History of the Jews in Italy

The history of the Jews in Italy spans more than two thousand years. The Jewish presence in Italy dates to the pre-Christian Roman period and has continued, despite periods of extreme persecutions and expulsions from parts from time to time, until the present. As of 2007, the estimated core Jewish population in Italy numbers around 45,000.

Antiquity

Pre-Christian Rome

The first attested Jews in Italy were the ambassadors sent to Rome by Judah Maccabee in 161 BCE, Jason son of Eleazar and Eupolemus son of John son of Accos (1 Maccabees 8:17–20). According to I Maccabees they signed a treaty with the Roman Senate, although modern scholars like historian A.N. Sherwin-White argue that this embassy did not happen.

It is known more certainly that an embassy was sent later by Simon Maccabeus to Rome to strengthen the alliance with the Romans against the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom. The ambassadors received a cordial welcome from their coreligionists already established in Rome.

Italian Jews

Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living or with roots in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the Italkim, an ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from the communities dating from medieval or modern times who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite.

Divisions

Italian Jews historically fell into four categories.