By Ben Hunt

The Jewish community was an indigenous community in both Spain and Morocco. Jews spent centuries navigating life in Christian and Muslim society under the rule of Caliphs and Kings living in mellahs and juderías. This StoryMap traces what life was like for Jews in four prominent cities for Jewish life on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar in Spain (Córdoba and Toledo) and Morocco (Fes and Marrakesh). Each synagogue will act as its community’s home base with insight following into what daily life was like and how it changed depending on the sociopolitical circumstances. The story at each location will move chronologically from the 10th century forward, outlining life at its peak for Jews under certain rulers, to outbursts of violence under other authorities, and through the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. This forced tens of thousands of Sephardic Jews out of Spain and into Morocco and elsewhere around the Mediterranean, adding to an already rich and unique Jewish culture in a Muslim world. This StoryMap will explore cultural, social, and legal changes under Muslim and Catholic rule in these four cities for Jews with emphasis on restrictions and violence Jews faced, coexistence (Convivencia), and the lasting impact of the Jewish community with the population dwindling and departing in Spain since 1492 and in Morocco since the mid-twentieth century.