Expulsions and Exoduses of Jews
Expulsions and Exoduses of Jews: Chronological List with Authoritative Sources
1. Ancient Period (6th Century BCE -- 5th Century CE)
| Year | Ruling Authority | Scale | Core Decree/Event | Authoritative Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 586 BCE | Neo-Babylonian Empire | Tens of thousands (elite of the Kingdom of Judah) | Babylonian Captivity: Siege of Jerusalem, destruction of the First Temple, and deportation of Jewish elites | Jewish Virtual Library (JVL); The Babylonian Chronicles |
| 139 BCE | Roman Republic (Rome City) | Unrecorded | Expulsion of Jews due to disputes over religious proselytizing | Smallwood, E. M. The Jews Under Roman Rule; Wikipedia: "Expulsions and exoduses of Jews" |
| 19 CE | Roman Empire (Rome City) | Unrecorded | Emperor Tiberius expelled Jews and Egyptian religious adherents | Tacitus, Annals; Jewish Virtual Library |
| 50 CE | Roman Empire (Rome City) | ~4,000 | Emperor Claudius expelled Jews following conflicts | Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars; Wikipedia |
| 70 CE | Roman Empire | Entire Jewish population of Jerusalem | Destruction of the Second Temple and expulsion from Jerusalem | Josephus, The Jewish War ; Smallwood, E. M. The Jews Under Roman Rule |
| 135 CE | Roman Empire (Judea Province) | Hundreds of thousands (province-wide expulsion) | Renamed Judea to "Syria Palaestina" after suppressing the Bar Kokhba revolt; banned Jews from entering Jerusalem | Smallwood, E. M. The Jews Under Roman Rule; Jewish Virtual Library |
| 694 CE | Visigothic Kingdom (Iberian Peninsula) | Jews who refused conversion | Law mandating expulsion of Jews who refused to convert to Christianity | Visigothic Code (Forum Judicum); Roth, C. History of the Jews in Spain |
2. High Middle Ages -- Early Modern Period (11th -- 18th Centuries)
| Year | Ruling Authority | Scale | Core Decree/Event | Authoritative Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1182 CE | Kingdom of France (Philip II Augustus) | Jews in Paris and royal domains | Royal expulsion edict; confiscation of property (later recalled temporarily) | Wikipedia; Rist, M. Popes and Jews, 1095-1291 |
| 1290 CE | Kingdom of England (Edward I) | ~2,000--3,000 | Edict of Expulsion; Jews were not allowed to return until 1656 | UK National Archives; Jewish Virtual Library |
| 1306 CE | Kingdom of France (Philip IV) | ~100,000 | National expulsion edict; confiscation of property to replenish the royal treasury | Wikipedia; Jewish Virtual Library |
| 1394 CE | Kingdom of France (Charles VI) | ~100,000 | Final national expulsion edict; Jews were not granted legal residency until the French Revolution | Wikipedia; Roth, C. History of the Jews in France |
| 1421 CE | Holy Roman Empire (Vienna) | ~20,000 | Vienna municipal expulsion edict due to religious conflicts and debt issues | Wikipedia; Vienna City Archives |
| 1492 CE | Crown of Castile and Aragon (Spain) | ~200,000 | Alhambra Decree (Edict of Expulsion); mandatory conversion or expulsion | Archivo General de España (Spanish National Archives); Jewish Virtual Library |
| 1493 CE | Kingdom of Sicily (Spanish rule) | ~37,000 | Expulsion of Jews following the Spanish policy | Jewish Virtual Library; Wikipedia |
| 1496 CE (enforced 1497) | Kingdom of Portugal | Tens of thousands | Mandatory conversion; expulsion of those who refused | Wikipedia; Royal Archives of Portugal |
| 1593 CE | Papal States (Pope Clement VIII) | ~Thousands | Papal expulsion edict for religious "purification" | Jewish Virtual Library; Roth, C. History of the Jews of Italy |
3. Modern Period (19th -- 20th Centuries)
| Year | Ruling Authority | Scale | Core Decree/Event | Authoritative Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 onwards | Nazi Germany | ~600,000 (emigrated 1933--1939) | Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service ; Nuremberg Laws; deprivation of citizenship and expulsion | Nazi Germany Official Archives; United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) |
| 1940 CE | Soviet Union | ~65,000 (Jews from eastern Poland) | "June Expulsions"; deportation to Siberia | Soviet Archives; Jewish Virtual Library |
| 1948--1956 CE | Kingdom of Egypt | ~48,000 | Expulsion or forced emigration due to the Arab-Israeli conflict | Jewish Virtual Library; Egyptian Foreign Ministry Archives |
| 1950--1951 CE | Kingdom of Iraq | ~120,000--150,000 | Laws depriving Jews of citizenship; forced emigration | Jewish Virtual Library; Archives of the Iraqi Jewish Community |
| 1948--1973 CE | Multiple Middle Eastern Countries (Syria, Lebanon, etc.) | ~850,000 total | Expulsions and emigration triggered by the Arab-Israeli conflict | Jewish Virtual Library; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Reports |
4. Core Authoritative Cross-Validation Sources
- Academic Monographs
- Smallwood, E. M. The Jews Under Roman Rule: From Pompey to Diocletian
- Roth, C. History of the Jews in Spain
- Roth, C. History of the Jews of Italy
- Rist, M. Popes and Jews, 1095-1291
- Digital Archives & Libraries
- Jewish Virtual Library (JVL)
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) Digital Archive
- UK National Archives
- Archivo General de España (Spanish National Archives)
- Scholarly Databases & Wikipedia
- Wikipedia: "Expulsions and exoduses of Jews" (peer-reviewed sources and citations)
- UNHCR Historical Reports on Middle Eastern Refugees