Nagid ( he, נגיד ) is a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

term meaning a prince or leader. This title was often applied to the religious leader in

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

communities of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. In Egypt, the Jewish ''Nagid'' was appointed over all the Jews living under the dominion of the king of Egypt; he was invested with all the power of a king and could punish and imprison those who acted in opposition to his decrees; his duty was also to appoint the ''Dayyanim'' (judges) in every city. According to Muslim scholars, the role of the ''Nagid'' (or ''Ra’īs'') was to represent the Rabbanite majority, but also to represent the minority groups of the Karaites and

Samaritans Samaritans (; ; he, שומרונים, translit=Šōmrōnīm, lit=; ar, السامريون, translit=as-Sāmiriyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samarit ...

as well. Accordingly, his function was to "join the Jews together and to prevent their separation," mainly by serving them as legal authority in accordance with their laws and customs. Among the individuals bearing this title are the following (Dates refer to lifespan, not when this title was held.): *

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 ...

(Shmuel Ha-Naggid), * Sa'adya ben Mevorakh, 999-? * David ben Daniel, *

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 mo ...

(Yosef Ha-Naggid), 1035-1066 * Yehudah "Judah" ben Sa'adya, 1020-1080 * Abū 'l-Faḍl Mevorakh ben Saʿadya, 1040-1111 * Nethan'el ben Mevorakh, 1098- * , * , *

Sar Shalom ben Moses Rabbi Sar Shalom ben Moses HaLevi (Hebrew: שר שלום בן משה הלוי) (Arabic: يحيى أبو زكري, ''Yaḥyā'' ''Abū Zikrī;'' d. 1204) also called Zuta was the last of the Egyptian geonim, he controversially held office in Fustat ...

, ?-1204 *

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

, 1138-1204 *

Abraham ben Moses ben Maimon Abraham Maimonides (אברהם בן רמב"ם; also known as Rabbeinu Avraham ben ha-Rambam, and Avraham Maimuni) (1186 – December 7, 1237) was the son of Maimonides who succeeded his father as Nagid of the Egyptian Jewish community. Biogra ...

, 1186-1237 * , 1222-1300 * , c. 1246–c. 1316 *

Yehoshua Hanagid Yehoshua Hanagid (), alternative spelling: Jehoshua Hannagid (1310–1355), was a rabbinic scholar and judge, who began to serve as the Nagid in Cairo, Egypt, at the age of twenty-four. He was the fifth-generation descendant of Rabbi Moshe ben Maim ...

, 1310-1355 * , 1335?-1415?

References

External links

Jewish Encyclopedia: Gaon and Nagid
Hebrew words and phrases Orthodox rabbinic roles and titles Sephardi Jews topics Jewish leadership roles {{Judaism-stub he:נגיד

See also

References

External links