The Kings of the Persian Empire in the Bible

The Persian Empire (550–330 BC), also known as the Achaemenid dynasty, rose to power in the 6th century BC. The Persians were initially ruled by the Median Kingdom, but under the leadership of Cyrus II, they revolted against the Medes. In 550 BC, they overthrew the Median Kingdom and established the Persian Empire. Following this, Cyrus II and his son Cambyses II successively conquered the Lydian Kingdom, the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom, and the Egyptian Kingdom, expanding the empire’s territory. In 513 BC, Darius I captured Thrace, and the Persian Empire’s domain spanned three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. During the reign of Darius I, a series of reforms were implemented, and the Persian Empire reached its zenith. Several Persian kings are mentioned in the Bible, and they had a profound impact on the history of Israel and all of human society.

Cyrus the Great

Cyrus the Great, also transliterated as “Gyrus” or “Koresh,” started as the leader of a small tribe in southwestern Iran. Through a series of successful conquests, he defeated three empires—the Medes, the Lydians, and the Neo-Babylonians—and reigned as King of Persia (559–530 BC), King of Media (549–530 BC), King of Lydia (547–530 BC), and King of Babylon (539–530 BC). He was the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, an unprecedented superpower whose territory stretched from Asia Minor in the west to the Indus River in the east.

In contrast to the oppressive rule of the Assyrians and Babylonians, Cyrus the Great was magnanimous and adopted a tolerant, conciliatory policy toward the conquered nations. He issued a decree to rebuild the temples of various peoples and allowed a certain degree of autonomy to prevent internal rebellion within his vast empire. As a result, the Middle East largely enjoyed peace for over 200 years under Persian rule, allowing culture and the arts to flourish. This was the most important period for the formation of the Jewish nation as we see it in the New Testament.

Cyrus’s name appears about 20 times in the Bible: three times in 2 Chronicles (36:22-23), three times in Isaiah (44:28; 45:1, 13), three times in Daniel (1:21; 6:28; 10:1), and the rest mostly in the book of Ezra.
 

1 More than 200 years before his reign, the prophet Isaiah foretold that King Cyrus would be used by God as an instrument to rebuild the Temple and the Holy City (Isaiah 44:28–45:3). The Lord God spoke of Cyrus through the prophet Isaiah: “He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid’” (Isaiah 44:28). It also says: “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him” (Isaiah 45:1). The Lord also declared: “I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight; he shall build my city and set my exiles free” (Isaiah 45:13). 

2 The prophet Ezra meticulously recorded how King Cyrus issued a decree allowing any Jews who wished to return to their homeland to take back the silver and gold vessels from the Temple that had been plundered, and to rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1:1-11; 5:13-16; 6:1-5). A total of over 42,000 people, along with more than 7,000 of their servants, returned to Jerusalem in the name of the Lord God (Ezra 2:64-65). “When some of the heads of families came to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, they gave freewill offerings for the house of God to rebuild it” (Ezra 2:68). The Israelites were “gathered as one man to Jerusalem.” They built an altar and offered sacrifices. According to the permission granted by King Cyrus of Persia, they prepared craftsmen and timber (Ezra 3:1-7). When the time was right, God would fulfill His promise by “stirring up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia,” allowing His people to return to their homeland and continue His plan.

Because of the Bible, the image of Cyrus the Great left an indelible mark in ancient Eastern and Western literature and historical works. In 530 BC, King Cyrus was killed in Central Asia, and his son Cambyses II (reigned 530–522 BC) succeeded him.

Cambyses II (Artaxerxes 1)

Cambyses II (reigned 530–522 BC) held the Persian royal title “Artaxerxes.” There are two “Artaxerxes” in the Bible. The Jewish historian Josephus notes that the Artaxerxes mentioned in Ezra 4:7-24 is Cambyses II, the son of Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11, Chapter 2).

During the reign of Cambyses II, some Persian officials opposed the Jews’ reconstruction of the Holy City and Temple. They wrote a letter to King Artaxerxes (Cambyses II) stating that from ancient times, the residents of Jerusalem (the Jews) had been rebellious and defiant, causing harm to kings and provinces, which was why the city was destroyed. They warned that if the Jews finished rebuilding Jerusalem, it would be detrimental to the Persian king. At that time, Cambyses II issued a decree forcing the Jews to stop their work. The work on the Temple in Jerusalem then ceased until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia (Ezra 4:7-24).

In 525 BC, Cambyses II led the Persian army to invade Egypt, defeating the Egyptians at Pelusium. Pharaoh Psamtik III was captured, and Egypt surrendered. On May 25, 525 BC, Cambyses II became the ruler of Egypt, establishing the Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt (the First Persian Dynasty). He used the titles “Emperor of Egypt” and “Emperor of Nations.”

In 524 BC, Cambyses II’s invasion of Cush was thwarted, and a rebellion against Persian rule broke out in Egypt that same year. After suppressing the rebellion, Cambyses II planned to conquer Cush again, but this plan was interrupted by an uprising in Persia itself. Cambyses II turned back to his homeland but died en route. A distant royal relative and commander of the palace guards, Darius, was then acclaimed by the army and, after quelling the rebellion, ascended the throne as Darius I.

Darius (Darius)

Darius I, also known as Darius the Great, was the ruler of the Achaemenid Persian Empire from 521 to 485 BC. He was the third emperor of the Persian Empire, and the Chinese translation of the Bible renders his name as “大利乌” (Dàlìwū).

Darius I belonged to a distant branch of the royal family and had no direct claim to the throne. However, three years after Cyrus’s successor, Cambyses II, set out on a campaign to Egypt, unrest broke out in Persia. Cambyses II died suddenly on his way back, and Darius I seized the opportunity to quell the rebellion, eliminating rivals to the throne and becoming the new king of Persia. After his accession, Darius I spent many years suppressing rebellions across the empire to stabilize the country.

The primary source of information on Darius’s life is the Behistun Inscription, discovered in the Zagros Mountains of Kermanshah Province in southwestern Iran. The inscription is carved into a cliff 100 meters high, spanning 25 meters, and features three parallel texts: Old Persian, Aramaic, and Akkadian. Although the inscription was commissioned by Darius, a comparison with the accounts of ancient Greek historians Herodotus and Ctesias shows that many of the major historical facts are largely accurate.

According to the Behistun Inscription, Darius had strong organizational skills. He reformed the domestic administrative system, dividing the empire into about 20 satrapies (provinces), and standardized currency and weights and measures, minting gold coins and implementing tax reforms. He built roads, creating a network of postal routes, and developed a sea route from the Indus River to Egypt. He also dug a canal from a tributary of the Nile to the Red Sea to foster trade. He pursued a policy of religious freedom, respecting the beliefs of the various peoples he ruled, and allowed the Jews to resume the work of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem after it had been halted. The advanced system of land and sea transport he established greatly enhanced communication between ancient civilizations, making the world more interconnected. Through a series of reforms, Darius I established a centralized bureaucratic administrative system, which objectively promoted economic and cultural exchange and development. He also reformed the military, building a powerful army that ultimately created an unprecedentedly vast empire.

Xerxes I (King Ahasuerus)

After the death of Darius I, his son Xerxes I succeeded him (reigned 485–465 BC). Daniel 11:2 speaks of a future Persian king: “Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.” Following Cyrus II, Cambyses II, and Darius I, the “fourth king” is Xerxes I, who is also the King Ahasuerus mentioned in the biblical book of Esther.

Xerxes I was the son of Darius I and Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great. His name in Persian means “King of Warriors.” In the early years of his reign, Xerxes I focused on suppressing various rebellions within the empire, and his kingdom’s power gradually grew through its wealth.

As the Egyptians were strongly opposed to Persian rule, he suppressed an Egyptian rebellion shortly after taking the throne. Starting in 484 BC, Xerxes spent three years conscripting men from across the Persian territories, assembling one of the largest armies the world had ever seen. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, Xerxes’s combined land and sea forces numbered as many as 2,641,610 men. At the same time, the Greeks also actively prepared for war. In 480 BC, Xerxes I led his massive army, escorted by warships, to advance into Greek waters. The allied Greek forces decided to fight a decisive battle with the Persians. The war ended in a Persian defeat. After the naval battle, the shores were littered with decaying wood and wreckage. Following this devastating loss, Xerxes had no choice but to return home. His campaign plans came to a temporary halt that same year.

In his later years, Xerxes I indulged in debauchery and listened to sycophants, which led to internal turmoil in the Persian Empire. In 465 BC, Xerxes I was killed in a palace coup. His official, Artabanus, murdered him and installed his son Artaxerxes I as king.

Artaxerxes I (Artaxerxes 2)

Artaxerxes I, the son of Xerxes I, became king. A few months later, he personally killed Artabanus, the powerful official who had orchestrated the coup.

Artaxerxes I is the King Artaxerxes mentioned in Ezra 7:1-7 and Nehemiah 2:1-18; 13:6. This King Artaxerxes is not the same one who ordered the cessation of the Temple’s reconstruction—that was Cambyses II (Ezra 4:23)—but rather his grandson, Artaxerxes I (reigned 465–424 BC).

Artaxerxes I approved the priest Ezra’s journey to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:1-7). Ancient historians considered this monarch to be generous and kind. His actions in the seventh year of his reign (468 BC) reflect this. At that time, he granted Ezra “all that he requested” and issued a decree, providing Ezra with silver, gold, and vessels for the Temple, along with wheat, wine, oil, and salt (Ezra 7:6, 12-23; 8:25-27). Although the construction of the Temple had been completed 47 years earlier (in 515 BC), Artaxerxes’s generous donations likely explain why Ezra 6:14 places him alongside Cyrus and Darius. The text says that the decrees of these three kings contributed to the successful completion of the Temple. King Artaxerxes’s decree even authorized Ezra to appoint magistrates and judges and commanded him to teach people the law of God (as well as the king’s law), and to execute those who violated it if necessary (Ezra 7:25, 26).

In the twentieth year of Artaxerxes’s reign (455 BC), he permitted Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls and gates and ordered the keepers of the king’s forest to supply timber (Nehemiah 2:1-8). Nehemiah 13:6 states that in the “thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king” (443 BC), Nehemiah returned to the royal court and stayed there for a period of time. These historical details are recorded in the Bible with considerable accuracy.

In 424 BC, Artaxerxes I died, and his son Xerxes II succeeded him.