14. Minorities In Ci

Sesion 14

Minorities in a Christian Society: Jews and Muslims

1. Jews in Christian Iberia 2. Muslims in Christian Iberia

1. Jews in Christian Iberia

Jews in Christian Iberia always a minority in all Christian kingdoms of Iberia – Jewish population in Christian Iberia • by 1300 circa 150.000 • by 1490 circa 250.000

– less than 5% of total population – after all: the land in Western Europe with largest Jewish population

Jews in Christian Iberia

call and judería

Jews were a essentially an urban population – sectors of towns called call in Catalan speaking Iberia and judería in Castilian speaking Iberia – the largest and most important Jewish communities Crown of Aragon (Saragossa, Barcelona, Girona, Perpinyà, Valencia, Mallorca); Crown of Castile (Toledo, Burgos, Segovia, Sevilla, Cordoba); Crown of Navarre (Tudela, Pamplona); Crown of Portugal (Coimbra, Braga, Lisbon)

Pla the cathedral call a Sant Jaume thekingÕs call ofpalace Barcelona

the call, a particular topography the ritual bath (mikvah) the Jewish market place the synagogue (scola de jueus) the hospital (espital dels jueus)

full-page miniature from Haggadah, Iberia 14th century

Jews in Christian Iberia

aljamas and juderías

Jews in Christian Iberia had the right to govern themselves – aljamas in Catalan speaking Iberia, juderías in Castilian speaking Iberia – ruled by • secular rulers: secretaris (secretarii) consell (concilium) • religious leaders: rabbis

Jews in Christian Iberia the tasks of the secular selfgovernment – justice – taxes – protection

aljamas and juderías

the tasks of the secular selfgovernment – justice – taxes – protection

accounts of Jucef Zabara presented in 1443 to those responsible of the yearly tax assessment in the aljama of Girona

fragment of a book containing Selichot prayers: prayers for forgiveness and the special service of penitence held at midnight on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year celebration in the fall of the year, the month of Tishri) the fragment includes the beginning of a poem by Judah Halevi, included in collections of Jewish religious hymns after 1391

Jews in Christian Iberia

the king's treasure

the Jews: treasure of the Christian king – king claimed ultimate jurisdiction (supreme judge) over every Jew living in the lands under its rule – king assumed to be the protector of the Jews of his kingdom

Jews in Christian Iberia

the king's treasure

the king used Jews – Jews served as administrators and financers loans granted on fiscal incomes; Jews collected and farmed taxes; Jews acted as treasurers of the king

– Jews served the king as diplomats, physicians, as translators (of Arabic scholars) and as scholars

Jews in Christian Iberia

the Jewish elite

the aljamas controlled by an elite of better Jews – richer Jews – stronger Jews – wiser Jews

text in Arabic but using Hebrew alphabet. Probably produced in Muslim Iberia in the 13th or 14th century a fragment of a treaty on medicine written by the Syriac Ishaq ibn Hunayn (died 910), son of Hunayn ibn Ishaq. The fragment is preserved in an archive of Girona

2. Muslims in Christian Iberia

Muslims in Christian Iberia

Mudejars

a Mudejar, a Muslim who stayed in his land after Christian conquest and who accepted and submitted to non-Muslim rule – from Arabic mudajjanun 'those who are allowed to stay', 'those who pay tribute' – the Christian sources do not call them mudejars, but moro or sarraceno

Muslims in Christian Iberia

Mudejars

• 11th and 12th centuries, the first Mudejar communities, the result of the Christian conquests • 13th century, large scale conquests, new Mudejar communities – they were larger – they were more cohesive – they were more capable of resistance and serious revolt

Crown kingdom Crown kingdom Mudejar populations in of of of of Castile Aragon Portugal Navarre Granada the 13th century

in the kingdom of Valencia, majority of the population – circa 100.000 Muslims in front of circa 30.000 Christians – in cities Muslims tended to live in certain neighborhoods – many villages exclusively settled by Mudejars

Barcelona Valencia the principality kingdom Mudejar communities of of Valencia Catalonia of the 13th century in the Crown of Aragon

Muslims in Christian Iberia

Mudejars

the question why were Muslims kept on place by the Christians, why were they not expulsed? – Christians, few and needed labor force to maintain rural and urban economies – Muslims were a labor force prized for their agricultural skills and craftsmanship – Muslims were a cheap and submissive labor force

Muslims in Christian Iberia

aljamas

all Muslims (as also all the Jews) were part of the king’s treasure – king claimed ultimate jurisdiction (supreme judge) over every Muslim living in the lands under its rule – king assumed to be the protector of the Muslims of his kingdom

Muslims in Christian Iberia

aljamas

Muslims in Christian Iberia had the right to govern themselves – communities aljamas in Catalan speaking Iberia, morerías in Castilian speaking Iberia

– rulers: • the secular ruler of the community: alcayde de moros, Arabic al-qadi 'judge', assisted by a council of elders (viejos) • the religious ruler of the aljama: alfaquí

Muslims in Christian Iberia

aljamas

the tasks of the secular self-government – justice – taxes – protection

Muslims in Christian Iberia

a resisting minority

the Mudejar's situation in Christian Iberia was a difficult situation – pressure exercised by Christians attacks of Christians; revolts of Mudejars

– incomprehension of other Muslims rejection of living permanently under non-Islamic rule

Muslims in Christian Iberia

a resisting minority

Mudejars were populations of Muslims who decided to stay in Christian Iberia – resisting Christian’s pressure – accepting isolation from Muslims and disapproval of the doctors – preserving the most vital boundary-maintaining mechanism of any society

Muslims in Christian Iberia

a resisting minority

preserving the most vital boundary-maintaining mechanism of any society – religion basic beliefs and practices of Islam, Islamic law (sharia)

– language • Valencia, Arabic • other parts of Iberia, Romance languages (aljamiado)