After the 300s CE, the Roman Empire (and then the Byzantine Empire which followed it) was Christian. As a result of this Christianization, Roman Law came to discriminate against non-Christians, particularly against Jews. You've read the relevant selections from Roman Law on the treatment of Jews. You'll remember that after the 600s, Arab Muslims conquered the Middle East and North Africa, subjecting Jews and Christians to legal discrimination. You've read the Pact of Umar which outlines some of this discrimination. Look at the way that these Empires treat members of the non-dominant religions based on those texts. If you lived in the ninth century (i. e., the 800s CE), would you rather be a Jew in the Byzantine Empire or a Christian in the Abbasid Caliphate? Why? Explain your answer in at least two paragraphs! Remember to cite any outside sources!

If I lived during the ninth century AD, than I would rather choose to be a Jew in the Byzantine Empire, rather than a Christian in the Abbasid Caliphate. The reason for this is that in the ninth century, the Byzantine authorities were not cruel toward the Jews, instead the predominantly Orthodox Christians allowed the Jews to practice their religion and were not discriminatory against them on religious basis. That enabled the Jews to be able to leave in peace as all others, and they were able to prosper into the society.

The Abbasid Caliphate, on the other side, was not the best place for anyone who was not practicing Islam, including the Christians. The authorities were very oppressive, forced the people to convert to Islam, or if they didn't they were discriminated against, seen as lower type of people, even to a degree of animals. It was common that the man were tortured and killed because they were practicing Christianity, and the women were raped and taken as sex slaves.