The Scroll of Aḥima‘ats: Aaron of Baghdad

This extract from The Scroll of Aḥima‘ats (Megilat Aḥima‘ats) relates the story of the mysterious Aaron (spelled here as Aharon and known elsewhere as Abū Aharon or Mar Aharon) of Baghdad, who traveled from there to Italy sometime in the ninth century. Aaron of Baghdad was later described as av kol ha-sodot (“father of all secrets”) and was associated with all sorts of mystical and magical traditions, as well as the transmission of knowledge and authority from the East to the Qalonymos family in Italy and then Germany. This story should therefore be viewed alongside other “foundation legends” of medieval European Jewry, which seek to explain the history of the local Jewish community.