This volume in the series Documentary History of the Jews in Italy illustrates the history of the Jews in Sicily during the last decade of the fourteenth century and the first two of the fifteenth. It is the sequel to the first and second volumes on the history of the Jews in Sicily, and illustrates the events during the political upheavals which preceded the reunion of the island with Aragon. During that period the Jewish minority flourished, although affected by unsettled political conditions, along with the rest of the population. Over 500 documents, many of them published here for the...

This volume in the series Documentary History of the Jews in Italy illustrates the history of the Jews in Sicily for most of the fourteenth century. It is the sequel to the first volume on the history of the Jews in Sicily, and illustrates the events of the first century of Aragonese rule over the island. During that period, often unsettled by political upheavals, the Jewish minority flourished economically, but suffered, along with the rest of the population, during civil war and uprisings of the barons. Some thousand documents, many of them published here for the first time, record...

This volume in the series Documentary History of the Jews in Italy illustrates the history of the Jews in Sicily from 1415 to 1439. It is the sequel to the first three volumes and covers the events during the first half of the rule of King Alphonso the Magnanimous. The King took a personal interest in the affairs of the Jewish communities and exercised his authority through master Moyse Bonavogla, his personal physician, whom he appointed dienchelele, chief justice. During that period the Jewish minority of the island flourished economically and socially. Some 700 documents, many of...

This volume in the series "Documentary History of the Jews in Italy illustrates the history of the Jews in Sicily from 1440 to 1457. It is the sequel to the first four volumes and covers the events during the second half of the rule of King Alphonso the Magnanimous. The King continued to take a personal interest in the affairs of the Jewish communities, but abolished the office of dienchelele, chief justice. Instead, the Jewish communities were again governed by their local leaders, lay and spiritual. During that period the Jewish minority of Sicily continued to flourish economically and...

This volume in the series Documentary History of the Jews in Italy illustrates the history of the Jews in Sicily from 1458 to 1477. It is the sequel to the first five volumes and covers the events during the rule of King John. Although John continued the policies of his father Alphonso towards the Jews of the island, there is a distinct deterioration in their position during his times. After years of incitement by the members of the Mendicant Orders, anti-Jewish riots broke out in various parts of the Sicily. The worst of them was the massacre in Modica in 1474. During that period the...

This volume in the series Documentary History of the Jews in Italy illustrates the history of the Jews in Sicily from 1478 to 1489. It is the sequel to the first six volumes and covers the events during the first years of the rule of King Ferdinand II. These include the prelude to the expulsion, which witnessed a further deterioration in the position of the Jews on the island. At the same time, the Jewish community on the island reached the points of its greatest expansion in population as well as economic prosperity. Some 900 documents--many of them published here for the first...

This volume in the series Documentary History of the Jews in Italy illustrates the history of the Jews in Sicily from 1490 to 1497. It is the sequel to the first seven volumes and covers the events during the rule of the Catholic Kings Ferdinand and Isabella, following the unification of Spain. They cover the last years leading up to the expulsion, the expulsion itself, and a few events in its aftermath. A further deterioration in the position of the Jews took place in those last years of their presence on Sicily. Numerically the Jewish community on the island reached its zenith,...

This volume of the Documentary History of the Jews in Italy is the eighth of the second series, illustrating the history of the Jews in Sicily based on notarial and court records. It is the sequel to the eight volumes of the first series. Notarial deeds drawn up by public notaries in Palermo and elsewhere and cases brought before the Pretorian Court in Palermo present a kaleidoscopic picture of the private lives of the Jews of Sicily during the last three centuries of their presence on the island. They illustrate the economic, social and religious history of the Jewish minority and the...