HISDAI IBN SHAPRUT

born c. 915, , Jan, Spain died c. 975, , Crdoba in full Hisdai Abu Yusuf Ben Isaac Ben Ezra Ibn Shaprut, Hisdai also spelled Hasdai Jewish physician, translator, and political figure who helped inaugurate the golden age of Hebrew letters in Moorish Spain and who was a powerful statesman in a number of major diplomatic negotiations. After becoming court physician to the powerful Umayyad caliph 'Abd ar-Rahman III, Hisdai gradually gained eminence in the Arab world, acting as vizier without title. He used his linguistic talents (he knew Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin) and persuasive personality in delicate diplomatic missions between Muslim and Christian rulers. On one occasion he helped negotiate a treaty with the Byzantine Empire. One of the presents from the Byzantine emperor to the caliph was a copy of a pharmacological text by the Greek physician Dioscorides (fl. c. AD 50); Hisdai helped translate it into Arabic. On another occasion, Hisdai paved the way for a peace treaty with the warring kingdoms of Navarre and Len. After 'Abd ar-Rahman died in 961, Hisdai continued to perform important services for 'Abd ar-Rahman's son and successor, al-Hakam II, in whose reign he died. Hisdai helped inaugurate the golden age of Spanish Judaism, gathering under his patronage such major literary figures as Dunash ben Labrat (c. 920c. 990) and Menahem ben Saruq (c. 910c. 970), who helped establish scientific Hebrew grammar and a new mode in Hebrew poetry. Hisdai fostered the study of Jewish law and the Talmud (the rabbinic compendium of law, lore, and commentary), thereby making Spanish Jewry relatively independent of the Eastern Talmudic academies. Hisdai's correspondence (written by Menahem ben Saruq) with a Jewish Khazar king, Joseph, is of historic importance. The Khazars, a Turkic people dwelling in southern Russia, had converted to Judaism in the middle of the 8th century AD. Hisdai's letter and the king's response led a shadowy existence until their unexpected publication in the 16th century. After much controversy, the authenticity of both letters and the accuracy of their information seem well established.