Cyrus of Persia, having taken Babylon, permits the exiles to return and rebuild the Temple; the edict, recorded in Ezra and echoed on the Cyrus Cylinder, begins the Second Temple period.
Tagged: Conservative Judaism Jewish Orthodox Judaism Reconstructionist Judaism Reform Judaism Secular Judaism
The Event
- Date
- 538 BCE (exact)
- Era
- Second Temple; Standard periodization of Jewish history
- Location
- Babylon and Jerusalem
- Traditions
- Judaism
- Streams
- Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Secular Judaism
- Key figures
- Cyrus the Great
- Key texts
- Ezra 1
Primary Sources
- Ezra 1
- The Cyrus Cylinder
Secondary Sources
- Goodman, A History of Judaism (Princeton, 2018)
- Schiffman, From Text to Tradition: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (Ktav, 1991)
Provenance: HIST-0107; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-27.
Related on This Site
- David's Reign History Event
- Destruction of the First Temple History Event
- Exodus and Sinai History Event
- Fall of Samaria; the Northern Kingdom Destroyed History Event
- First Temple Dedicated History Event
- Maccabean Revolt History Event
- Patriarchal Period History Event
- Second Temple Completed History Event