The al-Andalus Chair of the Three Cultures Foundation offers the new series "Great Jewish Characters of al-Andalus".
Coinciding with the usual celebration of the month of Sepharad in September each year, the Three Cultures Foundation is launching a new series entitled "Great Jewish Characters of al-Andalus". The aim of the initiative is to publicise and vindicate the contribution of these figures to the history and culture of Spain and the rest of Europe and the Mediterranean and their contribution to the intellectual, cultural and scientific heritage of humanity.
Although it is not possible to date the origins of the presence of the Jews on the Iberian Peninsula by means of archaeological or documentary remains, scholars place it even some centuries before the Christian era, although it was not until the establishment of al-Andalus, and especially during the 12th and 13th centuries, that what has been defined as the zenith of Jewish cultural production in many fields was reached, with the appearance of figures such as Solomon Ibn Gabirol or Hasday Ibn Shaprut, considered classics in the entire Jewish world. The contribution of the great Jewish intellectuals and authors who lived in al-Andalus and in the later Christian kingdoms had an important impact both on Western European culture and on the rest of the Mediterranean.
The first lecture in this series will take place on Thursday 21 September at 19:00 under the title "Samuel Ibn Nagrela: nagid of the Jews, vizier of the Muslims" and will be given by María Ángeles Gallego García, senior scientist at the Institute of Languages and Cultures of the Mediterranean and the Near East of the CSIC.
Samuel Ibn Nagrela (Samuel b. Yosef ha-Levi b. Nagrela, Córdoba 993-Granada 1056), was one of the most important figures in medieval Hispanic Judaism from the social, political, literary and intellectual points of view, according to the Diccionario Biográfico de la Real Academia de la Historia (Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Academy of History). Ibn Nagrela achieved great pre-eminence in all these spheres. In the political sphere, he became secretary and vizier to the Zirid ruler of Granada, as well as nagid or representative of the Jewish community before the Muslim authorities. Considered a scholar in various fields, he is credited with the first compilation of Jewish law relating to the rules of daily life in al-Andalus. As for his intellectual activity, specialists have highlighted his work as a patron of Hebrew and Jewish culture, as well as the prolixity of his poetic production, the variety of the subjects he dealt with and their quality, which place him as a pioneer of the 'golden century' of Hebrew literature in al-Andalus.
Free admission until full capacity is reached, subject to prior registration on the website of the Three Cultures Foundation.
