Les Josiols is a former Jewish quarter situated north of

Mirabel-aux-Baronnies Mirabel-aux-Baronnies (; oc, Mirabèu) is a commune in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. Perched on top of a hill, Mirabel is renowned for its mild climate and scenery. It was first mentioned i ...

, a French

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the southern

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

department.

History

Mirabel, which was first mentioned in 1059, had a flourishing Jewish quarter until 1348. The Jews that inhabited Les Josiols were merchants with flourishing businesses. In 1348, the inhabitants were either expelled or assassinated due to the accusation that they had distributed the pest. In fact, the Black Death-outbreak of 1348 followed several years of bad harvests and had made numerous victims. It was therefore that the inhabitants of Mirabel felt that somebody had to be punished. Finally, the Jews were accused of having poisoned the drinking water wells of Mirabel. It has to be noted that the creek Françonne served as a source of drinking water for the Jews, so they did not suffer from the poison, was the hearsay. Their houses were completely destroyed, those who resisted were murdered, the ones that fled went to

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. ...

. The Dauphin of the Dauphiné (later the French department

) and even the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

intervened but could do little to save the Jews of Mirabel.

Today

Today Les Josiols is just a hillside covered with bare saffre (sandstone), olive trees, vineyards, and some farms.

Climate

Situated on a hillside, Mirabel has a mild climate.

References

#P. Ollivier-Elliott: ''Les Baronnies'', #Claude Leone-Chanot: ''Mirabel aux Baronnies'', {{ISBN, 2-903044-85-6 Geography of Drôme Jewish communities Medieval anti-Jewish pogroms History of Rhône-Alpes