Anan had been an
unsuccessful candidate for the dignity of Exilarch, and thus personal
motives were involved in his attack on the Gaonim. But there were other
reasons for the revolt. In the same century, Islam, like Judaism, was
threatened by a fierce antagonism between the friends and the foes of
tradition. In Islam the struggle lay between the Sunnites, who
interpreted Mohammedanism in accordance with authorized tradition, and
the Shiites, who relied exclusively upon the Koran. Similarly, in
Judaism, the Rabbinites obeyed the traditions of the earlier
authorities, and the Karaites (from _Kera_, or _Mikra_, i.e. "Bible")
claimed the right to reject tradition and revert to the Bible as the
original source of inspiration. Such reactions against tradition are
recurrent in all religions.

Karaism, however, was not a true reaction against tradition. It replaced
an old tradition by a new one; it substituted a rigid, unprogressive
authority for one capable of growth and adaptation to changing
requirements. In the end, Karaism became so hedged in by its supposed
avoidance of tradition that it ceased to be a living force. But we are
here not concerned with the religious defects of Karaism. Regarded from
the literary side, Karaism produced a double effect. Karaism itself gave
birth to an original and splendid literature, and, on the other hand,
coming as it did at the time when Arabic science and poetry were
attaining their golden zenith, Karaism aroused within the Rabbinite
sphere a notable energy, which resulted in some of the best work of
medieval Jews.

Among the most famous of the Karaite authors was Benjamin Nahavendi, who
lived at the beginning of the ninth century, and displayed much
resolution and ability as an advocate of free-thought in religion.
Nahavendi not only wrote commentaries on the Bible, but also attempted
to write a philosophy of Judaism, being allied to Philo in the past and
to the Arabic writers in his own time. At the end of the ninth century,
Abul-Faraj Harun made a great stride forwards as an expounder of the
Bible and as an authority on Hebrew grammar.

During the ninth and tenth centuries, several Karaites revealed much
vigor and ability in their controversies with the Gaonim. In this field
the most distinguished Karaitic writers were Salman, the son of Yerucham
(885-960); Sahal, the son of Mazliach (900-950); Joseph al-Bazir
(flourished 910-930); Hassan, the son of Mashiach (930); and Japhet, the