The Jews of ancient Babylonia left their mark on the history on the Jewish people more than those of any other country in the Diaspora. During the Sassanian period Babylonia gradually superseded Eretz Israel as the leading Jewish centre. The Babylonian Talmud established the way of life not only of the Jews of Babylonia in the period in which it was produced; more than any other work it shaped the entire Jewish people, its thinking, its way of life, its relationship with the world around, its law and rules through the ages.A comprehensive treatment presenting "western" evidence together with that of talmudic literature, hoewever, has beforehand been unavailable. The combination may help to promote a better understanding of the mixed culture concerned. The study gives a convenient complitaion of material which is widely scattered.