The book examines the most pressing problems of Jewish history. First of all, is there even a Jewish people? After all, there is a very strong opinion that he has been gone for a long time. Once upon a time there was, but he completely disappeared into humanity. All that remained from him were customs, rites and rituals, which, oddly enough, are characteristic not only of today’s Jews, but also of many other people. Is this so? It is also important to understand whether it is true that at a certain stage in history, Semites from the Middle East played a significant role in the development of world civilization. No less bright than the Romans or Byzantines in their time. And if they played, then why, how long it lasted and how it was expressed. Little-known facts, opinions of historians of different eras, sociologists, economists, geneticists, archaeologists, theologians... They are collected in the book along with illustrations to give readers a general idea of the life of Jews in Europe and Asia in the last millennium. Especially in the Middle Ages, when everything was just beginning in the biography of world Jewry. The documentary book is designed for everyone who is interested in this most complex section of history.