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"This book examines community identity in the post-exilic temple community in Ezra-Nehemiah, and explores the possible influences that the Achaemenids, the ruling Persian dynasty, might have had on its construction. In the book, David Janzen reads Ezra-Nehemiah in dialogue with the Achaemenids' Old Persian inscriptions, as well as with other media the dynasty used, such as reliefs, seals, coins, architecture, and imperial parks. In addition, he discusses the cultural and religious background of Achaemenid thought, especially its intersections with Zoroastrian beliefs. Ezra-Nehemiah, Janzen argues, accepts Achaemenid claims for the necessity and beneficence of their hegemony. The result is that Ezra-Nehemiah, like the imperial ideology it mimics, claims that divine and royal wills are entirely aligned. Ezra-Nehemiah reflects the Achaemenid assertion that the peoples they have colonized are incapable of living in peace and happiness without the Persian rule that God established to benefit humanity, and that the dynasty rewards the peoples who do what they desire, since that reflects divine desire. The final chapter of the book argues that Ezra-Nehemiah was produced by an elite group within the Persian-period temple assembly, and shows that Ezra-Nehemiah's pro-Achaemenid worldview was not widely accepted within that community."--

Jews --- Identity --- History. --- Achaemenid dynasty, --- Bible.

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Around 550 B.C.E. the Persian people—who were previously practically unknown in the annals of history—emerged from their base in southern Iran (Fars) and engaged in a monumental adventure that, under the leadership of Cyrus the Great and his successors, culminated in the creation of an immense Empire that stretched from central Asia to Upper Egypt, from the Indus to the Danube. The Persian (or Achaemenid, named for its reigning dynasty) Empire assimilated an astonishing diversity of lands, peoples, languages, and cultures. This conquest of Near Eastern lands completely altered the history of the world: for the first time, a monolithic State as vast as the future Roman Empire arose, expanded, and matured in the course of more than two centuries (530–330) and endured until the death of Alexander the Great (323), who from a geopolitical perspective was “the last of the Achaemenids.” Even today, the remains of the Empire-the terraces, palaces, reliefs, paintings, and enameled bricks of Pasargadae, Persepolis, and Susa; the impressive royal tombs of Naqsh-i Rustam; the monumental statue of Darius the Great-serve to remind visitors of the power and unprecedented luxury of the Great Kings and their loyal courtiers (the “Faithful Ones”).Though long eclipsed and overshadowed by the towering prestige of the “ancient Orient” and “eternal Greece,” Achaemenid history has emerged into fresh light during the last two decades. Freed from the tattered rags of “Oriental decadence” and “Asiatic stagnation,” research has also benefited from a continually growing number of discoveries that have provided important new evidence-including texts, as well as archaeological, numismatic, and iconographic artifacts.The evidence that this book assembles is voluminous and diverse: the citations of ancient documents and of the archaeological evidence permit the reader to follow the author in his role as a historian who, across space and time, attempts to understand how such an Empire emerged, developed, and faded. Though firmly grounded in the evidence, the author’s discussions do not avoid persistent questions and regularly engages divergent interpretations and alternative hypotheses. This book is without precedent or equivalent, and also offers an exhaustive bibliography and thorough indexes.The French publication of this magisterial work in 1996 was acclaimed in newspapers and literary journals. Now Histoire de l’Empire Perse: De Cyrus a Alexandre is translated in its entirety in a revised edition, with the author himself reviewing the translation, correcting the original edition, and adding new documentation.Pierre Briant, Chaire Histoire et civilisation du monde achémenide et de l’empire d’Alexandre, Collège de France, is a specialist in the history of the Near East during the era of the Persian Empire and the conquests of Alexander. He is the author of numerous books.Peter T. Daniels, the translator, is an independent scholar, editor, and translator who studied at Cornell University and the University of Chicago. He lives and works in New York City.

Achaemenid dynasty, --- Iran --- History --- HISTORY / Ancient / General. --- Achaemeniden. --- Perzen (volk).

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The Frawaši or Frawardīn Yašt (Yt. 13), so called after the respective Avestan and Middle Persian (Pahlavi) names of the group of deities to whom it is dedicated, forms part of the Avestan literature known as Yašts or Hymns. The Frawardīn Yašt is among the longest Avestan hymns, totaling 158 stanzas, as well as being numbered among the most ancient of the Yašts. Frawardīn Yašt provides important clues for understanding not only the Zoroastrian religious tradition, but also the old Indo-Iranian religious and mythological world. This volume was previously published by the Jordan Center for Persian Studies, University of California - Irvine.

Avestan language. --- Achaemenid dynasty, --- Avesta. --- Criticism, interpretation, etc. --- Iran --- History

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Explores Achaemenid kingship and argues for the centrality of the royal court in elite Persian society. The first Persian Empire (559-331 BCE) was the biggest land empire the world had seen, and seated at the heart of its vast dominions, in the south of modern-day Iran, was the person of the Great King. Hidden behind the walls of his vast palace, and surrounded by the complex rituals of court ceremonial, the Persian monarch was undisputed master of his realm, a god-like figure of awe, majesty, and mystery.Yet the court of the Great King was no simple platform for meaningless theatrical display

Iran --- Kings and rulers. --- History --- Rois et souverains --- Histoire --- 15.51 Antiquity. --- History. --- Königshof. --- Koningen (vorsten). --- Vorstenhoven. --- Hofcultuur. --- Achaemenid dynasty, --- To 640. --- Iran. --- Perzische rijk.

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What was Judaean religion in the Persian period like? Is it necessary to use the Bible to give an answer to the question? Among other things the study argues that • the religion practiced in the 5th c. BCE Elephantine community and which is reflected in the so-called Elephantine documents represent a well-attested manifestation of lived Persian period Yahwism,• as religio-historical sources, the Elephantine documents reveal more about the actual religious practice of the Elephantine Judaeans than what the highly edited and canonised texts of the Bible reveal about the religious practice of the contemporary Yahwistic coreligionists in Judah, and• the image of the Elephantine Judaism emerging from the Elephantine documents can revise the canonised image of Judaean religion in the Persian period (cf. A. Assmann). The Elephantine Yahwism should not be interpreted within a framework dependent upon theological, conceptual and spatial concepts alien to it, such as biblical ones. The study proposes an alternative framework by approaching the Elephantine documents on the basis of N. Smart’s multidimensional model of religion. Elephantine should not be exotified but brought to the very centre of any discussion of the history of Judaism.

Judaism --- Judaea (Region) --- History --- Religion --- Achaemenid dynasty, --- 933.31 --- 933.31 Geschiedenis van het Joodse volk: Galilea en Judea in de Perzische tijd--(tot aan Alexander de Grote) --- Geschiedenis van het Joodse volk: Galilea en Judea in de Perzische tijd--(tot aan Alexander de Grote) --- Jews --- Religions --- Semites --- Hellenistic Judaism --- Judaism, Hellenistic --- Erets Yehudah (Region) --- Ereẓ Yehudah (Region) --- Judah, Land of (Region) --- Judea (Region) --- Land of Judah (Region) --- Yahūdhā (Region) --- Yehuda (Region) --- Religion. --- Judaism - History - Post-exilic period, 586 B.C.-210 A.D. --- Judaea (Region) - Religion --- Judaism - Egypt - Elephantine --- Achaemenid dynasty, - 559 B.C.-330 B.C. --- Elephantine. --- Yahwism. --- history of Judaism. --- multidimensional model of religion.