Ibn Danan Family

The Ibn Danan family was a Moroccan family of scholars and rabbis dating back to the fourteenth century. Members of the family were leading rabbinic judges in Fez for generations and were highly respected throughout the country. Maymun was apparently one of the first members of the family to arrive in Fez, settling there in 1391. His son, Moses, was known as the Rambam of Fez and wrote many talmudic commentaries. Moses was later accused of attacking Islam and sentenced to death, leading him to flee the city. However, his son and descendants remained in Fez. A later descendant, another Maymun, died a martyr’s death before 1502. Samuel Ibn Danan (d. after 1566) became rabbi of Constantine, in Algeria, and played an important role in passing significant communal regulations (takkanot) there. Samuel ben Saul (1666–1730) was the first editor of the family chronicles, and he also wrote a history of the Jews of Fez as well as (apparently) a prayer book according to the local custom.