Balat first became home to a large Jewish population in the late 15th century, when Sultan Bayezid II offered citizenship to Jews and Muslims fleeing the Inquisition in Spain and Africa, and the 1492 Alhambra Decree.
The arrival of Jewish refugees in Balat in the late 15th century was facilitated by Sultan Bayezid II's offer of asylum, which was a consequence of the 1492 Alhambra Decree aimed at addressing persecution in Spain and Africa.