15th–17th centuries
Forced Conversions of the Jews of Persia under Abbas II
1656·Ispahan
The toll is reproduced exactly as the source states it — never rounded, never added to another. Tolls overlap from one event to the next.
synagogues closed, communities forced to Islam before a partial return was allowed
Under the reign of Abbas II, the Jews of Persia were forced to convert to Islam, their synagogues closed, before a partial return was permitted to them.
The measure came from the grand vizier, who sought to purify the kingdom; it struck first Isfahan, the capital, then the provincial communities. Those forcibly converted were called the new Muslims and kept under surveillance; when permission to return to Judaism was granted, in exchange for payment of the tax on non-Muslims, only a portion dared openly resume their faith.
The Jewish poet Babaï ben Loutf left a chronicle of those years in Persian verse written in Hebrew characters, which is the principal direct testimony we possess on the persecution.
- Period :
- 15th–17th centuries
- Type :
- Forced conversion
- Region :
- Near and Middle East
- Country :
- Iran
Babaï ben Loutf, Kitab-i anusi ; Ouvrages sur le judaïsme de Perse.