Maimonides
Medieval Jewish philosopher from Spain (1135–1204)
Moses ben Maimon (died 12 December 1204), commonly known as Maimonides and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam, was a Sephardic Jewish rabbi who is widely acknowledged as one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages.
Originally from Córdoba, where he was born on Passover Eve of 1135 or 1138, his family was exiled from Muslim-ruled Spain when they refused to convert to Islam shortly after the Almohad Caliphate conquered the Almoravid dynasty in 1148. Over the course of the next two decades, Maimonides resided in Fez, Acre, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Cairo before finally settling in Fustat between 1168 and 1171. During this period, he advanced his vocations and became renowned for his achievements as an astronomer, philosopher, and physician—even being appointed to serve as personal physician to Saladin of the Ayyubid Sultanate.
Most contemporary Jews as far as Iraq and Yemen acclaimed Maimonides' writings on halakha and Jewish ethics. Yet, while he rose to lead the Jewish community in Egypt, he also had many loud critics, particularly in Spain. He continued to live in Fustat until his death in 1204 and is said to have been buried in Tiberias. Accordingly, the Tomb of Maimonides in Tiberias holds importance as a Jewish pilgrimage site.
To date, Maimonides is recognized as one of the foremost rabbinic decisors and his copious work comprises a cornerstone of Jewish scholarship. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries significant canonical authority in Judaism as a codification of halakha, as do his thirteen principles of faith.
The public source identifies “Maimonides” as medieval Jewish philosopher from Spain (1135–1204). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Maimonides, Medieval and Jewish.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q127398. VIAF identifies the subject as 100185495. The Library of Congress control number is n78096039. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1204, 1135, 1138 and 1148.
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This entry incorporates text from “Maimonides” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.