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.
Originally from Córdoba, 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 shortly after the Almohad Caliphate conquered the Almoravid dynasty in 1148. Over the course of the next two decades, Maimonides resided in Fez, Acre, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Cairo before finally settling in Fustat between 1168 and 1171. 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.
Most contemporary Jews as far as Iraq and Yemen acclaimed Maimonides' writings on halakha and Jewish ethics. Yet, while he rose to lead the Jewish community in Egypt, he also had many loud critics, particularly in Spain. He continued to live in Fustat until his death in 1204 and is said to have been buried in Tiberias. Accordingly, the Tomb of Maimonides in Tiberias holds importance as a Jewish pilgrimage site.
To date, Maimonides is recognized as one of the foremost rabbinic decisors and his copious work comprises a cornerstone of Jewish scholarship. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries significant canonical authority in Judaism as a codification of halakha, as do his thirteen principles of faith. Maimonides' era is considered by many to mark the end of the Jewish Golden Age in Spain, owing to the ubiquitous persecution of his family and the Sephardic Jewish community in general, though others assert that it lasted until the Christian Reconquista concluded in the 15th century.
Aside from being revered by Jewish historians, Maimonides features very prominently in the history of Islamic science. 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.
Maimonides' Arabic name was Abū ʿImrān Mūsā bin Maimūn bin ʿUbaydallāh al-Qurṭubī (Arabic: أَبُو عِمْرَان مُوسَى بْن مَيْمُون بْن عُبَيْد ٱللّٰه ٱلْقُرْطُبِيّ, Moses "son of Amram" son of Maymun, son of Obadiah the Cordoban), or oftentimes more simply, as Moses son of Maymun (موسى بن ميمون). His Hebrew name was Moses son of Rabbi Maimon the Spaniard (Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה בֵּרַבִּי מַיְמוֹן הַסְּפָרדִּי, romanized: Mōše bēRabbî Maymōn ha-Səfārdî). In Medieval Hebrew, he was usually called ר״ם (Ram), which is short for "our Rabbi Moshe"; he is oftentimes referred to as רמב״ם (Rambam), which is short for "our Rabbi, Moshe son of Maimon".
In Greek, the Hebrew ben ('son of') becomes the patronymic suffix -ίδης (-ides), forming Μωυσής Μαϊμωνίδης "Mōusēs Maimōnidēs".
He is sometimes known as "The Great Eagle" (Hebrew: הנשר הגדול, romanized: haNesher haGadol).
Maimonides was born 1138 (or 1135) in Córdoba in the Muslim-ruled Almoravid dynasty, at the end of the Golden Age of Jewish culture in Spain after the first centuries of Muslim rule. His father, Maimon ben Joseph, was a dayyan or rabbinic judge.
Maimonides studied Torah under his father, who had in turn studied under Joseph ibn Migash, a student of Isaac Alfasi. At an early age, Maimonides developed an interest in contemporary science and philosophy. He read ancient Greek philosophy accessible via Arabic translations and was deeply immersed in the sciences and learning of Islamic culture.
A Berber dynasty, the Almohads, conquered Córdoba in 1148 and abolished dhimmi status (i.e., state protection of non-Muslims ensured through payment of the jizya tax) in some territories. The loss of this status forced Jewish and Christian communities to choose between conversion to Islam, martyrdom, or exile. Many Jews were forced to convert, but due to suspicion by the authorities of fake conversions, the new converts had to wear identifying clothing that set them apart and made them subject to public scrutiny.
Maimonides' family, along with many other Jews, chose exile. For the next ten years, Maimonides moved about in southern Spain and North Africa, eventually settling in Fas. Some say that his teacher in Fez was Yehuda Ha-Cohen Ibn Susan, until the latter was killed in 1165.
During this time, he composed his acclaimed commentary on the Mishnah during 1166–1168.
Following this sojourn in Morocco, he lived in Acre with his father and brother, arriving on May 16, 1165. They lived there for five months. In October, he visited Jerusalem, where he prayed at the Temple Mount. He wrote that this day of visiting the Temple Mount was a day of holiness for him and his descendants. He then visited the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
He and his family settled in Fustat in Fatimid Caliphate-controlled Egypt by 1168. There is mention that Maimonides first settled in Alexandria, and moved to Fustat only in 1171. While in Cairo, he studied in a yeshiva attached to a small synagogue, which now bears his name.
Maimonides was soon instrumental in helping rescue Jews taken captive during the Christian Amalric of Jerusalem's siege of the southeastern Nile Delta town of Bilbeis. He sent five letters to the Jewish communities of Lower Egypt asking them to pool money together to pay the ransom. The money was collected and then given to two judges sent to the Kingdom of Jerusalem to negotiate with the Crusaders. The captives were eventually released.
Following this success, the Maimonides family, hoping to increase their wealth, gave their savings to his brother, the youngest son David ben Maimon, a merchant. Maimonides directed his brother to procure goods only at the port of ʿAydhab along the Red Sea. After a long, arduous trip through the desert, however, David was unimpressed by the goods on offer there. Against his brother's wishes, David boarded a ship for India, since great wealth was to be found in the East. Before he could reach his destination, David drowned at sea sometime between 1169 and 1177. The death of his brother caused Maimonides to become sick with grief.
In a letter discovered in the Cairo Geniza, he wrote: