The Achaemenid Dynasty
The Babylonian Empire came to an end and was subsumed by the Persians in 539 BC under Cyrus the Great. This massive political shift had positive effects for the Jewish exiles living in Babylon. Before we can appreciate that, we need to identify the names of the major Persian kings during this period.
| Persian King | Regnal Years | Scripture References |
|---|---|---|
| Cyrus the Great | 559–530 BC | 2 Chron 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-8; 3:7; 4:3, 5; 5:13-17; 6:3, 14; Isa 44:28; 45:1, 13; Dan 1:21; 6:28; 10:1 |
| Cambyses II | 530–522 BC | Not mentioned in Scripture, but the period of his reign falls here: “all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius” (Ezra 4:5). |
| Darius I | 522–486 BC | Ezra 4:5, 24; 5:5-7; 6:1-15; Hag 1:1, 15; 2:10; Zech 1:1, 7; 7:1 (not the same as “Darius the Mede,” Dan 5:31) |
| Xerxes I | 486–465 BC | Ezra 4:6; Esther 1:1; in biblical literature he is called Ahasuerus. |
| Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) | 465–424 BC | Ezra 4:7-23; 6:14; 7:1-26; 8:1; Neh 2:1; 5:14; 13:6 |
The narratives in Ezra-Nehemiah took place during the reigns of these Persian kings, and frequently Ezra-Nehemiah dates key events in relation to them, e.g., the second temple was finished “in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king” (Ezra 6:15).
| Reference | Persian King | Year | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ezra 1:1 | In 1st year of Cyrus | 538 BC | Cyrus decrees the rebuilding of the temple |
| Ezra 2:1–3:6 | In 1st year of Cyrus | 538/537 BC | First group of exiles returns; altar rebuilt and worship restored |
| Ezra 3:8–4:5, 24 | From Cyrus to Darius | c. 536–520 BC | Temple foundation laid; rebuilding opposed and eventually suspended |
| Ezra 4:24–5:2 | In 2nd year of Darius | 520 BC | Temple rebuilding resumes under the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah |
| Ezra 5:3–17 | In 2nd year of Darius | c. late 520/early 519 BC | Tattenai reports the renewed temple construction to Darius and asks him to search the archives for Cyrus’s decree |
| Ezra 6:1–12 | In 2nd year of Darius | c. 519 BC | Cyrus’s decree is found; Darius renews the decree and commands imperial support for the rebuilding |
| Ezra 6:14–15 | In 6th year of Darius | 515 BC | Completion of the second temple |
| Ezra 4:6 | In the beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus | c. 486/5 BC | Adversaries in the land write an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem |
| Ezra 4:7–23 | In the days of Artaxerxes | c. 465–? BC | Adversaries in the land write to Artaxerxes; he writes back and forcibly shuts down the building (of the walls) |
| Ezra 7:7–8 | In 7th year of Artaxerxes | 458 BC | Ezra and a second group of exiles return |
| Neh 1:1; 2:1 | In 20th year of Artaxerxes | 445 BC | Nehemiah sent to Judah |
| Neh 5:14; 13:6 | 20th–32nd years of Artaxerxes | 445–433 BC | Nehemiah serves as governor of Judah |
I have italicized Ezra 4:6 and Ezra 4:7–23 to signal that they are out of chronological order. Ezra 4:1–5 describes the opposition that arose when the first group of exiles returned and began rebuilding the temple during the reign of Cyrus. Before picking up that narrative (in Ezra 4:24), Ezra inserts examples of the continuing hostility of Judah’s adversaries from a later period—during the reigns of Xerxes and Artaxerxes. The letter quoted in Ezra 4:8–16, written many decades later to Artaxerxes, concerns the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its walls rather than the temple. Ezra includes this later episode here at this point in his narrative in order to illustrate the persistent pattern of opposition to the restoration of Jerusalem and Judah.