(C2-1) Religious Politics in Ancient Persia: Cultural-Comparative and Legal-Historical Investigations of the Situation of the Jews in the Multi-Religious Society of the Achaemenid Period

In the first instance, the project aims at sifting through the research results of the past decades regarding the religious politics of the Achaemenides in Mesopotamia (particularly in Babylon), Asia Minor (Halikarnassos), Egypt (Elephantine) and Palestine (Samaria, Jerusalem). In doing so, evidence of both the interests of the Persian Empire and the respective local interests in self-assertion and in upholding their identity on the religious field are to be elaborated and, as the case may be, historical developments shown. In the second phase of the period investigated, the characteristics of the Judaean situation and of the Second Temple will be analysed anew based on the results of the overall picture gained. Particular attention will have to be paid to the legal history and to early forms of agreement under international law as well as to the cultural markers of identity and distinction in the areas of dietetics and of ideas of purity.

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The Project is part of interconnecting platform F Transcultural Entanglements and coordinated project group Dealing with religious diversity.