Statement
Despite the changed political circumstances, the 'golden age' of Jewish culture continued. Like Hasdai under the caliphate, other Jewish scholar-leaders served the taifa kings' courts, Samuel ha-Nagid foremost among them, the Muslim ruler of Granada's trusted counselor and chief minister. In several poems he hints at having commanded troops in Granada's campaigns, and his achievements arguably mark the peak of what a dhimmi could attain in medieval Islam.
References
p. 168
supports · main text · ch. 6
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
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p. 168
supports · main text · ch. 6
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
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p. 521
supports · timeline
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
Section: Timeline of Jewish History
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Scholarly debate
Was Muslim Spain a 'golden age' for the Jews?
2 positions · no single answer · take a seat →
- A
The popular memory of a golden age
Popular memory, according to the authors
Islamic rule in Spain is remembered as a 'golden age' of Jewish history, and Samuel ha-Nagid, minister of the king of Granada, reached arguably the peak of what a dhimmi could attain.
- B
A golden age with limits and an abrupt end
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman
The Granada massacre of 1066 shows coexistence could turn into violence, and the Almohad persecution marked the end of this era, with the center of Iberian Jewish life moving to Christian territory.