A Prince without a Kingdom

The Exilarch in the Sasanian Era

By (author) Geoffrey Herman

Book cover: A Prince without a Kingdom

Extent: 430 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Ancient Near East, Jewish Studies

Series: Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(December 2012)

ISBN: 9783161506062

6.34 x 9.33 inches

Price: $224.00

In stock

Geoffrey Herman examines the Exilarchal leadership of Babylonian Jewry in the Sasanian Era (224-651 CE). A source-critical and literary-historical study of the primary rabbinic evidence, it also integrates comparative sources from the fields of Iranian and Eastern Christian studies.


The Exilarchs, professed scions of the biblical Davidic royal line, were leaders of the Jews of Babylonia in antiquity. They were said to be powerful political figures and to lead a decadent lifestyle. Their princely trappings and high-handed manner were legend. They were reported to be completely assimilated into Persian culture. Geoffrey Herman examines the evidence, culled mainly from the Talmudic and Geonic literature, subjecting the institution of the Exilarchate to literary-historical and source-critical analysis. In addition, Herman innovatively utilizes comparative sources from the fields of Iranian studies and Persian Christianity to find the truth underlying the accounts of the historical Exilarchs.

  • By (author) Geoffrey Herman