4th century BC – December 2025

Historical Timeline

2,400 years of Jewish life in Türkiye — every key event in chronological order.

This timeline is linked from multiple pages across this archive. It places every major event — celebration and hardship alike — in chronological order so that readers can understand the full arc of Turkish-Jewish history.

Welcome / protection
Persecution / tragedy
Tension / complexity
Key milestone
Historical context
Ancient period
4th c. BC
Jewish settlement in Aegean Anatolia
Archaeological evidence along Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts. Josephus (via Clearchus of Soli) records Aristotle meeting learned Jews in Asia Minor.
220 BC
Sardis synagogue founded
One of the largest ancient synagogues ever excavated, near Ïzmir. Rebuilt in the 3rd century AD; partially reconstructed in the 1970s.
AD 70
Destruction of Jerusalem — diaspora migration
Roman destruction of the Temple triggers a major wave of Jewish diaspora into Asia Minor. By the 2nd century AD, an estimated one million Jews lived in the region.
Early Ottoman period
1326
Ottomans capture Bursa — Etz ha-Hayyim synagogue permitted
Sultan Orhan permits the oppressed Jewish community to build the Tree of Life synagogue. Often cited as 1324 — the correct date is 1326.
1376
Hungarian Jews expelled — find refuge in Ottoman Empire
Sep 1394
French Jews expelled by Charles VI — find refuge in Ottoman Empire
1453
Mehmet II takes Constantinople
Welcomes the oppressed Byzantine Jewish community. Invites all Jews to the new capital. Establishes the Hahambaşı (Chief Rabbi) position, which continues today.
c. 1454
Rabbi Yitzhak Sarfati’s letter from Edirne
Invites Jews across Europe to “leave the torments of Christendom and seek safety in Türkiye.” One of history’s earliest calls to Ottoman refuge.
1470
Bavarian Jews find refuge in Ottoman Empire
Attributed to “Ludwig X” in some sources — an error. Ludwig X ruled 1516–1545. The expulsion is more plausibly associated with Duke Ludwig IX (1417–1479).
31 Mar 1492
Alhambra Decree signed — Jews expelled from Spain
Ferdinand and Isabella sign the Edict of Expulsion. ~150,000–300,000 Jews required to leave or convert. August 2 is the last day Jews may remain on Spanish soil (also Tisha B’Av).
3 Aug 1492
Columbus sails from Palos — Jewish fleet departs the same day
Columbus wrote: “After you expelled the Jews your Majesties sent me with a fleet.” Two histories begin on the same tide.
1492
Bayazid II welcomes the Sephardim
The Sultan dispatches his fleet to bring Jews safely to Ottoman shores, orders governors to receive them cordially, and settles them throughout the empire. The largest Jewish migration in centuries.
1493
First Hebrew-language printing press in the Ottoman Empire
David and Samuel ibn Nahmias establish the press in Istanbul. Midrash Teilim printed here in 1512; a copy is preserved at the Zulfaris Museum.
Mar 1556
Suleyman intervenes for Ancona Marranos
Sultan Suleyman writes to Pope Paul IV demanding release of Marranos he declares Ottoman citizens. Partial success: 24–25 were burned regardless; others released. Remarkable regardless of the outcome.
Later Ottoman period
1626–1676
Sabbatai Sevi — the false Messiah of Ïzmir
Self-proclaimed Messiah draws enormous followings before converting to Islam in 1666. His followers (Dönmeh) continued as a distinct community for centuries.
1694
Imperial ferman orders rebuilding of Ahrida Synagogue
After fire, Sultan orders rebuilding in Baroque Tulip Period style. The Ahrida continues in use today.
27 Oct 1840
Sultan Abdülmecid’s ferman against the Blood Libel
Official Ottoman rejection of Blood Libel accusations, declaring the Jewish nation’s innocence “evident.” Issued while Blood Libel violence raged across Europe.
1856
Hattı-ı Hümayun reform edict
All Ottoman citizens — Muslim and non-Muslim — declared equal under the law.
9 Jun 1877
Prayer for Ottoman victory at the Ahrida Synagogue
Depicted in the London Illustrated News: Sadrazam Ibrahim Edhem Pasha present as the community prays for Ottoman armies in the war against Russia.
Turkish Republic — founding era
1923
Treaty of Lausanne — Republic recognised
Minority rights accorded to Greeks, Armenians and Jews, including the right to maintain own schools and social institutions.
1926
Jewish community renounces minority personal law rights
A voluntary act of civic loyalty to the new Republic, choosing to be governed by Turkish civil law for family matters.
1933
Atatürk invites Jewish professors fleeing Nazi Germany
Dozens of distinguished Jewish academics find refuge in Turkish universities, making lasting contributions to Turkish academic and scientific life.
Jun–Jul 1934
Thrace pogroms
Anti-Jewish riots and forced expulsions across the Thrace region. Significant community displacement and emigration follows. Largely absent from popular histories of the period.
10 Nov 1938
Atatürk dies — Ïsmet Ïnönü becomes president
All wartime policies — including treatment of Jewish refugees and the Varlık Vergisi — fall under Ïnönü, not Atatürk.
World War II — 1939–1945
Sep 1939
World War II begins — Türkiye declares neutrality
15 Dec 1940
SS Salvador sinks — 204 dead including 66 children
327 Jewish refugees on a ship built for 30–40. Storm in the Marmara Sea. A foreshadowing of the Struma disaster.
6 Apr 1941
Germany invades Greece through Bulgaria
Panzer divisions massed on the Bulgarian-Turkish border. Athens falls April 27; Greece fully occupied by June. German forces stand at Türkiye’s western border.
18 Jun 1941
German-Turkish Treaty of Friendship
Non-aggression pact — a survival calculation by encircled Türkiye, not an embrace of Nazism.
12 Dec 1941
Struma departs Constanza — 769 Jewish refugees
Engine fails almost immediately. Towed to sea. Full account →
15 Dec 1941
Struma arrives Istanbul — 71 days of negotiations begin
Istanbul’s Jewish community, the Turkish Red Crescent, and the Joint Distribution Committee feed all 769 passengers throughout. Britain refuses Palestine visas.
11 Nov 1942
Varlık Vergisi (Capital Tax) enacted
Non-Muslims assessed at rates far exceeding their wealth. ~30,000 Jews emigrate as a result. Defaulters deported to Aşkale labour camps. Full account →
23 Feb 1942
Struma towed into the Black Sea — engine still broken
All 71 days of diplomatic options exhausted. A tugboat tows the engineless ship through the Bosphorus and casts her adrift in winter waters.
24 Feb 1942
Struma sunk by Soviet torpedo — 768 dead, 1 survivor
Soviet submarine Shch-213 fires a single torpedo at ~2:00 AM. David Stoliar, age 19, is the sole survivor. Cause confirmed 1964; wreck identified 2010. Full account →
15 Mar 1944
Varlık Vergisi repealed
Abolished under British and American diplomatic pressure. Property sold at auction is not returned.
Jul 1944
Selahattin Ülkümen saves Jews of Rhodes
Consul General confronts German commander, saves ~50 Jews from deportation to Auschwitz. His wife Mihrinisa and two consulate staff are killed when the consulate is bombed. Recognised by Yad Vashem in 1989.
5 Aug 1944
Mefküre sunk — ~300 dead, 5 survivors
Turkish motor schooner carrying ~320 Jewish refugees under Turkish and Red Cross flags. Soviet submarine Shch-215 attacks with cannon and machine gun. Survivors in the water are machine-gunned. The last organised escape route from Nazi Europe closes.
2 Aug 1944
Türkiye severs diplomatic and commercial ties with Germany
23 Feb 1945
Türkiye declares war on Germany
A formality required for UN membership. No Turkish troops see combat. Germany surrenders May 8.
Post-war and the State of Israel
1948–1951
State of Israel established — mass emigration
34,547 Turkish Jews emigrate to Israel by 1951 — nearly 40% of the community. Türkiye is the first Muslim-majority country to formally recognise Israel.
Modern community — 1986–present
6 Sep 1986
Neve Şalom massacre — 22 killed
Abu Nidal Organisation terrorists attack during Shabbat morning prayers at 9:17 AM. Machine guns and grenades. Synagogue restored and reopened May 20, 1987; bullet marks on the Ehal left unrepaired as a memorial.
1989
Quincentennial Foundation established
Founded by 113 Turkish citizens, Jews and Muslims together, to commemorate 500 years of Jewish life in Türkiye. Learn more →
12 Dec 1989
Ülkümen recognised as Righteous Among the Nations
First Turkish citizen and first Muslim diplomat to receive the Yad Vashem honour. Medal ceremony in Israel, June 1990. Israeli postage stamp issued 1998.
25 Nov 2001
Museum of Turkish Jews opens at Zulfaris Synagogue
Restored by the Quincentennial Foundation. Visit the museum →
15 Nov 2003
Twin synagogue bombings — 23 killed, 600+ injured
Al-Qaeda truck bombs at Neve Şalom and Beth Israel at 9:14 AM during Shabbat services. Majority of casualties are Muslims in surrounding streets.
2002–2025
Chief Rabbi Ïsak Haleva — 23 years of service
First Chief Rabbi elected by direct community vote. First to deliver sermons in Turkish. Died January 14, 2025, aged 84. The 35th Hahambaşı.
4 Dec 2025
Chief Rabbi David Sevi installed at Neve Şalom Synagogue
Elected unanimously September 2025. Fourth Hahambaşı of the Republic era; 34th since the Ottoman period. Expert in the Maftirim tradition. Expected to serve until at least 2032.

This timeline connects to the full history section. Begin with the Foreword by Naim Güleryüz.

Explore the History →