The Intertestamental
Period: From Babylon
To The Birth Of Christ
Persian Period
Intertestamental Period
Week
Date
Topic
1
01 Mar 17 Overview
2
08 Mar 17 Babylonian Period (605-539 BC)
3
15 Mar 17 Persian Period (539-332 BC)
4
22 Mar 17 Greek Period (332-323 BC)
5
29 Mar 17 Ptolemaic (323-198 BC)
6
05 Apr 17 Seleucid (198-168 BC)
7
12 Apr 17 Maccabean Part 1 (168-153 BC)
8
19 Apr 17 Maccabean Part 2 (153-139 BC)
9
26 Apr 17 Independence (139-63 BC)
10
03 May 17 Rome Intervenes (63 – 37 BC)
11
10 May 17 Herod (37 BC – 4 BC)
12
17 May 17 The IT Period and Christianity (4 BC – 70 AD)
13
24 May 17 Review
Today’s Objectives
• Review last week’s lesson
• Review the transition of power between
Babylon and the Persians
• Review key Biblical scriptures
• Learn about the political, social, economic,
cultural, and religious issues during the
Persian rule over Israel
• Learn where and why all the Israelites did
not return to Judah
• Learn about the fall of the Persian empire
Last week’s lesson
• Reviewed the historical background from
which Babylon was formed
• Learned about he historical background
behind the rise of Babylon
– Sumerian city-states
– Akkadians
– Assyrians
• Learned about the fall of Judah and the
captivity
• Learned about Babylon’s demise
Reference Material
• KJV (w/ Apocrypha)
– 1st and 2nd Maccabbees
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•
•
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Josephus – The Complete Works
Herodotus – The History
Intertestamental History – Mark Moore
Ancient Rome – Simon Baker
Harding University – BNEW 112 Course
Notes – Dr. Thompson
Persian Rule
• 559-331 BC
– Early Achaemenian kings
– Late Achaemenian kings
• Cyrus, liberator of the exiled Jews, is
considered to be the beginning of the line
• Policy was to show autonomy to those
nations under their control
• Reverse policies of forced emigrations
used by Assyrians and Babylonians
Persian Empire
Cyrus II The Great
• 559-530 BC
• Raised up by God to restore the Jews to
the promised land (Isa 45:1-2 and Ezra
1:1-4)
• Policies confirmed in the Cyrus Cylinder
• Set the religious tone that would follow the
Early Achaemenian dynasty
• Allows the Jews to return around 536 BC
• Yet, he places his faith in the god Marduk
Cyrus Cylinder
Marduk
Cambyses II
• 530-522 BC
• Son of Cyrus the Great
• Before setting out on an expedition, he killed his
brother Bardiya (Smerdis), whom Cyrus had
appointed governor of the eastern provinces
• Finished the expansion of the Persian empire
into Egypt
• Forces invaded the Kingdom of Kush (Sudan)
without any success
• Died in battle
Darius I, the Great
•
•
•
•
522-486 BC
Organized the empire into satrapies
Facilitated communications and travel
Made an initial attack on Greece
– Battle of Marathon in 490 BC
• Behistun Inscription honors him
• Darius was a Zoroastrian - monotheistic
Behistun Inscription
Xerxes I
• 486-465 BC
• Same as biblical Ahasuerus in the book of
Esther
• Esther made Queen under Xerxes
• Feast of Purim established under him
• Massive invasion of Greece
– Failed
– Battle of Salamis in 480 BC
Artaxerxes I
• 465-424 BC
• Last of the powerful rulers of the empire
• Tradition of weakening the Athenians by funding
their enemies in Greece
– Prompted formation of alliances within Greece
• Return of priest and scribe Ezra to Jerusalem –
458 BC (Ezra 7:13-28)
• Return of Nehemiah as Governor to Jerusalem –
445 BC
• Strengthening of Jerusalem to protect their
western fringes
Later Achaemenian
• Xerxes II (423 BC)
– Murdered in the first year of his reign
– Marked the end of the legitimate line of kings
• Darius II (423-405 BC)
– Illegitimate son of Artaxerxes I
– Last Persian king mentioned in the OT (Read
Neh 12:22 – called Darius the Persian)
– Elephantine Papyri written in 407 BC
• Artaxerxes III (358-338 BC)
– Regained Eypt
Later Achaemenian
• Arses (338-336 BC)
– Youngest son of King Artaxerxes III
– Increased hostilities with the Macedonians
• Darius III (336-331 BC)
– Became king the same year as Alexander of
Macedon
– Alexander defeats him in the critical battle of
Issus (333 BC)
• Iskedurun, Turkey region
– Defeat at Gaugamela (331 BC)
• Northern Iraq
Jews Under Persian Rule
• Some freedom
• Those who remained in Babylon later
produced the Babylonian Talmud
• Remained a vassal state of Persia
– Had to pay taxes
– Had its’ own Governor
– Own coinage
• Those in Jerusalem protected the
approaches to Persia from the eastern
Mediterranean Sea
Fall of Persia
• Darius III was ill-experienced in governing
• 334 BC - wars of Alexander the Great begin
• Second Persian occupation of Egypt began
in 343 BC and ended in 332 BC when
Alexander the Great entered Egypt where
he was welcomed as a liberator in Persianoccupied Egypt.
• Next, Alexander marched on Susa in Persia
and forced a surrender
• Darius III was killed, Alexander declares
himself Darius' successor, as Artaxerxes V
Route of Alexander’s March
Review
• Reviewed last week’s lesson
• Reviewed the transition of power between
Babylon and the Persians
• Review key Biblical scriptures
• Learn about the background of Persian
rule over the Jews
• Learn where and why all the Israelites did
not return to Judah
• Learn about the fall of the Persian empire
• Next week – Greek Empire