Jewish Diaspora

In the long history of man, many groups had been known for their notoriety against the people; however, it is essential to explore the opposite, the most exploited. The Jews are those who would fit perfectly in this category. From the rise of the Roman Empire to the 21st century, the Jews are under constant threat from their oppressors. The movement and the dispersion of the Jews are phenomenal, they are arguably the most iconic symbol of a diaspora. Here's their story...

2000 years ago... It all began in Jerusalem, or Judea, as the Jews would call it. Around the sixth century BC, the Roman Imperium expanded beyond its European borders, stretching its influence into Northern Africa and the Middle East. Lands connected to the Mediterranean were quickly swallowed into Roman rule as their ruthless region seared fear into the hearts of its opponents. The Roman legion soon marched into the Kingdom of Judah, or what is to be Jerusalem, and entirely sacked the city. Once elaborate Jewish temples were reduced to a heap of rubble as Judaism was banned by the pagan Roman Empire. The Jews were made slaves and was distributed throughout the Roman Empire, which marks the existence of Jewish communities in Europe and others to many parts of the Mediterranean. However, some were left in Judea started a revolt in the first century against the Romans, which ended in failure, this event was coined the Great Revolt. After the Great Revolt, the Romans tightened their grip on the Jews, enforcing laws against Jewish religious practices with crucification and routed the Jews into Europe as slaves. The by the aftermath of the Great Revolt, the Jewish population were totally dispersed, infusing with societies under the Roman Imperium.

                                   An image carved in stone of the Roman's sack of Judea.

                                                  Jewish diaspora during the Roman Empire


800-500 years ago... The decline of the Roman Empire led to feudalism in Europe and left the Middle East at the mercy of Muslim Caliphates. In many parts of Europe, the Jews roughly coexisted with the natives while many attempted to return to the Middle East. It was the golden age for the Abbassid Caliphate where the cities such as Baghdad are booming. With the Abbassid's tolerance policies, the Jews settled under the Abbassid and brought with them philosophies and innovations. The Abbassid's expansion in the Iberian Peninsula, the location of modern day Spain and Portugal, caused many Jews to settle in another Abbassid boom town of Cordoba. Mathematics and science flourished with Jewish influence, however, the Jew's brief period of peace is coming to an end as the Spanish Kingdom of Leon and their allies reclaimed the Iberian Peninsula from the Arabs. The Spanish were devout Catholics and had no patience for the Jews and Muslims, as a result, in 1480's the Spanish Inquisition began. Muslims and Jews were considered heretics along with others dealing with witchcraft, were massacred by the Spanish. This event drove the Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, forcing them to settle elsewhere, dispersing again in by the end of the Middle Ages.

                  An image of a torture chamber during the Spanish Inquisition by Bernard Picard

                                            A map of Jewish migration in the Middle Ages

The Modern Era... The Ottoman Turks occupied most of the Middle East until the end of the First World War. Similar to the Abbassids, the Ottomans welcomed the Jews under their rule so Jews in the Middle East settled happily under the Turks while the others remained in Europe as either settlers or as nomads travelling in caravans. After the defeat of the Central Powers in the Great War, the Jews were again at the mercy of Europeans who oversee the formation of new nations in the Middle East. The European victors appointed the majority to rule over the country, thus, Muslim rulers in Palestine and Egypt, denounced Judaism, forcing the Jews to migrate once more. During the outbreak of WWII, Jews in the Soviet Union were purged as well as Jews in Germany under the Nazis. The iconic Holocaust were conducted by Nazi Germany to exterminate Jews and Slavs from both Germany and occupied Europe from all walks of life. Massive population of Jews fled Europe into nations such as the US, including Albert Einstein, who later led the Manhattan Project. Jews who failed to do so was forced into shabby districts called Ghettos and were slaughtered by the Nazis. In 1945, the war ended and the allies prevailed victorious, the British and the allies fulfilled their promise to grant the Jews the land they could call "home". In 1948, the sovereign state of Israel was born with the help of the US and Britain. There, the Jews from Europe returned to Jerusalem, the lands they lost two milleniums ago. The existence of the Jewish state of Israel enraged the Palestinian who once owned the land and their Arab neighbors. Wars such as the Six Day War and the Gaza Strip insurgency was fought and won by Israel to preserve its sovereignty from the discontented Arabs. Today, the term "diaspora" could be used to describe Jews outside Israel.

An actual footage of the Allied liberation of a Nazi concentration camp used in the Holocaust (viewer discretion is advised)

                                          A map of modern Jewish settlements around the globe