History of the Jews and the Jewish Quarter of Córdoba

Virginia Luque Gallegos

In this book, published by Editorial Almuzara, Virginia Luque Gallegos traces the history of Córdoba’s Jewish community, one of the most remarkable in the medieval Mediterranean world. The work pays particular attention to the twelfth century, often regarded as the Golden Age of Sephardic culture, before the arrival of the Almohads, whose religious intolerance led many Jewish, Muslim, and Mozarabic Christian families into exile.

The author shows how Córdoba’s Jews played an active role in the city’s intellectual, economic, and cultural life within a context of Convivence with Muslim, Christian, and Mozarabic communities. It was in this environment that the family of Moses Maimonides flourished. His life illustrates both the richness of this Convivence and the vulnerability of cultural harmony in times of political upheaval. An essential book for understanding the historical roots of Córdoba’s Convivence.