Recently the Ancient Jew Review sat down with Dr. Seth Schwartz (Columbia University) to discuss his newest book The Ancient Jews from Alexander to Muhammad. As part of the "Key Themes in Ancient History" Cambridge Press series, the book distills Schwartz' previous books Imperialism and Jewish Society: 200 B.C.E. to 640 C.E. (Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World) and Were the Jews a Mediterranean Society?: Reciprocity and Solidarity in Ancient Judaism into an accessible form for non-Ancient Judaism specialists.
Our hour long interview has been condensed into a three-part series about the need for Ancient Jewish History, why 70 C.E. should be considered a watershed, and the common criticism of his work.