Simcha Gross
@simchagross.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Ancient Jewish History, UPenn
Reposted by Simcha Gross
Going to Marburg!
January 24, 2026 at 9:41 AM
Going to Marburg!
Reposted by Simcha Gross
🎉 publication day! 🎉
editions & translations of the correspondence btw Umar b. Abd al-Aziz and Leo the Isaurian in medieval Latin, Christian Arabic, Muslim Arabic, Aljamiado, Armenian & early modern Latin. plus the intro to explain how they're all related!
open access & available here:
editions & translations of the correspondence btw Umar b. Abd al-Aziz and Leo the Isaurian in medieval Latin, Christian Arabic, Muslim Arabic, Aljamiado, Armenian & early modern Latin. plus the intro to explain how they're all related!
open access & available here:
January 23, 2026 at 8:37 PM
🎉 publication day! 🎉
editions & translations of the correspondence btw Umar b. Abd al-Aziz and Leo the Isaurian in medieval Latin, Christian Arabic, Muslim Arabic, Aljamiado, Armenian & early modern Latin. plus the intro to explain how they're all related!
open access & available here:
editions & translations of the correspondence btw Umar b. Abd al-Aziz and Leo the Isaurian in medieval Latin, Christian Arabic, Muslim Arabic, Aljamiado, Armenian & early modern Latin. plus the intro to explain how they're all related!
open access & available here:
Reposted by Simcha Gross
Very pleased to be able to finally announce "The Critical Edition in the Infrastructure of Philology," a special issue of Philological Encounters edited by me and @danielpicus.bsky.social out this Spring.
January 21, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Very pleased to be able to finally announce "The Critical Edition in the Infrastructure of Philology," a special issue of Philological Encounters edited by me and @danielpicus.bsky.social out this Spring.
Now taking place tomorrow, Thursday, January 8th, at 4:45 PM CET!
Message me or Robert if you are interested in joining in person or online
Message me or Robert if you are interested in joining in person or online
Warsaw Late Antique Seminar on Thursday 9 October (4.45 p.m.): Simcha Gross @simchagross.bsky.social (University of Pennsylvania), "Good Fences Make Bad Neighbors: Communities and Empire on the Roman-Sasanian Frontier". In person and online, as usual.
January 7, 2026 at 5:07 AM
Now taking place tomorrow, Thursday, January 8th, at 4:45 PM CET!
Message me or Robert if you are interested in joining in person or online
Message me or Robert if you are interested in joining in person or online
Reposted by Simcha Gross
On paper, 2025 looked like a great year for me. In lived experience, I was mostly filled w/alarm at attacks on US universities, Rel Studies, & Jewish Studies. My hope for 2026 is for more opportunities to use what I have to help protect & preserve knowledge-making
open.substack.com/pub/humanhis...
open.substack.com/pub/humanhis...
Forgetting History and the Humanities in the American University
Reflections on recent news from the University of Oregon, Virginia Tech, and the University of Chicago
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 4:24 PM
On paper, 2025 looked like a great year for me. In lived experience, I was mostly filled w/alarm at attacks on US universities, Rel Studies, & Jewish Studies. My hope for 2026 is for more opportunities to use what I have to help protect & preserve knowledge-making
open.substack.com/pub/humanhis...
open.substack.com/pub/humanhis...
Great episode of Byzantium & Friends w/Aaron Butts!
While centering on Aksum, it engages key questions in the study of late antique empires, such as how to historicize the use of religious imagery in imperial self-presentation, & the proxy war model (e.g. Bowersock)
open.spotify.com/episode/4gkP...
While centering on Aksum, it engages key questions in the study of late antique empires, such as how to historicize the use of religious imagery in imperial self-presentation, & the proxy war model (e.g. Bowersock)
open.spotify.com/episode/4gkP...
146. Ezana of Aksum, the first Christian king in Africa, with Aaron Butts
open.spotify.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Great episode of Byzantium & Friends w/Aaron Butts!
While centering on Aksum, it engages key questions in the study of late antique empires, such as how to historicize the use of religious imagery in imperial self-presentation, & the proxy war model (e.g. Bowersock)
open.spotify.com/episode/4gkP...
While centering on Aksum, it engages key questions in the study of late antique empires, such as how to historicize the use of religious imagery in imperial self-presentation, & the proxy war model (e.g. Bowersock)
open.spotify.com/episode/4gkP...
Reposted by Simcha Gross
@philharland.bsky.social has a book coming out in Spring -already available for pre-order: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky
#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky
Ethnic Relations in the Ancient Mediterranean
A fresh perspective revealing how ethnographic thinking shaped the sociocultural landscape of the ancient Mediterranean. With this book, Philip A. Harland presents a large-scale rereading of social ...
press.uchicago.edu
November 30, 2025 at 5:45 PM
@philharland.bsky.social has a book coming out in Spring -already available for pre-order: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...
#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky
#ancientbluesky #classicsbluesky
Very grateful to @ssecunda.bsky.social for the generous and constructive book review at the AJS Review!
muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...
Project MUSE - <i>Babylonian Jews and Sasanian Imperialism in Late Antiquity</i> by Simcha Gross (review)
muse.jhu.edu
November 27, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Very grateful to @ssecunda.bsky.social for the generous and constructive book review at the AJS Review!
muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...
muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...
Reposted by Simcha Gross
This is a late ancient (5-7th c.?) Greek account of the life of a rich woman who was raised Jewish, converted to Christianity when her parents died, lived for 20 years as a male monk named John, was discovered & made head of a woman's monastery, & was later martyred
well, what the heck. it's the tuesday before thanksgiving, and whoever is on here deserves a treat: the first new translation I've posted in a long while: the Life and Martyrdom of Susanna:
andrewjacobs.org/translations...
andrewjacobs.org/translations...
Life and Martyrdom of Susanna
andrewjacobs.org
November 25, 2025 at 3:27 PM
This is a late ancient (5-7th c.?) Greek account of the life of a rich woman who was raised Jewish, converted to Christianity when her parents died, lived for 20 years as a male monk named John, was discovered & made head of a woman's monastery, & was later martyred
Reposted by Simcha Gross
I am pleased to announce that John Penniman, Emanuel Fiano, and I are launching a new book series for the study of religion in late antiquity with Fordham University Press. If you have a book-in-progress looking for a home, please reach out to discuss your project!
fordhampress.com/theoria
fordhampress.com/theoria
November 12, 2025 at 6:34 PM
I am pleased to announce that John Penniman, Emanuel Fiano, and I are launching a new book series for the study of religion in late antiquity with Fordham University Press. If you have a book-in-progress looking for a home, please reach out to discuss your project!
fordhampress.com/theoria
fordhampress.com/theoria
Reposted by Simcha Gross
I got to go on @mikemotia.bsky.social 's podcast, New Books in Late Antiquity, and talk about my new book, Things Unseen!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
Ellen Muehlberger,
Podcast Episode · New Books in Late Antiquity · 11/10/2025 · 1h 14m
podcasts.apple.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:23 PM
I got to go on @mikemotia.bsky.social 's podcast, New Books in Late Antiquity, and talk about my new book, Things Unseen!
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...
Reposted by Simcha Gross
Calling all Minnesota friends. I'm giving a book talk at the St. Paul JCC next Tuesday (Nov 4th) and would love to see you! cla.umn.edu/jewish-studi...
Krista Dalton (Kenyon College) Presents: Table Fellowship as a Holy Altar: How Dinner Parties Shaped Rabbinic Judaism
People often take the existence of rabbis and their authority as a given, but that role and institution also needed to be invented–and some of the forces that shaped it may surprise you. This lecture ...
cla.umn.edu
October 27, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Calling all Minnesota friends. I'm giving a book talk at the St. Paul JCC next Tuesday (Nov 4th) and would love to see you! cla.umn.edu/jewish-studi...
Reposted by Simcha Gross
@philharland.bsky.social has an article out in MTSR.
Putting the Persian Back in “Magic”: Problems with Ignoring Ancient Ethnographic Discourses
brill.com/view/journal...
Putting the Persian Back in “Magic”: Problems with Ignoring Ancient Ethnographic Discourses
brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:54 PM
@philharland.bsky.social has an article out in MTSR.
Putting the Persian Back in “Magic”: Problems with Ignoring Ancient Ethnographic Discourses
brill.com/view/journal...
Putting the Persian Back in “Magic”: Problems with Ignoring Ancient Ethnographic Discourses
brill.com/view/journal...
Reposted by Simcha Gross
Open Access Cornucopia for scholars of late antique Judaism today! (1) William Smelik, “A New Aramaic Fragment of Toledot Yeshu as Targum Yerushalmi Isaiah 66.17” in Aramaic Studies = brill.com/view/journal... +
brill.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Open Access Cornucopia for scholars of late antique Judaism today! (1) William Smelik, “A New Aramaic Fragment of Toledot Yeshu as Targum Yerushalmi Isaiah 66.17” in Aramaic Studies = brill.com/view/journal... +
Reposted by Simcha Gross
It's not too late to sign-up! Level 1 offered this fall and Level 2 offered in January. An affordable option for ancient language learners (and lovers)!
Come learn Coptic via The Religion Department starting 10/27!
8-week primer (Level 1) moves from learning alphabet to reading ancient texts. Through lectures, study guides, and weekly challenges you will discover the beauty of Coptic and the Coptic Gospel of Thomas!
tinyurl.com/3ktkyffj
8-week primer (Level 1) moves from learning alphabet to reading ancient texts. Through lectures, study guides, and weekly challenges you will discover the beauty of Coptic and the Coptic Gospel of Thomas!
tinyurl.com/3ktkyffj
Learning Coptic Through the Gospel of Thomas (Level 1)
tinyurl.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:36 AM
It's not too late to sign-up! Level 1 offered this fall and Level 2 offered in January. An affordable option for ancient language learners (and lovers)!
A 2nd article is also out today, w/Michele Scarlassara!
We present a previously unpublished Syriac incantation bowl from the Penn Museum, w/a formula paralleling several Mandaic bowls, w/intriguing social-historical implications
1st bowl published using spectral imaging!
brill.com/view/journal...
We present a previously unpublished Syriac incantation bowl from the Penn Museum, w/a formula paralleling several Mandaic bowls, w/intriguing social-historical implications
1st bowl published using spectral imaging!
brill.com/view/journal...
October 22, 2025 at 11:19 AM
A 2nd article is also out today, w/Michele Scarlassara!
We present a previously unpublished Syriac incantation bowl from the Penn Museum, w/a formula paralleling several Mandaic bowls, w/intriguing social-historical implications
1st bowl published using spectral imaging!
brill.com/view/journal...
We present a previously unpublished Syriac incantation bowl from the Penn Museum, w/a formula paralleling several Mandaic bowls, w/intriguing social-historical implications
1st bowl published using spectral imaging!
brill.com/view/journal...
My article “Does an Arrow a Day Keep Satan Away? Late Antique Magical Subtexts in Babylonian Rabbinic Narratives” is now OA in HTR!
It argues that a Talmudic story about a rabbi’s encounter with Satan adjudicates between competing incantations in late antique Iraq
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
It argues that a Talmudic story about a rabbi’s encounter with Satan adjudicates between competing incantations in late antique Iraq
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
October 22, 2025 at 11:10 AM
My article “Does an Arrow a Day Keep Satan Away? Late Antique Magical Subtexts in Babylonian Rabbinic Narratives” is now OA in HTR!
It argues that a Talmudic story about a rabbi’s encounter with Satan adjudicates between competing incantations in late antique Iraq
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
It argues that a Talmudic story about a rabbi’s encounter with Satan adjudicates between competing incantations in late antique Iraq
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Simcha Gross
My interview with The Ancients podcast on the Sasanians and the Rise of Islam.
open.spotify.com/episode/42Mc...
open.spotify.com/episode/42Mc...
Rise of Islam
open.spotify.com
October 13, 2025 at 6:52 PM
My interview with The Ancients podcast on the Sasanians and the Rise of Islam.
open.spotify.com/episode/42Mc...
open.spotify.com/episode/42Mc...
Reposted by Simcha Gross
Warsaw Late Antique Seminar on Thursday 9 October (4.45 p.m.): Simcha Gross @simchagross.bsky.social (University of Pennsylvania), "Good Fences Make Bad Neighbors: Communities and Empire on the Roman-Sasanian Frontier". In person and online, as usual.
October 6, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Warsaw Late Antique Seminar on Thursday 9 October (4.45 p.m.): Simcha Gross @simchagross.bsky.social (University of Pennsylvania), "Good Fences Make Bad Neighbors: Communities and Empire on the Roman-Sasanian Frontier". In person and online, as usual.
Reposted by Simcha Gross
Hmm… I wrote a piece about the epistemic erasure of Jews & my institution posted about it in a manner that doesn’t mention Jews—should I be happy they proved my point or upset…? 🤔
October 5, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Hmm… I wrote a piece about the epistemic erasure of Jews & my institution posted about it in a manner that doesn’t mention Jews—should I be happy they proved my point or upset…? 🤔
Reposted by Simcha Gross
Warsaw Late Antique Seminar. The programme for Winter Semester is ready. Take a look!
More on the seminar's website...
More on the seminar's website...
September 29, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Warsaw Late Antique Seminar. The programme for Winter Semester is ready. Take a look!
More on the seminar's website...
More on the seminar's website...
Very honored to have been invited by @relicsclerics.bsky.social to present at the Warsaw Late Antique Seminar, and to be included in this incredible roster.
Join us!
Join us!
September 29, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Very honored to have been invited by @relicsclerics.bsky.social to present at the Warsaw Late Antique Seminar, and to be included in this incredible roster.
Join us!
Join us!
Reposted by Simcha Gross
CRAC is getting five! And is going to celebrate this anniversary with a conference The Shady Trade of Hermes: Theft, Thieves and Thievery in the Ancient World to be held on 25-27 September 2025 at the University of Warsaw. If you happen to be in town, do join us!
Programme: bit.ly/42JturY
Programme: bit.ly/42JturY
September 23, 2025 at 7:23 AM
CRAC is getting five! And is going to celebrate this anniversary with a conference The Shady Trade of Hermes: Theft, Thieves and Thievery in the Ancient World to be held on 25-27 September 2025 at the University of Warsaw. If you happen to be in town, do join us!
Programme: bit.ly/42JturY
Programme: bit.ly/42JturY
Reposted by Simcha Gross
I have been informed by the good folks at @gorgiaspress.bsky.social that my translation of the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch (aka 2 Baruch) is officially in print, though I don't have a hard copy yet. Here's a link: www.gorgiaspress.com/maccabees-3-...
3-4 Maccabees and the Apocalypse of Baruch According to the Syriac Peshitta Version with English Translation
This volume is part of a series of English translations of the Syriac Peshitta along with the Syriac text carried out by an international team of scholars.
www.gorgiaspress.com
September 22, 2025 at 2:18 PM
I have been informed by the good folks at @gorgiaspress.bsky.social that my translation of the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch (aka 2 Baruch) is officially in print, though I don't have a hard copy yet. Here's a link: www.gorgiaspress.com/maccabees-3-...