Rav Huna bar Natan (, read as Rav Huna bereih deRav Natan (רב הונא בריה דרב נתן)) was a

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

n rabbi and

exilarch The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing polit ...

, of the fifth and sixth generations of

amoraim ''Amoraim'' ( , singular ''Amora'' ; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral Torah. They were p ...

Biography

Huna's father was also a known scholar, mentioned occasionally in the Talmud as "Rav Natan father of Rav Huna". In Huna's youth he was able to learn with Rava. His main rabbis were Rav Papa and Amemar, and once Rav Papa visited him in his house. Amemar permitted him to marry a woman from

Mahoza Al-Mada'in (, ; ''Māḥozā''; ) was an ancient metropolis situated on the Tigris in what is now Iraq. It was located between the ancient royal centers of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, and was founded by the Sasanian Empire. The city's name was used ...

, even though the lineage of people from there was not clearly known. Huna served as an

Exilarch The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing polit ...

, or political leader, to the Jewish community in

. His term overlapping with

Rav Ashi Rav Ashi () ("Rabbi Ashi") (352–427) was a Babylonian Jewish rabbi, of the sixth generation of amoraim. He reestablished the Academy at Sura and was the first editor of the Babylonian Talmud. The original pronunciation of his name may h ...

's term as Dean of the academy of

Sura A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' ( al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while the ...

. He had access to the

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

, and especially to the king

Yazdegerd I Yazdegerd I (also spelled Yazdgerd and Yazdgird; ) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 399 to 420. A son of Shapur III (), he succeeded his brother Bahram IV () after the latter's assassination. Yazdegerd I's largely-uneventful reig ...

, who ruled over Babylonia at the time, and was known for his kindness towards the Jewish community there. Huna was one of the close associates of

(called אזגור מלכא or איזגדר מלכא in the Talmud). Huna—together with his colleagues

, Amemar, and Mar Zutra—would often go to visit the royal court. However, while Huna was the official political leader of the Jews, Rav Ashi was recognized as the greater halachic authority, and even Huna was regarded as "subject to" Rav Ashi.Gittin 59a

References

External links

HUNA B. NATHAN

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

Talmud rabbis of Babylonia Exilarchs Jewish royalty 4th-century Jews 5th-century Jews Jews in the Sasanian Empire {{MEast-rabbi-stub