ABSTRACT
The history of the rabbis who produced the Babylonian Talmud coincides almost perfectly with the history of the Sasanian dynasty, whose winter capital was in the heart of Babylonia and which was closely associated with the ancient Iranian religion, Zoroastrianism. The impact of Zoroastrianism on Babylonian Judaism and the Babylonian Talmud is an active area of research. This chapter reviews the state of the field concerning the encounter between Babylonian Judaism and Sasanian Zoroastrianism, reviewing scholarly work to date, surveying available source material, assessing methodological approaches, and suggesting future avenues of research.
