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Poet and prince, scholar and military commander, he was the leader of Spanish Jewry in the 11th century and the recognized Torah authority of his time.
Born at the end of the 10th century into a family of eminence, he received an excellent education in the Written and Oral Torah, and grew into a major authority in halachah, acknowledged by the great geonic scholars of his time. His writings were to have a direct influence on such Talmudic scholars as R. Yitzchak Alfasi (Rif). With his outstanding general knowledge, he could successfully dispute the spokesmen of the Muslim faith; and few could equal his elegance in written Arabic. Reputedly, he wrote some reports for a steward of the vizier of Granada. So filled with admiration was the vizier at Shemuel's style and flashes of wisdom, that he made the learned Jew part of his staff.
In 1027 the Jewish people made him nagid -the head of all Spanish Jewry. Through all his life he used his power and prestige to aid and protect his people.

In 1038 R. Shemuel helped Badis gain
the throne, and from then on his influence with the king was immense. As grand vizier of Granada, however, he had to turn military commander and lead the caliph's army in constant battle against Seville.
From 1038 to 1056 he had only two years
completely free of warfare. Yet he knew
many triumphs on the battlefield, and the
Jewish people hailed every victory with
thanks to the Almighty.
Throughout his life he wrote masterly
Hebrew poetry, revealing glimpses of his
worldly wisdom and of the many facets of
his amazing life as a Jew, a father, nagid,
man of learning, vizier, and commander
on the battlefield.

Following in the footsteps of his
father, Meir (Marcus) Lehmann, Asher Lehmann has taken the known facts about Shemuel Hanagid and woven about them an enthralling novel which evokes much of the atmosphere of those stirring times when the Moors of Arabia ruled over Spain. - from Amzon