Jews of the Persian Empire - From Israelite to Jew podcast

In From Israelite to Jew Michael Satlow reviews the Jewish history of the Second Temple Period (from the sixth century BCE until 70 CE) and attempts to give insight in the developments in this time that altered the Israelites, that is a loose collection of tribes, into Jews, an alleged singular ethnic group.

We have reached the 8th episode in the series and until this point, the discussion has remained rather close to the one big source: The Hebrew Bible, most notably the books of the Torah, Ezra and Nehemia. However, in episode 8, about the Jews of the Persian Empire, a non-Bible source takes center stage. Archeologists have found archives of a Jewish unit in the Persian army in Egypt (The Elephantine Papyri) that give a fascinating insight in Jewish life in the fifth century BCE.

And it is going to be much more interesting from here. Of the Persians we know so little, but now the Greeks enter scene and apart from the fact that there are many more sources about them, they have had a lot of influence on the Jews. So we are impatiently waiting for more in this series.

More FITJ:
The fox and the hedgehog,
Looking for a Persian History podcast.

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The hollow earth at The Memory Palace

The Memory Palace (feed) is a podcast that one must listen to. The less said about it the better. This is a podcast of experience one must undergo without me giving away anything of it.

But if you are still here, know at least this: episode 8 of this series is out and is titled The World Within The World and you will enjoy yet another tale Nat DiMeo dug up from history. It is about a man who posed as a doctor and dwindled into believing in his own fantasies. Told with DiMeo's style that is to apt for ironic tragedy.

If you are missing episode 7 from the feed (as I do), know then that you can download it from the site anyway (L'il Nipper - the file). I guess there is something wrong with the file that prevents feedburner from properly channeling it through. Do not let this technicality stop you from listening.

More The Memory Palace:
The Memory Palace - history narration.

People from Finland, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, the UAE, the Netherlands, the US, Germany, Sweden, Australia, Greece and Norway have participated in the Support Anne is a Man campaign. You can also do this by simply clicking the link to the campaign label. Thanks. (Clicking the label triggers no processes and causes no additional processes on your computer. It is merely a way of allowing the Statcounter software to register the click and convey this as a signal of appreciation)