Abraham bar hiyya biography of mahatma

ABRAHAM BAR ḤIYYA (Ḥayya ; d. c.

Abraham bar hiyya biography of mahatma

), Spanish philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and translator. Little is known about Abraham's life apart from the fact that he lived in Barcelona. Two titles by which he was known provide clues to his public activity.

One was Savasorda, a corruption of the Arabic ṣāḥib-al-shurṭa, originally meaning "captain of the bodyguard," but by Abraham's time denoting a functionary whose duties were both judiciary and civil, the exact scope of which can only be surmised.

A court position was not unique for a Jew in Christian Spain at that time, and Abraham would have been useful for his mathematical and astronomical knowledge, his skill in surveying, and his linguistic abilities (he states in his writings that from his early youth he "gained honor before princes and royalty").

The other title, nasi, was not uncommon in Spanish Jewry and although in this instance also the exact significance is undetermined, it appears to denote