One of the central figures in the history of Judaism, Moses Maimonides (1135–1204) was a religious scholar and philosopher born in medieval Spain who sought to explain the intricacies of Jewish law and to reconcile philosophy with ancient traditions. He was also known during his lifetime as one of the most famous doctors in the world, entrusted with the care of kings and sultans.
Raised in the thriving Jewish community of the Muslim-controlled city of Córdoba, Maimonides read widely in Jewish, Muslim, and Greek philosophy. However, the golden age of religious toleration in Spain ended in 1148, when an edict forced the city’s Jews to convert to Islam, leave Spain, or face execution. Maimonides’ family chose exile, fleeing to Morocco.
Maimonides eventually ended up in Cairo, Egypt, in 1166, where he became the leader of the city’s Jewish community. In Cairo, he published Mishneh Torah, which established him as a major Jewish thinker. The fourteen-volume work focused mostly on Jewish religious questions, while his Guide of the Perplexed (1190) dealt with contemporary philosophical disputes.
In 1175, the rabbi’s brother, a jewelry merchant, was killed in a shipwreck, an event that left Maimonides profoundly depressed and inspired him to take up medicine. He was soon one of the leading medical authorities in Egypt, authoring tracts on asthma, hemorrhoids, poisons, and other ailments.
Like the Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd (1126–1198)—a close contemporary and fellow Córdoban—Maimonides was particularly devoted to connecting the philosophy of Aristotle (384–322 BC) to religious beliefs. Although Maimonides rejected some of Aristotle’s findings, he embraced the philosopher’s scientific outlook and insisted that reason could be compatible with faith.
Maimonides died at age sixty-nine in Egypt. He is regarded as one of the greatest interpreters of Jewish law in the religion’s history, and his philosophy had a major impact on Christianity, influencing Catholic thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274).
ADDITIONAL FACTS
- Maimonides is the Greek version of the rabbi’s name; he is also referred to as Moshe ben Maimon in Hebrew or as Rambam, a nickname derived from his Hebrew initials.
- After moving to Egypt, Maimonides settled in a section of Cairo called Fustat. The entire neighborhood was burned to the ground a couple of years later, in 1168, to prevent it from falling into the hands of Christian invaders.
- Maimonides was the court doctor to the Egyptian sultan Yusuf ibn Ayyub (1138–1193), better known in the West as Saladin. In one famous tale, the sultan, who was known for his sense of chivalry, sent Maimonides to treat his enemy, the English crusader king Richard the Lionheart (1157–1199), who had fallen ill with a fever while fighting against Saladin.
