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1. Medieval PeriodPolygamy, the marriage of a man to more than one wife, was legal in Middle Eastern, North African, and Spanish Jewish communities throughout the Middle Ages. The legal basis for this practice lay in biblical and talmudic law (e.g., B.T. Yevamot 65a; Maimonides, Yad, Ishut 14:3). Rabbinic authorities in Western Europe, as early as the tenth century. promulgated the famous taqqana (legal enactment) known as the ḥerem de-rabbenu Gershom, which prohibited a man from marrying an additional wife (unless permitted on exceptional grounds by a court of on…

1. The first Muslim Period (634-1099)In general historiography, the period under discussion is called the first Muslim period, whereas in the context of Jewish history it is referred to as the gaonic period. The present survey will begin with a general overview and briefly clarify the significance of the gaonic period for the Jews of Palestine, the Land of Israel (Heb. Ereṣ Yisraʾel) . Interface between Islamic and Gaonic Periods       The first Muslim period extended from the Arab conquest of Byzantine Palestine (634–641) to the Crusader conquest (1099). Islami…