Jewish Communities of the Islamic World: A Historical Map of MENA Jewry
1500–1750
Credits
Map by Bill Nelson.
Published in:The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
Engage with this Source
Jewish communities have lived across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) since ancient times—not only in Israel and Judea, but also in Egypt, Babylon (Iraq), and Persia (Iran). After Islam’s rise in the seventh century CE, Muslim empires spread through the MENA region, Central Asia, and Iberia, bringing Arabic and Islamic culture. When Christians reconquered Iberia in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal found refuge in the Ottoman Empire and parts of North Africa.
What stands out to you about this map?
Based on this map, what might you expect about the connections between these communities, whether religious, cultural, or economic?
How might one’s understanding of Jews and Judaism change if one views the MENA region as the center of Jewish history rather than Europe?
