Talmud page

Jewish communities in parts of the Middle East and North Africa lived under Islamic rule following Muslim conquests of the region. Muslims allowed Jewish and Christian communities to keep their own religious practices, since they worshiped only one God, but these communities were not fully integrated into Islamic society. In Europe and the Byzantine Empire, Jews were a minority under Christian rulers. Christians often tolerated Jews and hoped that they would convert to Christianity, although Jews suffered outbursts of violence during the Crusades. By the end of the fifteenth century many Jews had been expelled from Spain and other parts of western Europe.

Jewish learning centered on the Talmud, which consisted of traditions of Judaism from previous centuries. Scholars explored various ways to interpret tradition. In the eleventh century Rashi drew on the insights of earlier rabbis as he composed his own practical interpretation of Jewish law. In the twelfth century Maimonides followed a different approach by interpreting Jewish tradition in light of Greek philosophy. Similar approaches were followed by Christian scholars of the period.