Persian Jerusalem

The Persian Period occurred during the first part of the Second Temple Period, or approximately from 539 to 333 BCE with the coming of Alexander the Great. Biblical literature supports the occurrences in this period, as do archaeological excavations. One important prophet from this period is the prophet Ezekiel who while exiled in Babylon predicted a "mobile god", a journey back to Jerusalem, and finally the construction of another temple that would bring utopian messianism. Ezekiel also reintroduces the new throne of God as being mobile and not tied to a specific place like the Ark of the Covenant had been. The disappearance of the Ark as a whole is an unsolved mystery.

An important character from the Persian Period was King Cyrus of the Persian Empire. Cyrus and the Persian Empire wanted to be liked (unlike the Babylonians) so they acted as liberators and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem (and still pay taxes...) A contradiction of Jewish belief comes when in 2 Isaiah King Cyrus is listed by God as a messiah. This is very controversial because Cyrus is not of the Davidic line. This draws other similarities between Judaism and Zoroastrianism.

The first return of the Jews occurred in late 16th century BCE, as is depicted by the "Yehud" coins in Aramaic. Whether or not the Jewish religion really needed a temple is questionable but construction began on a second temple. The Mt. Gerezimon Neapolis coin, the Elephantine Letter #30, and the Dead Sea Scrolls all allude to the construction of a major temple. However, the new temple ends up paling in comparison to old one due to the poverty and conflict occurring in Persian Jerusalem.