Persia & Return
539–333 BCE · 3 snapshots
Watch the boundaries of biblical-era polities shift across a draggable timeline. Click any place to see its affiliation in all 13 periods, scriptural references and archaeology notes.
Snapshots
Cyrus' Decree and the First Return
537 BCE
Cyrus authorizes the Jews to return and rebuild the Temple; the first returnees reach Jerusalem and lay the Temple foundations.
- King of PersiaCyrus the Great
- Governor of JudahSheshbazzar and Zerubbabel
- Scripture
- Ezra 1:1-11; 3:1-13; Isa 44:28-45:4
- Archaeology & dating
- Early Persian period; the Cyrus Cylinder (c. 539 BCE)
Yehud Province and the Return
501 BCE
Urged by Haggai and Zechariah work resumes and the Second Temple is completed in Darius's sixth year; Judah becomes the small Persian province of Yehud.
- King of PersiaDarius I
- High PriestJoshua
- ProphetHaggai and Zechariah
- Scripture
- Ezra 5-6; Hag 1-2; Zech 1-8
- Archaeology & dating
- Persian period; Yehud administrative seals and sites at Lachish and Mizpah
Nehemiah's Wall and the Enlarged Province of Yehud
446 BCE
Nehemiah inspects the walls by night and completes them in fifty-two days; Ezra reads the Law to the assembly and the people pledge obedience.
- King of PersiaArtaxerxes I
- Governor of JudahNehemiah
- ScribeEzra
- Scripture
- Neh 1-6; 8:1-12; Ezra 7-10
- Archaeology & dating
- Persian period; remains of Jerusalem's wall and the Elephantine Aramaic papyri
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Journeys in this period
Boundaries are schematic approximations, not survey-grade geography. This is a historical-geography study tool and takes no position on matters of faith.