Moses ben Maimon, who died on 12 December 1204 and is commonly known as Maimonides and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam, was a Sephardic Jewish rabbi widely acknowledged as one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. Originally from Cordoba, where he was born on Passover Eve of 1135 or 1138, his family was exiled from Muslim ruled Spain when they refused to convert to Islam after the Almohad Caliphate conquered the Almoravid dynasty in 1148, and over the following two decades Maimonides resided in Fez, Acre, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Cairo before settling in Fustat between 1168 and 1171, becoming renowned as an astronomer, philosopher and physician, even serving as personal physician to Saladin. His fourteen volume Mishneh Torah still carries significant canonical authority in Judaism as a codification of halakha, as do his thirteen principles of faith, and, influenced by Aristotle, al-Farabi, Avicenna and his contemporary Averroes, his work as a polymath contributed to the Islamic Golden Age and was regarded highly across much of the Muslim world.
Facts
Defining MomentSourced to the subject's own accountWrote The Guide for the Perplexed, reconciling Aristotelian philosophy with Jewish theology, a major influence on later Scholastic philosophers 1 Notable PublicationSourced to the subject's own accountThe Guide for the Perplexed (Dalalat al-Ha'irin), completed between 1186 and 1190 1 Office HeldSourced to the subject's own accountPersonal physician to Saladin of the Ayyubid Sultanate 1 Death YearSourced to the subject's own account Death DateSourced to the subject's own account BirthplaceSourced to the subject's own accountCórdoba, Al-Andalus (Muslim-ruled Spain) 1 Death PlaceSourced to the subject's own accountFustat, Egypt (near Cairo) 1 TraditionSourced to the subject's own accountMedieval Jewish philosophy; Aristotelian rationalism within Judeo-Islamic philosophy 1 Disputed
Birth YearSourced to the subject's own accountSources give 1135 or 1138 for the birth year (Passover Eve); 1135 is used here as the traditionally cited year. Connections
Influenced By
Source Maimonides (Wikipedia)
Source Maimonides (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Maimonides (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)Lead section, second paragraph
During this period, he advanced his vocations and became renowned for his achievements as an astronomer, philosopher, and physician-even being appointed to serve as personal physician to Saladin of the Ayyubid Sultanate.
Lead section, first sentence
Moses ben Maimon (died 12 December 1204), commonly known as Maimonides and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam, was a Sephardic Jewish rabbi who is widely acknowledged as one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages.
Lead section, third paragraph
He continued to live in Fustat until his death in 1204 and is said to have been buried in Tiberias.
Lead section, fifth paragraph
Influenced by Aristotle, al-Farabi, ibn Sina, and his contemporary ibn Rushd, his work as a polymath contributed to the Islamic Golden Age and was regarded highly in many parts of the Muslim world.
Works section, Guide for the Perplexed entry
The Guide for the Perplexed, a philosophical work harmonising and differentiating Aristotle's philosophy and Jewish theology. Written in Judeo-Arabic under the title Dalālat al-ḥāʾirīn, and completed between 1186 and 1190.
Philosophy section, discussion of Scholastic influence
Through The Guide for the Perplexed, Mishneh Torah, and the philosophical introductions to sections of his commentaries on the Mishnah, Maimonides exerted an important influence on the Scholastic philosophers, especially on Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus.
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