Alexandra Cuffel's book examines Jewish-Christian relations in the Middle Ages and early modern period

Alexandra Cuffel, together with Bar Kribus, archaeologist at Tel Aviv University and expert on Ethiopia and the Betä Ǝsraʾel, and Zaroui Pogossian, Professor of Byzantine Civilization at the University of Florence and expert on medieval Armenia, have published the volume “Material Encounters between Jews and Christians. From the Silk and Spice Routes to the Highlands of Ethiopia”. The book is a publication from the ERC research project “Jews and Christians in the East” (JewsEast), which ended in 2020.

The publication taps into the potential of material culture - for example in the form of works of art and archaeological finds - to examine Jewish-Christian coexistence in the Middle Ages and early modern period in more detail. In contrast to previous studies, which focused primarily on areas where Jews lived as a minority under Christian rule, this work examines the regions of the eastern Mediterranean as far as Central Asia, the Red Sea and India, where Jews and Christians interacted in a different context.

In terms of content, the book covers a broad spectrum of geographical regions and cultural encounters. It begins with Jewish and Christian interactions and interactions in Armenia, highlighting finds such as Jewish gravestones and Christian miniatures. Further chapters are devoted to the Holy Land, southern Arabia and Ethiopia, examining topics such as visual culture, messianic ideas and anti-Jewish representations in Christian art. The final section concentrates on India, with a focus on the lost Jewish city of Kochi and the treatment of religious identities in sacred spaces in Kerala.

The book is published by Arc Humanities Press. Link to the publication: https://www.arc-humanities.org/9781641893879/material-encounters-between-jews-and-christians/