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Center of Interpretation: Jewish Quarter of Seville, Seville, Spain

Description

Seville, Spain: According to tradition, the Jewish community in Spain, and in Seville more specifically, dates back to the 6th century destruction of the first Temple in 586 BCE.7 These Jews were allegedly the descendants of David; however, other historical traditions suggest that Jews may have arrived in Spain as early as the 11th century BCE or as late as the 8th century CE. On one hand, in I Kings 10:22, the bible describes the port of "Tarshish" which some scholars believe may have been the port of Seville--suggesting that ancient Jews visited the city of Seville.⁸ Yet, on the other hand, scholars have verified the existence of Sephardic Jews in Seville around the time of the Visigoths through the anti-Jewish writings of the Sevillan archbishop Isidore. Similar sources also describe a Jewish guard assigned to defend Seville dating to around 712. Whatever their origins, the ancient Jewish communities which settled in Seville spoke Ladino, a Judeo form of Spanish, and ultimately experienced both peace and suffering throughout their many years inhabiting the Iberian penninsula.⁹ 

As a major port city, located on the banks of the Guadalquivir river in southern Spain (or Andalucía), Seville enjoyed great commercial prosperity and political influence.¹⁰ During the early visigoth reign in southern Spain, the Jewish communities of Seville suffered immensely. However, the Jewish community flourished under the Muslim, or Moorish, reign of Spain.¹¹ During this time period, Seville rose to importance, becoming the second most important city in Muslim Spain, after the neighboring city of Córdoba, and only advanced more after the fall of Córdoba in 1031.¹² However, under the rule of Al Mutamid, the Moorish government of Spain fell to a fundamentalist Muslim government, the African Almoravides, in its attempts to fight off northern Christian conquerors.¹³ As these northern Christian conquerors moved south through Spain, the "Reconquest" of Spain from Moorish control and by Christian governments began. The christian Castilian navy captured the city of Seville in 1248, forcing the Muslim government and inhabitants to flee as Christians moved into the city.¹⁴ Many Jews also fled the control of the new Christian government, only to return after the Reconquest.¹⁵

Though the Jewish community had ebbed and flowed throughout its many centuries inhabiting Seville, the community was altered irreparably in the 14th and 15th centuries. Following the anti-Jewish hatred stirred up by a Christian cleric, the Jewish quarter of Seville was burned in 1391.¹⁶ During this year, nearly the entire Jewish community was destroyed, synagogues were occupied and converted into churches, and a large number of Jews fled Seville for Granada where they sought shelter in the Muslim community.^{17, 18} In 1481, the Spanish Inquisition began with its headquarters located in Seville at the Castillo San Jorge.¹⁹ During the Inquisition, all Jews and Muslims were forced to either convert to Christianity or leave Spain. Those who converted to Christianity were known as conversos, and, more specifically, the Jews who converted were referred to as marranos.²⁰ By 1483, all remaining Jews were forced out of Seville and the Jewish community was officially expelled from Spain in 1492.²¹ Today, a small Jewish community has returned to Seville, but the community has never returned to its once-vibrant past.

Seville, Spain

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