Hanan of Iskiya was rector of the Talmudical academy at Pumbedita, 589-608). Hormizd IV having persecuted the Christians and the Jews, the Talmudical academies of Sura and Pumbedita were closed, their masters removing to Firuz-Shabur, in the neighborhood of Nehardea. The accession of Hormizd's general, Bahram Chobin, relieved the Jews from persecution; Hanan returned to Pumbedita, reopened the academy, and assumed the rectorate, which he held for nineteen years.