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Babylonian and Persian Left: A Persian horse and rider KINGS from the late Persian period (the time of BY DANIEL CALDWELL Nehemiah). ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ DAVID ROGERS/ JOSEPH A. CALLAWAY ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM/ THE INGDOMS RISE AND FALL. With the SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGI- CAL SEMINARY, LOUISVILLE, KY rise of each new kingdom, changes take (13/7/18) place that not only affect the kingdom but Right: The tomb K of Artaxerxes I, also the surrounding territories. These changes can who died in 424 be positive or negative. The rise of the Neo- B.C. of natural Babylonian Empire (625-539 B.C.) and the Persian causes. His wife perportedly died Empire (539-331 B.C.) had a tremendous impact on the same day. the kingdom of Judah in both positive and negative ways. Nehemiah had been the cup- bearer to Judah and the Neo-Babylonian Empire Artaxerxes. Experiencing only a few brief periods of rebellion by a small number of kings in Jerusalem, the Babylonians dominated Jehoiachin surrendered Jerusalem and was taken cap- Judah from 605 B.C. and until the fall of Jerusalem around tive to Babylon along with many chief officials and treasures 587 B.C. The Babylonians took many Judeans captive to from the temple (vv. 12-15). Zedekiah ascended Judah’s Babylon, Judeans who would never return to their homes. throne and soon rebelled against the Babylonians. His rebel- One primary strength of a successful empire is its lead- lion would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the tem- ership. Of all the Babylonian kings mentioned in the Old ple. The Babylonians executed Zedekiah’s sons before his Testament, Nebuchadnezzar II is the most prominent eyes and then put out his eyes as well. Once the Babylonians and the most important. The Books of 2 Kings, 2 overtook and destroyed the city, they took Zedekiah and the Chronicles, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel give accounts of remaining people of Jerusalem to Babylon as captives (25:7). his conquering activities. Nebuchadnezzar’s reign was marked by military victo- The Judean territory experienced Babylon’s influence in ries and by elaborate building projects. Throughout Babylon 609 B.C. The Egyptians were making their way north Nebuchadnezzar II built temples and shrines to pagan gods. through Judah. They were heading to Carchemish to join He constructed a great new palace, designed the Hanging forces with Assyria and to engage the Babylonians in battle. Gardens of Babylon for his wife, and rebuilt an old palace of King Josiah of Judah attempted to stop the Egyptian army. his father, Nabopolassar. Nebuchadnezzar II also built roads Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo (2 Kings paved with bricks, fortified walls, and dug canals that could be 23:29). Jehoahaz, Josiah’s son, was placed on the throne for flooded purposefully to protect the city from attack. His a brief period. The Babylonians eventually defeated both the building projects were so vast that the Book of Daniel even Assyrians and the Egyptians. Jehoahaz’s brother, Jehoiakim records his boastings about them (4:30). (Eliakim), was placed on the throne by the Egyptians (v. 34). Nebuchadnezzar II was succeeded by his son Evil- ing 2004 As time passed, Jehoiakim became a vassal to the merodach. He was responsible for releasing Jehoiachin from r Babylonians until his rebellion (24:1). Jehoiakim’s rebellion Sp resulted in the Babylonians, under the leadership of their (23/1/54) LESSON REFERENCE BI new king, Nebuchadnezzar II, marching west to regain con- trol of the territory. Jehoiakim died before the Babylonians 74 1 FBSC: Daniel 3:1-30 arrived and was succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin. ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO (23/1/49) ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO prison, clothing him, setting him above the other kings, and Above: Panels at permitting him to eat at the king’s table (2 Kings 25:27-30; Persepolis, in modern Iran, Jer. 52:31-34). showing people Babylon didn’t exist long after conquering Judah. of all lands bring- ing homage to Following two short and unstable reigns, Nabonidus was Darius, who was placed on the throne. Though in some ways he was an able king of Persia leader, the kingdom was weak and division was rampant. 522-486 B.C. Making matters worse, Nabonidus brought to Babylon sev- Right: Column eral pagan gods from surrounding cities. Instead of honor- with inscription in Old Persian ing the Babylonian god, Marduk, he gave special devotion to script, ascribed the moon god, Sin, at the centers of worship at Haran, Ur, to Cyrus, who and Tema (or Teima). As a result of his religious focus, he assumed the throne of Persia alienated the priesthood, the military leaders, and the peo- about 550 B.C. ple of the kingdom. His reign marked the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Below: Bronze scabbard chape with stylized (23/1/1) Judah and the Persian Empire animals as this one appear in While the Babylonian Empire had a negative impact on the the reliefs at Persepolis. Judean people, the Persian Empire would impact them in a ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO positive manner. When Cyrus the Great, ruler of Persia, entered the territory of Babylonia, he had little difficulty that were taken when Jerusalem had defeating the people in 539 B.C. Isaiah 200 years earlier been destroyed (Ezra 1:7-11). had prophesied that the great city of Babylon would be Many of the Hebrews had become overthrown the same way God overthrew Sodom and so successful in Babylon that they did Gomorrah (Isa. 13:17-22).2 not desire to return to Palestine. Perhaps Because of the tremendous responsibilities the new they followed Jeremiah’s encouragement empire placed on him, Cyrus initially delegated the rule of for them to build homes and to carry on Babylon to Darius. Scholars differ on the exact role of with their lives (Jer. 29:4-10). Daniel Darius. Since his name doesn’t appear anywhere but in the remained in Babylon with the exiles who chose to stay Book of Daniel, Darius may simply have been a lesser leader behind. However, a large group did return to begin the task under Cyrus.3 While Darius was over the kingdom, Daniel of reconstruction. / DAVID ROGERS/ METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART/ NYC. (6/8/13) was placed in the lion’s den (Dan. 6:1-28) and also received In the years following the Hebrews’ return from exile in ing 2004 the prophecy of the 70 weeks (Dan. 9:1-20). 539 B.C., the Persian Empire generally maintained peace r Cyrus demonstrated unprecedented toleration towards throughout the ancient Near East. For almost two hundred ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO Sp the captives in Babylon. In the first year of his rule, Cyrus years, the Persians reigned without any significant challenge. BI decreed that the Jews could return to the Judean territory. An inscription on a clay barrel documents Cyrus’s His decree also included the opportunity to rebuild the tem- accomplishments. This inscription boasted of his domi- 76 ple.4 Cyrus graciously returned many of the temple items nance in the ancient Near East. It mentioned the princes and Left: Documents of Marduk-Apal- Iddin II, king of Babylon, pertain- ing to land grants with the Babylonian aris- tocrat Bel- achche-irba. Made of black marble. Right: Detail of magnificent enameled tiles built into the / DAVID ROGERS (7/6/10) gate and panels along the Prosession Street. Dragon is called ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO Muschchusch and is the only Xerxes II. Less than two months into his rule Xerxes II was animal of Marduk, the main murdered by his half-brother. Following his death the god of Babylon. Persian Empire entered into a period of continuous rebel- Built during lions. When Artaxerxes II became ruler, his younger brother the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. rebelled against him. The rebellion was put down but the ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ DAVID ROGERS (7/6/19) damage lingered. governors of the conquered nations bowing down before Artaxerxes II was succeeded by his son Artaxerxes III. him with great joy and welcoming his new reign over them. This spirited but cruel ruler was murdered in 338 B.C. The They brought great treasures to honor him and showed last three kings to rule the Persian Empire were either mur- their adoration of him by kissing his feet. It also declared dered or killed in battle. The Persian Empire, once splendid that Cyrus was king of the world.5 and powerful, was waning in its ability to dominate the sur- Cyrus died in 530 and was followed by his son, rounding nations. This opened the door for a new world Cambyses, who conquered Egypt in 525. His continued suc- power. In its weakened state, Alexander the Great entered cess drove him deep into the Ethiopian territory. Yet into the territory in 334. This sounded the death knell. In Cambyses was unsuccessful in subduing Ethiopia. On his less than three years, the Persian Empire fell. A new empire return journey to Persia, Cambyses probably committed arose as the Greeks began a long period of domination. suicide in 522. When Darius Hystaspis succeeded Cambyses, he faced Fallen Empires pockets of rebellion and disharmony in the recently con- Both the Neo-Babylonian and Persian Empires were domi- quered territories. Judah was no exception. The Israelites nating forces. Individuals and nations marveled and feared faced opposition to their rebuilding efforts. During Darius the empires’ power. Each kingdom would attempt to leave Hystaspis’s reign, Haggai and Zechariah encouraged the its mark on the successive generations. Yet both empires met people to complete the rebuilding of the temple.