Second Temple Judaism: Persian Restoration to the Hasmonean Kingdom

Following the edict of Cyrus the Great in 539/538 BCE, a first group of exiled Jews, led by Sheshbazzar and later Zerubbabel, returned to Judah to begin rebuilding the Temple, a project that resumed with decisive impetus under the prophets Haggai and Zechariah around 520 BCE. The Second Temple was completed and consecrated in 516/515 BCE, under the Persian king Darius I, formally opening the "Second Temple period," while Judah itself was organized as a small Persian province called Yehud Medinata. In the following century, Ezra, a scribe and priest, and Nehemiah, a governor sent from the Persian court, led further religious and civic reforms, including the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls and a renewed emphasis on Torah observance.