Maimonides: Biography, Achievements & Lasting Legacy

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. Maimonides' era is considered by many to mark the end of the Jewish Golden Age in Spain, owing to the ubiquitous persecution of his family and the Sephardic Jewish community in general, though others assert that it lasted until the Christian Reconquista concluded in the 15th century.

Aside from being revered by Jewish historians, Maimonides features very prominently in the history of Islamic science. Influenced by Aristotle, al-Farabi, ibn Sina, and his contemporary ibn Rushd, his work as a polymath contributed to the Islamic Golden Age and was regarded highly in many parts of the Muslim world.