Lev Cosijns
About
lev.cosijns@arch.ox.ac.uk
Lev Cosijns is a PhD candidate in Archaeological Science at the University of Oxford and a former Rhodes Scholar.
Her research utilizes scientific methods to investigate social transitions, with a doctoral thesis focused on diet and mobility in the Bronze Age Southern Levant.
In addition to her work on ancient societies, Cosijns has published research on the trade processes and eventual collapse of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Her work represents a high-level integration of archaeological science and historical inquiry, seeking to understand the underlying environmental and social factors that drive the rise and fall of civilizations.
Lecture Abstract:
The Mishna and Talmud are often viewed as sources concerned solely with Jewish law, religion, and society. However, these texts also illuminate wider aspects of the ancient world, including Rome’s trade with India, and particularly Jewish connections to India. Long before Roman control of the eastern Mediterranean, commerce between the Mediterranean and India flourished and expanded under Hellenistic rule. Scholarly discussion of this trade has focused mainly on archaeological finds from Egypt’s Eastern Desert, papyri, and Roman authors such as Pliny and Strabo. Yet most Roman references date to the 1st century BCE–1st century CE, while trade activity peaked in the 1st–2nd centuries CE, raising questions about gaps or biases in the surviving evidence. The Mishna and Talmud provide an overlooked perspective on this issue. They preserve numerous discussions, anecdotes, and legends referencing Indian goods, such as spices, gems, and textiles, as well as interactions between Jewish merchants and eastern trade networks. These references suggest sustained contact between Jewish communities and India well into the later Roman period. This presentation analyses these rabbinic mentions of Indian commodities and trade to better understand the role of Jewish intermediaries in Indo-Roman exchange. A dedicated database compiles these sources to demonstrate how rabbinic literature enriches the study of ancient commerce. Ultimately, the Talmud and Mishna reveal not only the global scope of Jewish experience but also their unique position within the economic and cultural exchanges linking Rome and India.