The Role Of The Jew In The Medieval World

Passage 57 of Jacob Rader Marcus’s work, The Jew in the Medieval World, provides great insight into the role of Jews under Muslim rule during the 10th century. The primary individual of the document is Saadia, who became the Gaon at the academy of Sura during the period of the Abbasid caliphate. During this dynasty, the “Jews had a political head in the exilarch and great religious leaders in the Geonim” (Marcus 323). Through the story of Saadia, it is apparent that while both the gaon and the exilarch held prominent positions and considerable amounts of power, each maintained his own specific jurisdiction.
The authority of the Geonim existed before Abbasid rule, as the power and influence of the religiously oriented position was granted by
The Exilarch was the political leader of Jews in Babylonia. As such, he was an heir of Davidic origins, as well as was primarily responsible for keeping good relationships between the Arabs and the Jews. On the other hand, the Gaon was a religious and scholarly leader in Babylonia. His primary responsibilities consisted of facilitating the region’s rabbinic academies and serving as a source of instruction, especially regarding Halaklah, or Jewish law. This distinct division of power is apparent in Marcus 57, as it states that “it was established custom that academy heads had no power over any man who was under the authority of the Exilarch, nor did the Exilarchs have any control over any one who was under the authority of the academy heads” (Marcus 326). Moreover, it is stated that one could not question or challenge the action of the other if it lay outside their own jurisdiction. This tradition becomes problematic in the tale of Saadia Gaon, as he challenges the decisions of the Exilarch, David en Zakkai. According to the account, Saadia believes that the Exilarch is showing partiality in his actions, and thus, he refuses to sign and confirm the legal documents associated with the