Persia

Persia was the empire that conquered Babylon and allowed the exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.

Persia, also known as the Achaemenid Empire, was a major world power that ruled over a vast territory from the 6th to the 4th centuries BC. In the Bible, Persia is mentioned in the context of the Jewish exile and the subsequent return to Jerusalem. The Babylonian Empire, which had destroyed Jerusalem and taken the Jews into captivity, fell to the Persians under Cyrus the Great (2Chr. 36:20, 22-23; Ezra 1:1-2). Cyrus issued a decree allowing the exiled Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4). The Persian kings Darius I and Artaxerxes I also played significant roles in supporting the rebuilding efforts (Ezra 4:24; 6:14).

The book of Esther is set in the Persian capital of Susa during the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), and it describes how Esther, a Jewish woman, became queen and saved her people from a plot to destroy them (Esther 1:3, 14, 18; 10:2). The prophets Ezekiel and Daniel also mention Persia in their visions and prophecies (Ezek. 27:10; 38:5; Dan. 8:20; 10:1, 13, 20; 11:2). Persia is portrayed as a powerful empire that God used to fulfill His purposes for His people, even though the Persians themselves were not followers of the God of Israel.

An ancient empire, extending from the Indus to Thrace, and from the Caspian Sea to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Persians were originally a Medic tribe which settled in Persia, on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf. They were Aryans, their language belonging to the eastern division of the Indo-European group. One of their chiefs, Teispes, conquered Elam in the time of the decay of the Assyrian Empire, and established himself in the district of Anzan. His descendants branched off into two lines, one line ruling in Anzan, while the other remained in Persia. Cyrus II., king of Anzan, finally united the divided power, conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylonia, and carried his arms into the far East. His son, Cambyses, added Egypt to the empire, which, however, fell to pieces after his death. It was reconquered and thoroughly organized by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, whose dominions extended from India to the Danube.