Shmuel HaNagid שמואל הנגיד
vizier of Granada, general, poet and head of Spain's Jewish communities
Shmuel ibn Naghrela was born in Córdoba, fled the Berber sack of the city, and reached Málaga, where — tradition says — he earned his bread writing letters. His hand and his style brought him to court. He became secretary, then vizier of the king of Granada, and for almost twenty years governed the state and led its armies in the field.
Nothing like it happened again in the history of exile. He wrote poems in the camp — about fear before battle, about a night by the river, about wine and death; his diwan «Ben Tehillim» is a summit of Hebrew poetry. He also composed the «Mevo HaTalmud», an introduction to Talmudic method still printed in editions of the Gemara.
The communities of Spain recognised him as Nagid, head of the country's Jews. He funded copyists, bought books for poor students, and supported academies in Spain, North Africa, Jerusalem and Babylonia.
His son Joseph inherited the office but not the caution: in 4826 a mob in Granada killed him and turned on the community.