Persia/Persians

A country and an empire that were very strong during one period of Old Testament history. The country was the part of the Middle East roughly similar to the present country of Iran. The Persian ruler Cyrus began building the Persian Empire in 559 BC. Persia defeated Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians and became the ruling empire from about 539 to 331 BC. During this period, Persia controlled not only Israel but also Egypt and eastern Greece. In 539 BC, Cyrus permitted many of the Jews who had been captured earlier to return to Israel and rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem. Persia was finally defeated by Alexander the Great of Greece.

The Medes were the people of the land of Media (the northwest part of Iran today). A fierce, warlike people, they often joined with the Persians to fight the Assyrians and the Egyptians. Darius the Mede was the first ruler of this empire after it defeated Babylon.