Of all of the human empires that affected the people of Israel, the Persians did something rather unique - they
permitted the return of the people of the southern kingdom of Judah,
70 years after their exile by the Babylonians under
King Nebuchadnezzar.
At its peak, the Persian empire reached from the India to Greece, and from the Caspian Sea to the Red Sea
and the Arabian Sea. The Persians are believed to have originated in Media, which today corresponds to
western Iran and southern Azerbaijan. They settled in Persia, on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf.
"In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of The Lord spoken by Jeremiah,
The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put
it in writing: "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: "The Lord, The God of heaven, has given me all
the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build a Temple
for Him at
Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his
people among you - may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build The
Temple of The Lord, The God of Israel, The God who is in Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:1-3)
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