XIth century CE

Tanna of the second century, he transmitted to posterity a saying of Abba Saul (Mishna, Ḳid. iv. 14, version of the Yerushalmi) and one of Rabban Gamaliel II. The latter, cited in the introduction of…

Gaon of the Land of Israel, author of the Meguilat Evyatar.

Nagid (chief) of the Jews of Egypt, a position inherited from his ancestors, he lived at the end of the eleventh century and died before 1112. He played a leading role in the messianic movement of…

Eminent kabbalist of the city of Le Mans, active around 1040, descendant of Rabbi Simon of Le Mans. He was the grandfather of Rabbi Simon the Great, himself contemporary of Rabbi Guershom ben Juda of…

Hymnographer active in Germany around 1096, probably son of Isaac ben Eliezer ha-Cohen, who lived in Mainz in 1093. Author of several liturgical works, one of which evokes the cruelties perpetrated…

Rabbi and hymnographer of the late eleventh century, established probably in Speyer. Colleague of Rachi, with whom he maintained scholarly correspondence, he composed in 1096 an elegy on the…

Physician in Barcelona around 1030, contemporary of Abraham ben Ḥiyya. He was highly esteemed at the court of Count Bérenger for his knowledge of medical science.

Muslim poet who lived in Spain around the middle of the eleventh century. In one of his poems, he attacked Jews in general and, in particular, Joseph ibn Nagrela, whom Badis, king of the Berbers, had…

Elegist probably a student of Isaac Alfassi, he would be the one whose death Moïse ibn Ezra mourns in one of his poems; two of his elegies appear in the Mahzor of Avignon.

Spanish poet active in the early eleventh century, first in Lucena then in Seville, of whom no works have survived and who is known only through citations by poets such as Solomon ibn Gabirol, Moses…

King of Gath in the time of David and Solomon, he received David twice in flight from Saul — the first time incognito, but recognized, David had to feign madness to escape; the second time, he was…

Rabbi of Debdou, 11th century. Mentioned in 4834 of the Hebrew era (1074). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 19-4.

Liturgical poet and author of a family chronicle, he was born in 1017 in Capua, Italy, and died around 1060 in Oria. He compiled the « Sefer Yuḥasin » (Book of Genealogies), a precious source on the…

Pope under the name Alexander II (1061-73), born Anselm Baggio in Milan, died April 20, 1073. Elected in 1061 on the proposal of Hildebrand, whose policies he followed throughout his life, he must…

Controversialist and ordinary physician to King Alphonse VI of Castile, born Moïse Sépharadi in Huesca, in Aragon, in 1062, died in 1110 at forty-eight. Converted to Christianity, he was baptized in…

Ambassador of Alfonso VI of León and Castile in the 11th century, illustration of the place occupied by Jews in the administration of Christian Spain, the king going so far as to declare that "the…

Antipope against Innocent II, from 1130 to 1138. Of Jewish descent — which led Voltaire to ironically nickname him « the Jewish pope » — he descends from an ancestor who converted to Christianity…

Rabbinical authority of Siponte, born probably around 1040. With his colleague, slightly older, Kalonymus ben Shabbethaï, he signs a rabbinical responsum before the latter settles in Worms, in 1070.…

Eldest son of King Habous of Granada, to whom he succeeded in 1038, he owed his position to the support of the Arabs and his vizier Samuel ibn Nagdela against the Berbers, who wished to place on the…

Dayyan and philosopher who lived in Saragossa in the first half of the eleventh century, he composed toward the end of his life, in Arabic, in 1040, the first system of Jewish ethics, « Al Hidayah…

Philosopher and moralist of Saragossa, author of the Duties of the Heart (Hovot ha-Levavot), the first systematic treatise of Jewish ethics and spirituality. His work, which explores the inner life…

According to the tradition reported by the Ibn Albaliah family, he was one of the first Jews to settle in Spain and was considered the ancestor of their lineage.

Spanish judge and head of a yeshivah in Córdoba

German rabbi

Arab philologist born in Badajoz — hence his name, Al-Baṭalyusi, « native of Badajoz » — in the second half of the eleventh century, died in Valencia in 1127. He directed the school of philology of…

Daughter of Salomon ben Isaac, called Rachi (1040-1105), and wife of R. Eliézer. Like Rachi's other daughters, Belle-Assez was very learned in Hebrew and rabbinic literature. For a long time it was…

Daughter of Ménahem and sister of Isaac ben Ménahem called « the Great », she lived in Orleans in the middle of the eleventh century. Rachi cites her, in a responsum, as an authority on a ritual…

Benjamin b. Samuel of Coutances is a French Talmudist and liturgical poet of the first half of the eleventh century, native of Coutances, in Normandy — whom Grätz wrongly confuses with Constance, on…

Benjamin ben Zeraḥ is a liturgical poet (payyeṭan) active in South-Eastern Europe in the mid-eleventh century, nicknamed « the Great » and « Ba'al Shem » for the frequent use in his poems of the…

Pope from 1012 to 1024, during whose pontificate a serious persecution of the Jews occurred. An earthquake and a hurricane struck Rome on Good Friday 1021, causing many victims; convinced that the…

Berenger of Narbonne is a viscount of Narbonne of the eleventh century, praised by Pope Alexander II, zealous protector of the Jews, for having intervened energetically in their favor while their…

Bernard of Clairvaux, known as Saint Bernard, is a Church Father born in 1091 near Dijon and died at Clairvaux on August 20, 1153. Cistercian monk of Cîteaux who became abbot of Clairvaux, where he…

Conqueror of Valencia in 1094 and popular hero of Spain. Lacking money to pay his knights, he had his nephew Martin Antolinez negotiate a loan of six hundred marks from two wealthy Jews of Burgos,…

Italian prelate born in Ravenna in 1007 and died in Faenza in 1072, Peter Damian entered around 1035 the monastery of Fonte Avellana, of which he became abbot, and ranks among the most zealous agents…

Gaon of the Land of Israel, descendant of Babylonian exilarchs.

German Talmudist of the 11th century, David ha-Levi is cited in the « Mordekhaï », at Baba Meṣi'a, where his decision on an important point of law appears, as well as in the « Shibbolé ha-Léqet » of…

Historian born around 155 in Nicaea, in Bithynia, consul in 221 and died around 240, Dio Cassius wrote in Greek a vast history of Rome including Jewish history, of which only books LXI to LXXX have…

Greek physician of the first century, Dioscorides Pedacius, whose « Materia Medica » is cited in the Hebrew medical work « Midrash ha-Refu'ot », attributed to Asaf ben Berekhia but compiled from…

Gaon of Soura, son of Saadia Gaon.

French Tosafist

German rabbi

French liturgical poet active in Le Mans in the eleventh century, presumed son-in-law of Sherira Gaon according to Solomon Luria, student of Rabbenou Gershom and companion of Joseph Tob-Elem, with…

Liturgical poet of the 11th century, perhaps originally from Italy. One of his compositions, a « qerova » for the office of Minḥa of Yom Kippur, survives in the German-Polish rite; Eliezer ben Nathan…

German rabbi of the eleventh century, student of his cousin R. Simon ha-Gadol of Mainz and of R. Gershom Meor ha-Gola. According to David Conforte, he would have been the teacher of Rashi, although…

Decisor, chronicler of the persecutions of 1096.

French rabbi

Gaon of the Land of Israel, last to sit in Tyre.

Greek philosopher disciple of Pythagoras, active in the fifth century before the common era. His system, reworked by the Neoplatonic school, influenced Arab philosophy and then the Jewish thinkers of…

Muslim theologian and moralist born in Tus, Khorasan, in 1058, died in that same city in 1111. His work exercised considerable influence on medieval Jewish thought: the « Maḳaṣid al-Falasifah », an…

Ḥafẓ al-Ḳuṭi is an author of the 11th century or earlier, probably identifiable with Ḥafẓ (Ḥefeṣ) ben Yaṣliaḥ according to Steinschneider, who translated the Book of Psalms into Arabic verse. Moses…

Last great gaon of Pumbedita, supreme halakhic authority of his time, author of numerous responsa and legal treatises. His death marked the end of the geonic era.

Talmudist from Kairouan, author of one of the first continuous commentaries on the Talmud, transmitting the traditions of the geonim. His work influenced Rashi and the Sephardic decisors.

Rabbi of Cordova, figure of talmudic autonomy in Spain.

Abou al-Faḍl ben Joseph ibn Ḥasdaï is a Jew converted to Islam, active in Saragossa in the second half of the eleventh century. Ibn Abi Usaïbia presents him, not without emphasis, as a descendant of…

Abou Omar Joseph ibn Ḥasdaï is a Judeo-Spanish poet of the eleventh century, probably born in Cordova and died between 1045 and 1055; Ibn Janaḥ says him already dead in his Louma, while one of his…

Eleazar ha-Ḥazzan is a cantor active in Speyer toward the end of the eleventh century, master of Samuel the Pious and perhaps identical to Eleazar son of Meshullam the Great, who provided numerous…

Gaon of Pumbedita and exilarch, whose death marks the end of the geonicperiod.

Greek rabbi

Spanish rabbi

Spanish author of the eleventh century of whom nothing is known except that he embraced Christianity in 1094 and held the function of « official » to the famous Cid Campéador, who died in Valencia in…

Hebrew grammarian of Toledo, active around 1070-90, cited by Abraham ibn Ezra among the first masters of Hebrew grammar. According to Moses ibn Ezra, he came from a respected family of Toledo, later…

Spanish philosopher, linguist and poet born in Granada around 1070, died after 1138, relative of Abraham ibn Ezra and student of Isaac ibn Ghayyat. His surname « ha-Sallaḥ » comes from the numerous «…

Poet, philosopher and Spanish moralist, born in Málaga around 1021, died around 1058 in Valencia. Graetz calls him « the Jewish Plato », and Steinschneider « the most original philosophical writer…

Rabbi, biblical exegete, philosopher and liturgical poet Spanish born in Lucena in 1038 (Graetz gives 1030), died in Cordoba in 1089 and buried in Lucena. Held in high esteem by Samuel ha-Nagid and…

Spanish Jew of the eleventh century, ancestor of an important family of scholars, probably born in Granada where he enjoyed great respect. At the death of King Ḥabus of Granada in 1037, he sided with…

Spanish rabbi and head of school in Lucena, born in 1077, died in Lucena in 1141, probably originally from Seville like his father and grandfather. After the move to Lucena, in 1089, of the talmudist…

Spanish rabbi and president of the beit ha-midrash of Seville, active in the eleventh century, son of Joseph ibn Migas and father of Joseph ibn Migas ben Meïr ha-Levi. He had to leave Seville at the…

Andalusian Jewish Talmudist and astronomer (1035–1094)

Talmudist born in Algeria and active in Fez then in Spain, he composed the Sefer ha-Halakhot, a halakhic abridgement of the Talmud. His work was a major source for the Shulhan Arukh.

French Talmudist, active in the second half of the eleventh century. Established in Orléans, he was a student of Éliézer the Great of Mainz and the teacher of Éliézer ben Juda of Châlons as well as…

Karaite scholar, active at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. Two of his decisions are known to us through Hadassi: the first concerns the consumption of quails in the desert, the second the…

Spanish grammarian and liturgical poet, active in the first half of the eleventh century, contemporary of Isaac Gikatilla and Isaac ibn Ḥalfon. Cited under the name « Isaac b. Saül » by Ibn Janaḥ in…

12th century commentator on the Mishnah

poet

Andalusian Hebrew grammarian

Halakhist and payetan in Lucena, author of Meah Shearim, master of Isaac Alfasi.

Spanish poet of the 11th century whose father had emigrated from Africa to Andalusia, he frequented the house of Jacob ibn Jaso in Córdoba and is said to have introduced new meters into Hebrew…

Karaite scholar of the 11th century, whose « Chronicle » by Ibn al-Hiti warmly praises his erudition and cites two works: a polemic against Saadia Gaon, in the style of the « Sefer ha-Maor » of the…

Last gaon of Soura, son of Samuel ben Hofni.

German Talmudist active in the first half of the eleventh century, student of Guershom ben Juda at Mainz, Jacob ben Yaqar was the master of Rashi, who called him « mori ha-zaqen » (my old master)…

French talmudic scholar born in Rouen and died in Arras in 1023, Jacob ben Jekuthiel went to Rome to bring to Pope John XVII a petition requesting the end of persecutions of the Jews of Lorraine,…

Head of the yeshiva of Narbonne, probably active in the eleventh century — this is inferred from the fact that Moses ha-Darchan, mentioned by Abraham ben David, was his son —, Jacob ben Moses ben…

Jeshua ben Judah was a Karaite exegete and philosopher who exercised, probably in Jerusalem, in the second half of the eleventh century. Student of Joseph ben Abraham ha-Ro'eh, surnamed "the great…

Joseph ben Salomon of Carcassonne, French liturgical poet of the eleventh century, composed for Hanukkah a yotser beginning with « Odekha ki anafta », mentioned by Rachi in his commentary on Ezekiel.…

Jewish exegete of Northern France

Son of Samuel haNagid, vizier of Granada, killed in the massacre of 1066.

Rabbi, poet and philosopher in Cordova, author of Microcosm (Olam Katan).

Andalusian rabbi and Talmudist (11th–12th century)

Spanish poet established in Seville, probably son of that Abun to whom Moses ibn Ezra dedicated several poems and whose death he mourned in an elegy. Counted by Moses ibn Ezra among Spanish poets and…

Scholar of the second half of the 11th century, enjoying great reputation and authority in France as in the Rhine countries. A contemporary of Rashi, Nathan ben Makir of Mainz, cites him among the…

12th century bible commentator, son-in-law of Rashi

Son-in-law and disciple of Rashi, glossator of the Talmud.

French biblical commentator, active in Toulouse in the first half of the 11th century, often cited by Rashi in his commentary on the Pentateuch. According to Geiger, he would be the son of Moses…

Spanish Hebrew philosopher and poet born in Toledo, in southern Castile, in the last quarter of the 11th century — around 1085 or 1086, at the time of the Christian conquest of the city by Alfonso VI…

German Jewish martyr

Halakhist, exegete and liturgical poet, born in Rome around 1030, son of the president of the Jewish community, whose Talmudic authority extended well beyond his native city. Called to the rabbinate…

Spanish physician, patron of letters and protector of Jewish communities in Spain, Babylonia, and Egypt, who lived in Saragossa around the year 1100. He remains known in the history of Hebrew grammar…

Karaite scholar surnamed « Al-Cheikh », active probably in Jerusalem in the first half of the 11th century, he composed in Arabic a vast work on the precepts, of which a partial Hebrew translation («…

12th-century Jewish grammarian and poet

Last great chief of the Palestinian yeshiva (gaonat) transferred to Fustat, he held the title of Ra'is al-Yahud (chief of the Jews) from at least 1127 until his death. Son of Gaon Solomon ben Elijah…

Head of the talmudic school of Paris in the eleventh century, probably identical to Mattithia ben Moses, one of the disciples of Rachi, nicknamed « Mattithia the Great ». He corresponds with Samuel…

Italian Talmudist of the 11th century, from a family of Oriental Jews and versed in Arabic. After being dayyan in Sicily, he went to Pumbedita to study under Hai Gaon, then returned to Europe after…

French liturgical poet, perhaps also biblical exegete, from the end of the eleventh century. He and his son Eleazar are cited in a commentary on Chronicles falsely attributed to Rashi; he notably…

Son-in-law of Rashi, father of Rabbeinu Tam and the Rashbam.

German liturgist of the 11th century, native of Regensburg, grandson of a namesake who was nephew of Gershom ben Juda and cousin of Isaac ben Juda, the master of Rashi. Witness to the massacres of…

French precursor exegete, anterior to the tosafist school.

French philanthropist of the second half of the 11th century, one of the most prominent Jews of Narbonne, where he devoted his time and fortune to the community and used his favor with the…

Jewish martyr and businesswoman

Italian scholar of the 11th century, identified by Kaufmann with the master Moses of Pavia who, around the year 900, left this city for northern Italy following a quarrel with Amittaï ben Chefatia.…

French exegete, active in Narbonne around the middle of the 11th century, from a family of scholars who presided over the yeshivah of the city for several generations. Considered a rabbinic…

Satirical Hebrew poet of the eleventh century, member of a noble Jewish family of Saragossa; sole documented member of the patronym Ibn al-Taqana.

Italian scholar, active at the beginning of the 11th century in Bari, where he teaches at the yeshivah. Known through lexicographical explanations cited by Nathan ben Jehiel, author of the "'Aruk",…

Andalusian Hebrew grammarian and rabbi

Rabbi, eleventh century. Mentioned in 4800 of the Hebrew era (1040). Son of Yitshak. Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 95-3.

Joseph ibn Nagdela, called Joseph ha-Nagid, Spanish statesman, was born circa 1031 and died on December 30, 1066; son of Samuel ibn Nagdela, he succeeded him as vizier and rabbi of the community of…

écrivain juif

Italian lexicographer born in Rome no later than 1035, died in 1106, from a Roman family of Jewish scholars. After initially being a cloth peddler, he devoted himself to study, further completed…

French Talmudist of the eleventh century, brother of the liturgical poet Menahem b. Machir, to whom he addressed responsa on halakhic questions, and cousin of R. Isaac b. Juda. Student of Rashi, who…

Italian Jewish lexicographer, author of the Aroukh, the first great Talmudic dictionary. His work remains an essential tool for understanding the Talmud.

Talmudic exegete and North African moralist, active in Kairouan in the first half of the eleventh century. Trained by his father Jacob ben Nissim and then by Houshiel ben Elhanan, whose successor he…

Italo-Norman musician

Russian saint of the eleventh century (1057-74), hegumen of the monastery of Kiev, who, according to the so-called Nestorian chronicles, was in the habit of visiting learned Jews at night to debate…

Jewish writer of Andalusian origin

Born in Troyes around 1040, he studied in the yeshivot of Mainz and Worms, then returned to Troyes where he founded a school and lived by trade (wine). He is regarded as the greatest commentator on…

French rabbi

Liturgical poet, and perhaps also biblical commentator, having lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. He is credited with a piyyut for the feast of Sukkot as well as a commentary on the…

Salomon ben Abraham ben Jehiel, Italian rabbi, served in Rome in the eleventh century; nephew of Nathan b. Jehiel, author of the "Aroukh", he became about a quarter century after the latter's death a…

Salomon ben Samson, a scholar of Worms in the eleventh century, was the teacher and relative of Rashi, who cites him as an authority alongside his other teacher, Isaac ha-Lévi. It is very probably…

Salomon of Tours, French Talmudist, is a contemporary of Rashi with whom he maintains learned correspondence; Rashi addresses him as his «dear friend». The fact that Rashi corrects an error made by…

Poet and philosopher of Málaga, author of the Source of Life (Meqor Hayyim), a Neoplatonic treatise so universal that Christian scholastics believed him to be Muslim (under the name Avicebron). His…

French exegete of Ramerupt, near Troyes, born around 1085 and died around 1174, grandson of Rashi through his mother and elder of the family. Initially an adherent of aggadic interpretation before…

Martyr who lived in Neuss, in the Rhineland Palatinate, in the eleventh century. According to Salomon ben Simeon, he was murdered with his two sons on Saint John's Day, June 24, 1096; he and one of…

Gaon of Sura, halakhist and exegete, father-in-law of Haï Gaon, author of rationalist commentaries on the Torah. He was one of the last great geonim of Babylonia.

Martyr of Cologne during the First Crusade, on June 25, 1096. When the crusaders hunted the Jews of Cologne who had taken refuge in villages under the protection of Archbishop Hermann, Samuel,…

12th-century German Tosafist

Arab-Jewish poet of the eleventh century, great-grandfather of Samuel ibn Nazar and contemporary of Moïse ibn Ezra. One of his acrostic poems was edited by Luzzatto from the Maḥzor of Oran, and Moïse…

Rabbi from Hasidei Ashkenaz

Decisor and liturgical poet, active in Rome in the first half of the 11th century, of whom only a few fragments of halakhic decisions subsist. Considered the first Hebrew poet of Rome after Salomon…

French rabbi

Simḥa b. Isaac b. Kalonymus ha-Cohen was one of the Jews of Worms killed by the pilgrims of the First Crusade on May 25, 1096. After the massacre of his father Mar Isaac and his seven brothers by the…

Gaon of Jerusalem, abundantly documented by the Cairo Genizah.

Talmudist and Bulgarian poet of the eleventh century, native of Castoria according to the demonstration of Salomon Buber, author of the Lekah Tov (or Pesikta Zoutarta), midrashic commentary on the…

Byzantine exegete and payetan, author of the Lekah Tov (Pesikta Zutarta), a midrashic commentary on the Torah. He was a figure of medieval Greek Judaism.

German scholar of the eleventh century, who lived for a time in Speyer. Disciple of Kalonymos of Rome, he addressed questions to him which have been preserved, notably concerning a custom peculiar to…

Rabbi of Fès, 11th century. Born in 4840 of the Hebrew era (1080). Son of Shmuel. Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 54-1.

Rabbi Yehuda ben Shmuel ha-Levi, born in Tudèle around 1075, one of the major figures of the Sephardic Golden Age, surnamed the 'Bard of Zion'. Physician in Toledo and Cordoba, he is the author of…

Rabbi of Fès, 11th century. Born in 4774 of the Hebrew era (1014). Recorded in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 71-4.

Rabbi of Fès, 11th century. Mentioned in 4800 of the Hebrew era (1040). Listed in Malkhei Rabbanan (Yosef Ben Naim, 1931), f. 55-4.

Author of an Arabic version of the « Yossippon », active in the tenth or eleventh century. His text, transmitted in several recensions, was printed in abridged form in the Paris and London polyglots…