In early 838, Bodo declared that he was embarking to make a pilgrimage to Rome, but instead went to Muslim Spain, where he converted to Judaism.[2] His conversion was regarded as a rejection of the Carolingian culture, as well as of the Christian faith.[3] He took the Jewish name of Eleazar, had himself circumcised and married a Jewish woman. In 839, Bodo moved to Saragossa, where he incited the government of the Caliphate of Cordoba and the people to persecute the Spanish Christians.[4] Léon Poliakov claims that this conversion is "evidence" of the high regard in which Jews were held in Carolingian France.[5]