@Yabia Omer:
What is ‘obvious’ to you, is actually not true.
The European Communities come straight from the Roman (and later Christian) Exile.
Direct Mesorah from the Yerushalmi Talmud.
ALL of Eretz Yisrael, Egypt, Syria and Turkey, Greece and Rome Jewish Communities of 2nd temple were ALL Ashkenaz (European) Jews. There were NO Sphardim at all until about 1300 years ago.
Shimon Hatzadik was the first Ashkenazi Jew.
Besides that, the Spanish and Portuguese almost ALL moved to Europe (those that left Iberia), over the centuries after the expulsion – to the point that almost no spanish jews remained Sphardi – they almost all became European Ashkenazi. Most of the Ottaman Jews in the 1600’s and 1700’s moved to south eastern Europe – think Hungary, Romania, Chechya, Slovakia, Austria.
The Ottamans surrounded Vienna in 1683. Most Ashkenazim today are heavily sphardi. The entire jewish community of Vienna in 1718 was Ottaman.
There are very few sphardim left
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