Mar-Zutra III, also called Mar-Zutra bar Mar-Zutra, according to the Seder Olam Zutta, [1] was the posthumous and only son of the 30th Exilarch of Babylon, Mar-Zutra II. [2] He lived at the beginning of the Savora period. Mar-Zutra II had been crucified on the bridge of Mahuza by King Kavadh I for allegedly trying to obtain by force of arms a sort of political independence for the Jews of Babylon.[ citation needed ] Mar-Zutra III, who was born on the same day as his father's death, did not attain the office of exilarch. He was raised secretly and traveled in 520 CE, aged 18, to the Land of Israel. [3] where he became head of the Academy of Tiberias or "Sanhedrin", under the title of "Resh Pirka" ('Aρχιφεκίτησ), several generations of his descendants succeeding him in this office. His grandson, Paltoi ben Abaye and great-grandson, Zemah ben Paltoi both served as the Gaon of Pumbedita. [4]
The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defeat in the Jewish–Babylonian War and the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. The event is described in the Hebrew Bible, and its historicity is supported by archaeological and extra-biblical evidence.
Yazdegerd I was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 399 to 420. A son of Shapur III, he succeeded his brother Bahram IV after the latter's assassination.
Saʿadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, gaon, Jewish philosopher, and exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate.
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures.
The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Persian Mesopotamia during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258 CE, 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 that traced its patrilineal descent from antiquity stemming from king David.
The Davidic line or House of David refers to the lineage of the Israelite king David. In Judaism it is based on texts from the Hebrew Bible and through the succeeding centuries based on later traditions. In Christianity, the New Testament follows the line through Mary and Joseph to Jesus.
Bostanai, also transliterated as Bustenai or Bustnay, was the first Exilarch under Arab rule. He lived in the early-to-middle of the 7th century, and died about 660 CE. The name is Aramaized from the Persian bustan or bostan, meaning "Garden". Bostanai is the only Dark Age Babylonian Exilarch of whom anything more than a footnote is known. He is frequently made the subject of Jewish legends.
Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba, often simply called Samuel and occasionally Mar Samuel, was a Jewish Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea, Babylonia. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 CE at Nehardea, and died there in 254 CE. In the Talmud, Samuel is frequently associated with Abba Arikha ("Rav"), with whom he debated on many issues.
The history of the Jews in Iraq is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities.
Seder Olam Zutta is an anonymous chronicle from 803 CE, called "Zuta" to distinguish it from the older Seder Olam Rabbah. This work is based upon, and to a certain extent completes and continues, the older aforementioned chronicle. It consists of two main parts: the first, comprising about three-fifths of the whole, deals with the chronology of the 50 generations from Adam to Jehoiakim, the second deals with 39 generations of exilarchs, beginning with Jehoiachin and going until the 9th century CE.
Al-Mada'in was an ancient metropolis situated on the Tigris River in modern-day Iraq. It was located between the ancient royal centers of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, and was founded by the Sassanid Empire. The city's name was used by Arabs as a synonym for the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon, in a tradition that continued after the Arab conquest of Iran.
The Jewish tribes of Arabia were ethnic groups professing the Jewish faith that inhabited the Arabian Peninsula before and during the advent of Islam. In Islamic tradition, the Jewish tribes of the Hejaz were seen as the offspring of the ancient Hebrews. According to historical Muslim sources, they spoke a language other than Arabic, which al-Tabari claims was Persian. This implies they were connected to the major Jewish community of Babylonia. Certain Jewish traditions record the existence of nomadic tribes such as the Rechabites, which converted to Judaism in antiquity.
David ben Zakkai was an exilarch, leader of the Jewish community of Babylon, known in Jewish history especially for his conflict with Saadia Gaon, which ruptured the leadership of the Babylonian Jews, and which was settled by the intervention of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Qahir.
Ukban ben Nehmiah was a Jewish Amora sage of the third generation, who, according to Joseph ben Ḥama, who was a contrite sinner. The Seder 'Olam Zuṭa, too, in the list of the exilarchs, mentions an exilarch called "Ukban d'Zuzita" who was buried in Israel. According to the geonim Ẓemaḥ and Saadia, Ukban, when he was young, was wont to curl his hair, his surname "de-Ẓuẓita" being derived from that habit. Another interpretation is that fire would flash out from his ẓiẓit, so that nobody could stand near him.
Pumbedita Academy or Pumbedita Yeshiva was a yeshiva in Babylon during the era of the Amoraim and Geonim sages. It was founded by Judah bar Ezekiel and, with the Sura Academy founded in 225 by Abba Arika, was an influential and dominant yeshiva for about 800 years.
Nehemiah ben Hushiel is thought to be a historical figure and leader of the Jewish revolt against Heraclius. He is noted in Jewish and Byzantine sources. Nehemiah ben Hushiel is best known as a figure who appears in many medieval Jewish apocalyptic writings; in these writings he is cast as the Messiah ben Joseph.
The Land of Israel Gaonate was the chief talmudical academy and central legalistic body of the Jewish community in Palestine during the middle of the ninth century, or even earlier, till its demise during the 11th-century. During its existence, it competed with the Babylonian Gaonate for the support of the growing diasporic communities. The Egyptian and German Jews particularly regarded the Palestinian geonim as their spiritual leaders. The history of the gaonate was revealed in documents discovered in the Cairo genizah in 1896. Sparse information is available on the Palestinian geonim prior to the middle of the ninth century. The extant material consists essentially of a list in Seder Olam Zuta relating all the geonim to Mar Zutra.
Mar-Zutra II was a Jewish Exilarch who led a revolt against the Sasanian rulers in 495 CE and achieved seven years of political independence in Mahoza.
Rav Paltoi Yishia ben Rav Abaye Gaon HaKohen was the Gaon of Pumbedita from 841 up until his death in 858. His time as Gaon would be defined by an idealistic and innovative tenure, which heralded a new era of prominence for the Gaonate of Pumbedita.
Rav Abba ben Rav Ammi ben Samuel was the Gaon of Pumbedita from 869 until his death in 872.