Geonim (Hebrew: גאונים; Hebrew: [ɡe (ʔ)oˈnim]; also transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, [1] in the Abbasid Caliphate.

Gaon (Hebrew: גאון, gā'ōn, lit. 'pride', plural geonim, גְּאוֹנִים ‎, gĕ'ōnīm) was originally a formal title for the Geonim, heads of Talmudic academies in the 6th–11th century.

Gaonim: (lit. "the magnificent"); period in Jewish history from 500 to 1038 C.E marked by intense scholarship at the Babylonian academies by scholars who studied and interpreted the Talmud.

The leaders of the two major Babylonian yeshivas at Sura and Pumbeditha were known as Geonim, Hebrew for "magnificent." The Geonic period spanned nearly 450 years, from Rabbi Chanan of Ashkaya, the first Gaon, in 589, to Rabbi Hai Geon, the last Geon, in 1038.

GAON (pl. Geonim), formal title of the heads of the academies of Sura and Pumbedita in Babylonia. The geonim were recognized by the Jews as the highest authority of instruction from the end of the sixth century or somewhat later to the middle of the 11 th.

The geonim (plural of gaon) became incontestable leaders of the Jewish world as a result of two developments. The first was the conflict between the heads of the academies and rosh ha‑golah (the exilarch) who officially represented the Babylonian community to the authorities.

The Geonim is the term used to describe the rabbinic leadership in Babylonia — the largest and primary Jewish community in the world. This is a period lasting approximately from the seventh century until the eleventh century (600-1,000 CE), some 400 years.

Gaon, the title accorded to the Jewish spiritual leaders and scholars who headed Talmudic academies that flourished, with lengthy interruptions, from the 7th to the 13th century in Babylonia and Palestine. The chief concern of the geonim was to interpret and develop Talmudic Law and to …

The greatest of Geonim – or at least the most well-known and strongest figure – is Rabbi Saadiah Gaon. In his personal life and in the times that he lived, he most clearly the reflects the tensions and problems of the times. Rabbi Saadiah lived from 840 to 892 CE. He was born in Cairo, Egypt and was known as Rabbi Saadiah Al-fayumi.

After 1038, no one in Babylonia was of the stature of Rabbi Hai Gaon and able to take his place. As a result, Jews in faraway communities turned to their local rabbis for halachic guidance.