Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain

The Golden Age of Jewish culture in Spain refers to a period (roughly from the 10th to the 12th century) during which Jewish life flourished under Muslim rule in Al-Andalus (Muslim-ruled Iberia). During this time, Jews experienced relative tolerance, prosperity, and cultural integration within the broader Islamic society. Notable figures from this era include Hasdai ibn Shaprut, Samuel ha-Nagid, Solomon ibn Gabirol, and Judah Halevi.

Under Muslim rule, Jews were designated as dhimmi ("protected people")—non-Muslim subjects granted religious freedom and legal protection in exchange for paying a special tax and accepting certain social restrictions. Although they held a second-class status, this framework allowed for a relatively stable coexistence that enabled Jewish religious, cultural, and economic life to flourish. Jews occupied prominent positions in government, medicine, philosophy, science, and diplomacy, and played a key role in the transmission of classical knowledge from the Islamic world to Medieval Christian Europe. The period also saw remarkable achievements in Hebrew poetry, religious scholarship, grammar, and philosophy.

The nature and length of this "Golden Age" has been debated, as there were at least three periods during which non-Muslims were oppressed. A few scholars give the start of the Golden Age as 711–718, the Muslim conquest of Iberia. Others date it from 912, during the rule of Abd al-Rahman III. The end of the age is variously given as 1031, when the Caliphate of Córdoba ended; 1066, the date of the Granada massacre; 1090, when the Almoravids invaded; or the mid-12th century, when the Almohads invaded.