A comprehensive historical overview of Europe's oldest
Jewish community, from 161 BCE to today.
Rome is Europe’s oldest Jewish community; Jews have lived for over 2,000 years, often suffering terrible oppression and decrees. It is mentioned dozens of times in the Talmud and Midrash, ancient commentaries on Jewish texts.The Jewish community in Rome can be traced at least to 161 B.C.E. when Jason ben Eleazar and Eupolemus ben Yochanan came as emissaries of the Maccabees to join an alliance against the Seleucid Greeks. This was only four years after the Hanukkah story took place. The Romans eagerly agreed to the alliance because of their ambition to overpower the Greek empire and capture its lands for Rome. Some Jewish community leaders moved to Rome to continue this alliance and founded the Jewish community there. The Talmud also records a number of times that Jewish community leaders and scholars traveled to Rome and appealed to the Emperors on behalf of the community in the Land of Israel.
Treated with RespectOverall, the early Roman Emperors treated the Jews in Rome with tolerance. Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.E.) accorded privileges to the Roman Jews and allowed them to own property and administer their community affairs. He exempted them from military service due to their requirement to observe the Jewish dietary laws and the Sabbath. After his assassination, it is recorded that Jews mourned with much weeping.Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE) also treated the Jews with respect. In addition to their continued rights, he approved collecting an annual tax from Roman Jews for the Temple in Jerusalem. He even arranged, with his wife Empress Livia, to send ongoing gifts of a bull and two lambs to be given as burnt offerings in the Temple.
Antisemitism did appear during this period, often in response to the Romans' concerns that the Jews were trying to encourage conversion to Judaism, which was severely punished. As Jews do not proselytize, it is possible that this resentment was directed at the Early Christians, who did promote conversion among the Romans and who, at the time, were still viewed as Jews.
In response to this concern, twice during this period, in 19 C.E. and 49-50 C.E., Jews were exiled from Rome. Jewish religious observances became targets for criticism during the first and early second centuries C.E. by such well-known literary figures as Pliny the Elder, Seneca, and Tacitus. In defending someone accused of swindling Jews, the famous orator and lawyer Cicero complained that too many Jews were present in the courtroom.
Jewish SlavesDuring the Roman-Jewish wars before and after the Second Temple's destruction, tens of thousands of Jewish prisoners from the Land of Israel were brought to Rome as slaves. Many Jewish prisoners became the construction workers/slaves who built the Flavian Amphitheater, more popularly known as the Colosseum. The building of the Colosseum was funded by the money Rome gained in their destruction of the Second Temple. It is a painful irony in that it was built with funds intended for the Temple - a place of peace - and was instead used for a place of murder. In the coming years, thousands (including many Jews) would die in the Colosseum as “entertainment” for the Roman population.Jews that survived or were ransomed became part of the growing Jewish community. It is documented that there were four distinguished families among the Jews brought by Titus after the destruction of the Second Temple. They were renowned in Rome as the delMansi, dePommes, delVecchio, and deRossi families. Many prominent Italian Jewish leaders and scholars traced their lineage to these families.Notably, the wars between Rome and the Jews in the Land of Israel did not affect how the Romans viewed the Jews in Rome, in general. It is also unclear if the antisemitic decrees in the Land of Israel (e.g., under Hadrian) and the Eastern Provinces applied to the Jews of Rome.The Roman Jewish community was firmly established and influential by the second half of the first century C.E. Although many synagogues are mentioned in writings of the time, none of those synagogues have been preserved.
Rise of Christianity, Rise of Antisemitism
With the rise of Christianity, the situation for Jews in Rome began to deteriorate rapidly and anti-Jewish legislation became common. From the end of the sixth century and on, the Popes were the rulers of Rome, and the situation of the Jews and the entire area depended on which Pope was the ruler and how he felt about the Jews.In studying Roman history, it is astonishing to learn about the antisemitic laws instituted - and often innovated - in Rome. These “innovations” would be imitated by antisemites for centuries to come. For example, in Rome, a law was issued stating Jews needed to wear distinct attire, often a yellow badge or outlandish yellow hat. It was in Rome that Jews were limited to where they could reside - namely, a ghetto - which did not have adequate space for the number of people who lived there.Jews were also persecuted with additional taxes, limits on the professions they could work in, forced to participate in degrading parades, and required to pay homage to a newly appointed Pope in a ceremony that was often humiliating to the Jewish leaders. They were limited in building new synagogues, even if the community’s needs warranted it.Jews were also persecuted in their treatment of the dead and forbidden to write any identification on tombstones or recite psalms during a funeral. As part of their desire to convert the community, the Jews were also forced to listen to weekly sermons preaching Christianity at some of the many churches surrounding the ghetto. How and when each of these decrees applied varied. Many of these antisemitic decrees were particularly severe during the Reformation, as we will discuss.
Notable Events for the Jews from Constantine until the Renaissance
The timeline below describes notable events for the Jews in Rome from Constantine until the Renaissance and illustrates the severe challenges that the Jews of Rome faced. (Note: The dates shown for rulers refer to the dates they were in power.)
- Constantine the Great (306-336) converted to Christianity in 312. He issued decrees that made Jews and pagans second-class citizens. He forbade marriage between Jews and Christians and made the violation of this order punishable with death. In his edicts, the Jews are for the first time referred to as "shameful" and "contemptible and perverse."
- The Jews of Rome received a brief respite when Julian the Apostate became emperor (361-363). One of his first acts was to abolish the Fiscus Judaicus, the Jewish tax that had existed for 300 years, and under his rule, Jews were not persecuted.
- His successor, Valentinian (364-375), freed the synagogues from the obligation of quartering soldiers.
- In 387-388, synagogues in Rome were destroyed by Christian mobs.
- Pope Gregory I (590-604) forbade enacting persecuting laws and opposed forced baptism. In a letter, he wrote that “just as the Jews in their communities may not be allowed any liberties beyond the measure allotted them by law, so must they, on the other hand, suffer no violation of their rights."
- Louis II (855-75) proclaimed in 855 that all Italian Jews had to leave the country before October 1. This order, however, was not carried into effect.
- Pope Alexander III (1159-1181) was favorable to the Jews - when he needed money. Benjamin of Tudela describes how contented the Jews were under him and that he protected them. Yet, at the Third Lateran Council in 1179, Pope Alexander III strongly denounced the employment of Christians by Jews and decreed severe sentences for nurses who entered the service of Jews.
- Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) humiliated a visiting Jewish delegation that was sent to congratulate him on his ascendancy.
- Pope Boniface IX (1389-1404) favored a succession of Jewish physicians and recognized the rights of Jews as citizens.
- Pope Eugene IV (1431-47) passed anti-Jewish legislation in the Council of Constance.
- Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), at the Fourth Lateran Council, in 1215, decreed that Jews and Muslims must wear identifying badges, were forbidden to hold public offices, and must forgive the interest on the loans given to the Crusaders.
- Pope Honorius III (1216-1227) tore down the new synagogues in Rome.
- Pope Gregory X (1271-1276)) confirmed the bull granting protection to the Jews and added a clause that Christians should not be allowed to testify in Jewish lawsuits. He also declared the “blood accusation” to be false.
- Pope Nicholas IV (1288-1292) favored the Jews of Rome. His Jewish physician Isaac ben Mordecai informed him that the clergy of Rome treated the Jews with cruelty, violated their rights, and stole their property. Nicholas IV intervened and put a stop to it.
- Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) scorned the Jews when he became ruler. When the Jews came to pay him homage, as the law required, they presented him with a Torah scroll. The pope immediately handed it back to them with verbal insults to the Jewish religion. Under his rule, the Jewish community suffered terribly. He had an active Inquisition and many Jews were denounced and punished. In one instance, the community's rabbi was burned at the stake for a charge that would have destroyed the whole community had he not taken it entirely upon himself.Pope John XXII (1316-1334) ordered the burning of the Talmud in Rome in 1321. The community's most influential members used every means to prevent the execution of this order but were powerless to stop it. Many handwritten and irreplaceable books of the Talmud were publicly burned on Shavuot of 1322. This was followed by a mob that attacked and murdered Jews (As Heinrich Heine would observe in the future, “Where they burn books, they will also ultimately burn people.”)
- Innocent VII (1404-1406) was presented with a Torah scroll by the Jewish leaders, as required by law upon his appointment. In contempt, he returned it to them over his left shoulder. Other Popes would continue this practice.
- Pope Martin (1417-1431) issued the Bull of February 14, 1429, that placed Jews under the jurisdiction of civil law, permitted them to attend public schools, and created an exemption for Jewish merchants from wearing the Jewish badge.
- Eugene IV (1431-47) had a mixed approach to the Jews, sometimes positive and later very negative. His first bull, issued February 8, 1433, forbade the beating of the Jews on their holy days and the unauthorized killing of Jews. Yet, in the Bull of 1442, he forbade Jews from studying civil law or working as artisans and abolished Jewish courts. This bull was enforced rigorously. After several Roman congregations collected enormous sums of money, they succeeded in having this bull withdrawn. However, a clause that taxed the Roman community to 1,000 scudi remained in force.
- Paul II (1464-1471) introduced a particularly humiliating practice that would remain in force on and off in the coming decades. He created the spectacle of footraces during “Carnival Week” to entertain the Roman masses before the deprivations of Lent. Jews were required to participate in the races, sometimes in humiliating attire and sometimes with no clothing, in what was known as the Jews’ Race.
- Reb Nosson ben Yechiel (1030-1106) authored the Aruch, an essential and class Talmudic Dictionary.
- Rabbi Tzikdkiya ben Avraham Anav Harofei (1230-1300) wrote the Shibolei Haleket, one of Italy's earliest writings that codified Jewish law. Tradition identified him as a descendant of the delMansi family, as mentioned earlier.
- Rabbi Yechiel ben Yekusial Anav (13th century), also a descendant of the delMansi family, wrote the Sefer Tanya, a shortened version of the Shibolei Haleket, and the scribe of the famous Leiden manuscript of the Talmud Yerushalmi, which is the only extant complete manuscript of Talmud Yerushalmi.
- Rabbi Ovadyah Sforno (1475-1550) lived in Rome for many years and was a brilliant Torah leader. On Cardinal Grimani’s recommendation, he taught Hebrew to the Christian humanist Johannes Reuchlin. It was likely due to their relationship, that Reuchlin was a good friend to the Jews of his time. Reuchlin was appointed as the judge to decide whether the Talmud was harmful and should be burned. His favorable decision on the Jews’ behalf saved them from that fate. Rabbi Ovadyah was also a close acquaintance of the future king of France, Henry II, due to his visits to Rome. Rabbi Ovadyah maintained contact and exchanged letters with him on philosophical topics. Rabbi Ovadyah Sforno’s legacy continues with his Sforno commentary on the Chumash that is studied worldwide until today.
Religious Greatness Despite Persecution
Despite the ongoing persecution and the difficulties of living in Rome, Torah learning and religious life continued. The humiliation and persecution by the Christians did not entice the Jews to convert, and they continued to live their lives with pride and loyalty to their heritage. Roman Jewish traditions (minhagim) followed those practiced in the Land of Israel, and their liturgy was a unique one known as Nusach Italki.
The Torah learning in Rome centered around the local yeshiva, Mesivta de Masa Romi.
Among the most well-known Torah scholars of Rome in the Middle Ages are:
The Jews of Rome were active participants and beneficiaries of the Renaissance's changes in education and economics. Jews became artisans, bankers, and merchants. Overall, at the time of the Renaissance, the persecution of the Jews decreased due to the decreasing level of religious observance of the leaders and populace. However, this would change drastically with the coming of the Reformation.
- Leo X (1513-1521), a Medici Pope, no longer required the Jews to wear their identifying badges and removed some Jewish taxes. Most notably, he allowed the Jews to build a printing press, which was a huge boon for the Jews to be able to print sefarim rather than handwrite them. Under his reign, the Jews were so amazed at the peace they enjoyed that they sent a letter to Jews in Jerusalem asking if the Messiah had arrived.
- Pope Paul III (1534-50) permitted Jews expelled from Naples, the Land of Israel, and Africa to settle in Rome. He abolished the passion plays in the Colosseum, at which Jews had often been murdered. He also granted permission (1545) to Antonio Bladao, Isaac ben Immanuel de Lattes, and Benjamin ben Joseph Arignano to establish a Hebrew printing press in Rome. As mentioned, the ability to print books was in great demand for the “People of the Book,” so this was greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, this privilege was often revoked.
The Reformation: Return to the Dark Ages of Persecution
Under the Reformation, any gains for the Jewish community from the Renaissance disappeared. In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Pope would act harshly toward any non-Catholic, and the Roman Jewish community bore the brunt of this approach.
The most glaring aspect of this harshness was likely the institution of a ghetto. The ghetto was located in an undesirable area of Rome that the Tiber often flooded. It was one square kilometer and was inhabited by upwards of 10,000 people. To create more room, the Jews built higher houses, blocking the sunlight. Although the community invested much in keeping the ghetto clean, this was not that easily done, and diseases would spread quickly.
Additionally, the Jews needed to make a formal annual request for permission to continue to live in the ghetto. A humiliating ceremony would take place at the Arch of Titus in which the rabbi would pay homage to the Caparione (the City Councillor), who would respond by beating the rabbi, which was the indication that the Jews could continue to live in the ghetto. To further demoralize the Jewish community, a tall cross was erected directly opposite the ghetto gate with Hebrew words engraved, "I have spread out my hands all day unto a rebellious people" (Isaiah 65:2). The ghetto was also surrounded by churches.
During the Reformation, Jews were extremely limited in their job options. Talmudic literature was banned in Rome, and raids in the ghetto were common to ensure this rule was followed. The Jews were forced to listen to speeches from priests as part of the Pope’s attempt to convert them.
- Pope Paul IV (1555-1559) was one of the worst Popes for the Jews. He created the ghetto, decreeing that all Jews must be in the ghetto each evening and were forbidden to leave their home during the night. Jews were banned from most occupations and had to wear a yellow hat. Jews could not own any property outside the Ghetto. As an aside, the date his harsh decree was signed corresponded to the Hebrew date of 14 Tammuz. The date it was made public corresponded to the 9th of Av, Tishah B’Av.
- Pius IV (1559-66) treated the Jews benevolently. He diverted the waters of the Tiber so that the ghetto would be less likely to flood. He allowed Jews to have places of business outside of the ghetto. He also allowed the Talmud to be printed again.
- Pope Pius V (1566-1572) expelled the Jews from the Papal States, except for those of Rome and Ancona.
- On September 1, 1577, Pope Gregory XIII (1572-1585) issued a decree that on every Sabbath, the Jews should attend sermons preaching conversion. A second bull, September 1, 1584, ordered that these sermons should be attended by at least 100 men and 50 women.
- A bull issued June 1, 1581, granted the Inquisition the right to proceed against Jews in blasphemy, demon worship, and heresy cases. As a result, a convert to Judaism named Joseph Sanalbo was burned at stake on 27 Shevaṭ in 1583.
- Sixtus V (1585-90) protected the Jewish community and even ordered the whipping of Christians that insulted the Jews during the carnival. In 1587, walls were built around the Jewish cemetery to protect it. The Ghetto was enlarged in 1588 due to the increasing number of Jews, especially since the financial situation of the Jews improved at this time. The silk industry had been introduced into the Papal States on the advice of a Jew named Magino di Gabriele, and in gratitude, the Pope granted him several privileges.
- Pope Clement IX (1667-1669) ended the Jews’ Race at the carnival, which at this point included a degrading procession of one hundred Jews on donkeys, with the rabbi leading them, facing tailward. However, this race would be reinstated again in the coming years.
- Innocent XIII (1720-24) and Benedict XIII (1724-30) renewed the anti-Jewish bulls issued by Paul IV and Pius V.
Long Road to Freedom
With liberal viewpoints becoming popular, the Jewish community in Rome benefitted from decreasing persecution and increasing privileges. However, the process of opening the ghetto walls can be described as “one step forward and two steps backward.”
- Clement XIV (1769-1774) freed the Jewish community from external jurisdiction and the control of the Inquisition. He, and his successor Pius VI (1775-1800), endeavored to promote Jewish trade and industry until there was a strong backlash to this liberal approach. In response, they returned to the earlier edicts. Jews were again forbidden to leave their Ghetto and were even prohibited from putting monuments on their graves.
- The condition of the Roman Jews changed suddenly when French General Berthier entered Rome with French troops on February 15, 1798. The pope left Rome five days later, and the Jews were declared free citizens. The Jewish community celebrated with great joy.
- They soon discovered their freedom was only partial. A National Guard was established, and Jews were forbidden to join it and then permitted to. Then, the Jews were required to pay a huge sum of money to the government. On July 16, 1798, a Jew named Ezekiel Morpurgo was appointed a senator. When the Neapolitans invaded Rome, they ended the French government and imposed new taxes on the Jews.
- Pope Pius VII (1800-23) tried to improve the reduced financial condition of the Jews. He was exiled for some time under Napoleon, and the ghetto was allowed to remain open. When Napoleon fell, the gates of the ghetto were again closed, and the Inquisition was restarted.
- Popes Leo XII (1823-29) and Pius VIII (1829-31) renewed the medieval antisemitic edicts with vigor. When Leo XII died, the Jews - who had already experienced emancipation - defiantly broke down the ghetto walls. However, this did not change the reality, and the anti-Semitic decrees, including the forced listening to conversion sermons, continued.
- Gregory XVI (1831-46) was indebted to the Rothschild family due to the huge loan they had supplied him, yet under his reign, the ghetto walls that had been destroyed were rebuilt. He also demanded the Jewish community give him a Torah scroll as a sign of allegiance to him.
- Pius IX (1846-1878), probably due to the waves of liberalism pushing through Europe, did certain positive acts for the Jewish community. He abolished the Jews’ Race at the carnival, gave money to the Jewish poor, and sent relief to the community when the streets were flooded. He allowed some Jews permission to live outside the ghetto. Most notably, on April 17, 1848, the Pope ordered the removal of the ghetto walls. Yet, he showed signs of regret afterward, writing in a letter to King Leopold II: “Your Highness is not unaware of the fact that the spirit of the Church … has always been to keep Catholics as much as possible from having any contact with the infidels … Otherwise, it will open the way to requests for other civil rights for the Jews and other non-Catholics.”
- Pope Pius IX is also infamous for his role in the Edgar Mortara case, in which a Jewish six-year-old boy was forcibly taken from his parents and kidnapped by the church. A servant-girl who worked for the family claimed she had secretly baptized him; therefore, he was a Christian. Despite the desperate pleas of his family and international outcry on his behalf by both Jews (including Sir Moses Montefiore, who personally traveled to Rome to appeal to the Pope but was not even granted an audience) and non-Jews (including letters to the Pope from Francis Joseph of Austria and Napoleon III of France), the Pope would not relinquish him and personally raised him as a Christian. Tragically, Edgard remained within the Catholic church and took on the name Pius in deference to the Pope who had taken him. Edgar Mortara’s parents died without ever having their child returned to them.
Jewish Rome in the 20th Century
In 1870, Italy was united as a nation under King Victor Emanuel. The ghetto was finally and permanently abolished, and Jews were granted full citizenship. However, Jews would continue to live around the ghetto that had been their home for so many years.
The Jews quickly and fully integrated into the Italian society that had spurned them for centuries yet now welcomed their involvement. Jews became influential in education, the military, and the government. A Jew, Ernesto Nathan, was the mayor of Rome from 1907-1913. Another Jewish politician, Luigi Luzzatti, served briefly as the prime minister of Italy from 1910-1911.
Several Jews were among the close advisors to Prime Minister Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) and there were Jews active in every branch of the fascist government.
In an unexpected turn of history, Rome was a relatively positive place for the Jews during World War II. Although Mussolini was Hitler’s ally, neither he nor his government sought to implement the Nazi antisemitic policies, despite pressure from Germany.
In 1943, when Nazi Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler was sent to Italy to take over the “Jewish problem,” the 12,000 Jews of Rome were in mortal danger. This is a clear example of what a difference a country's population made in the Jewish situation in the Holocaust. In places like Poland, Ukraine, and Hungary, the populace generally was apathetic or supported and assisted the Nazis in their murder of the Jews. In Italy, many non-Jewish neighbors and government officials shielded the Jews from the Nazis. It was said that for every Jew caught by the Nazis, ten could escape with the help of the supportive population that surrounded them. For this reason, approximately 10,000 Roman Jews went into hiding and survived the war.
The Nazis demanded a ransom of 110 pounds of gold in exchange for the safety of the Jews, which the Jews delivered in September 1943. Nevertheless, in October 1943, the Nazis rounded up 1,259 Jews and forced them onto trains to Auschwitz. Of those deported, only 16 survived the war. In 2000, a stone plaque was unveiled at the Tiburtina train station, the site of the deportations, to honor the memory of these Jews from Rome killed by the Nazis.
The Pope harbored some Jews within the Vatican, which was considered a neutral sovereign state during WWII. In fact, the only time Pope XII protested the Nazi’s actions was when they came to Rome, and there was a risk they would take “his Jews.” The concept of the “Pope’s Jews” was based on Christian dogma that requires Jews to continue to exist as “Witness People” to the “Second Coming” as an explanation as to why Jews continue to exist.
American forces liberated the city on June 4, 1944. Jews that had been in hiding came out and could participate in the liberation ceremony held at Rome's main synagogue.
Rome Today
Today, approximately 15,000 Jews live in Rome, with a dozen Sephardic and Ashkenazi Orthodox synagogues. The most beautiful synagogue is the Tempio Maggiore di Roma – Rome's Great Synagogue. The ancient Nusach Italki, the distinct liturgy of Italian Jews since early Roman times, continues to be prayed. The Italian chief rabbi officiates at the Great Synagogue of Rome and heads the country's rabbinical council.
The community experienced a devastating terrorist attack in 1982 on the holiday of Shemini Atzeret. PLO terrorists opened fire on the community members following the service, killing a two-year-old child and wounding 37 others. Since that time, security at Jewish institutions in Italy has been tight.
Yet, on the whole, Jews in Rome experience equality with their fellow Italian citizens.
Coming Full Circle
The Arch of Titus is located in the heart of Rome, just a short walk from the Colosseum. Titus built it as a celebration of the victory of the Romans over the Jews of Israel. With painful clarity, the arch depicts the Jews being taken as slaves, with the menorah and other vessels from the Temple transported as booty to Rome.
The renowned Torah leader, Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman, known as the Ponevezher Rav, traveled to Rome with his loyal companion, Dr. Moshe Rothschild, and taught Torah at Yeshiva Shearis HaPleitah. One day, Rabbi Kahaneman asked to be taken to the famous Arch of Titus.
As they arrived at the Arch, he walked over, eyed it contemptuously, and spat on it. He raised his voice and called out, “Titus, Titus! You thought you would destroy the Temple and defeat the Jewish People! Yet what remains of you, Titus? Nothing! Yet what remains of us? We can be found everywhere, sitting and learning Torah worldwide. We are victorious. The Jewish People live on! Titus, Titus - we won!"
