The presence of the Jewish community in Cordoba dates back to Roman times, where, given their status as merchants and educated people, they prospered. But after the fall of the empire, when the Visigoths converted to Christianity and reigned in Hispania, the Jewish population suffered restrictions and persecutions. The Jewish community actually openly supported the cause of the Muslims, who were welcomed as liberators by the Hebrew community. It was the Umayyad rulers in particular who understood that having them in their land was of both great cultural and economic value. After the fall of the caliphate in 1492, they were forced to choose between conversion to Christianity or expulsion from the Iberian Peninsula under the new King of Spain’s rule.