Maimonides

Moses ben Maimon[lower-alpha 1] (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (/maɪˈmɒnɪdiːz/)[lower-alpha 2] and also referred to by the acronym Rambam (Hebrew: רמב״ם),[lower-alpha 3] was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. In his time, he was also a preeminent astronomer and physician, serving as the personal physician of Saladin. Born in Córdoba, Almoravid Empire (present-day Spain), on Passover eve, 1138 (or 1135),[lower-alpha 4][8][9][10] he worked as a rabbi, physician and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. He died in Egypt on 12 December 1204, his body was transported to the lower Galilee and was eventually buried in Tiberias.[11][12]

Quick facts: .mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-ou... ▼

Maimonides (Moshe ben Maimon)
Imaginative 18th-century depiction of Maimonides
Born	30 March[1] or 6 April[2] 1135 Possibly born 28 March or 4 April[3] 1138 Córdoba, Almoravid Empire
Died	12 December 1204 (66-69 years old) Fostat, Ayyubid Sultanate
Notable work	Mishneh Torah The Guide for the Perplexed
Spouse	(1) daughter of Nathaniel Baruch (2) daughter of Mishael Halevi
Era	Medieval philosophy 12th-century philosophy
Region	Middle Eastern philosophy Jewish philosophy
School	Aristotelianism
Language	Judeo-Arabic, Medieval Hebrew
Main interests	Religious law, Halakha
Notable ideas	Oath of Maimonides, Maimonides' rule, Golden mean, 13 principles of faith
Influences Talmud, Plato, Aristotle, al-Farabi, Avicenna, Avempace, Averroes, Al-Ghazali[4][5]
Influenced Virtually all subsequent Jewish philosophy, as well as a significant amount of Catholic theology, and especially Spinoza, Albertus Magnus, Aquinas, Joyce, Bodin, Leibniz, Newton,[6] Strauss, Buber, Rosenzweig, Friedländer, Fackenheim, Levinas
Signature

During his lifetime, most Jews greeted Maimonides' writings on Jewish law and ethics with acclaim and gratitude, even as far away as Iraq and Yemen. Yet, while Maimonides rose to become the revered head of the Jewish community in Egypt, his writings also had vociferous critics, particularly in Spain. Nonetheless, he was posthumously acknowledged as one of the foremost rabbinic decisors and philosophers in Jewish history, and his copious work comprises a cornerstone of Jewish scholarship. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries significant canonical authority as a codification of Halacha. He is sometimes known as הנשר הגדול ("haNesher haGadol" The Great Eagle)[13] in recognition of his outstanding status as a bona fide exponent of the Oral Torah.

Aside from being revered by Jewish historians, Maimonides also figures very prominently in the history of Islamic and Arab sciences and he is mentioned extensively in studies. Influenced by Aristotle, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and his contemporary Ibn Rushd, he became a prominent philosopher and polymath in both the Jewish and Islamic worlds.