Conversion to Islam was encouraged by the Ummayad Caliphs and Emirs of Córdoba. Many Mozarabs converted to Islam to avoid the heavy jizyah tax which they were subjected to as Dhimmis. Conversion to Islam also opened up new horizons to the Mozarabs, alleviated their social position, ensured better living conditions, and broadened scope for more technically skilled and advanced work. Apostasy, however, for one who had been raised as a Muslim or had embraced Islam, was a crime punishable by death.