thumb|Illustration from the () depicting two Jews playing [[Grant Acedrex, 13th century]]
The Jewish Golden Age in Spain began shortly after the Muslim conquest in the 8th century. Its end date is debated, with some saying that it ended with the persecution of Jews by the Almohad Caliphate in the 1100s, and others saying it lasted until the Christian Reconquista resulted in the expulsion of Jews by the 15th century. During this period, Jews living in what was collectively called al-Andalus (Iberian territories under Muslim rule 711–1492, now Spain, Portugal, and Gibraltar) experienced relative tolerance, prosperity, and socio-cultural integration within the broader Muslim society that had come to dominate the region. Owing to this environment, Jewish culture flourished and several Jews rose to prominence in scholarly and religious spheres, including Maimonides, Hasdai ben Shaprut, Shmuel ha-Nagid, Solomon ben Judah, and Judah ha-Levi. The Jewish community of al-Andalus also contributed greatly to and benefited from the Muslim world's advancements in astronomy, medicine, and science.
Jews under Muslim authority in Spain and Portugal were designated as dhimmi ()—a legally protected class of non-Muslim subjects—in exchange for paying jizya () and accepting certain restrictions. Although they still held a second-class status relative to Muslims, the dhimmi framework in al-Andalus gradually allowed for the development of stability and co-existence that was otherwise uncommon in Jewish history in Europe; Jews were able to occupy a variety of positions in government and diplomacy, medicine, and science, while also playing a key role in the Muslim world's transmission of classical knowledge to Christian Europe. Further, the Jewish Golden Age in Spain brought about remarkable achievements in Hebrew poetry, religious scholarship, grammar, and philosophy. Some historians, however, view this to be more of a myth.
The exact nature and length of this particular "Golden Age" for Jews has been debated, as there were at least three periods during which non-Muslims were widely oppressed in al-Andalus. A few scholars give the start date of the Jewish Golden Age in Spain as falling in the years when the region was conquered and annexed by the Umayyad Caliphate. Others date it from 912, during the reign of Abd al-Rahman III, who founded the Caliphate of Córdoba. The end of the Jewish Golden Age is variously dated to periods of heightened instability and persecution under the Almoravids and Almohads or ultimately to the issuing of the Alhambra Decree by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain in 1492.
Historiography
thumb|200px|right|Image of a [[Hazzan|cantor reading the Passover story in Al-Andalus, from the 14th century Haggadah of Barcelona.]]
Having invaded southern Spain and coming to rule in a matter of seven years, Islamic rulers were confronted with many questions relating to the implementation of Islamic rule of a non-Islamic society. The coexistence of Muslims, Jews, and Christians Convivencia during this time is revered by many writers. Al-Andalus was a key center of Jewish life during the early Middle Ages.
María Rosa Menocal, a specialist in Iberian literature at Yale University, claims that "tolerance was an inherent aspect of Andalusian society". Menocal's 2003 book, The Ornament of the World, argues that the Jewish dhimmis living under the Caliphate were allowed fewer rights than Muslims but were still better off than in the Christian parts of Europe. Jews from other parts of Europe made their way to al-Andalus, where in parallel to Christian sects regarded as heretical by Catholic Europe, they were not just tolerated, but where opportunities to practise faith and trades were open without restriction save for the prohibitions on proselytisation and, sometimes, on synagogue construction.
Bernard Lewis takes issue with this view, calling it ahistorical and exaggerated. He argues that Islam traditionally did not offer equality or even pretend that it did and argues that it would have been both a "theological as well as a logical absurdity." However, he also states: