In July 1263, King James I of Aragon convened a public religious disputation in Barcelona between the Dominican Friar Paul Christian and the prominent Jewish rabbi Moses ben Nahman (Nahmanides). The debate was a formal theological confrontation, pitting Christian interpretations of the Messiah against Jewish views. The disputation was a significant moment in Jewish-Christian relations, as it led to the forced conversion of some Jews and the increased censorship of Jewish texts.

The Disputation of Barcelona was a major event in the history of Jewish and Christian literature. Nahmanides' account of the debate, written in Hebrew, is a masterwork of Jewish apologetics that has been studied and preserved for centuries. The disputation also influenced Christian polemical literature, as it provided a model for future forced debates. The event highlighted the power of dialogue and the written word in shaping religious identity and conflict.