Maimonides Completes the Mishneh Torah

Timeline

1. 1168–1178Fustat · EgyptWhile serving as rabbi of the Egyptian Jewish community and court physician, Maimonides spent about ten years organizing scattered Oral Law and Talmudic discussions into a systematic fourteen-volume code, expounded in clear Hebrew so that ordinary believers could study the law without relying on the oral schools.
2. 1178–1180Mediterranean Jewish communities · EgyptAfter completion, the Mishneh Torah spread rapidly among the Jewish communities of Egypt, Palestine, and Spain. Though it provoked controversy among some scholars over codifying the Oral Law, it gradually became a core reference of Jewish jurisprudence, influencing later authoritative compilations such as the Shulchan Aruch.