A landmark work of Jewish history and a worldwide phenomenon when it was first published, this masterpiece of Jewish history was translated in multiple languages and instantly become the de facto standard in the field. German academic HEINRICH GRAETZ (1817-1891) brings a sympathetic Jewish perspective to the story of his own people, offering readers today an affectionate, passionate history, not a detached, clinical one. Backed by impeccable scholarship and originally published in German across 11 volumes between 1853 and 1875, this six-volume English-language edition was abridged under the direction of the author, and brought to American readers by the Jewish Publication Society of America in 1891. It remains an important work of the study of the Jewish religion and people to this day. Volume II, subtitled From the Reign of Hyrcanus (135 B.C.E) to the Completion of the Babylonian Talmud (500 C.E.), opens with the siege of Jerusalem and the rise of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes, and continues through the decline of the Roman Empire and an exploration of the contents and spirit of the Babylonian Talmud.