the presence of Jews in France goes back to Roman Gaul around the time of the fall of Masada in 73. Jewish communities contributed to the cultural life of the Provence region in a range of fields; science, medicine, philosophy, mysticism and music. They also played an important role in the progression and circulation of goods and ideas.
Jews were expelled from the French crown in the 14th cenutry and a hundred years later from the rest of Provence. The only havens that remained were two fiefs under papal sovereignty, the Comtat Venaissin and Avignon, both in the Vaucluse department, where they were protected and able to practice their religion.