Sephardi Jews, also known as Sephardic Jews or Sephardim, are Jews who trace their heritage to the Iberian Peninsula (present-day Spain and Portugal), especially before 1492.
Starting in the 7th century CE, Sephardim were flourishing in Spain and Portugal. By the 10th century, Sephardi Jews were well-known across the Jewish world for guiding Jewish spiritual and cultural development.
Especially during Muslim rule, Sephardic Jews achieved success as government officials, poets, scholars, doctors, and in other fields. They created new forms of Hebrew poetry and Jewish study. This is sometimes called ‘the Golden Age of Spain’ and ‘the Sephardic Golden Age’.
However, in 1492 the new Catholic rulers of Spain expelled all Jews. Sephardim migrated to other parts of Europe, North Africa, and the Ottoman Empire.
As they settled in new places, they maintained their language and culture but also took on new elements from those new places.
Today, Sephardi Jews mainly live in the US and Israel. They continue to keep unique traditions, observances, foods, architecture and design, and language practices.
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Interior of Yad LeZikaron synagogue, Thessaloniki by Maor X on Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0.
