In 610 AD, Muhammad first founded the religion known as Islam. It soon spread to the Middle East, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Spain. Once Muhammad died, new Muslim leaders took control of the Islamic Empire. Known as caliphs, they ruled the Muslim community in place of Muhammad. When Islam reached Spain, the Jews living there were affected in a positive way. The Jews of the Muslim world led a righteous and comfortable life under the Caliphate, however, once the Caliphates were gone, the Jewish golden age ended. Society in Spain under the Umayyads, who were an Islamic caliphate originating from Mecca, allowed communities to live feel more comfortable than before, when they were ruled by the Visigoths. The Visigoths were a Germanic tribe, who ruled the Iberian Peninsula. Many people were unhappy under Visigothic rule, especially the Jews. The Jews were most likely given the choice of converting to Christianity, death, or exile. The Visigoths wanted the Jews to be crushed and humiliated. When the Muslims invaded Spain in 712, the people were happier because they were treated better than they had been by the Visigoths. Muslims even allowed serfs, who were agricultural laborers bound by a feudal system, to be promoted in their social position and become free men. This could happen if they simply converted to Islam. Once the Muslims took over, it gave the Jews a chance to recover from the persecutions of the Christians who ruled before. Muslims would not harass people whose religion was not Islam, because they understood that some communities had their own religion that was important to them. The Jews were also treated better and were not as low a class in the community as they had been under the Visi... middle of paper... History of the Jews. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010. 84-88. Britannica Encyclopedia. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/557573/Spain/70370/Muslim-Spain Fordham University. "Medieval Source: Covenant of Umar, 7th century." Accessed April 10, 2014. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/pact-umar.aspKarabell, Zachary. "The Jews of Spain." In Peace be on you: the story of Muslim, Christian and Jewish coexistence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. 71-81. Scheindlin, Raymond P. "Jews in the Islamic World: From the Rise of Islam to the End of the Middle Ages (632 to 1500)." In A Brief History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood. New York: Macmillan, 1998. 71-87. Stillman, Norman A. "Spain." In The Jews of the Arab Lands: A History and Source Book. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1979. 53-61.