Samuel ibn Naghrillah

Shmuel ibn Naghrillah (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל הַלֵּוִי בֶּן יוֹסֵף, romanized: Šəmuʿēl HalLēvi ben Yosēf; Arabic: أبو إسحاق إسماعيل بن النغريلة, romanized: ʾAbū ʾIsḥāq ʾIsmāʿīl bin an-Naġrīlah), mainly known as Shmuel HaNagid (Hebrew: שמואל הנגיד, romanized: Šəmūʿel HanNāgid, lit. 'Samuel the Prince') and Isma'il ibn Naghrilla (993–1056), was a Jewish statesman, military commander, scholar, linguist and poet in medieval al-Andalus. He served as grand vizier of the Taifa of Granada, commander of its army in battle, and leader of the local Jewish community. Rising to unprecedented prominence in both Muslim and Jewish spheres, he became one of the most powerful and influential Jews in medieval Spain. He is also considered one of the greatest Jewish poets of all time.

Raised in Córdoba in a Jewish merchant family, Samuel received a broad education in Jewish law, astronomy, logic, and biblical exegesis. Following unrest in Córdoba, he settled in Granada, where he entered government service and quickly rose in rank. He led Granada's forces in battles against Seville, Carmona, and Christian mercenaries. He was a respected halakhic authority, talmudist, and philanthropist, supporting Jewish academies in Babylonia and North Africa and leading a Jewish academy in Granada. His relationships extended to towering Jewish intellectuals such as Solomon Ibn Gabirol Nissim Gaon of Kairouan. He was involved in the Hebrew grammar debates of his time, opposing Jonah Ibn Janah, and contributed to the development of medieval Hebrew philology.

Ibn Naghrillah was a prolific and versatile poet whose Hebrew verse, considered among the finest of the Golden Age of Jewish culture in Spain, encompassed war poetry, personal laments, satire, love poetry, philosophical reflection, and didactic composition. His three principal poetic collections, Ben Tehillim (secular and battle poetry), Ben Mishlei (rhymed proverbs), and Ben Qohelet (philosophical and didactic verse), reflected biblical models and adapted Arabic meters into Hebrew. Upon his death in 1056, his son Joseph assumed his roles as vizier and leader of Granada's Jewish community; however, his lack of political finesse and growing unpopularity contributed to rising tensions that culminated in the 1066 massacre of the city's Jews and his own assassination.