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586−332 BCE
|
Ruler
|
Regnal
Year
|
BCE |
Event |
|
Cyrus II
[559-530] |
Accession |
539 |
Fall
of Babylon to Cyrus (October 9, Cyrus'
accession year). |
|
|
|
539 |
It
would seem that, on October 29, Cyrus appointed his 62 year old general
Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, governor over the
conquered Chaldean kingdom. Darius the Mede, who was made ruler (Daniel
9:1) was known as Gobryas (Herodotus,
History 1.191) and Gubaru (Whitcomb
1959:11). On
November 6, Cyrus' general Ugbaru, who engineered the capture of
Babylon, died of a sudden fatal illness (Archer
1985:76). The implication is that God provided special encouragement
and protection to Darius, which evidently included the divine removal of
a dangerous rival, through the agency of the archangel Gabriel (Daniel
11:1). |
|
|
|
539/8 |
Timeframe
of Daniel 9. In
the first year of governor Darius, Daniel comes to realize that with the
fall of the Babylonian empire (Jeremiah
25:11-12) the time had come for
God to bring the Jews back to Jerusalem (Jeremiah
29:10) as the 70 years
were complete (Daniel 9:2). Deeply moved, Daniel humbles himself and
implores God in prayer and fasting to forgive the Jews and to restore
Jerusalem (Daniel 9:3-19). In response, Gabriel appears and tells him of
seventy weeks and the anointed prince [The Seventy Weeks Prophecy] (Daniel
9:24-27). |
|
|
1st |
538/7 |
Cyrus issues a
proclamation for the Jews to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra
1:1-2). All during Cyrus' reign the Samaritans harassed the Jews and
hired counselors against them. |
|
|
3rd |
536/5 |
Timeframe
of Daniel 10-12 (Daniel told of coming events by angel [unidentified but
probably Gabriel again]). |
|
|
|
535 |
Return
of Jews under Zerubbabel (probable; 70 years, inclusive, from 1st phase
of captivity in 605 BCE).
605/604 BCE - 70 years = 535/534 BCE
Reconstruction of the Temple begun. |
|
Cambyses
[530-522] |
Accession |
530 |
Rebuilding
of the Temple stopped until the second year of Darius I.
The
second son of Cyrus II assassinated by his brother Cambyses II, who kept
the murder a secret.
Patizithes,
Magi custodian of Cambyses’ palace, deposed Cambyses (while he
campaigned in Egypt). |
|
Pseudo-Smerdis
[522] |
Accession |
522 |
Patizithes put
forward his brother Guamata, to impersonate Smerdis, and proclaimed
him king. After a reign of seven months Darius I slew the pretender in a coup d'état. |
|
Darius I-the
Great [522-486]
|
Accession
|
522/1
|
Darius
I, son of Hystaspes of the Achaemenid dynasty, took the throne in a coup
d'état. He began his reign in 522 at about age 28 (Archer
1985:76).
|
|
|
|
520 |
Haggai and
Zechariah prophesy (Ezra
5:1). |
|
|
2nd |
520/19 |
Darius
issued a decree that the rebuilding of the Temple should resume
without interference (Ezra
6:6-12). |
|
|
6th |
516/15 |
On Adar 3
the Jews finished construction of the
Temple (Ezra 6:13-15). |
|
Xerxes-Ahasuerus
[486-464] |
Accession
|
486/5
|
|
|
|
7th |
479/8 |
Esther
made queen. |
|
|
|
473 |
Jews
delivered from death. |
|
Artaxerxes
I [465-423]
|
Accession
|
465/4
|
Artabanus, a courtier, murdered Xerxes in
December 465 |
|
|
7th |
458
(457) |
Ezra
left Babylon for Jerusalem on Nisan 1 [the 1st month]. Ezra arrived in Jerusalem
on Ab 1 [the 5th month] (Ezra
7:1-9). |
|
|
7th |
458
(457) |
Artaxerxes
sent Ezra and his party to Jerusalem to beautify the Temple and make
offerings (Ezra
7:11-26). The group included some of the people of
Israel, some of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, and temple
servants (Ezra 7:6-7). |
|
|
20th |
445
(444) |
Nehemiah
troubled as the wall of Jerusalem remained in ruin the gates destroyed. |
|
|
|
|
Nehemiah asks Artaxerxes I to send him to
Jerusalem to rebuild the city (Nehemiah
2:1-5). |
|
|
|
|
Nehemiah
arrived in Jerusalem (Nehemiah
1:1;
2:1;
5:14). |
|
|
|
|
Ezra,
with Nehemiah present, read the Law in a public ceremony (Nehemiah
8:9). |
|
|
32nd |
433
(432) |
End
of Nehemiah's first term as governor. After a 12-year stay Nehemiah left Jerusalem
and returned to the capital a Shushan
(Nehemiah 5:14;
13:6). |
|
|
|
|
Nehemiah
returned for a second stay before Artaxerxes' reign ended in 424 BCE (Nehemiah
13:6-7). |
|
Xerxes II
and Secydianus or Sogdianus [424-423]
|
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Darius II
[423-405/4]
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Artaxerxes II
[405/4-359/8]
|
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Artaxerxes III
[359/8-388/7]
|
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Darius III
[336/5-331]
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