A quick review: in 1263, King James I of Aragon held a disputation between a Christian priest and a Jewish rabbi. Such things were not uncommon, as a means to pressure Jews to convert. Usually, the debates were heavily rigged, with the rabbis unable to question fundamental tenets of Christianity. The Barcelona Disputation was not rigged. Furthermore, while the priest, Friar Pablo Christiani, was quite qualified - he was a Jewish convert with extensive knowledge of Jewish theology - he was up against Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, aka Nachmanides, one of the great Jewish sages. The result was that Christiani got his ass handed to him with a side order of gefilte fish. King James did declare that Christiani was the victor nonetheless, but unofficially felt that Nachmanides had won.
My question is, what if King James had been sufficiently persuaded to not only openly declare Nachmanides the victor, but then convert to Judaism? Assuming, for the moment, that he wasn't quickly overthrown in a coup, what impact would the conversion of a powerful and respected king to Judaism have had?
I have a few suggestions:
- Given that the first post-conversion act of King James would almost certainly have been a decree granting Jews complete religious freedom in Aragon, there would have likely been a massive migration of European Jews to Aragon. The fact that Nachmanides would have probably become the official court rabbi would have helped encourag this. Barcelona would probably become the new center of Jewish culture and learning.
- Even if King James had held on to power locally, someone outside Aragon might have tried to overthrow him. Conversely, I imagine the leaders of Muslim Spain would have sought to court him.
- In the long run, could a nominally Jewish monarchy survive in Europe?
My question is, what if King James had been sufficiently persuaded to not only openly declare Nachmanides the victor, but then convert to Judaism? Assuming, for the moment, that he wasn't quickly overthrown in a coup, what impact would the conversion of a powerful and respected king to Judaism have had?
I have a few suggestions:
- Given that the first post-conversion act of King James would almost certainly have been a decree granting Jews complete religious freedom in Aragon, there would have likely been a massive migration of European Jews to Aragon. The fact that Nachmanides would have probably become the official court rabbi would have helped encourag this. Barcelona would probably become the new center of Jewish culture and learning.
- Even if King James had held on to power locally, someone outside Aragon might have tried to overthrow him. Conversely, I imagine the leaders of Muslim Spain would have sought to court him.
- In the long run, could a nominally Jewish monarchy survive in Europe?