During the 6th and 7th centuries, Jewish populations were centred in territories ruled by the Sassanian, Byzantine and the Western Roman empires. In this podcast episode, David Solomon examines how Jewish life unfolded during these two centuries. Among other things, he explores the flux in fortunes for the renowned Jewish academies of Sura and Pumbedita; the role and status of the Jewish exilarch over generations; the brief existence of a semi-independent Jewish State in Jerusalem; and the rise and fall of Jewish communal safety throughout the generations.

Maps of the region have been provided to help listeners develop a clearer picture of the territories David discusses.

Maps can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_century#/media/File:World_in_500_CE.png and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire#/media/File:Justinian555AD.png

Learn more at davidsolomon.online

[image credit: Stephan Rohl under CC licensing https://www.flickr.com/photos/boellst...]