Hebrew Prayer for the Fātimid Caliph and the Head of the Jerusalem Academy

In [Your name, O] Me[rciful].

And we pray for the life of our lord, the g[reat] k[ing], the prince of the sons of Kedar, our master and lord, the Imâm al-Àmir bï’ah[kâm] Allāh, the Commander of the F[aithful] and for his sons, the r[oyal family], and all persons of his e[ntourage], who serve the k[ing] out of love and wa[ge] w[ar] f[or him] against…

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This Hebrew prayer for political leaders, with an Arabic superscription and brief Judeo-Arabic opening words, is one of several such texts preserved in the Cairo Geniza. The first part is a prayer for the Fâtimid caliph. The second part is a prayer for the gaon Maslīah ben Solomon ha-Kohen, who headed the Jerusalem academy from 1101 to 1131, and was formally recognized by the Fâtimids in 1127. A spirit of messianism informs the text of this prayer. The biblical term Kedar in the first section was used by medieval Jews to refer to Arabs.

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