4. In Search of Non-Rabbinic Judaism in Sasanian Babylonia

Geoffrey Herman assesses the problem of Babylonian Jewry in his article ‘In Search of Non-Rabbinic Judaism in Sasanian Babylonia’. If Jewish diversity in the Roman Empire is broadly acknowledged, it has taken more time for scholars to acknowledge diversity among Babylonian Jews. One reason for this is a dearth of archeological evidence in context. For example, vestiges of Late Antique synagogues in the regions around Babylonia are wanting. Herman provides a survey of scholars who dealt with the question, from Jacob Neusner’s Aphrahat and Judaism (1971) to the more recent works of Richard Kalmin Catherine Hezser, Moulie Vidas, and the Jewish Babylonian Aramaic magic bowls published by Shaul Shaked and others.