Isaac Ibn Mar Saul

A native of Lucena, Isaac ben Levi Ibn Mar Saul was a prominent poet. Little of his poetry survives in complete form, although he played a critical role in the transition from Eastern poetic forms to those developed in al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). He innovated new structures and meters in Hebrew poetry, and a small number of his poems remained popular among later Jews. His most important student was Jonah Ibn Janāḥ (b. before 980, d. after 1038), who frequently cited Isaac’s poetry in his Book of [Hebrew] Roots (Kitāb al-uṣūl).