socialist Workers' Party to adopt an anti-Semitic platform.
November: Prussian historian HEINRICH VON TREITSCHKE describes Jews, in an essay, as an alien and disruptive element in Germany, claiming that many people were complaining – 'the Jews are our misfortune'. (See 1871 In Germany).
Berlin court preacher ADOLF STOEKER persuades his Christian Socialist Workers' Party to adopt an anti-Semitic platform.
In Russia – Jewry comes under continuing attacks and confiscations resulting in a westward move of an average of 50,000–60,000 Jews per year until 1911. (See 1881).
In Russia – The assassination of tzar ALEXANDER II is followed by the cruel suppression of the Jewish community.
In Germany – The first International Anti-Jewish Congress meets in Dresden.
October: In Palestine – BEN-YEHUDA and YEHIEL MICHAL PINES (two of the earliest political Zionists in Palestine) write describing the indigenous Palestinians –
October: In Palestine – BEN-YEHUDA and YEHIEL MICHAL PINES (two of the earliest political Zionists in Palestine) write describing the indigenous Palestinians –
"...There are now only five hundred thousand Arabs, who are not very strong, and from whom we shall easily take away the country if only we do it through stratagems without drawing upon us their hostility before we become the strong and populous ones." Quoted in Benny Morris in Righteous Victims, A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-1999, p.49. |
In Vienna, Austria – With the help of THEODOR HERZL, a Jewish-National Party is formed and a Jewish Fraternity (“Kadimah”).
Germany elects its first Anti-Semitic deputy to parliament.
Jewish immigration to Palestine from Russia and eastern Europe begins for the creation of a Jewish national home.
In France – Catholic and royalist, writer and editor, ÉDOUARD DRUMONT, publishes his vitriolic anti-Semitic La France Juive. He sees Jews as spies, traitors and ridden with disease. 100,000 copies are sold it the first year. (See 1898).
Jewish immigration to Palestine from Russia and eastern Europe begins for the creation of a Jewish national home.
In France – Catholic and royalist, writer and editor, ÉDOUARD DRUMONT, publishes his vitriolic anti-Semitic La France Juive. He sees Jews as spies, traitors and ridden with disease. 100,000 copies are sold it the first year. (See 1898).
In Vienna, Austria – GEORG RITTER RITTER VON SCHöNERER proposes a bill to restrict the immigration of Russian and Romanian Jews to Austria.
In Germany – Four Anti-Semitic deputies are elected to parliament.
In Berlin – A 'Society to Resist anti-Semitism' is formed by non-Jews.
In Berlin – A 'Society to Resist anti-Semitism' is formed by non-Jews.
In Russia – Over 10,000 Jews are expelled from Moscow, and about 110,000 leave Russia to escape persecution.
In Russia – About 137,000 Jews leave to escape persecution.
March 26: In Germany – The 'Central Association of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith' is formed which rejects the idea of a Jewish nation and regards Judaism as exclusively as a religious community.
In Germany – Anti-Semitic deputies are almost a majority in parliament.
In some German cities anti-Semitic students prevent Jewish scholars from lecturing.
In some German cities anti-Semitic students prevent Jewish scholars from lecturing.
August 29-31: THEODOR HERZL, with MAX SIMON NORDAU, unites Jewish nationalist political sentiment in the First Zionist Congress at Basel, Switzerland, impregnating the return-to-Zion religious ideal with ideas from European nationalism. The development of the modern Hebrew language begins to be stimulated.
In Palestine – A delegation of the First Zionist Congress, sent to assess the viability of settling Palestine with persecuted European Jews, sends back a cabled report –
| "The bride is beautiful, but she is married to another man." |
| Quoted in The Iron Wall by Avi Shlaim, p.3. |
