community
Nehardea
near Anbar / Fallujah, Iraq · Wider Abrahamic world
33.380, 43.600
Approximate location.
Attested. The town and the 259 sack are attested (Talmud, Josephus). The founding by Jehoiachin's exiles and the Jerusalem stones are traditional. The precise site is unidentified, so the point is approximate.
Nehardea
near Anbar / Fallujah
Nehardea was an ancient Babylonian Jewish centre on the Euphrates, traditionally founded by exiles of King Jehoiachin. It was home to Samuel's academy (early 3rd century) until Odaenathus of Palmyra sacked it in 259, after which learning shifted to Pumbedita. Its synagogue 'Shaf ve-Yativ' was said to be built with stones from Jerusalem.
Source stance: neutral.
People and groups named here
- Samuel of Nehardea
- Rav Sheshet
- The brothers Asinaeus and Anilaeus (Josephus)
Sources
- "Nehardea (Nearda)", Jewish Encyclopedia (1906)
Jewish Encyclopedia / Funk & Wagnalls (public domain). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Talmudic academies in Babylonia (Wikipedia, context article)
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Nehardea (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.
Councils here
None in this list.