1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910814301203321

Autore

Mokhtarian Jason Sion <1978->

Titolo

Rabbis, sorcerers, kings, and priests : the culture of the Talmud in ancient Iran / / Jason Sion Mokhtarian

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oakland, California : , : University of California Press, , 2015

©2015

ISBN

0-520-96154-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (290 p.)

Disciplina

296.1/2506

Soggetti

Judaism - History - Talmudic period, 10-425

Judaism - History - Medieval and early modern period, 425-1789

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Note on Translations, Transcriptions, and Manuscripts -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. The Sources and Methods of Talmudic and Iranian Studies -- 2. Comparing Sasanian Religions -- 3. Rabbinic Portrayals of Persians as Others -- 4. Rabbis and Sasanian Kings in Dialogue -- 5. Rabbis and Zoroastrian Priests in Judicial Settings -- 6. Rabbis, Sorcerers, and Priests -- Conclusion. Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests in Sasanian Iran -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Source Index -- General Index

Sommario/riassunto

Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests examines the impact of the Persian Sasanian context on the Babylonian Talmud, perhaps the most important corpus in the Jewish sacred canon. What impact did the Persian Zoroastrian Empire, as both a real historical force and an imaginary interlocutor, have on rabbinic identity and authority as expressed in the Talmud? Drawing from the field of comparative religion, Jason Sion Mokhtarian addresses this question by bringing into mutual fruition Talmudic studies and ancient Iranology, two historically distinct disciplines. Whereas most research on the Talmud assumes that the rabbis were an insular group isolated from the cultural horizon outside their academies, this book contextualizes the rabbis and the Talmud within a broader sociocultural orbit by drawing from a wide range of sources from Sasanian Iran, including Middle



Persian Zoroastrian literature, archaeological data such as seals and inscriptions, and the Aramaic magical bowl spells. Mokhtarian also includes a detailed examination of the Talmud's dozens of texts that portray three Persian "others": the Persians, the Sasanian kings, and the Zoroastrian priests. This book skillfully engages and demonstrates the rich penetration of Persian imperial society and culture on the Jews of late antique Iran.