Hanan of Iskiya (Asikia) ( he, רב חנן מאישקיא/מאישקא; alternative
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spellings: Hanan of Iskia, or Hanan of Iskya, or Hanan of Ishqiya) was rector of the Talmudical academy at
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 t ...
, 589-608. He was succeeded by Mari ben R. Dimi after his death in 609.
Hormizd IV
Hormizd IV (also spelled Hormozd IV or Ohrmazd IV; pal, 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 579 to 590. He was the son and successor of Khosrow I () and his mother was a Khazar princess.
During his reign, Ho ...
having persecuted the Christians and the Jews, the Talmudical academies of
Sura
A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...
and Pumbedita were closed, their masters removing to Firuz-Shabur, in the neighborhood of Nehardea. The accession of Hormizd's general,
Bahram Chobin
Bahrām Chōbīn ( fa, بهرام چوبین) or Wahrām Chōbēn (Middle Persian: ), also known by his epithet Mehrbandak ("servant of Mithra"), was a nobleman, general, and political leader of the late Sasanian Empire and briefly its ruler as Ba ...
, 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
''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 o ...
. Some, believing that the line of the
Saboraim
A ''Savora'' (; Aramaic: סבורא, "a reasoner", plural ''Savora'im'', ''Sabora'im'' , סבוראים) is a term used in Jewish law and history to signify one among the leading rabbis living from the end of period of the '' Amoraim'' (around 500 ...
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, following the tradition that
Giza
Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9.2 ...
were the last of the Saboraim,see "Seder Tanna'im we-Amora'im" and that Hanan of Iskiya sat at the feet of the disciples of these masters, begin the geonic period with the restoration of the Pumbedita academy, and to its promoter they ascribe the origination of the title "Gaon".
Be this as it may, Hanan of Iskiya is remembered as the restorer of the Pumbedita Talmudical academy, and as the head of a line of teachers covering over four hundred years (589-1038), to the death of
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 ...