exilarch

American  

[eg-zuh-lahrk, ek-suh-] / ˈɛg zəˌlɑrk, ˈɛk sə- /

noun

1. one of a line of hereditary rulers of the Jewish community in Babylonia from about the 2nd century a.d. to the beginning of the 11th century.

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Etymology

Origin of exilarch

First recorded in 1890–95; exile + -arch

Example Sentences

Whether the office was discontinued with the last publicly known exilarch or merely disappeared from the surface of history, whether today it is entirely abandoned or exists in another form, are questions which must wait.

From Project Gutenberg

After the destruction of the Jewish state by the Romans, the Jews maintained a center in the Patriarch; and after the dispersion of the Jews out of Palestine this center of nationality was preserved in the Prince of the Exile, or Exilarch, an office which is believed to persist to the present time, and which some believe to be held now by an American Jew.

From Project Gutenberg

There is nothing in the condition or thought of the Jews which would render the existence today of an exilarch distasteful to them; indeed, the thought would be very comfortable.

From Project Gutenberg

EXILARCH, in Jewish history, “Chief or Prince of the Captivity.”

From Project Gutenberg

Our chief knowledge of the position and function of the exilarch concerns the period beginning with the Arabic rule in Persia.

From Project Gutenberg