• A
  • A
  • A
  • АБВ
  • АБВ
  • АБВ
  • A
  • A
  • A
  • A
  • A
Обычная версия сайта
  • RU
  • EN
  • HSE University
  • Publications
  • Articles
  • Christians, Jews, and Magic in the Sasanian Realm: Between Confrontation and Cooperation
  • RU
  • EN
Расширенный поиск
Высшая школа экономики
Национальный исследовательский университет
Priority areas
  • business informatics
  • economics
  • engineering science
  • humanitarian
  • IT and mathematics
  • law
  • management
  • mathematics
  • sociology
  • state and public administration
by year
  • 2028
  • 2027
  • 2026
  • 2025
  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2007
  • 2006
  • 2005
  • 2004
  • 2003
  • 2002
  • 2001
  • 2000
  • 1999
  • 1998
  • 1997
  • 1996
  • 1995
  • 1994
  • 1993
  • 1992
  • 1991
  • 1990
  • 1989
  • 1988
  • 1987
  • 1986
  • 1985
  • 1984
  • 1983
  • 1982
  • 1981
  • 1980
  • 1979
  • 1978
  • 1977
  • 1976
  • 1975
  • 1974
  • 1973
  • 1972
  • 1971
  • 1970
  • 1969
  • 1968
  • 1967
  • 1966
  • 1965
  • 1964
  • 1963
  • 1958
  • More
Subject
News
September 22, 2026
Personal Interest in Doctoral Thesis Topic Most Important for Confidence in Successful Defence
A researcher at HSE University analysed data on 1,539 doctoral students from 161 Russian universities to identify which features of a thesis topic are associated with academic success and engagement. The most important factor was found to be personal interest in the research topic, which was associated with almost all key aspects of doctoral programme experience—from engaging with the academic supervisor to research activity and confidence about successfully defending the thesis. The findings have been published in Higher Education.
September 21, 2026
Researchers Develop Methodology to Assess the Quality of Legal Representation in Criminal Proceedings
Having a good defence attorney in criminal proceedings can largely determine whether a defendant retains their freedom, health and good name. Researchers at HSE University propose a method for predicting an attorney’s performance based on the outcomes of their previous cases. The methodology takes into account the severity of the charges, the complexity of the cases, and the most likely outcome, drawing on judicial statistics.
September 21, 2026
Algebra, Geometry, and AI: Russian and Vietnamese Mathematicians Discuss Current Research
A delegation of scientists from Hanoi visited the HSE Faculty of Computer Science and then took part in a Russian-Vietnamese conference in St Petersburg. The events were part of the three-year project ‘Flexibility and Computational Methods.’ Over the course of the project, the researchers have prepared joint publications and obtained new mathematical results.

 

Have you spotted a typo?
Highlight it, click Ctrl+Enter and send us a message. Thank you for your help!

Publications
  • Books
  • Articles
  • Chapters of books
  • Working papers
  • Report a publication
  • Research at HSE

?

Christians, Jews, and Magic in the Sasanian Realm: Between Confrontation and Cooperation

Entangled Religions. 2022. Vol. 13. No. 3. P. 1–66.
Minov S.

This essay focuses on one particular aspect of Jewish-Christian relations during the Sasanian period, namely various types of interaction between the two religious groups in the domain of magic. For that purpose, two distinctive bodies of textual evidence are examined: hagiographical literature produced by Syriac Christians, and Aramaic magic bowls, Jewish as well as Christian. Illuminating and complementing each other, the two corpora shed light on the dual dynamics of competition and cooperation between Jews and Christians in the field of popular religion.

Research target: Philosophy, Ethics, and Religious Studies History and Archeology
Language: English
Full text
DOI
Text on another site
Keywords: магияJudaismиудаизмmagicсирийское христианствоSyriac christianitySasanian IranСасанидский ИранJewish-Christian relationsjewish magicеврейско-христианские отношения
Publication based on the results of:
The inner and outer dynamics of cultural processes in the Oriental societies and its traditional foundations: languages, history and religion (2022)
Similar publications
Инсигнии в «большом кургане» Ц-74/Серг-1900 Гнездовскоего археологического комплекса
Щавелев А. С., Электронный научно-образовательный журнал "История" 2026 Т. 17 № 6(164) Статья 3
The present study considers a suite of insignia recovered from the large burial mound C‐74 (Serg‐1900) within the Gnezdovo archaeological complex, dated to the 10th century. The interment was performed in situ according to the cremation‐in‐boat rite. The richness of the grave assemblage, notably the presence of several paired high‐status items (two sets of horse ...
Added: September 21, 2026
Коммуникативный декаданс: смертельные эффекты гедонизма в пространстве семиокапитализма и гиперреализма
Merzenina A., Логос 2026 Т. 35 № 2 С. 73–102
The article examines the functioning of digital communication in the era of semiocapitalism (F. Berardi) and hyperrealism (J. Baudrillard), as well as its influence on the psycho-social situation of the modern subject (based on the psychoanalysis of J. Lacan). Obsessive neurosis, aggressiveness and depression are considered by the author not only as the dominant mental ...
Added: September 21, 2026
Онтотеологический «остаток» современного политического нигилизма
Merzenina A., Социологическое обозрение 2026 Т. 25 № 2 С. 206–242
This article examines the transformation of political theology, or political ontotheology, in the era of late capitalism. The author first analyzes the specifics of nihilism as interpreted by Nietzsche and Heidegger, then moves on to a consideration of epistemological, ethical, and political relativism, the general essence of which consists of a nihilistic rejection of a ...
Added: September 20, 2026
Понятие «народ» у славянофилов (1840–1880-е гг.)
Романенко А. А., Философия. Журнал Высшей школы экономики 2026 Т. 9 № 2 С. 71–95
В статье представлен опыт анализа славянофильского понимания «народа» — одной из ключевых тем учения славянофилов и одного из важнейших понятий их политической доктрины. Славянофильство нами рассматривается в «узком» смысле слова, как идейное объединение А.С. Хомякова, И.В. Киреевского, Ю.Ф. Самарина, К.С. и И.С. Аксаковых, А.И. Кошелева и других, сформировавшееся в начале 1840-х гг.; анализ нами доводится ...
Added: September 19, 2026
CONVIVIAL OR MANIPULATIVE TOOLS? LLMS IN RUSSIAN HIGHER EDUCATION (THE CASE OF THE SCHOOL OF ADVANCED STUDIES)
Шиповалова Л. В., Социология власти 2026 Vol. 38 No. 1 P. 224–243
This article examines the integration of large language model based chatbots into educational practices in Russian higher education through the lens of critical theory and curriculum ideologies. Drawing on Ivan Illich’s concept of convivial tools and Jürgen Habermas’s distinction between instrumental and communicative rationality, the authors conceptualize large language models as technologies capable of operating ...
Added: September 18, 2026
Богослужения 5 ноября как инструмент символического насилия в Ирландии 1691–1711 гг.
Kirilov D., Диалог со временем 2026 № 96 С. 146–160
This article examines Irish November 5th sermons published between 1691 and 1711. These government-issued texts are considered as instruments for shaping cultural memory and symbolic authority. Through teleological narratives grounded in a substantive philosophy of history, preachers drew parallels between biblical stories and the situation of Protestants in Ireland, transforming sacred history into lessons and ...
Added: September 18, 2026
Гуманизм и милосердие: доминирование добродетелей
Жигунов А. Ю., Patria 2026 Т. 3 № 3 С. 12–28
The study is devoted to the identification of the specifics of humanism and mercy as traditional spiritual and moral values of modern Russia. The special role of these axiological attitudes, frankly virtuous nature suggests their dominant position. Avoiding discussion about the interpretation of these categories, an attempt is made to identify the implementation of virtuous actions, which can be ...
Added: September 17, 2026
Российская история в философской перспективе (размышления над книгой). К 70-летию А.А. Кара-Мурзы
Zhukova O., Вопросы философии (Российская Федерация) 2026 № 8 С. 51–64
The article is a critical and philosophical analysis of a new book by the Russian philosopher and political scientist Aleksei A. Kara-Murza. His fundamental work “Selected Works on Russian Philosophy, Politics and Culture” (2024) contains articles in the field of philosophy of Russian history, completed by the author over the course of ten years. Essays, ...
Added: September 17, 2026
Пролетаризация труда в условиях развития искусственного интеллекта
Моисеев Г. В., Гуманитарные исследования в Восточной Сибири и на Дальнем Востоке 2026 № 2 (76) С. 58–68
The article presents a philosophical analysis of the transformation of labor in the context of the spread of AI technologies. Criticizing the notion of AI as an autonomous and neutral technology leading to the replacement of human labor, the author proposes to analyze the social consequences of AI development within the framework of automation processes ...
Added: September 17, 2026
Путешествие Курта и Марго Любински по Сибири (1928 г.)
Abilova R., Вестник Томского государственного университета. История 2023 № 85 С. 141–148
The article is devoted to the photographs of Lubinskis, taken in the Soviet Union in the summer of 1928. The author reconstructs the context of the creation and existence of photographs. The research is based on digital photography collections of Spaarnestad Photo Foundation and Ullstein Bildarchiv, Kurt Lubinski`s travelogue book “This is our world” (1938), ...
Added: September 16, 2026
Vague stimulating ideas, images and metaphors in scientific thinking: researchers' work with horizons of unclear knowledge
Poddiakov A., / Series Social Science Research Network "Social Science Research Network". 2026. No. 7437658.
Clarity of knowledge and reasoning is necessary in many cases. Yet vagueness in scientific thinking related to surprise, curiosity, "ability to engage with not-knowing" (de Freitas) and abductive reasoning is also a crucially important source of scientific creativity which supplements combinatorial logic when dealing with the already known. Starting from studies by C. S. Peirce ...
Added: September 15, 2026
Межэтническое разделение труда в шведской колонии на Урале, 1876–1900 гг.
Young P. I., Журнал фронтирных исследований 2026 Т. 11 № 3 С. 85–106
In 1876, a group of Swedish ironworkers arrived at the Urals in order to construct modern Swedish blast furnaces and modernize the local metal production. On the Ural frontier, they encountered a multiethnic environment populated by Russians, Germans, and Bashkirs. The present article examines the relations between the Swedish colonists and the local population with ...
Added: September 14, 2026
Источники отчетов посольских миссий и их роль в формировании языка описания Китая в Московском царстве XVII в.
Шистерова А. Д., Сибирские исторические исследования 2026 № 2 С. 213–231
The article analyzes the sources that were presented in the emissaries’ accounts of the first two embassies from the Muscovite kingdom to China. This analysis identifies key trends that influenced the languages of space and China description development. It emphasizes the uniqueness of each emissaries’ account and the distinctive methods ambassadors used for working with ...
Added: September 14, 2026
Представления православных верующих о границах и отношениях магии и религии
Bochkor A., Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Серия 12: Социология 2025 Т. 18 № 2 С. 229–241
The present study aims to explore the complex relationship between magic and religion in contemporary Russian society. Sociological studies acknowledge the challenge in differentiat-ing between the two spheres and uses a variety of approaches to define the boundary between magic and religion. However, the Russian Orthodox Church views magic as a distinct practice from religion ...
Added: February 12, 2026
A Family Drama in Jericho: The Syriac Story of Ḥananya and Shmuni
Minov S., , in: ‘Brouria Has Spoken Wisely’: Studies in Christian Late Antiquity and Syriac Literature in Honor of Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony.: Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2025. P. 211–230.
Added: December 21, 2025
‘Brouria Has Spoken Wisely’: Studies in Christian Late Antiquity and Syriac Literature in Honor of Brouria Bitton-Ashkelony
Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2025.
Added: December 21, 2025
Recent Publications on Syriac Topics: 2024
Minov S., Kessel G., Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 2025 Vol. 28 No. 1 P. 217–287
Added: December 21, 2025
Царица Елена в культурной памяти сирийских христиан: два новых свидетельства
Minov S., Библия и христианская древность 2025 Т. 1 [25] С. 116–150
The article publishes for the first time in complete form two Syriac texts dedicated to the figure of Empress Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine — the correspondence with Helena from the epistolary corpus attributed to Papa bar Aggai, bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (IV c.), and the anonymous Hypomnemata about the origin of Empress Helena, in ...
Added: December 21, 2025
Syriac Christian Polemic against Popular Religion: New Evidence from the Islamic Period
Minov S., Scrinium: Journal of Patrology and Critical Hagiography 2025 Vol. 21 No. 1 P. 163–206
The article presents the editio princeps, translation, and commentary of three previously unknown compositions preserved in Syriac: On Sorcerers, Diviners and Charmers by Pseudo-Gregory of Nyssa, On Bathing in Springs and Sources by Pseudo-Basil of Caesarea, and an erotapocritic compilation drawn from the Questions of Basil and Gregory and the responsa of Jacob of Edessa ...
Added: December 21, 2025
Timothy I Defending the Cross against Jews and Muslims: A Newly Discovered Testimony
Minov S., Medieval Encounters 2025 Vol. 31 No. 2 P. 119–154
The article presents for the first time the Syriac text, an English translation and discussion of the surviving fragments of a newly discovered apologetic composition by Timothy I (fl. 780–823), the East Syrian patriarch of Baghdad. In this work, the catholicos defends Christian practice of veneration of the cross against possible critique by Jewish and ...
Added: December 21, 2025
Насколько «живым» было оружие норманнов и русов?
Пузанов Д. В., Ученые записки Казанского университета. Серия: Гуманитарные науки 2021 Т. 163 № 6 С. 168–178
Оружие в представлении северных германцев имело способность самостоятельно воздействовать на окружающий мир. Этот факт исследователи интерпретируют как свидетельство того, что норманны считали оружие близким к категории живых существ. В работе показано, что многие акторные характеристики оружия в верованиях северных германцев удачнее всего объясняются через концепт «биографии» предметов, в то время как конструкция «частично одушевленного» оружия ...
Added: June 10, 2025
Arabic Influences on the Syriac Charm Tradition
Cherkashina A., Lyavdansky A., Rashid D., , in: From Moscow to Baghdad: Studies on Middle Eastern Christianity in Memory of Nikolai Seleznyov.: Brill, 2026. P. 389–455.
This article explores examples of influence from the Arabic magical traditions, both Christian and Muslim, that can be found in modern Syriac magical manuscripts. The following aspects of Arabic influence are discussed: visual elements (diagonal writing, kharaktēres, pseudo-Arabic script), terminology, texts containing Arabic formulae, magical practices, angels and demons (Gabriel and Michael, Tebʿā), and magic ...
Added: May 1, 2025
Vladimir S. Solov’ev
Aleksei Zhuravskii, , in: Christian-Muslim Relations A Bibliographical History. Volume 23. Russia (1800-1914)Vol. 23: Russia (1800-1914).: Brill, 2024. P. 435–454.
The main problem of Solov’ev’s istoriosofii (philosophy of history) was the problem of the Christian East and the Christian West. In the separation and schism between them he saw the greatest historical drama, while the greatest historical imperative was reconciliation between them. However, as he considered this problem more deeply, Solov’ev turned to the experience ...
Added: March 8, 2025
Магический текст на плинфе из Успенского собора Киево-Печерского монастыря
Gippius A., Russian Linguistics 2024 Т. 48 Статья 22
The author suggests a new interpretation of the inscription on a brick from the Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev Cave Monastery dated to the time of the construction of the cathedral (1073–1077). The previously proposed interpretations are rejected for linguistic reasons and because all of them were based on an incorrect assessment of the physical ...
Added: November 21, 2024
  • About
  • About
  • Key Figures & Facts
  • Sustainability at HSE University
  • Faculties & Departments
  • International Partnerships
  • Faculty & Staff
  • HSE Buildings
  • HSE University for Persons with Disabilities
  • Public Enquiries
  • Studies
  • Admissions
  • Programme Catalogue
  • Undergraduate
  • Graduate
  • Exchange Programmes
  • Summer University
  • Summer Schools
  • Semester in Moscow
  • Business Internship
  • Research
  • International Laboratories
  • Research Centres
  • Research Projects
  • Monitoring Studies
  • Conferences & Seminars
  • Academic Jobs
  • Yasin (April) International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development
  • Media & Resources
  • Publications by staff
  • HSE Journals
  • Publishing House
  • iq.hse.ru: commentary by HSE experts
  • Library
  • Economic & Social Data Archive
  • Video
  • HSE Repository of Socio-Economic Information
  • HSE1993–2026
  • Contacts
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map
Edit