In 1430, Thessaloniki was occupied by the Ottomans. Sultan Murah II encouraged the return of Jews in the city, treating them as equals with the other minorities, and noted that their knowledge and professional skills were necessary for the success of his empire. During the same period and the years to come, immigrants from Hungary and Bavarian Ashkenazi came to Thessaloniki. In 1492, the persecution of the Jews of Spain by the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, who signed a decree saying that all the Jews should leave their kingdom, led to between 15 and 20 thousand Sephardi Jews settling in the city. From the 15th to 17th century, Jews from other parts as well such as Italy, Portugal, Sicily, France and North America arrived in the city. In their new home, they founded synagogues that derived their names from the cities they came from and established their daily life habits and customs.