place · L0254
Baghdad בגדאד
The Abbasid capital to which the ancient academies migrated in the late ninth and tenth centuries: "Sura" and "Pumbedita" in the age of Saadia, Sherira, and Hai were academies in Baghdad still bearing their old names. The exilarchate sat there too — the last institutional form of the Babylonian center before the diaspora's weight shifted west.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- בגדאד
- Also known as
- Bagdad
III. Where
- Modern location
- Baghdad, Iraq
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Pumbedita academy relocated to Baghdad in the late ninth century (under Hai bar David, c. 890s), and the Sura academy likewise moved to the capital around the turn of the tenth century, both retaining the names of their original towns. | external | ★★★★☆ | |
| Baghdad remained the seat of the geonim and the exilarch through the close of the geonic era (Hai Gaon d. 1038), and its Jewish community continued as one of the world's oldest until the twentieth century. | external | ★★★★☆ |
Referenced by: Saadia Gaon