Pumbedita

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Pumbedita was a city in Babylonia on the Euphrates River , on a canal called Shunja-Shumvata , the northernmost connecting canal between the Euphrates and Tigris . From the 3rd to the 11th centuries, it was considered a leading center of Jewish learning , along with the Sura . Today the Iraqi city of Fallujah is located on the area of ​​the former Pumbedita .

At the time of the writing of the Talmud , the city was surpassed in importance by Sura, but later reached a leading role under Scherira Gaon and his son Chai Gaon, who directed the Academy of Pumbedita from 968 to 998 and from 998 to 1038, respectively.

The region was known for its abundance of water, its pleasant climate and its flourishing trade; the caravans from Babylonia to Syria passed near them . Grain and date palms were planted, and the flax grown here formed the basis for a flourishing textile industry. Until the beginning of the Geonim era , the city was known more for its material wealth than for its scholarship. When the academy of Nehardea was destroyed in the 3rd century , the local scholars moved to Pumbedita.

At the end of the 10th century the Academy was moved from Pumbedita to Baghdad . According to sources found in the Cairo Genisa , as well as Arabic sources, the Baghdad Academy apparently existed until the 13th century. From the 12th and 13th centuries the names of nine geonim are known who considered themselves the descendants of the Pumbedita Academy. Benjamin of Tudela , who traveled to Babylonia around 1170, wrote that around 3000 Jews lived in Pumbedita at that time. The number may be exaggerated, but the existence of a Jewish community at this point is not denied.

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