April 30 313: Licinius defeated Maximinus at the Battle of Tzirallum, thus making him the Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.  The Emperor of the Western Roman Empire was his brother-in-law, Constantine. The two in laws would clash repeatedly until Constantine defeated Licinius and eventually killed him despite the pleas of his sister to spare her husband’s life. We know that Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire with all that that would mean for the Jews of Europe.  Would it have been any different if Licinius had triumphed?  Who knows?  Luc ..read more

April 29 711: According to some sources the date on which an army led by Tariq ibn Ziyad landed at Gibraltar marking the start of the Moslem conquest of the Iberian Peninsula with all that would come to mean for the Jewish population during the next seven centuries.   1221: Honorius III issued “Ad nostram Noveritis audientiam” a Papal Bull obligating Jews to carry a distinctive badge and forbidding them to hold public office. 1280(21st of Iyar, 5040): French rabbi Issac ben Joseph of Corbeil, the son-in-law of Jeheil ben Joseph of Paris, passed away today. 1464: Coronation of Matthia ..read more

April 28 66: After stealing money from the Temple Treasury, the Roman Procurator Gessius Florus allowed his troops to “loot the Upper Market” of Jerusalem. He also unleashed his Cohorts on the crowds of Jews who gathered to protest the theft.  This would prove to be the precipitating event that would start the Great Revolt which would end in disaster for the Jewish people. 70: Following an early repulse of his forces, the Roman Legions commanded by Titus retake and destroy Jerusalem’s middle wall. The Romans followed this victory by quickly building a wall that will surround the city, cut ..read more

April 27 399 BCE: Socrates drank hemlock as he carried out the death penalty that had been imposed on him by the government. For centuries to come some Jews would study Socrates and other Greeks, in many cases trying to find a harmony between Judaism and Greek philosophy.  Other Jews would view Socrates and the other Greeks as the mortal enemies of Judaism and go so far as to attempt to officially ban the study of their works. 711: Tarik, a Moslem general attacked southern Spain from a place known as Jebel Tarik or Gibraltar. He soon defeated Roderic, last of the Visigoth kings, at the Ba ..read more

April 25 693: Opening session of the Sixteenth Council of Toledo which, before its close, would add more regulations that would prove oppressive to the Jews living under the Visigoths.  This Visigoth anti-Semitism would provide a major impetus for Jewish support of the Moors when they invaded Spain in the early decades of the next century. 799: Leo III who during his papacy “introduced public disputations between Jews and Christians, resulting in forced conversions to Christianity” was today attacked by relatives of Adir I as he “was making his way towards the Flaminian Gate” “on the occa ..read more

 April 24   70: During the Jewish rebellion against Rome, Roman legions break through Jerusalem’s middle wall, but are driven back by the Jewish defenders.  396: As conditions for the Jews in the Roman Empire worsen, the Roman Emperors adopt a law that appears to be an anomaly. They issue a decree punishing anyone who insults Jewish leaders. "If any one dare publicly insult the Illustrious Patriarchs, he shall be subject to a sentence of punishment."  (Editor’s Note – I can find no explanation for this) 858: Start of the papacy of Nicholas I. During his papacy he issued “a ..read more

April 23  0034: According to Sir Isaac Newton, this is the date of the crucifixion of Jesus. 1185: Birthdate Alfonzo II, the third King of Portugal who was part of a dynasty that provided a comparatively secure environment for their Jewish subjects. He was the grandson of King Alfonso I and the son of King Sancho I both of whom had recognized the Jewish community, allowing it to settle its own legal problems. King Alfonzo set the tone for the dynasty when he appointed Yahia ben Yahi III, the first chief Rabbi of the Portuguese Jewish community to serve as his royal tax collector. 1229: As ..read more

April 22 404: Emperors Arcadius and Honorius limit the opportunities of Jews to serve the Empire when they issue the following:  "We decree that the Jews and Samaritans who flatter themselves with the privilege of being in the secret service will be deprived of all employment with imperial service." [CTh 16.8.16] 1073: Pope Gregory VII begins his twelve-year reign.  While history may remember him for his role as a reformer and for his “battles” with the Henry IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, others may also remember him as “The Jewish Pope” since he was reportedly “descended from an Itali ..read more

April 21 753 BCE: According to tradition, on this date Romulus and Remus founded Rome.  Considering the impact that Rome would have on the Jewish people this date is worth noting.  586: Ricard I became King the Visigoth King of Hispania.  “A year later converted from Arianism to Catholicism, which changed the nature of life in Iberia in the same way that Constantine's conversion had changed things in the Roman Empire. Recared approved the Third Council of Toledo's move in 589 to forcibly baptize the children of mixed marriages between Jews and Christians. Toledo III also forbade ..read more

April 20 121:  Birthdate of Marcus Aurelius 16th Roman emperor.  The “Philosopher” Emperor reigned from 161-180 and he was a cut above those who came before and after him.  But he had a low opinion of the Jews, referring to them as “stinking and tumultuous” as “he rode through Judea.”  He reportedly preferred the company of the barbaric Teutons in the north to that of the Jews.  This attitude may have been shaped by the difficulty the Romans had in defeating the Jews during their successive rebellions against Rome.  Only 25 years before Marcus Aurelius came to pow ..read more