![]() It is also in this period that the main body of Judeo-Persian literature was produced (see ix. A number of Jewish sectarian movements also took place in the earlier part of this period, though none with lasting influence (see iv. Despite this insurmountable inequality, from the Arab conquest until the rise of the Safavid dynasty in 1501, the Jews of Persia lived in relative symbiosis with their Muslim compatriots, as some became important court physicians and others powerful bankers and financiers who at various times virtually funded the entire ʿAbbasid court and government (Mez, pp. With the arrival of Islam in Persia in 636 CE and the consequent implementation of the Pact of ʿOmar, all non-Muslims acquired dhimmi ( ḏemmi) status: a second-class citizenship that granted certain basic legal protections and limited rights to property in exchange for an arbitrarily determined poll tax ( jazia) and an indisputable recognition of Muslim dominion and supremacy (Tsadik, 2007, pp. For the most part, however, the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian rulers were tolerant of Jews, at times even allowing for state-sanctioned Jewish autonomous government (see iii. The most notable exceptions to this occurred during those periods when the ruling government’s particular religious zealousness led to the harassment of all non-Zoroastrian minorities. Persian Jews continued to maintain generally cordial relationships with the successive dynasties between Achaemenid rule and the Arab conquest. Though scarce, all available evidence suggests that Jews lived freely and prosperously under Achaemenid rule, with some like the Ezra and Nehemiah even attaining highly influential positions in government (see ii. While some returned to Jerusalem, others remained in Babylon, and a sizeable portion migrated east, eventually to settle throughout the Persian empire. ![]() ![]() ![]() 530 BCE see CYRUS iii.) conquered Babylon on 29 October 539 BCE, freed all Jewish slaves and granted them permission to return to Jerusalem, rebuild the Temple, and freely worship their god (Cyrus Cylinder, lines 30-36 Ezra 1:1-4 2 Chronicles 36:22-23). The most significant mass immigration of Jews to Persia, however, occurred when Cyrus II the Great (b. 721-705 BCE) relocated large communities of conquered Israelites “in the cities of the Medes” (western and northern regions of present-day Persia 2 Kings 17:6 18:10-11). Jewish communities have been living upon the Persian plateau since ca. ![]()
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