Contribution of Jews During the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages are marked by religious zealousness. Christianity dominated almost every aspect of Europe. And, whenever there is religious zealousness, there is also bound to be religious persecution, persecution against members of other religions. The Jews unfortunately suffered such persecution throughout Europe, especially since the death of Jesus is blamed on the Jews even though it was technically carried out by Romans. Yet, in spite of such heavy persecution, Medieval Jews were able to make great intellectual contributions in an era when science and reason were shunned upon. Their contributions were largely due to the less-discriminatory environment found in Islamic Iberia.

 Although Jewish intellectual contribution during the Middle Ages also occurred in other parts of Europe, particularly the Slavic areas, it was mostly found in Islamic Spain. During the so-called Golden Age of Judaism, between about 700 AD and 1200 AD in Islamic Iberia, Jewish culture flourished. There has been a good amount of debate regarding the exact nature of Jewish and Islamic relations during the Middle Ages. Some scholars contend that Jews were treated significantly better in Iberia than in Christian kingdoms. They contend that Jews, Muslims, and other religious minorities lived in peace and harmony. Other scholars, however contend that the Jews were just as badly off in Al-Andalus as they were in Christian Europe. These scholars point to Muslim pogroms against Jews, such as Córdoba in 1011 and Granada in 1066, as evidence of Islamic hate against Jews, though these pogroms took place towards the end of the “Golden Age.” They argue that this utopian view of Islamic Iberia was created by anti-Zionist Muslims in an attempt to show that the state of Israel shattered a previous harmonious relationship between the two religions. A third group of scholars contend that although Jews in Spain were not granted the same rights as the Muslims, they were still better off there than they were in Christian Europe. Whatever the case may have been, Jewish culture was certainly more vibrant in Spain than it was anywhere else and most likely, the Islamic environment was more tolerant to Jews than the Christian environment.

Because of the harsh persecution of Jews by the Christian Visigoths in Hispania, the Jews gladly welcomed the Arab and Berber conquerors of the 8th Century. A lot the conquered cities were placed under Jewish control and the Muslim invader removed the oppressive restrictions created by the Visigoths and gave the Jews religious liberty so long as they paid the Jizya, the tribute. The Jews even had their own legal system and social services. Thus began the Golden Age and an era of tolerance. The Jews learned closely from their Arab counterparts in the fields of philosophy and science. Many contributed to the translation of ancient Greek and Latin texts to Hebrew and Arabic. Jews throughout Spain served as physicians and astronomers, fields where they specialized.