Persian Empire

The Achaemenid Persian Empire began when Cyrus the Great defeated the Medes and united much of Iran under his rule. He rapidly conquered Lydia, Babylon, and vast territories across the Near East, creating one of the largest empires the ancient world had seen. For Jewish history, the decisive moment came in −539, when Cyrus captured Babylon and soon allowed exiled peoples, including the Jews, to return to their homelands and restore their temples. This opened the period of the Return to Zion, the rebuilding of the Second Temple, and Persian rule over the province of Yehud. The empire lasted until its conquest by Alexander the Great in −330.