Join us to hear Professor Mika Ahuvia present on her forthcoming paper, Exile, Diaspora, and the Jews in the Roman and Byzantine Era.

Abstract: In the centuries around the turn of the Common Era, successive empires repeatedly enslaved thousands of Jews and displaced them from their homeland. Displaced Jews joined established Jewish communities dispersed over three continents and lacked uniform, central or stable governance structures for the first one thousand years of the Common Era. Jews who witnessed the expulsions of their co-religionists drew on historical precedents and biblical models to develop new conceptions of God’s ongoing faithfulness to the Jewish people (e.g. the Shekhina). A full account of Jewish experiences of exile and forced migration in the Roman era must acknowledge divergent responses found in a variety of textual sources (e.g. rabbinic literature, piyyut, Targum, Latin and Greek witnesses) as well archaeological sources (e.g. funerary inscriptions, synagogue art, incantation bowls) from ancient Syro-Palestine and beyond.

Lunch will be provided. This event is free and open to the public, but RSVP is required. Click the button below to register:

About the speaker

Mika Ahuvia was born in Kibbutz Beit Hashita in northern Israel. She researches the formative history of Jewish and Christian communities in the ancient Mediterranean world. Specializing in Late Antique Jewish history, she works with rabbinic sources, liturgical poetry, magical texts, early mystical literature, and archaeological evidence.

Her book “On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel: Angels in Ancient Jewish Culture” investigates conceptions of angels in foundational Jewish texts and ritual sources. In the book, Ahuvia uncovers how angels made their way into the practices and worldview of ancient Jews and makes sense of why angels continue to play such an important role within and outside of institutional religious settings.

Ahuvia is the Director of the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies and teaches courses in Jewish Studies, comparative religion, and global studies in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies.

The University of Washington is committed to providing access and accommodation in its services, programs, and activities. To make a request connected to a disability or health condition contact Grace Elizabeth Dy at (206) 543-0138 or jewishst@uw.edu at least 10 days before the event.