The Persians
The Babylonians ruled
the world in the sixth century B.C. Yet,
afterwards, in the course of about half a
century, they ceased to exist. This is remarkable
enough, but it is even more astounding that
their successors, the Persians, had did not
existed before! In 560 B.C., Cyrus the Great
became the king of Persia, a small state
in the Middle East, and within 30 years had
replaced the Babylonian empire with his own.
Cyrus also unexpectedly
told the Jews that they could return to their
homeland. While he was probably motivated
primarily by the desire to have someone else
rebuild Palestine and to make it a source
of income for the Persian Empire, the impact
on the Jews was to reinvigorate their faith
and stimulate them to reconstruct the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Second Temple was completed on the very
site of the first Temple in 516 B.C.
Though Cyrus allowed the
Jews freedom to practice their religion,
he would not permit them to reestablish the
monarchy. Instead, Cyrus sent Zerubbabel,
a prince of the house of David,
along with 42,360 other exiles to establish
what essentially became a theocracy, with
Zerubbabel as High Priest.
Over the next 150 years,
Judea flourished as the Jews rebuilt Jerusalem and
developed the surrounding areas. The Persians
resisted any Jewish efforts to restore the
monarchy, but allowed them a high degree
of autonomy under the High Priest, whose
power was partially checked by the Sanhedrin,
the Jewish Court, and the Popular Assemblies.
During this period, Judaism's Written
Law took its final form. One of the
key changes in the history of Judaism was
the imposition at this time of a ban on
intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews.
Though from that point to the present,
the adherence to this rule has not been
universal, it is one of the central tenets
of Judaism and perhaps the most important
reason for the survival of the Jewish people.,
Unlike other peoples, they did not disappear
through assimilation and intermarriage.
Sources: Mitchell G. Bard, The
Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East
Conflict. 4th Edition. NY: Alpha
Books, 2008. |