The Jews of Medieval Baghdad in the Abbasid Era

For more than five hundred years, a significant Jewish population resided in Baghdad, the seat of the caliph of the Abbasid Empire. Medieval Baghdad was home to influential rabbis and yeshivas (rabbinic schools), the Jewish exilarch (the “king” of world Jewry), and prominent Jewish members of the government and financial system. In this talk, Jennifer Grayson will explore what this meant both for the Jews of Baghdad and for the Muslims who ruled over them. Jennifer Grayson is the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Assistant Professor of Jewish History at Hebrew Union College. She also holds a secondary affiliation as Assistant Professor of History at Xavier University. Dr. Grayson researches the social history of Arabic-speaking Jews in the medieval Middle East, primarily through the documents of the Cairo Geniza. She is currently revising her book manuscript, entitled “At the King’s Gate: The Jews of Abbasid Baghdad, 750-1258,” and is beginning a new project on the history of childbirth among Jews in medieval Egypt.