The Arab rulers, who ruled Palestine purchased Christian children, converted them to Islam and trained them to be soldiers. They became the Arabs’ slave soldiers. These slave soldiers are called Mamluks, which means in Arabic “owned”. In 1250 CE, The Mamluks rebelled against their Arab masters. They won control of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. They established their capital in Damascus. Under their rule, Jews and Christians suffered greatly. Jews were heavily taxed. There were also riots in which many Jews were killed. Synagogues were destroyed and Jews were forced to wear a distinctive yellow turban. Other Nazi-like dress codes were also imposed. Jews and non-Jews were forcibly converted to Islam. Heavy taxes were imposed on Jews in Jerusalem and many had to leave the city because they couldn’t afford to pay them.
At that time Palestine became the frontier of Mongol invaders (occasional Crusader allies). The conflict impoverished the country and severely reduced the population. Sultan Qutuz of Egypt eventually defeated the Mongols and his successor (and assassin), Baibars, eliminated the last Crusader Kingdom of Acre in 1291 CE, thereby ending the Crusader presence.
In 1266 CE the Mamluk Sultan Baybars converted the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron into an exclusive Islamic sanctuary and banned Christians and Jews from entering. Previously Christians and Jews had been able to enter it for a fee. (The ban remained in place until Israel took control of the building in 1967.)
In 1438, Italian Rabbi Elijah of Ferrara settled in Jerusalem and became a lecturer and dayyan (Judge). In 1440, Rabbi Ovadiah of Bertinoro became the spiritual leader of Jerusalem’s Jews. He found the city forsaken with only about seventy poor Jewish families. His guidance brought better conditions. The excessive taxes against Jews were abolished. Also during this time Jewish refugees from Spain fleeing from the Spanish Inquisition immigrated to the city. By 1495 the populations of the city had swelled to 200 families. Ovadiah initiated the rejuvenation of Jerusalem’s Jewish community.
In 1455 a large group of prospective emigrants from across Sicily were arrested for attempting to sail to Palestine and accused of planning to illegally smuggle gold off the island (the authorities were against the mass emigration of Jews because they didn’t want to forfeit revenue made from special Jewish taxes). After nine months of imprisonment, a heavy ransom freed 24 Jews who were then granted permission to travel to Palestine so long as they abandoned all of their property.
Joseph Saragossi who arrived in the closing years of the 15th century in Safed developed the city into the largest concentration of Jews in Palestine. With the help of the Sephardic immigration from Spain, the Jewish population increased to 10,000 by the early 16th century. Twenty-five years earlier there were just 300 families in and around Safed. The first record of Jews in Safed was provided by French explorer Samuel ben Samson 300 years earlier, in 1210, when he found only 50 Jews in residence. At the beginning of the 17th century, Safed was to boast eighteen Talmudic colleges and twenty-one synagogues.
According to records, there were at least 30 Jewish urban and rural communities in the country at the opening of the 16th century.
In 1516, Palestine was conquered by the Turks and became a part of the Ottoman Empire.
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