Character of The Exilarchate in The Arabic Era
Upon their conquest of Iraq, the Arabs confirmed the authority of Exilarch Bustanai and the continuation of his governance of the Jewish community. For his services to the caliph during the conquest he received the hand of the daughter of the former Shah as a wife. The Muslims regarded the office of Exilarch with profound respect because they viewed him as a direct descendant of the prophet Dawood. Under the Abbassids, the Exilarch ruled over more than 90% of the Jewish nation. The subsequent fragmentation of the authority of the Abassids resulted in the waning of the authority of the Exilarch beyond Persia. A struggle for leadership between the Geonim and Exilarchs saw the slow relinquishing of power to the Geonim but remained an office of reverence to which Muslims showed respect.
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