non-rabbinic customs and practices, some of which predated the develop-
ment of Rabbinic Judaism. In addition, in parts of the Jewish world the
authority of the Babylonian Talmud lacked the intensity that it had in
Babylonia and its immediate environs. It would take several centuries
until the Babylonian rabbinate was able to extend its authority to the far
reaches of the Jewish world. The first step in this protracted and tortuous
process would be the rise and spread of Islam.
60 The rise of Rabbinic Judaism