Severus of Minorca: Letter on the Conversion of the Jews

This book provides an edited text, introduction, and translation of a central document in the history of religious coercion in late antiquity: Severus of Minorca's Letter on the Conversion of the Jews . The Letter describes the forced conversion of the Jews of Minorca to Christianity in AD 418. It offers a fascinating perspective on Jewish-Christian relations in a Mediterranean town, and on the motives for religious intolerance. In addition, its wealth of information about a diaspora Jewish community in the western empire makes it unique among surviving sources.

Scott Bradbury is Associate Professor of Classical Languages and Literatures at Smith College, Massachusetts.