Menahem
Ben-Sasson
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ellie and Herbert D. Katz Distinguished Fellowship
Research Topic
Maimonidean Dynasty: Law and Leadership in the Jewish Communities of the East
Bio
Menahem Ben-Sasson is Chancellor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He researches the social and intellectual history of medieval Jewry in Muslim lands from the seventh to the fourteenth centuries, including both the Golden Era of Jewish culture in Islamic lands and the era of the decline of Judaic culture from the twelfth century onwards.
Ben-Sasson completed his PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has since taught at Ben-Gurion University, Bar-Ilan University, and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and has been a fellow at Cambridge University and several times at the Katz Center.
Selected publications
- The Emergence of the Local Jewish Community in the Muslim World: Qayrawan 800–1057 (Magness Press, 1996)
- The Jews of Sicily 825–1068: Documents and Sources (The Ben-Zvi Institute, 1991)
