|
C. 890 - C. 960 DUNASH IBN TAMIM (aka Adonim/ Abu Sahl) (Kairouan, North Africa)
Scholar, physician, and philosopher, he also wrote works in Arabic on astronomy. A student of Isaac Israeli, he is most remembered for his commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation), the earliest known book on Jewish esotericism. Ibn Tamin also undertook a methodical comparison between Hebrew and Arabic.
891 SEIGE OF LUCENA (Spain)
By Umar ibn Hafsun (c.850-917) who led the anti-Umayyad revolt in Spain . He succeeded in conquering most of the cities in Andalusia except Lucena which was almost exclusively Jewish . Its original name was Eliossana, from the Hebrew Eli Hoshanna " God Save us". Lucena succeed in withstanding the attacks and eventually the rebels gave up. The city was known for its scholars was soon to include Isaac Alfasi who founded a major yeshiva there as well as Isaac ibn Ghiyyat, Isaac (ben Baruch) ibn Albalia, and Joseph ibn Migash.
892 Al-Mu'tadid (Baghdad, Abbasid Empire)
Was appointed Caliph in Baghdad. Netira, a successful Jewish banker, discovered a plot to defraud the Caliph (c.854-902), and became the most influential person in the Babylonian Jewish community. Though his offices he succeeded in preventing anti-Jewish riots organized by Ibn abi al-Bagl. In the controversy between Sa'adia Gaon and David ben Zaccai he supported the former (see 882). His children also continued having great influence, interceding for the Jewish community whenever possible.rnrn
C. 892 THE BASILIKA
Meaning "Royal Laws was composed by the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI the Wise (886-912) son of Basil I. It was a continuation of Basil's Esponagogie(see 884), and Justinian's code (see 531). It was similar to the Theodosian code regarding Jews, although its economic discriminatory laws were expanded. As in other codes, Jews were not allowed to hold any public or military office, and there were sever fines on the erection of new synagogues - 50 gold pounds (well over $900,000 in today's prices!). At the same time, Jews were tolerated as a protected, though inferior, minority.
896 THE ALEPPO CODEX- "KETER ARAM TZOVA"'
The earliest copy of the entire (Ta'Na'Ch) Bible. Some date it to c.920, when parts were recopied by Shlomo Ben Buya'a in the city of Tiberias in northern Israel. Maimonides who used the text saw it in Egypt, and considered it the best example of Biblical text. The codex was also known as Crown of the Torah. Eventually (14th c.) it was taken for safekeeping by the Aleppo community kept in the Joab Ben Zeruiah Synagogue for about 500 years. The synagogue was damaged in a fire in 1947, and it was secretly brought to Israel in 1958. Of the 487 pages only 295 are extant. There is controversy as to what happed to the other pages including most of the Pentateuch
|
