The
tolerant and laissez-faire atmosphere then prevalent in the crumbling Roman
Empire's province of Hispania was shattered in 409C.E. when the Visigoths
poured into Iberia from their western German homeland. These Aryan Christian
Visigoths brought with them intolerance of all non Aryan-Christian minorities,
ruthlessly killing and plundering for much of the three centuries they
ruled Iberia.
A Roman
witnessing the early slaughter commented that the Iberian countryside resembled
an open-air morgue. Christianity was the central focus of their state and
Jews in particular were mercilessly persecuted for denying Christ. What
remained of the sciences and arts were denounced and abolished. Trade and
culture plummeted and a dark age descended on the Iberian Peninsula
At
the end of the 6th century King Reccared converted to Catholicism and made
it the state religion. The Church soon became the real power behind the
throne and frequently was the behind the scenes deciding factor on who
would become king. In 638 C.E. the Aryan Visigoths declared that "only
Catholics could live in Spain", a statement reasserted and implemented
many centuries later with the expulsion of Jews in later Spain and eerily
presaging Nazi Germany's stance about non Aryans.