Samuel ha-Nagid

(also known as Ismail ibn-Nagrela)

(993–1055 or 1056)

   Spanish statesman and scholar. In the Moslem court of Granada, Samuel ha- Nagid was for thirty years in command of both domestic and foreign affairs. Originally a merchant from Córdoba, where he was born, he fled to Malaga in 1013 when the Berbers sacked his native city. He was then summoned to Granada to serve Habbus, a Berber ruler, as vizier and secretary; and remained with Habbus’ son and successor Badis as chief minister of state from 1038 until his death. As such, he accompanied the troops on their annual campaigns. He was a gifted linguist, scholar and poet. In what has survived of his poetry, Samuel paints a picture of a life filled with wars, murder, intrigue and treachery. Samuel also saw himself as a defender of Israel, sent by Providence to succour his people. In 1027 he was appointed nagid (‘governor’) of the Jewish community of Granada. Samuel was the acknowledged leader of Spanish Jewry. As an authority on Jewish law, he corresponded with contemporary scholars in Babylonia and Kairouan. Among his works was a criticism of the Koran, which drew a bitter response from the Moslem scholar Ibn-Hazm. He made generous donations to talmudic academies in Spain and abroad and endowed scholarships for poor students. His charitable works in Africa, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Palestine included supplying all the synagogues in Jerusalem with olive oil. It is apparent from many of his poems that he regarded Jewish life in exile as one of suffering, and for all his worldly success longed for the return to Zion. Samuel died during a military campaign, and was succeeded by his son Joseph. The Arab population was incited against the Jews and in the riots in Granada in 1066, Joseph was slain, together with some fifteen hundred local Jews.