The first evidence of
the jewish presence in the Iberian Peninsula date from Roman period, when
Seville was an important city of Hispania.
The jewish quarter of Seville grew during Muslim period, between 8th and 11th century. The Jews were accepted into the Muslim society, and they were outstanding doctors, scientists, poets and viziers of the sovereings of Al-Andalus. During the reign of the Taifa’s king of Seville Al-Mutamid (1069-1090), Abraham ben Me’ir Ibn Muhayir was the leader of the jewish community, doctor, astronomer and vizier in the abadí court.
Almoravid and Almohad
peoples were intolerants and a lot of Jews were exiled, that was the reason why
there was a little jewish presence when the Christian King Fernando III
conquered Seville in 1248. Fernando III attracted many Jews to repopulate
Seville. The jewish quarter grew during his govern and he gave three mosques to
the jewish community, to be transformed into synagogues.
The King Pedro I of Castille (1350-1369) had a jewish treasurer and confidant, Samuel ha-Levi. However, anti-Semitism spreaded because of some priests arranging against the Jews. In Sevilla, in 1391, a terrible pogrom happened and the jewish quarter was destroyed by the people. A lot of Jews died and scaped and others were forced to convert to Christianity.
The Jews converted were
watched by the Inquisition because of the suspicions to be practicing the
Judaism in secrecy. In 1492, the Catholic Monarchs expelled the Jews from their
kingdoms. The Jews suffered a diaspora around the Mediterraean Sea. However
their trace has not been dissapeared from the land that they called Sepharad.
Come with us to discover their legacy…
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