The Geonim of Babylonia and the Shaping of Medieval Jewish Culture [first edition]

Having gained ascendancy over the Palestinian center of Judaism, the Geonim who headed the ancient talmudic academies of Babylonia came to be recognized by most of the world`s Jews as the leading religious and spiritual authorities from the late sixth to mid-eleventh centuries. This book-the only survey in English of the crucial Geonic period-focuses on the cultural and historical milieu of the Geonim as well as their intellectual and literary creativity.