The Geonim of Babylonia and the Shaping of Medieval Jewish Culture

Having gained ascendancy over the Palestinian center of Judaism the Geonim who headed the ancient talmudic academies of Babylonia came to be recognized by most of the worlds Jews as the leading religious and spiritual authorities from the late sixth to mid-eleventh centuries. This book-the only survey in English of the crucial Geonic period-focuses on the cultural and historical milieu of the Geonim as well as their intellectual and literary creativity.