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The Jews come to Spain. In the 7th century, the Muslims took over all of North Africa, including Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, and it was just, so to speak, a stone's throw to cross the Straits of Gibraltar and come into Spain. When the Muslims came to Spain and conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula, Jews went with them, and the Jews were very active with the Muslims.
Now, this was a Muslim society that was moderate and, to a great extent, tolerant. It was the most progressive civilization in the world. It had poetry, music, art, and philosophy, and it had a certain degree of tolerance for others as well. Abd al-Rahman, who had been the caliph in Baghdad and who had been thrown out of Iraq, moved to Spain and established a dynasty there, and the Jews were very active with him. So we had Jewish foreign ministers, we had Jewish generals in the army, and we even had Jewish prime ministers. There were people like Shmuel HaNagid, the great Shmuel, the prince who was the leading courtier in the court of the Muslim rulers, and there was Hasdai ibn Shaprut and other Jews who rose to very high positions.
The Jews were basically wealthy. They were merchants and tradespeople. The Muslims needed them to deal with the Christians, because the Muslims didn't want to deal with the Christians directly, so the Jews were the intermediaries. They were like the ambassadors. This is the Golden Age of the Jews in Spain, beginning in about 670 and lasting until about 1150. From 1150 to 1492, the Christians began to take over Spain, and when they took over Spain, the fortunes of the Jews declined radically until they were finally expelled.
Thanks for watching. My name is Barel Wine. For more on Jewish history, go to jewishhistorydotorg.