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Jewish history.org presents Rabbi Barel Wein's 5,000 Years of Jewish History, one video clip at a time. Clip number 24: The Period of the Geonim.
When the Talmud was completed in the 6th century, most of the Jews in the world lived in the Mediterranean Basin and in the Near East, especially in Iraq, Persia (which is now Iran), and in Lebanon and Syria. There was a small Jewish population in the Land of Israel, and they were persecuted bitterly by the Byzantine Christians. Had it not been for the rise of Islam, the Byzantine Christians would have completed a genocide of the Jews in the Land of Israel, and perhaps in the Middle East generally.
In the 7th century, Muhammad arrives on the scene and proclaims a new religion, Islam. Muhammad was convinced that the Jews would somehow adopt this new religion because it has none of the idolatry that was associated with early Christianity. The mosque has no statues, no images, and no symbols, and it is a completely monotheistic religion worshiping only Allah. He was convinced that the Jews were going to take it as he presented it. He was vastly disappointed when the Jews did not accept Islam and remained Jews, and therefore he had very negative things to say about the Jews. If you look in the Quran, there are wonderful things said about Jews and there are terrible things said about Jews, and you can really pick and choose whatever you want.
Islam conquered the entire Middle East, North Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula of Spain, and Islam reigned supreme. It would have taken over Europe had it not been finally defeated and turned back by Charles Martel.
At this time, the leaders of the Jewish people, meaning the people of Israel, were the heads of the yeshivot (academies) of learning in Iraq and Babylonia, and they were called the Geonim. From the 6th century through the 11th century, for 500 years, they were the ones who decided Jewish policy. They decided what was acceptable in halacha and what was not. They gave guidance to the Jewish people, and they were the heads of the yeshivot that existed at that time. The entire scholarship of the Jewish people, so to speak, was invested in them and in their schools.
Thanks for watching. I'm Barel Wein. For more on Jewish history, go to jewishhistorydotorg.