April 9

193: Septimius
Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum.  Severus is
the first emperor to ban proselytizing by Jews.

423: Emperor
Theodosius II reaffirms the Roman law according to which “No Jew may
purchase Christian…

 April 6

1199:
King Richard I of England dies from an infection following the removal of an
arrow from his shoulder. Richard spent most of his reign fighting to protect
his lands in France or on the Third Crusade. While he was in England, he did
…

 March 301135: On the secular calendar, birthdate of Maimonides (Moses Ben Maimon) in Cordova, Spain. According to Jewish tradition he was born Erev Pesach. “From Moses to Moses there was none like Moses.’ This folk saying sums up the greatness of…

 March 27

347: Traditional birthdate for Jerome, the priest and theologian best
known for the creation of the Vulgate Bible, the Latin translation of the text
and the author of correspondence with Augustine of Hippo that frequently
mentioned the …

March 26

1027: Coronation of Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor, whose court was the site
of religious disputation between Bishop Wazon “the overlord of” Liege and an
unnamed Jewish physician. (As reported by the Jewish Virtual Library) 

1147: Je…

March 23

1369: King
Pedro of Castile who employed Abraham ibn Zaral as his physician was beheaded
by his rival and brother, Henry of Trastamara marking the end of their civil
war for control of the kingdom. Henry “was as hostile to the Jews as Pedro h…

March 22

1144: This
date marks the first ritual murder libel which took place in in Norwich,
England. It set the pattern for subsequent accusations that would be made into
the 20th century all across Europe. A 12-year-old boy, William, was found dead
…