Nehar Peḳod (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: נהר פקוד) was a Babylonian Jewish community in the town of

Nehardea Nehardea or Nehardeah ( "river of knowledge") was a city from the area called by ancient Jewish sources Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka (the Royal Canal), one of the earliest and most prominent ce ...

. Nehar Pekod was popularized as a center of learning by Rav Hananiah, leading to thousands of

Judeans Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the prese ...

settling in the town after the

Bar Kokhba Revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 AD) was a major uprising by the Jews of Judaea (Roman province), Judaea against the Roman Empire, marking the final and most devastating of the Jewish–Roman wars. Led by Simon bar Kokhba, the rebels succeeded ...

. Rav Hananiah even tried to establish a bet midrash and a

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Middle Aramaic , a loanword from , 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was a Jewish legislative and judicial assembly of either 23 or 70 elders, existing at both a local and central level i ...

with the authority to manage and change the

Jewish calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as ''yahrzeits ...

. However, Jewish authorities back in Judea immediately intervened, denouncing the authority of the community. Rav Hananiah died and was buried in Nehar Pekod. The community experienced another era of prominence during the Geonic period when tens of thousands of Surian Jews came to Nehar Pekod to learn. Several notable Sura Gaons were either educated or born in Nehar Pekod, including: * Hanina of Nehar Pekkod, Sura Gaon from 689 to 694. * Jacob of Nehar Pekod, Sura Gaon from 712 to 730. * Mari ha-Kohen of Nehar Pekod, Sura Gaon from 748 to 756. * Bebai ha-Levi ben R. Abba of Nehar Pekod, Sura Gaon from 778 to 789. By the 9th century, most of the community had immigrated back to Sura.

References

Jewish communities Talmud places Jewish Babylonian history Babylonian cities {{Jewish-hist-stub