The Jewish community in Mantua rose to prominence under the rule of the Gonzaga; documents date at least their presence to the 12th century. By the start of the 17th-century, they putatively numbered over 2,000 individuals and accounted for nearly 7.5% of the population of Mantua. By 1612, under pressure by the Papacy, Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga enforced the segregation of the ghetto. The area comprised by streets now named Dottrina Cristiana, Pomponazzo, Calvi, Spagnoli and Giustiziati was enclosed by four gates that were closed from dusk to dawn. The situation of Jews in Mantua worsened in 1629-1630 during the siege and subsequent sack of Mantua during the War of the Mantuan Succession; the city was afflicted with the plague, when after months of siege, in July 1630, Mantua was sacked for three days by mercenary Landsknecht troops led by Count Aldringen and Gallas fighting for Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.