person · P0450
Mar Ukva מר עוקבא
First-generation Babylonian authority, judge, and — in geonic tradition — exilarch of the Davidic line: a disciple-colleague sitting before Shmuel (Shmuel) yet addressed with royal honorifics. The Bavli remembers his court at Kafri and his secret charity; the exilarchal title itself rests on the late rosters, so it is carried here with reserve.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- מר עוקבא
- Also known as
- Mar Ukba, Ukvan
- Era
- amoraim
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3960–4020 AM (first generation of Babylonian amoraim)
- Academic
- fl. first half of the 3rd century CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈60 years
- Precision
- approximate
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| A dispatch went out to Mar Ukva's court styled "To him whose radiance is like the son of Batya's" — the Bavli shows him presiding as judge with quasi-royal honor, and elsewhere sitting before Shmuel; geonic-era rosters (Seder Olam Zuta) count him among the exilarchs.
The Bavli attests his court and standing but never titles him resh galuta; the exilarch identification is geonic tradition.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★☆☆ | |
| The AM band c. 3960–4020 is schematic, from his place in the first amoraic generation as Shmuel's younger contemporary; no source dates his tenure. | tradition reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |