A Prince without a Kingdom. The Exilarch in the Sasanian Era

Cover
Preface and Acknowledgments
Table of Contents
Notes to the Reader
Abbreviations
	Non-Hebrew Journals and Series
	Rabbinic Texts
Introduction
	A. A Kingdom without Sources
		I. Recovering a Lost Kingdom
		II. Satrap, Feudal Prince, Tyrant, Hakham Bashi: Former Models of Exilarchal Leadership
	B. The Central Concerns
		I. Defining the Question
		II. Comparison and Contextualization
A. Administration and Geography
Chapter 1: The Sasanian Empire and the Exilarch
	I. The Limits of the Empire
	II. Administrative Geography
	III. Babylonia and its Environs
B. Political History
	I. Uprising
	II. Wars and Conquest
	III. The Fourth Century: Šabuhr II
	IV. The Fifth Century
	V. From Xusrō I to the Last Sasanian Kings
C. Government and Rule
	I. Continuity and Innovation
	II. Court Hierarchy
D. Religion and State
	I. Heirs to the Parthians
	II. Tolerance and Intolerance
A. The Myth of Davidic Descent
Chapter 2: The Origin of the Exilarchate I
	I. Scholars on Davidic origins
	II. Theories of Beginnings
B. Sources for a Parthian Exilarchate
	I. An “Exilarch” in Nisibis
	II. Aḥiya will build an altar
	III. Close to the Kingdom
		1. Yerushalmi and Bavli: a comparison
		2. The Bavliʼs Story – inner-Babylonian polemic
		3. Intertextuality in the Bavliʼs story
		4. Historical Conclusions
A. R. Ḥiyya the Great and the Parthian Exilarchate
Chapter 3: The Origin of the Exilarchate II
	I. Exilarch and Hargbed
		1. The hargbed in non-Jewish sources
		2. The hargbed in rabbinic sources
		1. The Sources
	II. So May his Seed Never Cease
		2. A Bavli Parallel
		3. Two Yerushalmi Traditions
		4. The Exilarch in Palestine as Anti-patriarchal Polemic
	III. The Sons of R. Ḥiyya
		1. Review of the Sugya
		2. This Sugya and other Rabbinic Sources
		3. R. Ḥiyyaʼs Sons and Judah I
		4. Dating the Story
	IV. Behold! Your Rival is in Babylonia
		1. Taxonomy of People and Places
		2. Scripture in the Service of Polemics
		1. The absence of the Exilarchs in Tannaitic Compositions
B. The Sasanian / Amoraic Period
	I. Talmudic Sources
		2. The Yerushalmi
		3. The Bavli
		1. Legends and Sources
	II. Beginnings of the Persian Catholicate
		2. The Fourth Century and Aphrahatʼs 14th Demonstration
Chapter 4: Locating the Exilarchal Court
	A. Questionable Exilarchal Locations
		I. Dasqarta de-Resh Galuta
		II. Pumbedita
		III. Hinei and Shilei
	B. Neharde‘a and Meḥoza
		IV. Sura
		I. Neharde‘a
		II. Meḥoza
			1. Seleucia and Persian Christianity
			2. The Later Sasanian Era
		III. Between Neharde‘a and Meḥoza
	C. Regional Authority and Reshuyot
A. Trade supervision and the Appointment of agoranomoi
Chapter 5: Economic Power and the Exilarchate
	I. The Bavli and its relationship to the Yerushalmi
	II. Measures in Palestine versus measures and prices in Babylonia
	III. Was there an agoranomos in Babylonia?
B. The Exilarch and Seizure of the market for the Sages
	C. Tax Collection
Chapter 6: The Exilarch and the Rabbis
	A. Rabbis, Academies and the Exilarchate
		1. Tannaim
	I. Rabbis, Exilarchs, and rabbis for Exilarchs
		2. Amoraim
	B. The Judicial System and the Exilarchate
		I. Exilarchal Courts
		II. “Thus said Samuel: the Law of the Kingdom is the Law”?
			1. ‘Uqba b. Nehemiah the Exilarch or R. Nehemiah b. Mar ‘Uqban?
			2. The Period of Samuel or the Period of Rava?
A. Prince, Nasi, Davidic Dynasty
Chapter 7: Pride and Criticism
	B. Persian Noble Practices and the Exilarchate
		I. Persian language
		II. Gahwārag – A Golden Chair
	C. Tyranny and Rule
		I. A Tradition of Opposition to Authority
		II. Fear and Intimidation
		III. Rabbi Eleazar’s Cow: An Anti-exilarchal Aggadic Sugya
	D. Rav Ḥisda and the Exilarchate
		I. Ruth Rabba and the Yerushalmi
		II. The Bavli
A. Responding to a Dinner Invitation
Chapter 8: Dining with the Exilarch
	B. Persian Table Etiquette
		I. Textual Variants
		II. Parallels: ‘Persian custom’, the Baraita, and the Tosefta
Conclusion
A. The Exilarchate and the Geonim
Appendix I: Geonic Readings on the Talmudic Exilarchate I: SOZ
	B. Seder ‘Olam Zuṭa
		I. Editions
		II. Date of SOZ
		III. The Book of Chronicles section
		IV. The Parthian-Sasanian Section
		V. The Exilarchs’ Rabbis in the Amoraic Era
		VI. The Exilarchs until the Story of Mar Zuṭra
		VII. The Near Annihilation of the Seed of David
		VIII. The Rabbis in the Mar Zuṭra Story
	C. The Mar Zuṭra Revolt
		I. Historians and the Mar Zuṭra Revolt
A. Data and Concerns
Appendix II: Geonic Readings on the Talmudic Exilarchate II: IRSG
	I. Sheriraʼs Exilarchate – a Schematic Portrayal
	II. Sherira’s sources
		1. SOZ
		2. STWA
		3. Sifrei Zikhronot Divrei Hayamim
B. People
	I. Rabbah bar Avuha
	II. Mar Yuḥana (Yoḥanan?)
	III. Mar Judah
		1. Scholarship on Mar ʻUqba
	IV. Mar ʻUqba
		2. Samuel and Mar ʻUqba
		3. Circumstantial Evidence
		4. An Evolving Personality
	V. Amemar
	VI. Huna bar Nathan
		1. Representation before the ruler and the qamra
		2. Torah and Greatness
		3. Huna bar Nathan and Rav Ashi
	VII. Marimar
	VIII. Mar Zuṭra
C. Transfer of the Riglei
	D. Geonic Testimony: Concluding Remarks
Appendix III: Sherira Gaon on the Exilarchate
	The ʼArukh lexicon
Appendix IV: Lists of Exilarchs
Appendix V: Sasanian Kings
Appendix VI: Bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (Catholicoi)
Bibliography
	Select Hebrew Sources and Editions
	Syriac and Arabic Primary Sources (Selection)
	Classical and Patristic Sources (a selection)
Hebrew Bible
Index of Sources
	Talmudic Literature
	Greek and Latin Literature
	New Testament
	Oriental Christian Sources (Syriac and Arabic)
Index of Toponyms
Middle-Persian Terms
Index of Names
Index of Subjects