Jewish life in the Crown of Aragon

Jewish life in the Crown of Aragon flourished between the 13th and early 14th centuries, a period often described as a “Golden Age” for Aragonese Jewry. Jewish communities were present in the region as early as the ninth century and lived in major cities such as Zaragoza, Jaca, Huesca, Barbastro, and Lleida, where they were governed by special fueros—local laws that granted them protections and a degree of autonomy. Their relationship with the monarchy was shaped by the principle that “the Jew belongs to the lord king,” which placed them under royal protection but also under royal control.

Jewish communities maintained self‑governing institutions and played vital roles in finance, administration, scholarship, and medicine. Yet their history was not without hardship: religious disputations, social restrictions, and rising tensions culminated in the devastating massacres of 1391, which marked the beginning of the end for many Jewish communities in the regionJewishEncyclopedia.com. Despite these challenges, their cultural, intellectual, and economic contributions left a lasting imprint on Aragonese society.