Ma'tuk, Sulayman ben David

MA'TUK, SULAYMAN BEN DAVID (18^th century), paytan and astronomer who lived in Baghdad. Ma'tuk was a descendant of R. Ma'tuk, the nasi of the Jewish community of ʾAna. The latter fled to Baghdad with his family in the first quarter of the 17^th century, under the threats of the tyrannical governor who had persecuted the community. Of Sulayman's piyyutim, 16 are known, and about half of them were included in books published in Baghdad and India; they are still familiar to Iraqi Jews. During the lifetime of his grandson R. Judah b. Jacob, the family name was changed to Yehuda. The family's descendants include two modern scholars, the brothers R. Isaac Yahuda and Prof. Abraham Shalom *Yahuda.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.