Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests: The Culture of the Talmud in Ancient Iran

Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests explores the influence of the Persian Sasanian context on the Babylonian Talmud, combining Talmudic studies and ancient Iranology to contextualize the rabbis and the Talmud within a broader sociocultural orbit. It examines the portrayal of three Persian "others" in the Talmud and demonstrates the deep penetration of Persian imperial society and culture on the Jews of late antique Iran.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 290 pages
Publication date: 02 November 2021
Publisher: University of California Press

Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests delves into the profound influence of the Persian Sasanian context on the Babylonian Talmud, widely regarded as the most significant body of Jewish sacred literature. By employing a comparative religious approach, Jason Sion Mokhtarian explores the impact of the Persian Zoroastrian Empire, both as a real historical force and as an imagined interlocutor, on rabbinic identity and authority as expressed in the Talmud. This book challenges the conventional notion that the rabbis were an insular group disconnected from the broader cultural landscape beyond their academies. Instead, Mokhtarian contextualizes the rabbis and the Talmud within a broader sociocultural orbit by drawing from a diverse array of sources from Sasanian Iran, including Middle Persian Zoroastrian literature, archaeological findings such as seals and inscriptions, and the Aramaic magical bowl spells. Furthermore, Mokhtarian conducts a detailed examination of numerous Talmudic texts that portray three Persian "others": the Persians, the Sasanian kings, and the Zoroastrian priests. Through skillful engagement and demonstration, this book showcases the deep penetration of Persian imperial society and culture into the Jewish communities of late antique Iran.

Weight: 424g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520385726