Isabella and Ferdinand sign the Alhambra Decree in Granada, ordering the expulsion of practicing Jews from Castile and Aragon.
On 31 March 1492, only weeks after completing the conquest of Granada, Isabella and Ferdinand signed the Alhambra Decree (also known as the Edict of Expulsion) within the newly captured city. The decree ordered all practicing Jews in the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon to convert to Christianity or leave the realm within four months, under threat of execution if they remained without converting.
The decree was framed as a measure to protect the integrity of Christian converts (conversos) from Jewish religious influence, reflecting the intensifying religious zeal and centralizing impulses of Isabella's rule, closely tied to the newly established Spanish Inquisition. Historians estimate that between 40,000 and 100,000 or more Jews left Spain as a result, with many resettling in the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, Portugal, and Italy, while others converted, sometimes only nominally.
The Alhambra Decree stands as one of the most consequential and controversial acts of Isabella's reign, representing a dark counterpoint to the era's celebrated achievements. It devastated a Jewish community that had lived in Iberia for over a millennium and reshaped the religious and demographic makeup of Spain. The decree remained formally in effect for centuries until it was symbolically revoked in 1968.