Statement
Historians generally link the Babylonian tradition's dominance to political dynamics: the Geonim found themselves at the quite center of the empire once the Abbasids made it their capital. There is no evidence that closeness to the caliphs raised their political power, but being in the empire's political, cultural and commercial hub could only widen their reach, whereas Palestine was a provincial backwater.
References
p. 162
supports · main text · ch. 6
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text
p. 162
supports · main text · ch. 6
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.
Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text
Scholarly debate
Why did the Babylonian Talmudic tradition become dominant?
2 positions · no single answer · take a seat →
- A
Proximity to the empire's center
Historians in general, according to the authors
Under the Abbasids Babylonia came to host the capital, and sitting at the political, cultural and commercial hub widened the Geonim's reach, while Palestine was a provincial backwater.
- B
Also the decline of Abbasid power and of the academies
Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman
The authors caution that there is no evidence that closeness to the caliphs raised the Geonim's political power, and note, ironically, that Babylonian dominance was also tied to the Abbasid decline and that of the academies themselves.