The Jews in the Balkan provinces of the Roman Empire : an epigraphic and archaeological survey

Abstract

The dissertation investigates the social, economic and religious aspects of Jewish life in the Balkan provinces of the Roman Empire between the 4th century BCE and 8th century CE. This is the first study, which studies the social and religious life of the Jewish communities in the Balkans, as recoded in the epigraphic and archaeological material, and will provide scholars with much needed basis for further research in the field. The primary focus of my research is a historical analysis of the epigraphic and archaeological evidence regarding the Jewish communities in the Roman provinces of Pannonia Inferior, Dalmatia, Moesia, Thracia, Macedonia, Achaea and Crete. The work is arranged in the form a corpus of inscriptions with additional entries on the archaeological and literary evidence. The intention has been to include all Jewish inscriptions and archaeological remains from the Balkans, which are likely to date from before c.700 CE. The analysis concentrates on the language and content of the available inscriptions, the onomastic repertoire employed, the historical context of the Jewish archaeological remains and their relation to the non- Jewish archaeological material from the region. The results of my research are important for understanding the involvement of Jews in the city life and their civic status, the cultural interaction between Jews and their non-Jewish neighbours and may define the local community organisation and background of Jewish settlement in the Balkan provinces of the Roman Empire. In my commentaries I suggest that the social system of the Jewish communities in the Balkans was dependent upon the local public and economic situation in the Roman city but not determined by it.