person · P0365

Rav Yeshaya HaLevi bar Abba מר רב ישעיה הלוי בן מר רב אבא

Gaon of Pumbedita from 796, from Kalwada near Baghdad — the roster's first head drawn from the new capital's orbit.

I. Who

Hebrew
מר רב ישעיה הלוי בן מר רב אבא
Era
geonim

II. When

Traditional
gaon of Pumbedita 4556–4558 AM
Academic
gaon 796–798 CE
Lifespan (traditional)
≈52 years
Precision
approximate

III. Where

Places
Pumbedita

V. How do we know

ClaimEvidenceConfidenceSources
"And after them, of the geonim of Pumbedita: Mar Rav Yeshaya HaLevi ben Mar Rav Abba, and he was from Kalwada, a town near Baghdad, in the year [1]107" (796 CE).
Accession year per the Iggeret; the tenure is closed at the successor's stated accession.
tradition ★★★★☆
No source names his teacher. Per this atlas's succession roster, Rav Abba bar Dodai and Rav Chananya bar Mesharshiya held the headship of his academy during his formative window (c. 4521–4541 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.
reconstruction ★☆☆☆☆