AJR review panel on Gross, Babylonian Jews and Sasanian Imperialism in Late Antiquity, part 2

ANCIENT JEW REVIEW: Babylonian Rabbinic "Class Consciousness" and Competition for Social and Religious Influence in Sasanian Iran (Alyssa Gray).

This is part of a 2024 Association for Jewish Studies panel celebrating the publication of Gross, Babylonian Jews and Sasanian Imperialism in Late Antiquity (Cambridge Press, 2024). Read the full forum here.

How do we understand the social, religious, and political world in which late ancient Babylonian Jews lived and within which a group of religious virtuosi Simcha Gross identifies as “a select group. . . steeped in the contemplation, instruction, and practice of Jewish law and lore” (14)—the group we call the “Babylonian rabbis”—functioned? Gross’s project is to decisively revise how we think about this question. ...

I noted the first essay in the series here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.