|
1451 - 1500 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS (Spain-America)
Discoverer of America. The possibility of his being Jewish is based on the origins of his name being Colon (which was a common Jewish name) and his own mysterious writings.
1452 JOHN CAPISTRANO (Germany)
Convinced the Bavarian Dukes to expel the Jews from their Duchies.
1452 - 1515 ABRAHAM ZACUTO (Spain-Portugal-Tunisia)
Astronomer and historian. Around 1474 he wrote his "Great Treatise" HaHibur HaGadol under the patronage of the bishop of Salamanca which was translated into Spanish. His astronomical tables were used by Columbus. After the expulsion of 1492, he went to Portugal where he developed the copper Astrolabe used by Vasco Da Gama. In 1497 he was forced to flee or convert. He left and reached Tunis, where he wrote a history of the Jews from the creation until 1500.
1453 FRANCONIA (Germany)
Bishop Godfrey of Wurzburg (Duke of Franconia), previously a benefactor of the Jews, was persuaded by John of Capistrano to expel them. When Capistrano arrived at Neustadt, Israel Isserlen offered to follow him to the stake to see by what miracles he could save himself - needless to say, Capistrano turned down the opportunity.
1453 - 1821 GREECE
Under Turkish (Ottoman) rule. Jews arrived from Spain, Portugal, and even Poland. For the most part they were free to engage in trade and crafts. Their economic situation varied greatly, depending on the area. In Salonika the Jews controlled much of the trade, to such a degree that the port was closed on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.
1453 - 1519 ISAAC ABOHAR (Spain)
A scholar and compiler of a collection of Aggadot arranged according to subject, called Menorat Hamaor. It has been published in nearly forty editions in at least five languages.
1453 May 29, CONSTANTINOPLE (Ottoman Empire)
Fell to the Turks under Mohammed II. Jews were welcomed to settle in the city. Turkey provided a refuge for thousands of Jews who were soon forced to leave the Iberian peninsula.
1453 June 2, BRESLAU (Germany)
John of Capistrano led a mock trial of alleged desecrations of the host. The Rabbi hung himself and urged other Jews to commit suicide. Forty-one Jews were burned, their property confiscated, and all children under seven were forcibly baptized.
1454 (18 Tamuz 5214) CRETE
After a trial that lasted for two years, the nine leading members of the Jewish community who were accused of host desecration were acquitted by a Venetian court. Although further charges were brought claiming that the Jews had bribed the judges, this view was not accepted and the day was celebrated as a semi-holiday for many years by the Jewish community in Crete.
1454 November, NIESZAWA STATUTE (Poland)
Casimir IV revoked the Jewish charter, at the insistence of Bishop Zbignyev Oleshnitzki. The Cardinal had correctly "predicted" Casimir's defeat by the Teutonic Knights backed by the Pope, and succeeded in convincing the King that it was due to the Jews.
1455 CRACOW (Poland)
Due to anti-Jewish agitation and the refusal of the authorities to offer protection, a massacre ensued.
1455 SYRACUSE (Sicily)
Twenty four Jews from all over Sicily chartered a Spanish boat to take them to Eretz Israel without prior permission from the King, Alfonso V. They were arrested by the kings representative, the archbishop of Palermo. After making a large payment, they were released and permitted to leave. Among them was the poet and astronomer Isaac ben Solomon Alhadib (1396- c.1429). Syracuse was considered a city second in importance only to Palermo.
|