The practice of wearing special clothing or markings to distinguish Jews and other non-Muslims (dhimmis) in Muslim-dominated countries seems to have been introduced in the Umayyad Caliphate by Caliph Umar II in the early 8th century.<ref name="Bell2005"/><ref name="Adler&Jacobs" /> In the 9th century, Islamic authorities began to harden their attitude on Template:Lang (Template:Lang, differentiating non-Muslims from Muslims.<ref name="Stillman">Template:Cite book</ref> The Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil issued a decree in 850 that ordered Jews and Christians to wear the Template:Lang (Template:Lang), honey-coloured outer garments and badge-like patches on their clothing and their servants' clothing. This began the long tradition of differentiation by colour, though the colour and badges would change over time and place.<ref name="Roth">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Stillman" />
The clothing was also enforced outside of the Islamic heartlands. In Aghlabid Northern Africa and Sicily dhimmis were required to wear a patch (Template:Langx, Template:Lang) of white fabric on the shoulder of their outer garment, with the patch for Jews being in the image of an ape and for Christians - in the image of a pig.<ref name="Stillman" /><ref name="Simonsohn">Template:Cite book</ref> It is not clear how long this humiliating decree remained in force, but it is clear that in the Maghrebi case, the purpose of the patch was not merely Template:Lang 'differentiation' but also Template:Lang (Template:Lang, 'humiliation'), in keeping with the qoranic injunction (Sura 9:29) that non-Muslims should be humbled.<ref name="Stillman" /> A genizah document from 1121 gives the following description of decrees issued in Baghdad:
The Jews of Egypt were forced in 1005 to wear the zunnar on their garments and a wooden calf to remind them of the golden one.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" /> In the late 12th century, the Almohads forced the Jews of North Africa to wear yellow cloaks and turbans,<ref name="Roth2">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a practice the subsequent Hafsid dynasty continued to follow.<ref name="Stillman1">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1250, under Hafsid caliph al-Mustansir, Jews had to wear some sort of distinguishing badge (Template:Langx, Template:Lang), though it is not exactly known how it looked like and it may have referred to both a special patch and an overall attire unique to Jews.<ref name="Joffé">Template:Cite book</ref> At the same time, the Ayyubid Sultan decreed that the life and property of any Jew or Christian found in the street without a distinguishing badge (Template:Langx, Template:Lang) or Template:Lang would be forfeit.<ref name="Stillman1" /> In the following century, in 1301, Jews were required to wear a yellow turban.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" />
Mid-15th century reports describe the Template:Lang as a piece of yellow cloth worn on the outer clothing that Tunisian Jews were obliged to wear.<ref name="FentonLittman">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Joffé" /> The Template:Lang ceased to be used in Morocco from the 16th century, but it continued to be such a regular defining mark of Tunisian Jews up to the 19th century, that they were commonly referred to as Template:Lang ('those who wear the sign').<ref name="Stillman1" />
Medieval and early modern Europe
A 16th century depiction of a Jewish couple from Worms, Germany, wearing the obligatory yellow badge; the man holds a moneybag and bulbs of garlic (often used in artistic portrayals of Jews in medieval Europe).
From the thirteenth century onwards, secular authorities in Medieval Europe started to distinguish different people, affecting both Christians and non-Christians, and occupations by distinguishing clothing. With the Fourth Council of the Lateran in 1215 headed by Pope Innocent III it was for the first time specifically declared that Jews and Muslims must wear distinguishing garbs (Latin Template:Lang).<ref name="Rist">Template:Cite book</ref> These measures were not seen as being inconsistent with the papal bulls Template:Lang. While some historians argue that the reason was to keep Jews out of Christian society, many clothing restrictions also applied to Christians and the stated and likely reason was to prevent intermarriage and thus proselytisation.<ref name="Rist" /> This wording of the council decree may have been influenced indirectly by the Muslim requirements for Jews.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="Roth2" /> Canon 68 reads, in part:
Innocent III had in 1199 confirmed Template:Lang, which was also confirmed by Pope Honorius III in 1216. In 1219, Honorius III issued a dispensation to the Jews of Castile,<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" /> the largest Jewish population in Europe. Spanish Jews normally wore turbans, which presumably met the requirement to be distinctive.<ref name="Roth" /> Elsewhere, local laws were introduced to bring the canon into effect.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The identifying mark varied from one country to another, and from period to period.
However, these ecclesiastic pronouncements required legal sanctions of a temporal authority. In 1228, James I of Aragon ordered Jews of Aragon to wear the badge;<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" /> and in 1265, the Template:Lang, a legal code enacted in Castile by Alfonso X but not implemented until many years later, included a requirement for Jews to wear distinguishing marks.<ref name="Halsall_1997">Template:Cite book</ref> On 19 June 1269, Louis IX of France imposed a fine of ten livres (one livre was equivalent to a pound of silver) on Jews found in public without a badge (Template:Langx, Template:Langx or Template:Lang).<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" /><ref name="Birnbaum">Template:Cite news</ref> The enforcement of wearing the badge is repeated by local councils, with varying degrees of fines, at Arles 1234 and 1260, Béziers 1246, Albi 1254, Nîmes 1284 and 1365, Avignon 1326 and 1337, Rodez 1336, and Vanves 1368.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" /> The "rota" looked like a ring of white or yellow.<ref>Template:Harvnb, although Template:Harvnb, say red was commonest for badges of all shapes, followed by yellow or green, or red and white together.</ref> The shape and colour of the patch also varied, although the colour was usually white or yellow. Married women were often required to wear two bands of blue on their veil or head-scarf.<ref name="Piponnier&Mane_p137" />
In Europe, Jews were required to wear the Template:Lang or Template:Lang, a cone-shaped hat, in most cases yellow.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1267, the Vienna city council ordered Jews to wear this type of hat rather than a badge.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" /> There is a reference to a dispensation from the badge in Erfurt on 16 October 1294, the earliest reference to the badge in Germany.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" /> There were also attempts to enforce the wearing of full-length robes, which in late 14th-century Rome were supposed to be red. In Portugal, a red Star of David was used.<ref name="Piponnier&Mane_p137">Template:Cite book</ref>
Enforcement of the rules was variable; in Marseille the magistrates ignored accusations of breaches, and in some places individuals or communities could buy exemption. Cathars who were considered "first time offenders" by the Catholic Church and the Inquisition were also forced to wear yellow badges, albeit in the form of crosses, about their person.
The yellow badge remained the key distinguishing mark of Jewish dress in the Middle Ages.<ref>Template:Harvnb, although The Jewish Encyclopedia cites a reference from 1208 in France. See The Jewish Encyclopedia for the Judenhut being more widespread than the badge.</ref> From the 16th century, the use of the Template:Lang declined, but the badge tended to outlast it, surviving into the 18th century in places.Template:Sfn
One observer reported that the star increased German non-Nazi sympathy for Jews as the impoverished citizens who wore them were, contrary to Nazi propaganda, obviously not the cause of German failure on the Eastern Front. In the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, government had to ban hat tipping towards Jews and other courtesies that became popular as protests against the German occupation. A whispering campaign that claimed that the action was in response to the United States government requiring German Americans to wear swastikas was unsuccessful.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Post–World War II
In May 2001, the Taliban government in Afghanistan ruled that Hindus in the country must wear a yellow badge, causing international outcry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On 31 October 2023, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United NationsGilad Erdan, as well as other Israeli delegates, began wearing yellow star badges with the words "Never Again" written on them, in protest to criticism of Israel's conduct during the Gaza war. Erdan claimed that the UN Security Council was "silent" about the October 7 attacks, and said that he would wear the star "as a symbol of pride".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, this decision was immediately condemned by Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan, calling it a "[disgrace to] the victims of the Holocaust as well as the state of Israel", pointing out that the slaughter of Jews by Hamas differs from the Holocaust in that "Jews have today a state and an army. We are not defenseless and at the mercy of others."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> According to Ynet, unnamed officials from Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also highly critical of the decision, with one calling it a "cheap gimmick that doesn’t serve our goal", and others describing it as an attempt to appeal to Likud party members.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Caliph al-Mutawakkil reinforces and reissues the edict. Christians are required to wear patches. One of the patches was to be worn in front of the breast and the other on the back. They were required to be honey-coloured.<ref name="Bell2005">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
888
Ibrahim ibn Ahmad, the Aghlabid ruler of North Africa and Sicily, proclaims an order according to which Jews have to wear a patch depicting a monkey and Christians one depicting a pig.<ref name="Simonsohn" />
1005
The Fatimid caliph al-Hakim forces Jews to wear black robes and a wooden image of a calf in public and a bell around their neck when in public baths (the same applies for Christians who have to wear a wooden cross around their neck in the baths).<ref name="Roth" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1184–1199
The Almohad Yaqub al-Mansur orders that Jews must dress in Muslim fashion of mourning (dark blue or black). His successor requires Jews to wear yellow cloaks and turbans.<ref name="Roth2" />
1249
The Ayyubid Sultan issues an order according to which the property and life of Jews or Christians which are found on the streets without a distinguishing badge is forfeit.<ref name="Stillman1" />
1450
The Algerian Template:Lang Muhammad al-Uqbani and the Flemish traveller Anselm Adornes report that Tunisian Jews are obliged to wear a distinctive piece of yellow cloth on their clothing.<ref name="FentonLittman" /><ref name="Joffé" />
Pope Honorius III issues a dispensation to the Jews of Castile.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" /> Spanish Jews normally wore turbans in any case, which presumably met the requirement to be distinctive.<ref name="Roth" />
The Synod of Narbonne rules: "That Jews may be distinguished from others, we decree and emphatically command that in the center of the breast (of their garments) they shall wear an oval badge, the measure of one finger in width and one half a palm in height."<ref name="LateranIV_Canon68" />
The Template:Lang, a legal code enacted in Castile by Alfonso X but not implemented until many years later, includes a requirement for Jews to wear distinguishing marks.<ref name="Halsall_1997" />
1267
In a special session, the Vienna city council forces Jews to wear Template:Lang (a cone-shaped head dress, common in medieval illustrations of Jews); a badge does not seem to have been worn in Austria.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" />
1269
France. (Saint) Louis IX of France orders all Jews found in public without a badge (Template:Langx or Template:Lang, Template:Langx) to be fined ten livres of silver.<ref name="Birnbaum" /> The enforcement of wearing the badge is repeated by local councils, with varying degrees of fines, at Arles 1234 and 1260, Béziers 1246, Albi 1254, Nîmes 1284 and 1365, Avignon 1326 and 1337, Rodez 1336, and Vanves 1368.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" />
1274
The Statute of Jewry in England, enacted by King Edward I, enforces the regulations. "Each Jew, after he is seven years old, shall wear a distinguishing mark on his outer garment, that is to say, in the form of two Tables joined, of yellow felt of the length of Template:Convert and of the breadth of Template:Convert."<ref name="ThisSceptredIsle" />
1294
Erfurt. The earliest mention of the badge in Germany.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" />
1315–1326
Emir Ismail Abu-I-Walid forces the Jews of Granada to wear the yellow badge.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" />
A bull of the Antipope Benedict XIII orders the Jews to wear a yellow and red badge; the men on their breast, the women on their forehead.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" />
1434
Emperor Sigismund reintroduces the badge at Augsburg.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" />
1528
The Council of Ten of Venice allows the newly arrived famous physician and professor Jacob Mantino ben Samuel to wear the regular black doctors' cap instead of Jewish yellow hat for several months (subsequently made permanent), upon the recommendation of the French and English ambassadors, the papal legate, and other dignitaries numbered among his patients.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
King Sigismund II Augustus passes a law that required Lithuanian Jews to wear yellow hats and head coverings. The law was abolished twenty years later.<ref name="Adler&Jacobs" />
1710
Frederick William I abolished the mandatory Jewish yellow patch in Prussia in return for a payment of 8,000 thaler (about $75,000 worth of silver at 2007 prices) each.<ref>Template:Cite book See talk page for conversion.</ref>
Axis powers
1939
Local German occupation commanders ordered Jewish Poles to wear an identifying mark under the threat of death. There were no consistent requirements as to its colour and shape: it varies from a white armband, a yellow hat to a yellow Star of David badge. Hans Frank ordered all Jewish Poles over the age of 11 years in German-occupied Poland to wear white armbands with a blue Star of David.
Jews in the Independent State of Croatia, a puppet state of Nazi Germany, were ordered to wear "Jewish insignia".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jewish Poles in German-occupied Soviet-annexed Poland, Jewish Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians as well as Soviet Jews in German-occupied areas were obliged to wear white armbands or yellow badges. All Romanian Jews were ordered to wear the yellow badge.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The yellow badge was the only standardised identifying mark in the German-occupied East; other signs were forbidden. Jewish Germans and Jews with citizenship of annexed states (Austrians, Czechs, Danzigers) from the age of six years were ordered to wear the yellow badge from 19 September when in public.<ref name="Polizeiverordnung" /> In Luxembourg, the German occupation authorities introduce the Nuremberg Laws, followed by several other anti-Jewish ordinances including an order for all Jews to wear a yellow star with the word Template:Lang.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Slovak Republic ordered its Jews to wear yellow badges.
1941/1942
Romania started to force Jews in newly annexed territories, denied Romanian citizenship, to wear the yellow badge.
The Gestapo ordered Jewish Germans and Jews with citizenship of annexed states to mark their apartments or houses at the front door with a white badge.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Jewish Dutch people were ordered to wear the yellow badge. Jewish Belgians were ordered to wear the yellow badge. Jews in occupied France, covering the northern and western half of the country, were ordered to wear a yellow star by the German authorities. Bulgaria ordered its Jewish citizens to wear small yellow buttons. German forces invaded and occupied the zone libre, i.e. the south-eastern half of France, but did not enforce the yellow star directive there.
1944
After the occupation of Hungary, the Nazi occupiers ordered Jewish Hungarians and Jews with defunct other citizenships (Czechoslovak, Romanian, Yugoslav) in Hungarian-annexed areas to wear the yellow badge.Template:Sfn
