Exilarch

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The Exilarch ( Aramaic resch galuta , "head of the diaspora ") was the leader of the Jewish community in Babylon , who traced his origins back to King David . King Jehoiachin is mentioned in the Bible as the first Jewish ruler in Babylon . The Exilarchat existed in the Persian Empire under the Parthians and Sassanids , was continued after the Islamic expansion and came to an end under the rule of Timur in 1401.

Exilar chat in the Persian Empire

Since the general Jewish attitude towards Rome deteriorated after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 , the Parthians in the Persian Empire, where a large Jewish community lived, encouraged the establishment of a local Jewish leadership class to support them in their struggle against Rome. First evidence of the existence of the Exilarchen comes from the second century AD. After the Sassanids came to power in 226, Jewish self-government initially continued unchanged. Shapur I legitimized the role of the exile in the administration of Jewish affairs and demanded obedience to state laws, in particular with regard to regulations on land ownership and the collection of taxes. The Amora ( Talmudic scholar) Samuel made an agreement with Shapur and summarized it in the words: "The law of (local) government is law". For the next four centuries, with a few brief interruptions, the Jewish community enjoyed a secure position. Under Peroz I , Jews and Christians were persecuted and the exilarch Huna V was executed in 470. After Chosrau I ascended the throne , the situation calmed down again.

The office during the Arab period

The first exile in the Arab period was Bustanai . The split between rabbanites (followers of the rabbinical tradition) and Karaites led to a decline in the status of the exilarches and a reduction in their authority. Caliph Al-Ma'mun approved the Karaites' request to have their leader recognized as the nasi of their community. The Exilarchen were closely related to the Geonim , i. H. the heads of the academies of Sura and Pumbedita , and also shared in the income of these academies, which was collected throughout the diaspora.

The installation of the exile turned out to be a splendid ceremony, which was concluded with a festive service in the synagogue on the Sabbath . The name of the exile was mentioned in the kaddish , he received gifts from the people and invited guests to his home for seven days. The Arab historians who mention this office emphasize the origin from the House of David as an indispensable electoral requirement.

The Mongolian King Hülegü , who with the conquest of Baghdad on February 10, 1258, eliminated the Abbasid caliphate, left the Jewish community and its exiled Samuel ben David unscathed. Little more than their names are known of the little exiles of the following years. In 1401 the Exilarchat was abolished by Timur . Until the beginning of the 18th century, the governors of the major Iraqi cities appointed a wealthy Jew as sarrāf bāshī ("chief banker"), who also served as the nasi of the local Jews. His skills corresponded almost exactly to the Babylonian exile in the Middle Ages. Since 1849 the functions of the nasi within the Ottoman Empire were transferred to the Hahambaşı .

Exiles

Rabbinical period

  • Nachum (135)
  • Iokana'an
  • Sha'aphat
  • Anani (Huna; around 215)
  • Nathan Mar 'Ukban (226)
  • Huna II.
  • Nathan Mar 'Ukban II
  • Nehemiah (313)
  • Nathan Mar 'Ukban III. from Zuta (337)
  • Huna III.
  • Degradation
  • Nathan
  • Mar Kahana
  • Huna IV (-441)
  • Mar Sutra (brother of Huna IV.)
  • Kahana II (son of Mar Sutra)
  • Huna V (-470; son of Mar Sutra)
  • Huna VI. (-508; son of Kahana II.)
  • Mar Sutra II. (-520 or 502)
  • Mar Ahunai
  • Kafnai (Hofnai; 2nd half of the 6th century)
  • Haninai (580-590 / 591)
  • Bostanai (around 640-; son of Haninai)
  • Haninai ben Adoi
  • Hasdai I.
  • Shelomo (Solomon; 730-761; son of Hasdai I)
  • Yitzchak (Isaak) Ischkawi I.
  • Yehuda (Juda) Sakkai (Babawai)
  • Moshe (moses)
  • Yitzchak Ischkawi II.
  • David ben Jehuda (around 790)
  • Natronai
  • Hasdai II.
  • 'Ukba (918)
  • David ben Sakkai (921)
  • Josiah (al-Hassan; 930; counter-Exilarch; brother of David)
  • Yehuda (Judah; son of David)
  • Ezekia (before 1038-1040)

literature