person · P0381
Rav Chanina (of Sura) רבי חנינא
The Sura head of the generation of Muhammad's rise — the one name the first succession pass deliberately left out, because the Iggeret gives him only as hearsay: "they say that at that time Rabbi Chanina was in Sura." The standard rosters carry him (c. 610), and Seder Olam Zutta's closing chapter knows a Mar Rav Chanina, head of a metivta, in the chronicle tradition of the same era. Entered at chronicle grade.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רבי חנינא
- Also known as
- Hinenai, Hananiah of Sura
- Era
- geonim
II. When
- Traditional
- gaon of Sura c. 4370 AM (chronicle-grade placement)
- Academic
- gaon c. 610 CE (per the standard rosters)
- Precision
- unknown
III. Where
- Places
- Sura
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| "And they say (amrin) that at that time Rabbi Chanina was in Sura" — the Iggeret's only notice of him, given in the same tangled sentence that places Mar Rav Chana at Pumbedita and Mar Rav Yitzchak at Peroz-Shapur, and itself flagged as report.
Hearsay within the source. Possibly a doublet of Mar Rav Chanina of the Bnei Gahara (Mar Rav Chanina (of the Bnei Gahara)), the Pumbedita gaon of the same generation; the two are kept distinct here as the rosters keep them, and the doubt is left on record.
|
tradition | ★★☆☆☆ | |
| The standard rosters of Sura's geonim place R. Hanina (Hananiah, Hinenai) c. 610; and Seder Olam Zutta's closing chapter knows a Mar Rav Chanina "resh metivta," a great man whose daughter married the exilarch Rav Huna — a metivta head of this name and era in the chronicle tradition, though which academy he led is unstated there.
Chronicle-grade (not Iggeret-attested): from the conventional geonic lists and Seder Olam Zutta; the Seder Olam Zutta identification is possible, not certain. Verified in the Hebrew (mar rav Chanina resh metivta).
|
tradition external | ★★★☆☆ |