academies. This brought the Exilarch and the rabbinate closer together. The alliance was uneasy, and considerable tension always remained. Presumably this state of affairs continued during the subsequent period of the early Islamic Empires under the Caliphate which began in 651.
We know that at least once in the early period of the Caliphate an Exilarch was challenged. This occurred with Bustanai. It was suggested that he was not of true Davidic descent as his mother may have been a Persian princess. The accusations were made and vigorously denied. The documentation which we possess is not clear, but despite the great debate the Exilarch remained in power.’
Saboraic and Gaonic Period
In the post Talmudic period of the Saboraim the struggle continued, although we see it only in a shadowy manner through the account of Sherira Gaon . We know that in 658 C.E. the great Academy of Sura was given autonomy and the same occurred to the Academy of Pumbedita in 830 C.E. Earlier both schools had been subjected to the control of the Exilarch.” During the period in which the Exilarch ruled over the academies, there were occasional rivalries for the position of Exilarch in which the rabbinate participated. Sometimes each contestant appointed a head of an academy that effectively divided the rabbinate. We hear a good deal of those efforts particularly at Pumbedita as this was Saadiah's own academy and its history interested him more than that of Sura.’
We see the struggle between the Exilarch and the gaonate break out vigorously with the appointment of Saadiah by the Exilarch as head of the Academy of Sura. The Exilarch soon discovered that this powerful learned figure would cause him a great deal of trouble. A major division among the political forces
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