Generally speaking, from the close of the second century till the establishment of Christianity under Constantine, when their hopes were once more dashed to the ground. tile Jews of the Roman Empire appear to have prospered. In this period falls the redaction of the chief code and of the 4)ral Law,' the Misluta,' com pleted by Jehuda llanasi (the prince), or lia kadosh (the holy), president of the great school at Tiberias (150-210)--upon which code were grafted subsequently the two gigantic com mentaries or complements, the Palestinian and Babylonian Gemaras. The Babylonian Jews were even more fortunate than their western brethren, though they did not perhaps attain the meridian of their prosperity till the revival of the Per sian Empire on the downfall of the Parthian dynasty. Their leader was called the 'Prince of the Captivity.' and was chosen from among those held to be descended from the ]louse of David. He lived in great splendor and was even per mitted to exercise political functions in the Jewish community. The .Jews of Babylonia were wealthy, and pursued all sorts of industrial oc cupations. They were merchants, bankers. arti sans. husbandnien, and shepherds, and had the reputation of tieing the best weavers of the famous Babylonian garments. The reputation for learning of the Babylonian schools, Nehardea, Suva, and Pumbelitha, was very great. Their condition at this time farther east is uncertain. but it seems possible that they had obtained a footing in China at quite an early date. They were discovered there by the Jesuit missionaries of the seventeenth century. especially at Kai-fong fu, where they had a large synagogue. They followed in their prayers and observances Rab binical .Judaism. having remained in close con nection with their brethren in Persia. The tablet inscriptions in their synagogues were in the Persian language. In 1901 certain Jews in Shanghai entered into communication with the very few who had preserved their identity.
In Europe the ascendency of Christianity proved baneful to the condition of the Jews. Imperial edicts and ecclesiastical decrees vied with each other in the rigor of their intolerance toward all who did not accept Christianity. The Jews were prohibited from making converts, from invoking (in Spain at least) the divine blessing on the country. from marrying Christian women, or holding Christian slaves: they were burdened with heavy taxes: yet despite per secution, they seem to have flourished. They are found in large numbers in Illyria, Spain. Minorca, Gaul, and the Roman towns on the Rhine; they were agriculturists. trailers. and artisans, and held land. Con stalitim:, during whose reign a fierce insurrection incited by his co regent Gallus broke out among the Arians and Jews (3531, term., them. in a public document, `that most hateful of all people:' yet in spite of this, we find them filling important civil and mili tary positions and exercising the influence that springs from the possession of wealth and knowl edge. The brief rule of Julian the Apostate even shed a momentary gleam of splendor over their destinies, and he appears to have favored the re building of the temple at Jerusalem. The death of
the Emperor frustrated this plan. In 418 the Jews were excluded from the military service: and in 429 the patriarchate at Tiberias was abolished. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire their fortunes were different in different countries. In Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia they were for a time almost unmolested; in the Byzantine Em pire they suffered many oppressions; in the sixth and seventh centuries the Franks and Spanish Visigoths inflicted on them frightful per secutions.
After the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus many Jews settled in Arabia. Their influence was great, not only in the north, but especially in the southwestern Kingdom of Yemen. About the year 300 Judaism seems to have become a power here. But in 360 an Abyssinian king, spurred on by Rome, conquered Yemen, which was held till 378, when Jewish influence became once more paramount. At the end of the fifth century a Jewish King, Dhu Nuwas, is still found on the throne. Chrbaianity, however, had been introduced into Yemen in the fourth century: and in 525 the Abyssinians under the Viceroy Abraha deposed Dhu Nuwas and gave the Christian re ligion a firmer hold in South Arabia. At first Jewish tribes around Mecca and Medina were fa vorably regarded by Mohammed, but when it be came evident that they would not accept Islam, they had to pay dearly for their loyalty to their own faith. Mohammed subdued the Khaibar tribes in 627, and most of the Arabian Jews re moved to Syria and .Nlesopotainia. The spread of Mohammedanism through Western Asia, the Mediterranean regions. Africa, and Spain, was, nevertheless, advantageous to the Jews. Except ing accidental persecutions, such as those in Mau ritania (790) and in Egypt (1010), they enjoyed tinder the caliphs and Arabian princes compara tive peace. In Moorish Spain their numbers in creased greatly, and they became famous for their learning, as well as for commercial and industrial activity. They were husbandmen, landed propri etors. financial administrators, counselors, secre taries, astrologers, or physicians to the rulers, and were untrammeled in the exercise of their religion. This period may well be considered the golden age of Jewish literature. Poets. ora tors, and philosophers arose among them; and to them anti the Arabs is due no small share in the preservation and subsequent spreading of ancient classical literature. more especially philosophy. in Europe. Different from their fate under Moslem rule was that which they had to endure in Christendom. About the beginning of the eleventh century the Byzantine Em peror Basil Tl. renewed the persecution. From different causes the same thing had al ready begun in Babylonia, where the caliphate had passed into the hands of rulers hostile to the .Jews: and before the end of the eleventh urn tury the Rabbinical schools were closed. the best of the community had fled to Spain, and those that remained were reduced to an abject condi tion from which they have never risen. In Italy. where they were settled in large numbers in Bari, Taranto, and Otranto. their position was made tolerable by pecuniary sacrifices.