After destroying Ashkelon and the Philistine coastal plain, the Babylonians besieged Judah and controlled it form 604-538 BC (Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC). The Persian Empire (its first incarnation was under the Medes) began around this time. The Babylonian administration in Judah used an Assyrian approach of balkanization: Megiddu (capital at Megiddo); Samerina (Samaria); Dor; and Yehud (Mizpah). There was a short-lived temple to Yahweh in Yehud (Jer 41:4–6).

Jewish diaspora communities (any Jewish community outside Israel) were an inevitable consequence of deportations, beginning with deportations by Assyria. Babylonian deportations led to Jewish diaspora in Babylon (2 Kings 24–25), along the Khabur River (Ezekiel 3:15) and in Egypt (as refugees) (Jeremiah 42–44). Regarding Egypt, ,Jewish mercenaries had already settled Elephantine Island. Judah’s population underwent an extreme decline. There were almost 120 sites in the time of Josiah, and just over 40 sites in the time of Babylonia. There had been more sites even before the United Monarchy. Luxury items, once popular, vanished almost completely from the archaeological record.

Destroyed sites included Ashlar House, House of Ahiel, Burnt Room and House of the Bullae. The Babylonian presence in Judah is attested only via its army, as its time physically spent in Judah was too brief to leave a lasting impression on the material culture (besides the population depletion). The army left behind scythian arrowheads (a giveaway of Babylonian presence), slingballs and much fiery destruction.

The period of Persian hegemony (538-332 BC) began when Persian king Cyrus seized Babylonia. Persian Control is split into Persian I (538-450 BC) and Persian II (450-332 BC), ending with Alexander’s conquest of the Levant (332 BC).

Following Persian king Cyrus’ 539 BC capture of Babylonia, Cyrus prepared a cylinder that described how the Babylonian deity should approve of his work improving the lives of Babylonians, repatriating displaced peoples and restoring temples and sanctuaries.

In fact, Persian Jerusalem was depopulated and impoverished. Persia enacted heavy taxes (Nehemiah 5) and there were conflicts with the Samaritans (Nehemiah 4, 6). The Jerusalem Temple was rebuilt, but it was meager compared to its former glory (Ezra 3). There was a Samaritan Temple at Mount Gerizim.

Jewish diaspora communities appeared in Israel and Judah (amidst the First Return and Second Return), as well as in Babylon and Elam (which had popped up as early as the 8^th cent BC), Northern Mesopotamia (ie, Guzana) and Egypt (mostly the Delta and additional migrations to Elephantine).

The Levant (aka land Beyond the River) was Persia’s 5^th satrapy (aka province) and was divided into Samaria (aka Samerian), Dor, Megiddo and Judah (aka Yehud). These provinces were clearly defined by: coinage, which was minted specially for each province; bullae, which bore the names of provinces; and textual attestation of governors of the satrapy Beyond the River.

Persian Period Material Culture

Vessels were rarely painted during the Persian period. Burnishing was the norm, as well as knife shaving, ribbing (a new development) and impression. In Persian-ruled former-Israel, the earliest coins were Greek. These were replaced by Phoenician coins from Tyre, Sidon and Arwad (but not Byblos). By the 5^th and 4^th centuries BC, the five Beyond the River satrapy (Yehud, Samaria, Ashdod and Gaza) each manufactured their own coins. During 400-344 BC, Egyptian coins also were used. The cosmopolitan nature of Persian control over the Levant extended to burial customs:

Nehemiah went to Judah in 445 BC, the 20^th year of Persian king Artaxerxes (Neh 1:1, 2:1). Nehemiah had been a cupbearer to the Persian king (Neh 1:1). Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem (part of a confrontation with the Samaritans), battled social injustice in Jerusalem (Neh 5) and built upon Ezra’s reforms.

© Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery. Used with permission.

Tel Dor, the best-preserved Persian Period settlement, was a very sophisticated port city (there were even special structures for boats to pull into). The Eastern mound was residential and had a Hippodamian plan that heralds from a late Persian style. The architecture itself is heavily Phoenician. Area D had canine burials. Dor and Joppa were given to Eshmun’azar II by the Persian king. Dor’s destruction was likely due to the Persian king’s 348 BC military action against coastal Phoenician cities that were revolting.

Dor Favissae

The Dor Favissae (aka Dor Crypts) were established during the 5^th and 4^th centuries BC. They contained discarded cult objects, including: a clay mold for fertility figurines (Asherah or Astarte); a head of Ba’al-Zeus with Greek helmet; the Bes amulet (Egyptian deity; made of bone); and horse and rider figurines. Two different views of 6^th-5^th century horse and rider figurine from Cyprus are shown to the left.

The Davidic Kingdom divided in 931 BC (1 Kings 12–14,19; 2 Kings 17:21). Samaria was destroyed and repopulated in 721 BC (2 Kings 17; Ezra 4:2) and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel made their way into Judah, while some stayed behind. When Jews began to return to their homeland during the Persian Period, there was opposition between the Samaritans (People Who Remained) and the returnees (Ezra 4-5). The Myth of the Empty Land refers to the claim that the land was empty, which is likely a manifestation of radical separatism (Ezra 9-10) that just left the people who remained completely unacknowledged (those who remained had developed their own unique culture).