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Sura was a city in the southern part of ancient Babylonia
Babylonia

Babylonia was a state in Lower Mesopotamia , Babylon as its franklin. Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi created an empire out of the territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad....
, located west of the Euphrates River. It was well-known for its agricultural
Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
 produce, which included grape
Grape

File:Table grapes on white.jpgA grape is the non-Climacteric #In_botany fruit that grows on the Perennial plant and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis....
s, wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
, and barley
Barley

Barley is an annual plant cereal grain derived from the grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food, as well as the making of alcoholic beverages beer and whisky....
. It was also a major center of Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
 scholarship, and home of an important yeshiva
Yeshiva

Yeshiva or yeshivah , or metivta or mesivta ) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for Torah study, the study of Talmud, Rabbinic literature and History of responsa....
, which, together with the yeshivas in Pumbedita
Pumbedita

Pumbedita was the name of a city in ancient Babylonia that was a major center of Talmud scholarship that, together with the city of Sura , gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud....
 and Nehardea
Nehardea

Nehardea or Nehardeah was a city of Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka , one of the earliest centers of History of the Jews in Iraq....
, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud
Talmud

The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Halakha, Jewish ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
.

According to Rav Sherira Gaon
Sherira Gaon

Rav Sherira Gaon was the head of the yeshiva in Pumbeditha. He wrote the Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon, a comprehensive history of the composition of the Talmud....
, Sura was identical to the town of Mata Mehasia, which is also mentioned in the Talmud.






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Sura was a city in the southern part of ancient Babylonia
Babylonia

Babylonia was a state in Lower Mesopotamia , Babylon as its franklin. Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi created an empire out of the territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad....
, located west of the Euphrates River. It was well-known for its agricultural
Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of civilization, with the animal husbandry of domestication animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more Population density and Social stratification societies....
 produce, which included grape
Grape

File:Table grapes on white.jpgA grape is the non-Climacteric #In_botany fruit that grows on the Perennial plant and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis....
s, wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
, and barley
Barley

Barley is an annual plant cereal grain derived from the grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food, as well as the making of alcoholic beverages beer and whisky....
. It was also a major center of Torah
Torah

The term "Torah" , or Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch, refers to the entirety of Judaism's founding Halakha and ethical religious texts....
 scholarship, and home of an important yeshiva
Yeshiva

Yeshiva or yeshivah , or metivta or mesivta ) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for Torah study, the study of Talmud, Rabbinic literature and History of responsa....
, which, together with the yeshivas in Pumbedita
Pumbedita

Pumbedita was the name of a city in ancient Babylonia that was a major center of Talmud scholarship that, together with the city of Sura , gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud....
 and Nehardea
Nehardea

Nehardea or Nehardeah was a city of Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka , one of the earliest centers of History of the Jews in Iraq....
, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud
Talmud

The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Halakha, Jewish ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
.

According to Rav Sherira Gaon
Sherira Gaon

Rav Sherira Gaon was the head of the yeshiva in Pumbeditha. He wrote the Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon, a comprehensive history of the composition of the Talmud....
, Sura was identical to the town of Mata Mehasia, which is also mentioned in the Talmud. The academy at Sura was founded by Rav (Abba Arika
Abba Arika

Abba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud....
) in the third century.

A Syriac source describes it as a town completely inhabited by Jews, situated between Ma?oze (i.e. Al-Mada'in
Al-Mada'in

Al-Mada'in is the name of an ancient urban complex along the Tigris, in present-day Iraq, that was the site of the cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon, and was also referred to as Seleucia-Ctesiphon....
) and Al-Hira in Southern Iraq. A responsum of R. Natronai Gaon says that Sura was about 6 km from Al-Hira.

See also

  • Talmudic Academies in Babylonia
    Talmudic Academies in Babylonia

    The Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, also known as the Geonim Academies, were the center for Jewish scholarship and the development of Jewish law in Mesopotamia from roughly 589 CE to 1038 CE ....