At the time of the Roman Empire, there was no such thing as Sfardi or Ashkenazi Jews in Judea, although the ancestors of both had origins as Roman traders. The Roman control of the Mediterranean enabled easy and safe travel for merchants, among whom were Jewish traders who settled in what became Spain. At the same time, the Romans developed a sophisticated network of paved roads in Europe that Jewish merchants ( and ancestors of the Ashkenazis ) used to travel to and settle in the Rhine area.
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