person · P0261
Rav Sama bar Rava רב סמא בריה דרבא
Head of Pumbedita for nearly three decades through the great persecutions — synagogues shut, the exilarch Huna bar Mar Zutra executed, children seized for the Magi. The geonic memory-books credited his prayers, with Mar bar Rav Ashi's, with the end of the decrees.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רב סמא בריה דרבא
- Era
- amoraim
II. When
- Traditional
- d. 4236 AM (Seleucid 787, per the Iggeret)
- Academic
- d. 476 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈70 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Pumbedita
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| "After him reigned Rav Sama son of Rava... in that period of his and of Mar bar Rav Ashi we heard from the early ones, and saw written in their books of remembrance, that they begged for mercy and a serpent swallowed King Yazdgerd in his bedchamber, and the persecution was annulled"; he died in the Seleucid year 787 (476 CE). | tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| No source names his teacher. Per this atlas's succession roster, Rav Gevihah of Bei Katil and Rafram II held the headship of his academy during his formative window (c. 4181–4201 AM), making reception from them the likeliest reconstruction.
Derived by era-and-institution inference, not attested. The formative window is computed from this entry's schematic dates, hence the low confidence. A talmudic attestation, if one can be verified, should supersede this.
|
reconstruction | ★☆☆☆☆ |