Editing Jewish diaspora (section)

==Byzantine, Islamic, and Crusader periods==
{{See also|Talmudic academies in Babylonia}}

In the 4th century, the Roman Empire split and Palestine came under the control of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. There was still a significant Jewish population there, and Jews probably constituted a majority of the population until some time after [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] converted to [[Christianity]] in the 4th century.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=87Woe7kkPM4C&pg=PA72|title=An Introduction to Jewish-Christian Relations|isbn=9781139487306|last1=Kessler|first1=Edward|date=18 February 2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref> The ban on Jewish settlement in Jerusalem was maintained. There was a [[Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus|minor Jewish rebellion]] against a corrupt governor from 351 to 352 which was put down. In the 5th century, the collapse of the [[Western Roman Empire]] resulted in Christian migration into Palestine and the development of a firm Christian majority. Judaism was the only non-Christian religion tolerated, but the Jews were discriminated against in various ways. They were prohibited from building new houses of worship, holding public office, or owning slaves.<ref>M. Avi-Yonah, ''The Jews under Roman and Byzantine Rule'', Jerusalem 1984 chapters XI–XII</ref> The 7th century saw the [[Jewish revolt against Heraclius]], which broke out in 614 during the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628|Byzantine–Sasanian War]]. It was the last serious attempt by Jews to gain autonomy in the [[Land of Israel]] prior to modern times. Jewish rebels aided the Persians in capturing [[Jerusalem]], where the Jews were permitted autonomous rule until 617, when the Persians reneged on their alliance. After Byzantine Emperor [[Heraclius]] promised to restore Jewish rights, the Jews aided him in ousting the Persians. Heraclius subsequently went back on his word and ordered a general massacre of the Jewish population, devastating the Jewish communities of Jerusalem and the Galilee. As a result, many Jews fled to Egypt.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.22756|title=The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last Thirty Years of the Roman Dominion|year=1902}}</ref><ref>Gil, Moshe: [https://books.google.com/books?id=M0wUKoMJeccC&pg=PA9 ''A History of Palestine, 634–1099''], p. 9 (1997). Cambridge University Press</ref>

In 638, Palestine came under Muslim rule with the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant]]. One estimate placed the Jewish population of Palestine at between 300,000 and 400,000 at the time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oB8cAAAAMAAJ|title=Contemporary Jewry: A Survey of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political Conditions|last1=Cohen|first1=Israel|year=1950}}</ref> However, this is contrary to other estimates which place it at 150,000 to 200,000 at the time of the revolt against Heraclius.<ref>James Parkes (1949). ''A History of Palestine from 135 A.D. to Modern Times''. Victor Gollancz.</ref><ref>Salo Wittmayer Baron (1957). ''Social and Religious History of the Jews, Volume 3: High Middle Ages: Heirs of Rome and Persia''. Columbia University Press. p. 237. {{ISBN|9780231088404}}.</ref> According to historian [[Moshe Gil]], the majority of the population was Jewish or [[Samaritans|Samaritan]].<ref>Moshe Gil, ''A History of Palestine: 634–1099'', p. 3.</ref> The land gradually came to have an Arab majority as Arab tribes migrated there. Jewish communities initially grew and flourished. [[Umar]] allowed and encouraged Jews to settle in Jerusalem. It was the first time in about 500 years that Jews were allowed to freely enter and worship in their holiest city. In 717, new restrictions were imposed against non-Muslims that negatively affected the Jews. Heavy taxes on agricultural land forced many Jews to migrate from rural areas to towns. Social and economic discrimination caused significant Jewish emigration from Palestine, and Muslim civil wars in the 8th and 9th centuries pushed many Jews out of the country. By the end of the 11th century the Jewish population of Palestine had declined substantially.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/history/pages/history-%20foreign%20domination.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615042600/http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/history/pages/history-%20foreign%20domination.aspx |archive-date=2013-06-15 |title=HISTORY: Foreign Domination}}</ref><ref>Gil, M. ''A History of Palestine, 634–1099''. p. 294</ref>

During the [[First Crusade]], Jews in Palestine, along with Muslims, were indiscriminately massacred and sold into slavery by the Crusaders. The majority of Jerusalem's Jewish population was killed during the Crusader [[Siege of Jerusalem (1099)|Siege of Jerusalem]] and the few thousand survivors were sold into slavery. Some of the Jews sold into slavery later had their freedom bought by Jewish communities in Italy and Egypt, and the redeemed slaves were taken to Egypt. Some Jewish prisoners of war were also deported to [[Apulia]] in southern Italy.<ref>Goitein, S.D. "Contemporary Letters on the Capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders." ''Journal of Jewish Studies'' 3 (1952), pp. 162–177, pg 163</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.biu.ac.il/js/rennert/history_9.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2020-10-20 |archive-date=2019-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924080936/https://www.biu.ac.il/js/rennert/history_9.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Kedar, Benjamin Z., Phillips, Jonathan, Riley-Smith, Jonathan: [https://books.google.com/books?id=EFnUDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT82 Crusades: Volume 3], p. 82 (2016), Routledge</ref>

Relief for the Jewish population of Palestine came when the [[Ayyubid dynasty]] defeated the Crusaders and conquered Palestine (see 1187 [[Battle of Hattin]]). Some Jewish immigration from the diaspora subsequently took place, but this came to an end when [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluks]] took over Palestine (see 1291 [[Fall of Acre]]). The Mamluks severely oppressed the Jews and greatly mismanaged the economy, resulting in a period of great social and economic decline. The result was large-scale migration from Palestine, and the population declined. The Jewish population shrunk especially heavily, as did the Christian population. Though some Jewish immigration from Europe, North Africa, and Syria also occurred in this period, which potentially saved the collapsing Jewish community of Palestine from disappearing altogether, Jews were reduced to an even smaller minority of the population.<ref>{{Cite book |last= Brog |first= David |year= 2009 |publisher= Simon and Schuster |title= Reclaiming Israel's History: Roots, Rights, and the Struggle for Peace |isbn= 9781621576099 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WxYbDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT46}}</ref>

The result of these waves of emigration and expulsion was that the Jewish population of Palestine was reduced to a few thousand by the time the [[Ottoman Empire]] conquered Palestine, after which the region entered a period of relative stability. At the start of Ottoman rule in 1517, the estimated Jewish population was 5,000, composed of both descendants of Jews who had never left the land and migrants from the diaspora.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ottoman-rule-1517-1917|title=Ottoman Rule (1517-1917)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title= Jewish & Non-Jewish Population of Israel/Palestine (1517-Present) |publisher= Jewish Virtual Library |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-and-non-jewish-population-of-israel-palestine-1517-present}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2022}}