Ancient Jewish Diaspora Archive, Jewish Diaspora Ancient Jewish Diaspora Archive Welcome to the Ancient Jewish Diaspora Archive. This site is devoted to the study of the Jews in the Greco-Roman period (400 B.C.E. to c.500 C.E.) who lived outside of Judea. The purpose of this site is to provide an introduction to the primary source material available about Jews and Jewish communities in the ancient world with a focus on the relationships between Jews and 'pagans' in a world of ethnic diversity and the interrelationships between politics, society, culture and religion. The initial phase of the site (May 2007-May 2008) will explore two Jewish communities from opposite ends of the Greco-Roman world and with vastly different histories: the Jews of ancient Rome and the Jewish synagogue and community of Dura Europos. A proposal for subsequent phases is currently under construction. Purpose: The purpose of this site is to introduce students to the social, political and religious environment of Jews throughout the ancient diaspora by allowing them to navigate a vast range of primary source material and secondry data. Much of the material related to ancient Jewish communities throughout the Greco-Roman world is not currently available electronically. Our hope is that this site will begin to fill this gap. The goal of this site is primarily to allow students to critically analyze primary source material so that informed discussion of issues surrounding ancient Jewish communities outside of Judea and Galilee and an educated analysis of scholarly positions can be made. Highlights: Some of the highlights of this site are new translations of Greek and Latin material about the Jews in Rome, a glossary, an interactive map, timeline, and an extensive exploration of the Synagogue at Dura Europos with an ever expanding image gallery containing images and artifacts owned by Yale University Art Gallery from the excavation of Dura Europos.