Decree of Artaxerxes I Longimanus from 457 B. C.

Abstract

This article attempts to understand and comprehend the meaning of the decree of the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes I concerning the restoration of Jerusalem destroyed in 586 B. C. The sources and literature used make it possible not only to understand the fate of this decree and its consequences for the Jewish society of repatriates who returned from captivity, but also to see the inconstancy of the Achaemenid policy towards former captives. The article includes seven sections: 1) Politics in the province of Judah; This section discusses very briefly the question of the inconstancy of political decisions regarding the western Judean province as part of the Achaemenid empire; 2) The question of authenticity; Тhe question of the authenticity of the document plays a key role, so it is raised in this section; 3) The essence of the decree; here it is important to understand what issues the decree itself stipulates; 4) The sources and literature used allow not only to learn the fate of this decree and its consequences for the Jewish society of repatriates who returned from captivity, but also to see the inconstancy of the Achaemenid policy towards former captives demographic changes; 5) The restoration of the city; This and the next section explores the issue of fundamental changes in the issue of construction and transformation of the city from the peripheral temple center to the religious and political center of the post-exilic period; 6) Changing the status of the city; 7) Consequences for the priesthood; This section discusses the issue of changes in the priestly class. The totality of data from all sections allows us to show how the policy of the Persian king affected the fate of Jewish society in the middle of the 5th century B. C.