Page 94 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Revised

cypress with exposed parts plated with silver or gold. 133 It is generally accepted that from this palace, in
the summer of 538 BCE, Cyrus the Great issued the decree allowing the Jews to return home. This is
mostly based on the text of Ezra 6:2, which indicates that from this palace, Darius I later found the
scrolls of Cyrus containing this authorization. Ezra 6:2 gives the name of the place as Achmetha, the
Aramaic form of Ecbatana. 134

Persepolis: Persepolis (meaning Persian city) is 48 miles south of Pasargadae and 35 miles northeast of
modern Shiraz. The altitude of almost 6,000 feet gives it a comfortable climate in the summer months.
Darius I began construction there shortly after 520 BCE, and for all practical purposes, Artaxerxes I
completed the construction about sixty years later. There he built a large stone platform forty feet high,
covering thirty-three acres. On this, he erected several impressive structures. 135 Because Persepolis is so
far off the beaten track, it did not serve well as an administrative center. However, the presence of huge
impressive structures there has divided the thoughts of scholars. Some view it primarily as a religious
shrine celebrating the new year. Others interpret this great center as a pompous statement of Persian
power and wealth. Among other things, this palace contained a harem and a treasury.

North of Persepolis, three and a half miles rises a rock cliff (Naqsh-i Rustam). Four tombs of Persian kings
were cut into the side of the cliff. Inscriptions identify one of them as the tomb of Darius I. The others
are thought to belong to Xerxes, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II. 136

Susa: Darius I made Susa the administrative capital of the Persian Empire. In addition to the splendid
palace, he also built beautiful administrative structures and courts. Excavations revealed that an
audience hall was located north of the palace. Most of its structures were decorated and designed with
Persian symbolism, such as bull’s heads, lions, winged bulls and griffons, and the famous spearmen of
the guard. A monumental gatehouse stood to the east of the palace. Most likely, this is the house that
Mordecai often found himself in during his time in service. (Esther 2:19, 21; 5:9, 13) The Persians
commonly used Susa as a capital during the winter months from October to May, and Xerxes held court
there. Temperatures grow intolerable in the summer—as high as 140° in August, and the king and his
court moved to the mountains (most likely Ecbatana). 137

Vos, H. F. notes that “when we say Jews lived in Persia and under Persian auspices, they lived in both
Persia proper and the Persian Empire at large. In Persia proper, they are especially connected with
Shushan (Susa), the winter capital or residence of the royal court.” According to Esther 1:2, 2:5, and
Nehemiah 1:1, some Jews lived in Susa. How the Jews got there has often invited different explanations.
One explanation is based on 2 Kings 17:6, which indicates that after capturing the northern kingdom,
Sargon II of Assyria settled some of the captives from Samaria in the “cities of the Medes.” Presumably,
Susa was one of those cities. This is a plausible explanation. The most likely one, however, is that the

133 Vos, H. F. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible manners & customs: how the people of the Bible really lived (pp.
330–331). Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers.
134 Ibid., p324.

135 Ibid., p324-325.

136 Ibid., p333.
137 Ibid., p330.

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