he Jews constituted a large ethno-cultural group within the Ottoman Empire, but not a united group as they originated from different regions of Europe which had coloured their mentality and language. After persecution and their exodus from Spain in 1492, the Sephardic Jews, arrived in the Ottoman Empire, settling in Thessalonica, Constantinople and other major cities and mixing with the local Jews, the Romaniotes. Persecution in Russia and many European countries prompted the influx of many German-speaking Jews, Ashkenazi, into the Empire. Until the end of the 16th century, all Jews belonged to a millet, under the control of the spiritual leader the Haham basi. Their economic prosperity, maintained until the 17th century, allowed them to participate in the administration and occupy important positions. After the 18th century, the growing religious intolerance in the Empire coupled with new opportunities in Western Europe, encouraged them to emigrate.
