Two millennia of Jewish persecution

This timeline surveys documented episodes affecting Jewish people under Roman, Christian and medieval European rule. It is an educational outline, not a complete history: conditions differed by place and period, and periods of persecution were interspersed with periods of community life, scholarship and relative security.

Persecution under Roman rule

• 70: Roman forces destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple during the First Jewish–Roman War. Large numbers of people were killed, enslaved or displaced.
• 115–117: Jewish revolts in Cyprus, Cyrene, Egypt and parts of Mesopotamia, known collectively as the Kitos War, were suppressed by Roman forces with severe losses among Jewish and Roman populations.
• 132–135: The Bar Kokhba revolt was defeated. Many Jews were killed or enslaved, others were expelled, and Roman restrictions on Jewish religious practice followed. Jerusalem was refounded as a Roman city.
• 200: Under Emperor Septimius Severus, conversion to Judaism was restricted by law, illustrating the growing regulation of religious affiliation.

Christian rule and institutional restrictions

From late antiquity onward, some Christian authorities framed Judaism as a religious rival and supported measures separating Jewish and Christian communities. The effects varied widely across the empire and later kingdoms, but restrictions could affect marriage, public office, property, worship and legal standing.

• 306: The Synod of Elvira restricted marriage and close social relations between Christians and Jews.
• 315: Imperial policy associated with Constantine expanded Christian privileges while limiting Jewish residence in Jerusalem and restricting proselytizing.
• Fourth and fifth centuries: Councils and officials introduced rules separating religious communities. In some cities, synagogues were damaged or destroyed and Jewish residents were expelled.
• 528: Measures associated with the Justinian Code limited synagogue construction, public assembly and some legal rights of Jews.
• 538: Councils in Gaul imposed seasonal restrictions on Jewish public activity and reinforced prohibitions on conversion between Judaism and Christianity.
• 561: The bishop of Uzès expelled Jewish residents from his diocese, reflecting the local nature of many medieval restrictions.

From the seventh to the twelfth century

• 612–694: Laws and church decisions in parts of Europe restricted Jewish landholding, occupations, public office and contact with Christians. In Visigothic Spain, forced conversion and the separation of children from parents were reported as instruments of religious control.
• 722: Under Leo III, policies in the Byzantine Empire included forced baptism and the prohibition of Judaism for some communities.
• 855: Jewish communities in parts of Italy faced expulsion, demonstrating the recurring instability of legal residence.
• 1050–1078: Synods and papal policy restricted Christian residence with Jews, Jewish access to authority and, in some regions, imposed additional financial obligations.
• 1096: During the First Crusade, attacks against Jewish communities occurred along routes through the Rhineland and elsewhere. Many people were killed, forced to convert or displaced.
• 1099: After the capture of Jerusalem, Jewish residents were confined during the fighting and many died when a synagogue was burned.
• 1121–1146: Jewish communities in Flanders and other European areas experienced expulsions and renewed pressure during the period of the Second Crusade.
• 1179: The Third Lateran Council adopted canons that treated Jews as legally subordinate and gave Christian testimony preferential standing in specified disputes.
• 1180–1189: Royal seizures and expulsions in France and England deprived Jewish residents of property and legal security.