Moses Maimonides: A Very Short Introduction - Paperback

by Ross Brann (Author)

Moses Maimonides, a scientist, physician, philosopher, rabbinic scholar, and communal leader, was perhaps the most imposing Jewish figure of the pre-modern age. Yet, more than eight centuries after his death, the meaning of his life and his work remains contested.

This Very Short Introduction to Moses Maimonides surveys Maimonides' many intellectual, literary, and professional ventures. Born in Islamic Cordoba, he ultimately settled in Cairo, where he served as jurist and civic leader and a highly esteemed physician with responsibilities at the Fatimid and Ayyubid courts, even as he deepened his philosophical-theological pursuits. He moved seamlessly between specialized, private, and public Jewish and Muslim spheres.

Author Biography

Ross Brann is Milton R. Konvitz Professor of Judeo-Islamic Studies & Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University. Brann is the author or editor of books and essays on the intersection of Jewish and Islamic culture, including The Compunctious Poet: Cultural Ambiguity and Hebrew Poetry in Muslim Spain, Power in the Portrayal: Representations of Muslims and Jews in Eleventh- and Twelfth Century Islamic Spain, and Iberian Moorings: al-Andalus and Sefarad and the Tropes of Exceptionalism.