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Matha-Mehasia
Sura () was a city in the southern part of the area called by ancient Jewish sources Babylonia, located east of the Euphrates. It was well-known for its agricultural produce, which included grapes, wheat, and barley. It was also a major center of Torah scholarship and home of an important yeshiva—the Sura Academy—which, together with the yeshivas in Pumbedita and Nehardea, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud. Location According to Sherira Gaon, Sura () was identical to the town of Mata Mehasya, which is also mentioned in the Talmud, but Mata Mehasya is cited in the Talmud many times, either as a nearby town or a suburb of Sura, and the Talmudist academy in Mata Mehasya served as a branch of Sura Academy, which was founded by Abba Arikha in the third century. A contemporary Syriac source describes it as a town completely inhabited by Jews, situated between Māḥōzē and al-Hirah in the Sawad. A responsum of Natronai ben Hilai says that Sura was about from Harta D'Argiz, u ...
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Sura Academy
Sura Academy () was a Jewish yeshiva located in Sura in what is now southern Iraq, a region known in Jewish texts as "Babylonia". With Pumbedita Academy, it was one of the two major Jewish academies from the year 225 CE at the beginning of the era of the Amora sages until 1033 CE at the end of the era of the Gaonim. Sura Academy was founded by the Amora Abba Arikha ("Rav"), a disciple of Judah ha-Nasi. Among the well-known sages that headed the yeshiva were Rav Huna, Rav Chisda, Rav Ashi, Yehudai ben Nahman, Natronai ben Hilai, Saadia Gaon, and others. History Abba Arikha arrived at Sura city to find no lively Jewish religious public life, and since he was worried about the continuity of the Jewish community in Babylonia, he left his colleague Samuel of Nehardea and began working to establish the yeshiva that would become Sura Academy. Upon Abba Arikha's arrival, teachers from surrounding cities and towns descended upon Sura. The Academy of Sura was formally founded ...
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Flag Of Iraq
Since the 14 July Revolution, 1958 Iraqi coup d'état, the various republican governments of Iraq have used a number of different flags, all featuring the Pan-Arab colours, pan-Arab colors of green, black, white, and red. The current official and internationally recognized flag of Iraq () was adopted in 2008 as a temporary compromise, and consists of the three equal horizontal red, white, and black stripes of the Arab Liberation Flag, that was first used by Gamal Abdel Nasser during the 1952 Egyptian revolution, Egyptian Revolution, with the takbir, ''takbīr'' written in green in the Kufic, Kufic script that was originally added by Saddam Hussein following the Gulf War''.'' This basic tricolour has been in use since its adoption on 31 July 1963, with several changes to the green symbols in the central white stripes; the most recent version adopted on 22 January 2008FOTW bears the ''takbīr'' rendered in dark green and removes the three green stars present since 1963. The flag was ...
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Abba Arikha
Rav Abba bar Aybo (; 175–247 CE), commonly known as Abba Arikha () or simply as Rav (), was a Jewish amora of the 3rd century. He was born and lived in Kafri, Asoristan, in the Sasanian Empire. In Sura, Arikha established the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as a foundational text, led to the compilation of the Talmud. With him began the long period of ascendancy of the prestigious Talmudic academies in Babylonia around the year 220. In the Talmud, he is frequently associated with Samuel of Nehardea, a fellow amora with whom he debated many issues. Biography His surname, Arikha (English: ''the Tall''), he owed to his height, which exceeded that of his contemporaries. Others, reading Arekha, consider it an honorary title, like "Lecturer". In the traditional literature, he is referred to almost exclusively as Rav, "the Master" (both by contemporaries and latter generations), just as his teacher, Judah ha-Nasi, was known simply as ''Rab ...
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Fallujah
Fallujah ( ) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Situated on the Euphrates, Euphrates River, it is located roughly to the west of the capital city of Baghdad and from the neighboring city of Ramadi. The city is located in the region defined as Sunni Triangle by the United States, as the majority of its residents are Sunni Islam in Iraq, Sunni Arabs. In 1947, Fallujah was a small town with a relatively small population but had grown to a population of about 250,900 people by 2018. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which triggered the Iraq War, the city became a major centre of resistance during Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011), insurgency. The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Iraqi Interim Government twice engaged in fierce urban combat with insurgents throughout the city; the First Battle of Fallujah, first battle of Fallujah failed to dislodge the insurgents, triggering the Second Battle of Fallujah, second battle, in which the coalition forces successful ...
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Pumbedita Academy
The Pumbedita Academy or Pumbedita Yeshiva (; sometimes ''Pumbeditha'', ''Pumpedita'', ''Pumbedisa'') was a Talmudic academy in Pumbedita, an unidentified location in modern Iraq, during the Amoraic and Geonic eras. It was founded by Judah bar Ezekiel (220–299 CE) and, with the Sura Academy founded in 225 by Abba Arika, retained dominant influence 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 ...
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Nehardea Academy
Nehardea Academy (), previously also known as The House of Learning () or The Boundary () was one of the major Talmudic academies in Babylonia (Mesopotamia), active intermittently from the early Amoraic period until the end of the Geonic period. It was established by the amora Samuel of Nehardea, one of the great sages of Babylon. History Samuel founded the academy at Nehardea, which in time attracted thousands of students. Along with Sura Academy founded by Abba Arikha, it opened a new era in which Babylon became the center of Judaism. After Rav's death, many students from Sura moved to Nehardea. Despite the fact that Rav Kahana III's Pum-Nahara Academy was subordinated to Sura Academy, from the time Rav died the heads of the Nehardea Academy came to visit Rav Kahana in Pum-Nahara with the intention of strengthening the ties between the two academies. This reinforcement of ties is attested by the fact that Kahana III gave his funeral oration to Rav Zevid of Nehardea at Pum ...
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Rava (amora)
Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama ( – 352 CE), who is exclusively referred to in the Talmud by the name Rava (), was a Babylonian rabbi who belonged to the fourth generation of amoraim. He is known for his debates with Abaye, and is one of the most often cited rabbis in the Talmud. Biography He was born about 280 CE in Mahoza (a suburb of Ctesiphon, the capital of Persia), where his father was a wealthy and distinguished scholar. In his youth Rava went to Sura, where he attended the lectures of Rav Chisda and associated with Rami bar Hama. About ten years after Rami's death Rava married his widow, the Rav Chisda's daughter. It is said that earlier Rav Chisda's daughter sat in her father's classroom, while his students, Rava and Rami bar Hama, stand before them. When Rav Chisda asked her which of the two she wants to marry, she replied "both of them," and Rava added, "I'll be the last one" (commentators let us know that she indeed married Rami first and Rava second). They had fiv ...
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Anbar (town)
Anbar (, ) was an ancient and medieval town in central Iraq. It played a role in the Roman–Persian Wars of the 3rd–4th centuries, and briefly became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate before the founding of Baghdad in 762. It remained a moderately prosperous town through the 10th century, but quickly declined thereafter. As a local administrative centre, it survived until the 14th century, but was later abandoned. Its ruins are near modern Fallujah. The city gives its name to the Al-Anbar Governorate. History Origins The city is located on the left bank of the Middle Euphrates, at the junction with the Nahr Isa canal, the first of the navigable canals that link the Euphrates to the River Tigris to the east. The origins of the city are unknown, but ancient, perhaps dating to the Babylonian era and even earlier: the local artificial mound of Tell Aswad dates to . Sasanian period The town was originally known as Misiche ( Greek: ), Mesiche (), or Massice ( mš ...
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History Of The Jews In Iraq
The history of the Jews in Iraq (, ', ; , ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity . Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities. The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, known in Jewish sources as "Babylonia", traces its origins to the early sixth century BCE, when a large number of Judeans from the defeated Kingdom of Judah were exiled to Babylon in several waves by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. A few decades later, some had returned to Judah, following the edict of Cyrus. During this time, the Temple in Jerusalem Second Temple, was rebuilt, significant changes in Jewish religious tradition were made, and the Judeans were led by individuals who had returned from Babylonia, such as Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah. Though not much is known about the community in Babylonia during the Second Temple period, Second Temple and Tannaim, Mishnaic periods, scholars believe the community was still thriving at that time. Th ...
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Chosroes I
Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; ), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ("the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of History of Iran, Iran from 531 to 579. He was the son and successor of Kavad I (). Inheriting a reinvigorated empire at Iberian War, war with the Byzantines, Khosrow I signed a peace treaty with them in 532, known as the Perpetual Peace (532), Perpetual Peace, in which the Byzantine emperor Justinian I paid 11,000 pounds of gold to the Sasanians. Khosrow then focused on consolidating his power, executing conspirators, including his uncle Bawi. Dissatisfied with the actions of the Byzantine clients and vassals, the Ghassanids, and encouraged by Ostrogoth envoys from Italy, Khosrow violated the peace treaty and declared war against the Byzantines in 540. He sacked the major city of Antioch and deported its population to Persia. In 541, he invaded Lazica and made it an Iranian protectorate, thus initiating ...
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Belisarius
BelisariusSometimes called Flavia gens#Later use, Flavius Belisarius. The name became a courtesy title by the late 4th century, see (; ; The exact date of his birth is unknown. March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Justinian I. Belisarius was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean territory belonging to the former Western Roman Empire, which had been lost less than a century prior. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and in Byzantium. One of the defining features of Belisarius' career was his success despite varying levels of available resources. He is frequently cited as being among the "Last of the Romans". He conquered the Vandal Kingdom of North Africa in the Vandalic War in nine months and conquered much of Italy during the Gothic War (535–554), Gothic War. He also defeated the Vandal armies in the battle of Battle of Ad Decimum, Ad Decimum and played an important role at Battle of ...
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Natronai Ben Hilai
Natronai ben Hilai ( or Natronai the Gaon, ; Full name: Natronai ben Hilai ben Mari) was Gaon "head rabbi" of the Sura Academy of Rabbinic Judaism in Lower Mesopotamia from 857 until 865. He held this post for ten years. He is responsible for more written responsa to queries posed to him by world Jewry than any of his predecessors, and maintained close contact with the Jews of al-Andalus (now Spain and Portugal). Responsa Naṭronai was elderly when he became Gaon. Nonetheless, he issued many responsa. Questions were addressed to him from all parts of the Jewish diaspora. His answers, about 300 of which have been preserved in various compilations (e.g., in ''Shaʿare Ṣedeq,'' ''Teshuvot ha-Ge'onim,'' and ''Qebbuṣat ha-Ḥakamim'', ''Teshuvot Rav Natrunai Gaon'', Jerusalem 5771, edited by Y. Brody), show his thorough mastery of the subjects treated as well as his ability to impart knowledge. Natronia always employed the language with which his correspondents were most conv ...
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