The Barbarians- But Which Group When The World Was Overrun By Barbarians?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

The first Barbarians recorded for their barbarity were probably the Germanic Tribes so well done by Netfix.  The Romans considered them the least civilized people they had run across.   The Romans fought them and then tamed them enough to have them fight for them as they had great skills for fighting.  Their story takes place in the 9th century CE. Three people's fates are interwoven in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D., during which Germanic warriors  (the Barbarians) halt the spread of the Roman Empire.The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster (Latin: Clades Variana) by Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese from September 8–11, 9 AD, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus. By the way, (CE [Common Era]  is the same as AD {Anno Domini-Latin for "year of our Lord"}.  

      Constantine; 1st Christian emperor of Rome ruling from 312-337 establishing the supremacy of Christianity in his Edict of Toleration from Milan, Italy,  then establishing anti-Semitism.  

Jews had entered and lived in the Rhineland by 321 CE that Emperor Constantine had heard about so sent regulations to the city of Cologne concerning them.  The Germans were still living as tribes then and the Carolingian royal house had adopted a pro-Jewish policy and had encouraged the settlement of Jews in its dominions with the object of developing trade.  Of course, this was left out of the film about Barbarians.  

The Carolingian Royal house was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne , grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century CE.  

     Emperor Charlemagne (reigned as Frankish king in 768; Roman Emperor from 800 to 814) of 9th century -Middle Ages

The Kingdom of France in the Middle Ages (roughly, from the 10th century to the middle of the 15th century) was marked by the fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and West Francia (843–987);  Germany's development was definitely behind that of France.  Charlemagne patronized the Jews and encouraged their immigration, granting them security of life and property, freedom of religion, and exemption from excise taxes.  He is known to have employed Jews in  his court and on missions, and various legends were preserved in Jewish lore of favors bestowed by him.  

        King Saul with David playing his harp...

Jews in Canaan had their 1st king, Saul, by 1020 BCE or 11th cent. BCE with David following in 1010 BCE, but only because they wanted to be like others in neighboring lands.  Before kings they had Judges who made decisions.  While their children were reading in school, the Romans were fighting off wolves at their door.  

Greeks were civilized before the Romans. The art of Archaic and Classical Greece illustrates many mythological episodes, including an established iconography of attributes that identify each god. There were 12 principal deities in the Greek pantheon. Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica.  It was a city state situation.  In the summer of 332 B.C.E or the 4th century BC., Palestine was conquered by Alexander the Great of Macedonia (today divided between Bulgaria, Greece , and Yugoslavia). The land and people of Israel were now part of the Hellenistic world of the Greeks .

Persians were civilized in 550 BC. from Egypt to Turkey, Cyrus being King who died in 529 BC or 6th Cent BC. In 538 he had given permission to Jews to return to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile.        

Romans would have been barbarians to anyone in Mesopotamia who developed so much earlier. Mesopotamia had writing and a civilization with refinement of thought, manners or taste;  with a situation of urban comfort.   Rome was started by a wolf mother who found Romulus and Remus, twins, who founded Rome, as they tell the story.  Rome's history spans 28 centuries. How Many Roman Gods are there? There are many gods that were worshiped in ancient Rome, about 67 in all. That doesn't even account for all the demigods! Thankfully, there were only 12 main Roman gods, much like the 12 Olympians of the Greek pantheon.  While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC or 8th century BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe. The city's early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans, and Sabines.  The most accepted date for the foundation of Rome is 753 BC. The first form of government in Rome was monarchical according to the archaeological findings and the legends.  They were occupying Jerusalem in about 100 BCE. 

Russia:  whose Communism meant to improve life has become the most barbaric...mankind does not benefit at all

Spain was mentioned in the Bible as Sepharad, a land they were familiar with. Jews lived there since the fall of the 1st Temple by the Assyrians in 721 BCE, so it's an ancient culture.  In the years following 410 Spain was taken over by the Visigoths who had been converted to Arian Christianity around 419. The Visigothic Kingdom established their capital in Toledo, their kingdom reaching its high point during the reign of Leovigild.

Ferdinand II   10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516) was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband of Queen Isabella I of Castile, he was also King of Castile from 1475 to 1504 (as Ferdinand V). He reigned jointly with Isabella over a dynastically unified Spain; together they are known as the Catholic Monarchs. Then they became most savage against the Jews in their Spanish Inquisition of 1492, actually starting earlier.  They were responsible for the tools made for torture, used on Jews meant to cause them to convert to Catholicism.  It was barbaric!  

                       Almost 1,000 Years Later 

England To the Romans, Britannia was a mysterious island lying beyond Oceanus, the great river described by Homer as encircling the entire inhabited world. Britain was therefore seen as a land beyond the limits of civilization.

Britain  was conquered in the Norman Conquest of 1066 and William the Conqueror who was followed by a few Jews who would settle there. Edward the Elder (c. 874 – 17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924.9th-10th century.   He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. It was Edward's son, Æthelstan, who first controlled the whole area that would form the kingdom of England. Æthelstan's sister had married Sihtric, the Viking ruler of the Northumbrians. When Sihtric died in 927, Æthelstan succeeded to that kingdom.  Which group were the Barbarians here?  The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that a ‘great heathen army’ arrived in 865 and conquered East Anglia (in 869–70), Mercia (in 873–74) and Northumbria (in 874–75). The Vikings then started to settle Northumbria (876), part of Mercia (877) and East Anglia (879–80). They also raided deep into Wessex, but in May 878 Viking forces were defeated by King Alfred the Great (reigned 871–899) 9th century  at the Battle of Edington in Wiltshire. The defeated army eventually settled in East Anglia. The Vikings had imbedded themselves into England's population.                                    

Why did the western Empire collapse in the 5th century? The most common answer is ‘barbarians’. Think ‘Gladiator’: the scene near the beginning of the film where a huge seething mass of hairy warriors attempt to break through the largely clean-shaven, and totally regular ranks of the Roman legions.  ‘Hold the line’ roars Russell Crowe, and the soldiers do as they are told, even though it looks as though they are about to be overrun. Then Crowe gives the order to attack—at which point the barbarian horde is promptly slaughtered. Seems as it the Romans created their own barbarians in their treatment of their gladiators.  In 180 AD, Hispano-Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius intends to return home after he leads the Roman army to victory against the Germanic tribes near Vindobona on the Limes Germanicus. Emperor Marcus Aurelius tells Maximus that his own son, Commodus, is unfit to rule and that he wishes Maximus to succeed him, as regent, to save Rome from corruption and restore the republic. In response, Commodus privately murders his father.                                 

The face of England of today is the picture of culture and refinement, manners with tea-time.  Yesterday is was the example of barbarism, offending standards  of correctness or purity set by others.  They displayed barbaric acts, attitudes and ideas. Acts I find barbaric were belief that Jews performed a ritual murder and drained people of their blood - a belief based on bias in religion, trusting in gossip and not facts as in the case of Hugh of Lincoln in 1255 with attacks on Jews in 1263.  They borrowed money provided by Jews then turned on them and drove them out for 365 years from 1290 to 1655.  Barbaric and nonsensical.  Jews had lived in England for 224 years and that was no guarantee of security, while  here  in the USA we have Nikki Haley 51 and  Vivek Ramaswamy 38 running for president with parents born in India, first generation candidates, very secure as citizens.   

    Stone Age herione, Ayla-made into movie:  Based on the first of Jean M. Auel’s six-book series, the TV project takes place more than 25,000 years ago, when Neanderthals shared the Earth with the first early modern humans and a band of cave dwellers adopt blond and blue-eyed Ayla (played by Mr. Selfridge’s Millie Brady), a child of the “Others” (played by Daryl Hannah on the big screen). As Ayla matures into a young woman of spirit and courage, she must fight for survival against the jealous bigotry of Broud (Love/Hate‘s Johnny Ward), who will one day be Clan leader.

   Many Europeans carry about 2% of their genes from Neanderthals-inheriting genes of protection in many cases

The first Barbarians in the world were probably Neanderthals of the Stone Age of Europe as described to us in the series of novels by Jean M. Auel and her first called "The Clan of the Cave Bear."  She did such an excellent job describing the thinking and life of the natives of Europe who takes us to the dawn of mankind.  She started her research in 1977 and spent most of her time in the libraries reading about the Ice Age, even joining a survival class to learn how to make an ice cave and to live in one.  She learned how to make arrowheads in La Grande, Oregon, and worked for her MBA.  She even traveled to the cities in Europe to gain further facts first-hand.  The problem with this one is that 25,000 years ago, the whole world was full of barbarians.  I doubt very much if there was a civilization to compare it to.  This is the way we all started; quite barbaric.  To be a barbarian, there must be a higher level to compare it to that hasn't been achieved as yet. 

The 2nd Barbarians would have been the "Others" such as the Horites- ancient people from south of the Caucasian mountains who invaded Syria and Israel in the 17th cent. BCE; They lived near Mt. Seir in Abraham's time,  mentioned in the Bible when Esau was attracted to their women and left his clan to marry into them who were not of the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  (When Esau migrated to Seir (verse 8), he essentially went to live with his Horite wife's family, aristocrats of the area (verses 29-30). Many of the 400 men then, were probably Horites, relatives of Esau's wife.) The Edomites destroyed the Horites and settled in their land.

 Also, when Moses took all the slaves held by Egypt on the Exodus no matter who they were, referred to as "the others."    They were intermingled with the family clan and all learned together over the 40 years of a life they were to live that differed greatly from their past 400 years of living most of that as slaves for Egypt.   They were uneducated, had not developed any written skills.  Webster's Dictionary defines barbarian as: as lacking refinement, believed to be inferior to one's own culture;  lacking artistic or literary culture ;  uncivilized man.  Lacking learning, Savage.  

Which brings us to the fact that some people, like in  Mesopotamia, were civilized, but believed inhuman sacrifice.  So it matters as to their peer group and the era,who was barbaric and who wasn't.

Western civilization arose in Europe, and then spread across the world. As it grew geographically scope, it became an increasingly dominant strand in world history – to the extent that the histories of every civilization and region of the world was impacted by it in a profound way.

Its roots lay in the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome (which themselves built on foundations laid in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia).  It took shape in medieval Europe, with its Christian religion, feudal society, dispersed power-structures and growing economic dynamism. 

It was in the modern era that Western civilization took flight, however. It spread from Europe to the North and South America, Australasia and much of the rest of the world; it achieved a level of economic power which far surpassed that of any other civilization; it developed the habit of systematic scientific and technological advance; and it evolved a unique set of personal freedoms which gave its culture an utterly different flavor to anything that had come before.  

So, to be really civilized and not like barbarians, 

"We gotta love like we've never been hurt
We gotta rise like we've never been burned
And after all of the lessons we've learned
We're gonna make this a beautiful world."

in the words of Michael Bolton...

Where Is the Ark of Covenant ?

 Nadene Goldfoot                                       

      Carrying the Ark during the Exodus and passing through the Sea of Reeds--Among the many lessons to be found in the Bible, " When an Israelite named Uzzah laid hands upon the Ark of The Covenant, he was struck down by God. But, in 1933, an engineering professor theorized that the real cause of death was 10,000 volts of static electricity.  Frederick Rogers, the Dean of the Department of Engineering at the Lewis Institute of Technology, conducted a careful study of the construction of the Ark as described in the Bible, and concluded that its design matched a perfectly constructed simple electric condenser:  The scientific interest in the construction pointed out by Prof. Rogers was that the acacia wood box—about 40 inches long and slightly less than 30 inches in width and in depth—not only was lined with gold teal on the inside but overlaid with the some metal without.  I found it was gold in both cases.  

Moses had two sons who disobeyed his directions when being close to the ark, and they were killed by its powers, so Moses left no descendants because of this event.  The chest was made of acacia wood, both inlaid and covered with gold; being 2.5 cubits long, 1.5 in breadth and 1.5 in height.  A cover of gold was placed over it and had 2 golden cherubim with outstretched wings screening the ark cover.  People that understand how to make batteries seem to think there is some connection to its power using the gold.  

People keep reporting that the Ark of the Covenant is in their state.  Usually some piece of what is thought as evidence, like a possible rune stone, tells about it as reported in the interesting TV program by Scott Wolter  in Minnesota, carried there by the Vikings.  Now, why would the Ark wind up in the USA?  A lot of facts would be against it ever coming to the USA, like time, distance and reason.

It was Moses who ordered the Ark to be built and he was born in about 1948 BCE, dying 120 years later, which is a span of time a good 3,971 years ago. It was the chest that held the Tablets of the Law  and stood for the Covenant between G-d and His people.  This chest was most sacred.  Even the high priest could only see it once a year and even then, only under "a cloud of incense"{ as told in Lev. 16:1-6).  According to the Book of Exodus, God instructed Moses to build the Ark during his 40-day stay upon Mount Sinai. He was shown the pattern for the tabernacle and furnishings of the Ark, and told that it would be made of shittim wood (also known as acacia wood) to house the Tablets of Stone.                                              

               Moses and Joshua bowing before the Ark1900) by James Tissot

From the time of Moses until the construction of Solomon's Temple, and Solomon reigned from 961 to 920 BCE, so from 1828 to 961 was 867 years;  for 867 years the Ark was known to be in the Israelite hands and placed in the Temple where it belonged.  During that 867 years, it was kept in the Holy of Holies and was never removed.  The high priest would enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur.                                     

Then, the worst happened.  The Temple was completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, and was rebuilt which took awhile from 538 to 515 BCE;  23 years !  That's when the exiles were allowed to return from Babylon after a hiatus of 70 years, and just some decided to do that.  If the 3 men who led them back, a prince, a governor to be and a rabbi:  Zerubbabel, Nehemiah and Ezra hadn't done so, Judaism would have ended.

For those who think the Vikings of Norway could have taken the Ark and buried it in the USA, I believe they'd have to have found it in Babylon first, then  they would have had to sail from the

 Mediterranean Sea out into the Atlantic ocean.  Or maybe they could sail around the horn of Africa and go north into the Atlantic Ocean from the Mediterranean Sea.  Its width varies considerably from north to South: about 4,830 kilometres (3,000 mi) between North America and northern Africa to 2,848 kilometres (1,770 mi) between Brazil and Liberia. The Viking ships reached as far away as Greenland and the American continent to the west, and the Caliphate in Baghdad and Constantinople in the east. In the second half of the 9th century it became increasingly common for the Vikings to settle in the countries that they had previously ravaged.

And what happened to the Ark of the Covenant?  We hope that the Cohens had saved it and brought it with them to Babylonia, or hid it, and if they did, found it again for the 2nd Temple. 

 Brenda Martin reminds us that The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, was conquering one nation after another. The first time he conquered Jerusalem, he captured King Jehoiachin (598-597 BCE) , the princes, the warriors, and the craftsmen, and he took them all to Babylon. He also took all the treasures from G-d's s temple. Then Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king of Judah (597-586 BCE the last king of Judah). After ruling for eight years, Zedekiah decided to rebel against Babylon. He asked the Egyptian army to help him. Then Nebuchadnezzar sent his army to attack Jerusalem, and they camped around the city. A year and a half later, the Babylonian army broke through the walls of Jerusalem and set the city on fire. They burned down the temple, killed many people, and took thousands as prisoners. Zedekiah escaped from Jerusalem, but the Babylonians chased after him. They captured him near Jericho and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar. The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as his own sons were executed. Then Nebuchadnezzar blinded Zedekiah and put him in prison, where he later died.  Did Zedekiah ever have know where the Ark of the Covenant was?  Could he had hid it?                              

     The Court of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon 

The “ prisoners” were captive in Babylon for 70 years as prophesied.  The Ark may still be in Babylon with Nebuchadnezzar's riches.  One wonders why the ark didn't kill him as it did with Moses' 2 sons.  

 Nehemiah, governor, led the rebuilding of the Temple.   

Solomon's Temple, built by Solomon, was itself the shrine for the Ark, other sacred vessels and offerings, with a court for worshipers.  It consisted essentially of a hall, shrine and inner sanctum which was the ("holy of holies") that other religions simply do not have in their temples although tri- ( 3) partite Canaanite temples have been discovered at Lachish, Bet-Shean, etc.  A close replica is the temple found in Syria near a royal palace of the 9th to 8th century BCE..Perhaps they copied Moses.    

There is no mention of the Ark among the vessels carried away and later returned from Babylon.  Talmudic tradition held that it had been hidden "in its place" by Josiah (637-608 BCE) .  Why Josiah?  He was king of Judah and became king when 8 years old after his father, Amon, was murdered.  When an adult, he started religious reform and removed foreign cults which had taken hold in Judah and he re-established the pure monotheistic religion.  His actions were motivated by the decline of Assyrian influence over the country at the time, and received the support of the contemporary prophets that included Nahum, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah. 

                                                      

The Tabernacle, made of curtains, fabric and one of animal hide,  was a cover that unified everything that was inside the Tabernacle;  meaning that the Ark, Table, Menorah, and golden Altar were not unrelated vessels, each performing its own designated task but parts of a united whole.  and later the Temple in Jerusalem, was intended to be the central rallying point of the nation, ringed by the tribes, topped by the cloud of G-d's Presence, and the place to which every Jew would bring his offerings.  Throughout the long and bitter exile--which alternates between grinding oppression and spirituality debilitating affluence---the centrality of G-d's Presence is represented by the miniature sanctuaries of synagogues and study halls for it is in them and through them that Jews hark back to the sounds of Sinai and the radiance of the Temple.   

In the course of repairing the Temple, the high priest Hilkiah announced the discovery of a Book of the Law which so influenced Josiah that he convened an assembly  of the entire people during

Passover  in 621 BCE at which a solemn covenant was made with G-d.  Many scholars have identified this book with Deuteronomy.  

Josiah removed the high places and centralized worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, now called the 2nd Temple.  His reign was one of cultural, religious, and political prosperity.  His religious reforms were of far-reaching importance for the development of Judaism and formed a basis for the work of Ezra and Nehemiah.  

The incidents connected with it inspired many poetical utterances in the Talmud and in Midrash.  

And what happened to Nebuchadnezzar's Palace?  Under Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi government excavated Babylonian ruins and attempted to reconstruct certain features of the ancient city, including one of Nebuchadnezzar's palaces. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, United States forces built a military base on the ruins of Babylon.

Even if Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem with the ark, where would it be today?  Or would events since then have happened?  Our Temple is under a Mosque today on the Temple Mount, so many believe.  

Resource: 

Tanakh, Stone Edition, Exodus 25: 10- continued to 29)

https://gizmodo.com/the-engineer-who-said-the-ark-of-the-covenant-was-a-gia-1598583115

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2022/06/following-path-of-ark.html

https://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/jacob/

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/babylon

https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/expeditions-and-raids/how-did-the-vikings-travel-around-in-the-world/#:~:text=The%20Viking%20ships%20reached%20as,that%20they%20h

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant#:~:text=Biblical%20account-,Construction%20and%20description,house%20the%20Tablets%20of%20Stone.

A Time Machine Looking Back At Jews and Vikings of Europe

 Nadene Goldfoot                                      

Looking  back in Europe, Rome was the site of emerging Christianity by the 300s CE.  They held a meeting citing Judaism was to be restricted completely as their emerging Christianity developed.  Since Rome felt that Jews were competitors, not only in their religion, as many Romans were converting to Judaism, but in commerce as well.              

The Romans, now called the Byzantine Empire with the capital moved to Constantinople,  was predominant and by 637 had taken over Palestine.  Emperor Justinian in 527 to 565 created elaborate anti-Jewish laws in his Code affecting synagogue services.  The very practice of Judaism was formally forbidden by successive emperors.   In 640 and Jews were being forcibly converted to Christianity.  It continued in 721 and 873 with campaigns and attacks.  Then where did the Jews go?               

The Norman Conquest occurred in 1066, a very important year.  Following William the Conqueror were a handful of Jewish financiers from the Continent of Europe.  The next generation saw cities such as London, York, Canterbury established.  The financiers traded, lent money to the baronage, and advanced funds for current needs on security of the revenue to the Crown who protected them.  The English then were a mixture of Vikings and Anglo-Saxons trying to live together, with some Vikings trying to keep their Norse beliefs, and Jews were then entering the scene, trying to keep to their beliefs.  

What were the Normans? Norman, member of those Vikings, or Norsemen, who settled in northern France (or the Frankish kingdom), together with their descendants. The Normans founded the duchy of Normandy and sent out expeditions of conquest and colonization to southern Italy and Sicily and to England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

Anglo-Saxon writers called them Danes, Norsemen, Northmen, the Great Army, sea rovers, sea wolves, or the heathen. From around 860 CE onwards, Vikings stayed, settled and prospered in Britain, becoming part of the mix of people who today make up the British nation.  Britain was very primitive then, and Vikings were very brutal and powerful. 

William the Conqueror  (1028--9 September 1087), descendant of Rollo who was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France.  So Willian was also  the former Duke of Normandy. 

The blue shading is the Viking (Danish, Norse land of Britain)

The final Viking invasion of England came in 1066, when Harald Hardrada sailed up the River Humber and marched to Stamford Bridge with his men. His battle banner was called Land-waster. The English king, Harold Godwinson, marched north with his army and defeated Hardrada in a long and bloody battle. The English had repelled the last invasion from Scandinavia.   (William’s army crossed the English Channel on the night of 27–28 September 1066, just as King Harold marched north to fight an invading force led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway (reigned 1046–1066) and  the English Harold Godwinson’s own brother, Tostig.)  What are the odds in 1066 that the 2 incumbents of England and Norway would be both named Harold? Both had Viking genes. Many of the English people today carry Viking genes. The latest news is that only 6% of English carry Viking genes.  This is compared with Sweden who only has 10%.  

In 1290 the Jews were expulsed from England and wouldn't be allowed back in for the next 365 years. until 1655.  

Vikings settled in and raided many places in what is today called Germany, mainly along the Rhein river, the North Sea coast, and the Scandinavian borderlands.  Jews lived in Worms, Germany. 

13th century forced costuming for German Jews below.

       

                       Jewish man in Worms in 16th Century-

A pre-Roman foundation, Worms is one of the oldest cities in northern Europe. It was the capital of the Kingdom of the Burgundians in the early 5th century, hence is the scene of the medieval legends referring to this period.

By the year, 1,000 Worms, Germany became most important to Jews as their center with rabbis meeting together and working on understanding the Torah. 

Worms was a  town in Rhein-Hesse, grand duchy of Hesse, Germany. Like Mayence and Cologne, it has one of the oldest Jewish communities in Germany. A legend relates that the Jews of Worms were descended from the Benjamites who had migrated from Palestine to Germany. It is possible that there was a congregation there in the time of the Romans, but the first historical reference is the statement that Jews from this city visited the fair at Cologne about the year 1000.  The earliest authentic information regarding the community, however, dates back only to 1034. On Jan. 18, 1074, Emperor Henry IV. granted the "Jews and other citizens of Worms" exemption from customs duties in the royal-customs ports of Frankfort, Boppard, Dortmund, Goslar, etc., as a reward for their fidelity.

In 1096 the Christian German Crusade managed to massacre Jews in European Jews on their way to Jerusalem. The massacre at Worms was one of a number of attacks against Jewish communities perpetrated during the First Crusade (1096–1099). Followers of Count Emicho arrived at Worms on May 18, 1096. Soon after his arrival, a rumor spread that the Jews had boiled a Christian alive, and used his corpse to contaminate water to poison the town's wells. The local populace later joined forces with Emicho and launched a savage attack on the town's Jews, who had been given sanctuary in Bishop Adalbert's palace, though others chose to remain outside its walls. They were the first to be massacred.               

3 years later in Jerusalem the Crusaders massacred the Jews who lived there. This was one time when Jews and Arabs were on the same side as the Crusaders couldn't differentiate between the two, and wanted to wipe out both as it was.  

Scandinavian settlements in Eastern Europe actually date back to at least A.D. 750. This is when pre-Viking-Age Scandinavians likely settled the NW Russian town of Staraya Ladoga (or “Old Ladoga”), across Lake Ladoga from what is now Finland. One of the artifacts archaeologists have unearthed from the city is a talisman with the face of Odin, the Norse god of war.

For four centuries, Vikings held sway over parts of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, with the greatest expansion happening under Prince Oleg the Prophet. The historical people known as Vikings, who hailed from Scandinavia in Northern Europe, are well-known today for their exploits in the west. The merchant-warriors also made their way into Eastern Europe, where they helped found a medieval federation in territory now known as Belarus, Ukraine and part of Russia. Their loose federation of principalities called Kievan Rus survived for nearly 400 years, finally collapsing during the 13th-century Mongol invasion.

          By the 12th century, there was a Jewish gate mentioned in Kiev, Russia, so some Jews had gone there to try their hand in trading.  There was even a Jewish Quarter that had been looted in 1113.  However, Russian clauses written with foreign powers  in 1550 in treaties prohibited Jews from visiting the country. Jews must have been allowed in afterwards as they were expelled in 1727, 1738 and 1742.  Then in 1753, no surprise now, 35,000 Jews were driven out of Russia.  Catherine II permitted all aliens to live there except the Jews.  Why?  Our religion was different;  it wasn't Christianity.  This was the situation wherever they tried to live.

Jews were living in France before 70 CE when Jerusalem was burned to the ground by the Romans.  The 8th century was a safe time for Jews who were under the protection of Charle-magne and his house.  By the 9th century, southern France was the main center of the Radanites, international traders.  They were Jewish merchants who traveled between southern France and China. 

In Autumn 845, the Vikings were raiding Bordeaux, France and Saintes. Count Seguin II marched on them but was captured and executed.  Although the port of Bordeaux was a buzzing trade center, the stability and success of the city was threatened by Viking and Norman incursions and political instability. The restoration of the Ramnulfid Dukes of Aquitaine under William IV and his successors (known as the House of Poitiers) brought continuity of government.

A map of Europe showing Viking settlements during the Viking Age. Areas subjected to Viking raids but had no Vikings living there are shown in green.  France and Spain are pictured.  

In 1306 the Christian's religious fever reached France who expulsed their Jews of the land.

  A Norse fleet with its blood red sails landed in Galicia after sacking Bordeaux, and proceeded to plunder the coastal villages until they were halted by the troops of King Ramiro I of Asturias near A Coruña on the northwestern coast of Galicia.

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, banishing Jews The earliest Viking raid on Spain took place in the year 844.

Then in 1355, the Christian religious zeal and demands came to Spain and Jews were expulsed from there. They had lived in Spain since the 1st century CE, going there after 70CE's burning of Jerusalem and expulsion of their land.  1492 was the final expulsion date when they fled to Portugal, next door, only to find that door close to them in a few more years. 

 “The forced conversion and deportation of the Jews of Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15th century were a dramatic shock wave for the Jewish society people, as one of the main Jewish centers was wiped out almost overnight. Many Jews either escaped to other places or converted to Christianity and became new Christians. Some Jews chose to maintain their Jewish identity secretly – those were the “conversos”. 

Christianity wasn't allowing Jews to live anywhere while the Vikings had been invading everywhere.   

Resource:

facts about Israel, Division of Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem

https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/16/six-percent-of-uk-population-have-viking-dna-new-study-finds-13283006/#:~:text='State%20of%20the%20art'%20DNA,compared%20to%2010%25%20in%20Sweden.

https://www.history.org.uk/primary/resource/3867/the-vikings-in-britain-a-brief-history#:~:text=Anglo%2DSaxon%20writers%20called%20them,make%20up%20the%20British%20nation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worms,_Germany https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15013-worms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worms_massacre_(1096)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror

https://www.bl.uk/people/william-the-conqueror#:~:text=William%2C%20Duke%20of%20Normandy%2C%20conquered%20England%20in%201066.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_raid_on_Seville

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeauxhttps://theconversation.com/spains-little-known-viking-history-is-being-uncovered-165828#:~:text=The%20earliest%20Viking%20raid%20on,the%20northwestern%20coast%20of%20Galicia

https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/16/six-percent-of-uk-population-have-viking-dna-new-study-finds-13283006/#:~:text='State%20of%20the%20art'%20DNA,compared%20to%2010%25%20in%20Sweden.

https://www.anumuseum.org.il/the-expulsion-of-jews-from-spain/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=expulsion+from+spain&utm_campaign=g&device=c&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz7uRBhDRARIsAFqjulmzgvoBs-nzStXInjlRlQJWYmonIWORnB_7juRsnihHh9PyzmNO2t0aArNUEALw_wcB.

https://www.history.com/news/vikings-in-russia-kiev-rus-varangians-prince-oleg#:~:text=Dec%204%2C%202019-,For%20four%20centuries%2C%20Vikings%20held%20sway%20over%20parts%20of%20Russia,their%20exploits%20in%20the%20west.