David ben Daniel ha-Nasi

Born around 1058, David ben Daniel ben ‘Azariah, a scion of the family of the exilarchs, was raised in Damascus after his father, the Palestinian gaon Daniel ben ‘Azariah, died when David was a young child. David eventually settled in Egypt in the 1070s, where he married a woman from a prominent Karaite family. In 1082, he orchestrated, with the backing of leading Jewish figures in Egypt, the dismissal from office of the reigning head of the Jews of Egypt, Mevorakh ben Se‘adya, installing himself in his stead. During the twelve years of his rule, David greatly expanded the powers of this office, a process that culminated in its overshadowing and absorbing the institutional prerogatives previously enjoyed by the gaon of the Palestinian academy. David’s controversial positions were supported by some Muslim leaders, but he appears to have lost his standing after the death of his main financial backer.