Akiba ben Yosef (Hebrew: עֲקִיבָא בֶּן יוֹסֵף, c. 50–135 CE) also known as Rabbi Akiva (רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא), was a tanna of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second century (the third tannaitic generation). Rabbi Akiva was a leading contributor to the Mishnah and to Midrash halakha. He is referred to in the Talmud as Rosh la-Hakhamim "Chief of the Sages". He was executed by the Romans in the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt.
