ORIGINS OF IRAQI JEWRY

Iraq is the modern designation for the country carved out of ancient Babylonia, Assyria, and the southern part of Turkey after World War I.

It is also the place of the oldest Jewish Diaspora and the one with the longest continuous history, from 721 BCE to 1949 CE, a time span of 2,670 years. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept,” sang the Jewish refugees during the Babylonian Exile (587 BCE).   

By the 3rd century, Babylonia became the global center of Jewish scholarship, as is attested to by the community’s most influential contribution, the Babylonian Talmud. Jews prospered in what was then Babylonia for 1200 years before the Muslim conquest in 634 AD. Under Muslim rule, the situation of the Jewish community fluctuated. Some Jews held high positions in government and were successful in commerce and trade. At the same time, Jews were subjected to special taxes and restrictions on their professional activity.