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Hezekiah Gaon
Hezekiah Gaon or Hezekiah ben David ( he, חזקיה בן דוד) was the last Gaon of the Talmudic academy in Pumbedita from 1038–40. Hezekiah ben David was a member of the House of Exilarchs, his father David was the son of Zakkai. Some scholars believe Hezekiah was great-grandson of David ben Zakai (not the grandson of David). Hezekiah was elected to the office of principal after the death of Hai Gaon at the age of 99, but was denounced to a fanatical government of the Buyid dynasty, who then imprisoned and tortured him to death. However, the Jewish Quarterly Review mentions that Hezekiah was liberated from prison, and became head of the academy, and is mentioned as such by a contemporary in 1046. With him ended his family except two sons who escaped to the Iberian Peninsula, where they found a home with Joseph ibn Naghrela, son of Samuel ibn Naghrillah. The death of Hezekiah ended the line of the Geonim, which had begun four centuries earlier (see Hanan of Iskiya), and wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaon (Hebrew)
Gaon (gā'ōn) ( he, גאון, , plural ''geonim'' — gĕ'ōnīm) may have originated as a shortened version of "Rosh Yeshivat Ge'on Ya'akov", although there are alternative explanations. In Biblical Hebrew, Ancient Hebrew, it referred to arrogance and haughty pride ( – "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.") and later became known as a general term for pride, both the positive and negative forms ('Pride [of]'; Late Medieval and Modern Hebrew for 'genius'). Today, it may refer to: One of the Geonim during the period 589–1040. Prominent Geonim include: * Yehudai Gaon (Gaon 757–761) * Sar Shalom Ben Boaz (Gaon 838–848) * Natronai ben Hilai, Gaon of Sura (Gaon to 857) * Amram Gaon, Gaon of Sura (Gaon 857–875) * Saadia Gaon (882/892 – 942) * Zemah ben Hayyim (Gaon 889–895) * Sherira Gaon (906–1006) * Samuel ben Hofni (died 1034) * Hai Gaon (939–1038) An honorific title given to a few leading rabbis o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pumbedita
Pumbedita (sometimes Pumbeditha, Pumpedita, or Pumbedisa; arc, פוּמְבְּדִיתָא ''Pūmbəḏīṯāʾ'', "The Mouth of the River,") was an ancient city located near the modern-day city of Fallujah, Iraq. It is known for having hosted the Pumbedita Academy. History The city of Pumbedita was said to have possessed a Jewish population since the days of Second Temple of Jerusalem. The city had a large Jews, Jewish population and was famed for its Pumbedita Academy - whose scholarship, together with the city of Sura (city), Sura, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud. The academy there was founded by Judah ben Ezekiel in the late third century. The academy was established after the destruction of the academy of Nehardea. Nehardea, being the capital city, was destroyed during the Palmyra#Persian wars, Persian-Palmyrian war. The twelfth-century travel account of Benjamin of Tudela gives this description : :Two days [from Mosul is] Juba, which is Pumbeditha in Nehardea, Neharde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exilarch
The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Persian Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing political developments. The exilarch was regarded by the Jewish community as the royal heir of the House of David and held a place of prominence as both a rabbinical authority and as a noble within the Persian court. Within the Sasanian Empire, the exilarch was the political equivalent of the ''Catholicos'' of the Christian Church of the East, and was thus responsible for community-specific organizational tasks such as running the rabbinical courts, collecting taxes from Jewish communities, supervising and providing financing for the Talmudic academies in Babylonia, and the charitable re-distribution and financial assistance to needy members of the exile community. The position of exilarch was hereditary, held in continuity by a family t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hai Gaon
Hai ben Sherira (Hebrew: האי/י בר שרירא) better known as Hai Gaon (Hebrew: האי/י גאון, חאיי גאון), was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy of Pumbedita during the early 11th century. He was born in 939 and died on March 28, 1038. He received his Talmudic education from his father, Sherira ben Hanina, and in early life acted as his assistant in teaching. In his forty-fourth year he became associated with his father as "''av bet din''," and with him delivered many joint decisions. According to '' Sefer HaKabbalah'' of Rabbi Abraham ben David (Ravad), he was the last of the ''Geonim''. Appointment as Gaon As a consequence of the calumnies of their antagonists Hai and his father were imprisoned together, and their property was confiscated, by the caliph al-Qadir in 997 C.E. The imprisonment was brief, but shortly thereafter (in 998) the aged and infirm Sherira appointed his son to the position of gaon. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buyid Dynasty
The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dynasties in the region, the approximate century of Buyid rule represents the period in Iranian history sometimes called the 'Iranian Intermezzo' since, after the Muslim conquest of Persia, it was an interlude between the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate and the Seljuk Empire. The Buyid dynasty was founded by 'Ali ibn Buya, who in 934 conquered Fars and made Shiraz his capital. His younger brother Hasan ibn Buya conquered parts of Jibal in the late 930s, and by 943 managed to capture Ray, which he made his capital. In 945, the youngest brother, Ahmad ibn Buya, conquered Iraq and made Baghdad his capital. He received the ''laqab'' or honorific title of ''Mu'izz al-Dawla'' ("Fortifier of the State"). The e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defining the westernmost edge of Eurasia. It is principally divided between Spain and Portugal, comprising most of their territory, as well as a small area of Southern France, Andorra, and Gibraltar. With an area of approximately , and a population of roughly 53 million, it is the second largest European peninsula by area, after the Scandinavian Peninsula. Name Greek name The word ''Iberia'' is a noun adapted from the Latin word "Hiberia" originating in the Ancient Greek word Ἰβηρία ('), used by Greek geographers under the rule of the Roman Empire to refer to what is known today in English as the Iberian Peninsula. At that time, the name did not describe a single geographical entity or a distinct population; the same name was us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Ibn Naghrela
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic countries. In Portuguese and Spanish, the name is "José". In Arabic, including in the Quran, the name is spelled ''Yūsuf''. In Persian, the name is "Yousef". The name has enjoyed significant popularity in its many forms in numerous countries, and ''Joseph'' was one of the two names, along with ''Robert'', to have remained in the top 10 boys' names list in the US from 1925 to 1972. It is especially common in contemporary Israel, as either "Yossi" or "Yossef", and in Italy, where the name "Giuseppe" was the most common male name in the 20th century. In the first century CE, Joseph was the second most popular male name for Palestine Jews. In the Book of Genesis Joseph is Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first son, and kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Ibn Naghrillah
Samuel ibn Naghrillah (, ''Sh'muel HaLevi ben Yosef HaNagid''; ''ʾAbū ʾIsḥāq ʾIsmāʿīl bin an-Naghrīlah''), also known as Samuel HaNagid (, ''Shmuel HaNagid'', lit. ''Samuel the Prince'') and Isma’il ibn Naghrilla (born 993; died 1056), was a medieval Jewish Spanish Talmudic scholar, grammarian, philologist, soldier, merchant, politician, and an influential poet who lived in Iberia at the time of the Moorish rule. His poetry was one area through which he was well known. Marcus, Jacob Rader. "59: Samuel Ha-Nagid, Vizier of Granada." ''The Jew in the Medieval World: A Source Book, 315-1791.'' Cincinnati: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1938. 335-38. He was perhaps the most politically influential Jew in Muslim Spain. Stillman, Norman A. ''The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book'', The Jewish Publication Society of America,1979. 56 He was also the Prime Minister of the Muslim state of Granada and battlefield commander of the non-Jewish Granadan army. Lif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geonim
''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community worldwide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the ''Resh Galuta'' (exilarch) who wielded secular authority over the Jews in Islamic lands. ''Geonim'' is the plural of (''Gaon) , which means "pride" or "splendor" in Biblical Hebrew and since the 19th century "genius" as in modern Hebrew. As a title of a Babylonian college president it meant something like "His Excellency". The ''Geonim'' played a prominent and decisive role in the transmission and teaching of Torah and Jewish law. They taught Talmud and decided on issues on which no ruling had been rendered during the period of the Talmud. The Geonim were also spiritual leaders of the Jewish community of their time. Era The period of the Geonim began in 58 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanan Of Iskiya
Hanan of Iskiya (Asikia) ( he, רב חנן מאישקיא/מאישקא; alternative English spellings: Hanan of Iskia, or Hanan of Iskya, or Hanan of Ishqiya) was rector of the Talmudical academy at Pumbedita, 589-608. He was succeeded by Mari ben R. Dimi after his death in 609. Hormizd IV having persecuted the Christians and the Jews, the Talmudical academies of Sura and Pumbedita were closed, their masters removing to Firuz-Shabur, in the neighborhood of Nehardea. The accession of Hormizd's general, Bahram Chobin, relieved the Jews from persecution; Hanan returned to Pumbedita, reopened the academy, and assumed the rectorate, which he held for nineteen years. Thus far almost all historians agree, but not in regard to Hanan's inauguration of the era of the Geonim. Some, believing that the line of the Saboraim covered several generations, from the death of Rabina bar Ḥuna (499) to the middle of the 7th century, include Hanan in the list of the Saboraim. Others, however, follo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pumbedita Academy
Pumbedita Academy or Pumbedita Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת פומבדיתא; sometimes ''Pumbeditha'', ''Pumpedita'', ''Pumbedisa'') was a yeshiva in Babylon during the era of the Amoraim and Geonim sages. It was founded by Judah bar Ezekiel (220–299 CE) and, with the Sura Academy founded in 225 by Abba Arika, was an influential and dominant yeshiva for about 800 years. History After Abba Arikha and Samuel of Nehardea died at the end of the first generation of the Amoraim, along with the designation of Rav Huna as dean Sura, Judah bar Ezekiel went to the city of Pumbedita and had established a new yeshiva there. Pumbedita Academy was active for about 800 years over the course of the eras of the Amoraim, Savoraim, and Geonim up until the days of Hai Gaon. At the time, the academies of Pumbedita and Sura became the most influential and dominant yeshivas of the Jewish communities' world, and all Torah decrees and other religious rulings were issued from these Yeshivas to all the Je ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
