Timeline Thursday 31 March 1492

Events on Thursday 31 March 1492 1

• 1492 The Jews of Spain welcomed to the Ottoman Empire When Ferdinand and Isabella expel the Jews from Spain (Alhambra Decree, 31 March 1492), Bayezid II sends his fleet to bring the refugees to Ottoman ports. Between 100,000 and 200,000 Sephardic Jews settle in the Ottoman Empire -- primarily in Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Izmir and Edirne. They bring with them Spanish language (Ladino, still spoken by some Sephardic communities), printing (the first printing press in the Ottoman Empire is Jewish-operated, 1493), medical knowledge and international trade connections. Thessaloniki becomes the largest Jewish city in the world. Bayezid II reportedly jokes that Ferdinand had impoverished his own kingdom while enriching the Ottoman Empire.