Hiyya al-Daudi facts for kids

Hiyya al-Daudi was an important rabbi, writer, and poet who lived a long time ago, from about 1085 to 1154. He was born in Babylonia (which is now Iraq) and later moved to Spain and Portugal. His religious songs are still sung by Jewish communities around the world today.

Hiyya came from an important family; his grandfather was Hezekiah Gaon, a famous Jewish leader. Hiyya moved from Babylonia to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). He was a very skilled rabbi, a writer of religious songs, and a poet. He even worked as an advisor for King Afonso I of Portugal. People called him "Chiya, First in the Land of Portugal," showing how important he was. Some of his special poems, called piyutim, were collected in a book by a scholar named Samuel David Luzzatto.

His son was Yaish Ibn Yahya, and his grandson was Yahia Ben Rabbi.

Early Life and Education

Hiyya al-Daudi studied at a famous Jewish school called Yeshivat Ge’on Yaʿaqov. He was also a very good mathematician, especially skilled in geometry.

Life in Spain

Hiyya al-Daudi received large areas of land near a city called Lleida (Lerida) in Spain. He was allowed to rent these lands to anyone he wanted, whether they were Christian, Jewish, or Muslim. He also owned places where wine was stored in the Jewish part of Lleida. He was one of the first Jewish people to be officially called a "bailiff" or "Almoxarife," which meant he managed land and money for the king.

Lleida and another city called Monzón are close to Zaragoza. In a city called Calatayud, there was a beautiful Jewish prayer house built by Aharon Ibn Yahya. The kings of Aragon gave special rights to the Jewish people of Calatayud, including rules about taking oaths. The name Calatayud means "Castle or fortress of the Jews," which shows how important the Jewish community was there.

Hiyya also helped manage lands for the Knights Templar in Castile and León, Spain. He is buried in a cemetery there, right outside the walls of a Templar castle.

Working with the King

Hiyya played an important role in dividing up land that King Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre had conquered. King Alfonso I was known as "The Battler." Rabbi Hiyya was very helpful in taking over the area of Zaragoza (which included Lleida, Zaragoza, and Monzón) from the Arab rulers called Banu Hud.

Name Meaning

The name Hiyya can also be spelled Chiya. It comes from the Hebrew word Chaim (חיים), which means "Life."

Sources

• Ibn Daud, Abraham: Seffer Hakabbala (in Hebrew), Oxford, 1887, page 67.
• Zacuto, Abraham: The book of Lineage, Zacuto Foundation, Tel Aviv, 2005, pp 515 and 534.

See also

In Spanish: Hiyya al-Daudi para niños