Jewish autonomy in diaspora depended crucially on the extension of Jewish sovereignty that foreign rulers were willing to extend to the Jewish community under feudal governance. So long as the royal or aristocratic ruler was lord of the manor, be he king or emperor or count or duke or earl, the Jewish leadership had a negotiating partner.
Jewish autonomy for most of the diasporic era was an extension of the ancien regime.
The ancien regime had a symbiotic relationship with its court Jews. The more clearly the court reigned the easier it was for the court Jews to strike a deal with the powers that were.
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