Asking when the first Jews settled in Spain and Andalusia helps us map out a fascinating route through places rich in history, archaeology, and great monuments. In another post, we invite you to explore those specific sites linked to the origins of Sefarad, as we often do at many of the agencies within the Mandala Tours group. Here, however, we focus on hypothesising about the “landing” of those first Jews, which brings us to the enigma of a young girl from Almería who lived almost 2,000 years ago.
Early legends, hypotheses and clues
It is very difficult to determine when the first Jews arrived in Spain—or rather, in the Iberian Peninsula, what the Jewish people call Sefarad. According to interpretations of different sources, such as the Bible (Book of Kings), it can be thought that the first Jews arrived in Cádiz (perhaps the oldest city in Spain) during the Iron Age (late 2nd millennium BC), accompanying Phoenician merchants.
It is also speculated that some Jews may have reached this territory after the first destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians (587 BC), as this led to an initial dispersion of Jews across the Mediterranean.
More plausible seems the idea that the first true community was established here during the Roman Empire, after the second destruction of the Temple (AD 70, under Emperor Titus). It was precisely in the 1st century AD that the scholar Jonatan Ben Uziel translated Hispania as Sefarad.
First evidence of a Jewish presence
The earliest material evidence of a Jewish presence in Spain dates back to the 2nd century. It mainly consists of stone inscriptions, for example on tombstones or Roman altars (arae). However, even at this point there is no consensus, as these references can be interpreted in different ways, either referring to—or not referring to—Samaritan Jews present on the peninsula.
The same applies to the famous acts of the Council of Elvira (early 4th century), held in the ancient city of Iliberris, a predecessor of Granada. These acts contain explicit references to Jews, mainly censuring mixed marriages, which points to a well-established presence and integration within that Hispano-Roman society that was beginning to reject paganism, establish Christianity as the official religion, and limit the influence of other religions, such as the minority (but existing) local Judaism.
Annia Salomonula: from Abdera and a pioneer
Our search for the first Jews in Spain and Andalusia must necessarily take us to Adra (ancient Roman Abdera): on the Mediterranean coast, this Almería town may have been one of the natural gateways into Sefarad.
In fact, this is where one of the earliest clear references to a Jewish person on Spanish soil is believed to be found: the Jewish girl Annia Salomonula (which could be translated as “little Solomon’s girl”), who died at the age of one and a half, in the 2nd–3rd century. The tombstone inscription states that she was “IUDAEA” and it was located in a Roman-era cemetery, on the site where the Hermitage of San Sebastián now stands.
Unfortunately, that tombstone is now of unknown whereabouts. It is known that, in the late 18th century, several Spanish philologists and clergy visited the hermitage and may have taken the tombstone away, as since then there has been no trace of it. The only image we have is a drawing reproduced in Father Mariana’s book History of Spain (published in 1783).
However, to evoke this event, there is nothing better than visiting the hermitage and seeing that, opposite its entrance, there is now a glass pavement that allows you to view the remains of that cemetery. Considering that, in the 2nd century, this place was on the other side of the riverbed of a small river, it allows (why not?) the hypothesis that it was used as a Jewish burial site, since the idea of a purifying burial on the far side of water is common in this religion.
