"The articles included in this book deal with a diverse period of one thousand years, from the Judean exile to Babylon until the fall of the Sasanian Empire. However, one thing is common throughout. All of the studies deal with encounters, especially intellectual encounters, that occurred in Mesopotamia, mainly under Iranian (Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sasanian) rule. While Mesopotamia was an area of contact between many cultures and religions, three are the focus of this book - ancient Babylonian, ancient and late antique Iranian, and classical Jewish."--Introduction, p. [1].