DNA reveals the history and origin of the Jews murdered in Tàrrega in the 14th century

BarcelonaIn July 1348, there was a terrible massacre in the Jewish quarter of Tàrrega. We know its scope from the documentation of the Royal Chancellery, the account of Josef ha-Kohen, The Valley of Tears, and the excavations in the mass graves carried out in 2007 at the Roquetes site. Both children and women, adults and the elderly died, and in that indiscriminate and furious attack, swords, axes, other types of bladed weapons and tools, and stones were used. The bone remains show extreme violence and atrocious beatings. For the first time, we also have the origin and composition of their DNA. A study by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB)  promoted by the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya, which has been published in Genes, has for the first time traced the genetic history of a medieval Jewish community in the Iberian Peninsula. Until now, none had been done for this community before their expulsion in 1492.

Tàrrega experienced a period of prosperity during the first third of the 14th century. From the second third of the century onwards, poor harvests, consequent social tension, and religious confrontation followed. The arrival of the black plague in Catalonia worsened everything, and finally, the assault on the Jewish quarter occurred, a few days after those in Barcelona and Cervera. The Tàrrega study, led by geneticist Cristina Santos and conducted in the UAB laboratories, has obtained reliable genetic data from 11 individuals, four men and seven women, unrelated. "This result indicates that the mass graves do not correspond to a single family, but rather reflect a significant part of the Jewish community of Tàrrega and reinforces the interpretation of an episode of generalized violence that affected several family groups," assures Santos. The bodies were deposited with some care, which indicates that they were probably buried by survivors of the Jewish community.

The mass graves in the Jewish cemetery of Tàrrega are exceptional at a European level due to their dimensions, the number of individuals located, the clear indications of violence in a high percentage of the bodies, and the clear attribution of the Roquetes necropolis to the Jewish community and to a very specific moment, the year 1348. It is like a great photograph of the tragedy, in which it is estimated that more than 300 people were murdered.

Less endogamy than in Germany or England

One of the most interesting data from the study is that endogamy is lower than in other medieval Jewish communities in Northern Europe, such as those studied in Erfurt (Germany) and Norwich (England). This suggests that the Jewish community of Tàrrega may have been less genetically isolated than other medieval Jewish populations. It is not the only singularity. "The population dynamics of the Jews of the Crown of Aragon may have been different from those of other regions of the Iberian Peninsula," states Santos. Jewish presence in the Iberian Peninsula has been known since at least the 1st century AD, probably after the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD.

The study shows that within the Jewish community of Tàrrega there was some intermixing: there is a larger proportion of ancestry related to ancient populations of Canaan, in the Middle East. The rest of the ancestry is explained by genetic contributions compatible with medieval Iberian populations of non-Jewish or Islamic origin. "This result confirms that the main origin of this community is in the Middle East, although they surely mixed with local Iberian populations during a long period of contact," says Santos. Despite this intermixing, Jewish genetic identity has remained clearly recognizable. In fact, genetic history is also a journey through the Jewish diaspora and its interaction with other Mediterranean populations. "The study also serves as a basis for future studies on the genetic continuity of current Jewish populations, including Sephardic communities and descendants of Iberian Jews," states Santos.