exilarch appointed him agoranomos, or market-master, and Rabbi Shela made him lecturer (amora) of his college. Then he moved to Sura, on the Euphrates, where he established a school of his own, which soon became the intellectual center of the Babylonian Jews. As a renowned teacher of the Law and with hosts of disciples, who came from all sections of the Jewish world, Rav lived and worked in Sura until his death. Samuel of Nehardea, another disciple of Judah haNasi, at the same time brought to the academy at Nehardea a high degree of prosperity; in fact, it was at the school of Rav that Jewish learning in Babylonia found its permanent home and center. Rav's activity made Babylonia independent of Palestine, and gave it that predominant position which it was destined to occupy for several centuries. Little is known of Rav's personal life. That he was rich seems probable; for he appears to have occupied himself for a time with commerce and afterward with agriculture. He is referred to as the son of noblemen, but it is not clear if this is an affectionate term or a true description of his status. Rashi does tell us that he is being described as the son of great men. He was highly respected by the Gentiles as well as by the Jews of Babylonia, as shown by the friendship which existed between him and the last Parthian emperor, Artabanus IV. He was deeply affected by the death of Artaban in 226 and the downfall of the Parthian rulers, and does not appear to have sought the friendship of Ardashir I, founder of the Sasanian Empire, although Samuel of Nehardea probably did so. Rav became closely related, through the marriage of one of his daughters, to the family of the exilarch. Her sons, Mar Ukban and Nehemiah, were considered types of the highest aristocracy. Rav had many sons, several of whom are mentioned in the Talmud, the most distinguished being the eldest, Chiyya. Chiyya did not, however, succeed his father as head of the academy: this post fell to Rav's disciple Rav Huna. Two of his grandsons occupied in succession the office of exilarch. Rav died at an advanced age, deeply mourned by numerous disciples and the entire Babylonian Jewry, which he had raised from comparative insignificance to the leading position in Judaism. Legacy The method of treatment of the traditional material