section_path: In Jewish scholarship/Geonim
section_name: Geonim
paragraph_text: Geonim
  
  The earliest Talmud commentaries were written by the Geonim (c. 800–1000) in Babylonia. Although some direct commentaries on particular treatises are extant, our main knowledge of the Gaonic era Talmud scholarship comes from statements embedded in Geonic responsa that shed light on Talmudic passages: these are arranged in the order of the Talmud in Levin's Otzar ha-Geonim. Also important are practical abridgments of Jewish law such as Yehudai Gaon 's Halachot Pesukot, Achai Gaon 's Sheeltot and Simeon Kayyara 's Halachot Gedolot. After the death of Hai Gaon, however, the center of Talmud scholarship shifts to Europe and North Africa.