Rabbis in Zoroastrian Fire Temples: A New History of Jews in the Sasanian Empire with Simcha Gross

December 6, 2024

Over the course of late antiquity, many Jews lived in the Sasanian Empire, a Persian and Zoroastrian power that rivaled the Romans to their west in size and strength. Among these Jews were a community of rabbis who are featured in, and were responsible for, the Babylonian Talmud, one of the most influential texts in Jewish history. How did life under the Sasanian Empire affect Jews, the rabbis, and the nature of the Talmud? To date, the answer to these questions has been relatively straightforward: the Sasanian Empire impacted Jews precisely by leaving them to thrive in seclusion. Based on Simcha Gross' recently published book, Babylonian Jews and Sasanian Imperialism in Late Antiquity, this lecture offers a new understanding of both Jewish society and Sasanian rule, opening new vistas on the social, cultural, and historical dimensions of their intertwined histories.

Simcha Gross is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, interested in the religious, social, and cultural developments of Jewish communities in the Near East set within their Roman, Persian, and Islamic contexts. He was formerly a member of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, and is currently an Honorary Fellow at the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University and a recipient of an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Experience Researchers.