Sefardic (Sephardic) Jews

Sephardi, also spelled Sefardi, plural Sephardim or Sefardim, from Hebrew Sefarad ("Spain"), are descendant of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula (today's Spain and Portugal) from at least the later centuries of the Roman Empire.

At the year 711 the Moors, Muslims from North Africa, conquer southern Spain. The Sephardic Jewish population in Spain flourished under Moorish rule beginning the period known as "The Golden Age of Spain". During this period, Sephardic Jews reached the highest echelons of secular government and the military. Many Jews gained renown in non-Jewish circles as poets, scholars, and physicians. New forms of Hebrew poetry arose, and Talmudic and halachic (Jewish law) study took on great sophistication. The Golden Age ended when Christian princes consolidated their kingdoms and reestablished Christian rule throughout Spain and Portugal. In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled all the Jews from Spain; soon after, a similar law exiled Jews from Portugal. Sephardic Jews immigrated to the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, and parts of Europe, but managed to preserve their cultural identity while mixing with the local communities. The Sephardic diaspora has genetic relatedness to Southern Europe and the Middle East.