Ayatollah As NOT Part of Empire of Cyrus II of Persia

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

                           Ayatollah Ali Khamenei;  Supreme leader of Iran                                         (born April 19, 1939 in Mashad, Iran-86 years old)

                           Cyrus II The Great  of Persia in 559 BCE

Somebody said that the problem is that Iran's Ayatollah wants the greatness that Cyrus II the Great had.  He thinks they are part of the ancient empire, even at this late date.  He doesn't know about Cyrus, evidently.  

Cyrus the Great II was the Persian king who died in 529 BCE.  He was a conqueror, as many were back then.  He overran the Babylonian Empire, and this included Eretz Yisrael.  The thing about Cyrus is that we Jews thought he was related to Queen Esther and King Ahasueros.  Why?

    Returnees rebuilding 2nd Temple being released by Cyrus

The story I am about to tell is said to have happened later in the Persian Period and before 330 BCE, however.  Why?  In 2nd Temple times, the scroll of Esther was already apparently included in the canon.  Its reading on Purim was made obligatory, and a special talmudic tractate was written on the relevant regulations.  it became one of the favorite objects of Jewish folk-art.  So it could have happened before 529 BCE.  

Babylonians had attacked Judah and took away people in 597 BCE and again in 586 BCE.  Nebuchadnezzar II  had taken over the holdings of the Assyrians.  They went to the river in Babylon where they met up with Jews from a previous raid by the Assyrians.  This meant that that there were members of the 10 Tribes of Jacob along with the newer Jewish hostages and constituted a large Israelite (Jewish)  population.    

Cyrus followed  very enlightened policy towards his subject peoples, so in 538 BCE, about 60 years later, had granted permission to the exiles of Judah in Babylon to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple.  This is recorded in (Ezra 1:1-44) and II Chron.36:22-23).  For this kind act, so out of place, the Jewish exiles regarded Cyrus as a Divine agent (someone selected by G-d to help them). This thought is found in (Is.44:28;45:I)

Many of the exiles remained in Babylon even after Cyrus permitted a return to their homeland, Judah. There were Persian towns made up entirely of Jewish populations such as Nehardea, Nisibis, and Mahoza.  The Jews of Babylon remained in constant touch with the Jews of Judah  and even supplied some of their leaders, such as Hillel.                                        

In fact, during the Roman occupation, the Babylonian Jews rose against the emperor Trajan (98-117), the revolt being bloodily suppressed by his commander, Lucius Quietus in 116.  Under both Persian and Parthian rule, the Jews of Babylon enjoyed an extensive measure of internal autonomy, being headed by an EXILARCH of Davidic descent who was the king's representative, while the community was governed by a council of elders.  

The great literary creation of the Jews of Babylon, the Babylonian TALMUD, reflects a society preponderantly based on agriculture and crafts.  They were learned in Jewish studies and had produced works of literary merit, such as Ezekiel, Daniel and Tobit.  

                             Queen Esther and her son, Darius

King Darius I reigned from 522-486 BCE and had inherited the throne from Cyrus !!!  At the beginning of his reign, he permitted Zerubbabel and the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem to resume reconstruction of the Temple.  

Now, Esther (Hadassah) was the daughter of Abihail (father) and written about in Megillat Esther) of the Bible. According to the biblical book of Esther, Esther was the daughter of Abihail. She was raised by her cousin, Mordecai, who adopted her as his own daughter after her parents died. Persian Queen Esther (492 B.C.–c. 460 B.C.), born as a Jewish exile named Hadasseh, eventually became the queen of Persia, which during her lifetime was the greatest empire in the known world.

This book is about the deliverance of the Jews of Persia in the time of King Ahasuerus. It's why people in the synagogues read from the Scroll of Esther and when we have the festival of Purim and eat hamentaschen (3 cornered filled cookies).  We are happy, wear costumes, and get a little shicker (tipsy).

 Esther herself finds out that Haman, (possibly related later to Hitler....same goals in life) wants to kill all the Jews in the world and the king is emperor over a huge part of their continent.  She is in good with her husband, so she tells him of the plot and figures it's a good time to tell him that she is also Jewish.  He has Haman hung along with his sons so puts an end to the goal of that family.  

So we find that Cyrus was the grandson of Queen Esther.  This history will not be found in Islamic writings;  only Jewish ones.  Amazing, isn't it?  The empire he admired was led by a Jewish leader, and Cyrus had his father, Darius, to copy.  

Also amazing is that good relations continued between Israel and Iran with the Shah of Iran that the Ayatollah had overthrown.  

 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini "got rid of" or overthrew the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and this was known as the Iranian Revolution or the Islamic Revolution.  

It's important to note that while they acknowledge and respect Cyrus, the Islamic Republic of Iran's primary focus is on its Islamic heritage, and there is a distinction between respecting ancient Iranian history and promoting pre-Islamic nationalist movements. Some sources suggest that the Iranian government has taken steps to discourage excessive celebration of pre-Islamic figures like Cyrus, particularly when these celebrations are perceived as being linked to the former monarchy or as undermining the Islamic Republic. 

According to Iranian leaders, their desire is not to eliminate all Jews, but rather to see the demise of the State of Israel, which they refer to as the "Zionist regime". So they want to drop an Atom bomb on Israel and  destroy it.  

Here's why they hold this view:

• Ideological opposition to the state of Israel: Iranian leaders view Israel as an "illegitimate regime" and a "colonial outpost" established and supported by Western powers.
• Support for the Palestinian people: Iran's declared goal is to eliminate Israel's "imposed regime" and allow Palestinians to self-determine their fate and form a new government where Muslims, Christians, and Jews can coexist.  This is what Israel already has created until the Hamas under Iran came along.  
• Anti-Western sentiment: Israel is seen as a close ally of the United States, which the Iranian regime views as an obstacle to its goal of removing American influence from the Middle East.
• Strategic goals in the region: Iran seeks to assert its leadership within the Muslim world and expand its influence by positioning itself as a strong opponent of Israel. (war between Iran and Saudi Arabia--religion of shi'i,sunni)
• Internal political purposes: The Iranian government faces internal challenges such as economic difficulties and political unrest, and presenting Israel as an external enemy can serve to unite the population and distract from these internal issues.
• Historical context: Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran and Israel had friendly relations, but the revolution brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power, who viewed Israel as an enemy. 

It's important to note that many Iranians do not support their government's anti-Israel stance and desire a more peaceful approach. 

Iranians;  you have your chance now.  Step up.  Feel the fresh air.  The window is open for just a short time.  The mental disease characterized by a fear of going outside is called agoraphobia. It's an anxiety disorder where people fear situations where escape might be difficult or help might not be available, especially if they have a panic attack.  You may never get another chance.  

Resource:

https://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/bible/old-testament/esther#:~:text=Persian%20Queen%20Esther%20(492%20B.C.,empire%20in%20the%20known%20world.

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Tanakh, Stone Edition; pages 1752 under writings

Jerusalem's Last Days From Emperor Hadrian's Reign

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

The over-occupation of the Romans in Jerusalem led to their decision to loot the 2nd Temple of all its objects of value, burn the Temple down and the city in 70 CE. Jews had been starved to death up to this point, and if not slaughtered in battle, taken as slaves to Rome where they also suffered the fate of many Christian slaves; being thrown to the lions in circuses, etc..                                          

Hadrian, the Roman Emperor from 117 to 138 was head of the Roman Empire for 21 years. 

                                                                      

 His first act in his initial eastern policy was the removal and execution of the savage governor of Judea; Lucius Quietus.  Lusius Quietus was a Roman general and governor of Judaea in AD 117. He was the principal commander against the Jewish rebellion known as the Kitos War. As both a general and a highly acclaimed commander, he was notably one of the most accomplished Berber statesmen in ancient Roman history.  Quietus organized a force and killed many Cypriote, Mesopotamian and Syrian Jews - in effect wiping them out; and  as a reward, he was appointed governor of Judaea. (He is one of the few blacks known to have made a career in Roman service.)

 Major revolts by diasporic Jews in Cyrene (Cyrenaica), Cyprus, Mesopotamia, and Egypt resulted in the ransacking of towns and the slaughter of Roman citizens and others by the Jewish rebels, a conflict now known as the Kitos War, after a simplified version of Quietus's name. Quietus took the city of Lydda and methodically set about defeating the rebellions.   The rebellion in Judea was finally crushed by Quietus. Quietus was murdered later in the year (AD 118) and it has been theorized that Quietus was assassinated on the orders of the new emperor, Hadrian, for fear of Quietus' popular standing with the army and his close connections to Trajan. A Talmudic story also relates that the Roman general who defeated the rebellious Jews at this time was suddenly executed.  

Hadrian  gave his support to the Egyptian Jewry in disputes with the Greeks.  What he was doing was trying to create a favorable impression on the Jews. 

He lost their support, however, with his prohibition of sexual mutilation being extended to the Jewish practice that was of deep necessity of circumcision.  It was an attack on the fundamental rite of Judaism. Aside from this practice, it has been found in this day to be an act of cleanliness, ending much disease, so it was a good practice.  This makes one wonder as to what other sexual mutilation were going on that weren't!  

Hadrian visited Palestine in the year 130 and while there, spent time negotiating with the Jews about his decision on circumcision,  and found the Jews having an implacable attitude about it.  From this, he decided to start the hellenization of the country by converting Jerusalem into a Roman colony to be named after himself, Aelia Capitolina.  

                                                                

The Jews rebelled under Aluf Bar Kokhba  who took Jerusalem in 132 and held it until 135 when he was killed in battle.  For 3 years the Jews had Jerusalem back in their hands. They had overcome the Romans in those 3 years, leaving their resume in ruins, as far as they were concerned.  That was was the most difficult of Hadrian's reign.  No one had ever been able to do such a thing to the Romans.  The expulsion of the Jews from Judea in 135 AD by Emperor Hadrian, followed the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt.                                                                

After Hadrian had regained Jerusalem once again, he received the title of Imperator.  Judea had become a consular province called Syria-Palaestina.  

The ruins of Jerusalem were reconstructed as a pagan city, and an equestrian statue of Hadrian was erected on the very site of the most holy part of the Temple, the part called "THE HOLY OF HOLIES."  He must have known about what had been there, as this was no coincidence.                                                

     Gone was the Temple and the Holy of Holies Chamber for the High priest, a Cohen. 

Hadrian turned on the Jews and his general, Lucius Quietus.  His supposed support and interest was a ruse to both men.  One must think for oneself and not be duped.  The Temple was created by Solomon (961-920 BCE) and lasted until 70 CE-over 1,000 years!  Our homes are lucky to be built to stand for 50 years.  Judaism with its circumcision and it's 1st and 2nd Temple and later, synagogues,  has lasted since Moses introduced it to us on the Exodus. 

 Moses was over 80 years old when he left Egypt with his classroom of 600,000 former slaves who would learn all about it (1391-1271 BCE) of 3,332 years. Judaism has made it's adjustments, just like we have, but has not lost its essence.  

 Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusius_Quietus

What Events Made A Return to Judea Difficult After 70 CE

 Nadene Goldfoot                                          

                                                                 Judea

Jews had been living in Rome since 139 BCE, there as traders, no doubt, for that's the purpose of most traveling to far away places.  Later on, Jews would be taken to Rome from Judea as slaves; prisoners.  

Even before Rome annexed Judea as a province, the Romans had interacted with Jews from their diasporas who had settled in Rome for a century and a half. Many cities of the Roman provinces in the eastern Mediterranean contained very large Jewish communities, dispersed from the time of the sixth century BCE.

Rome had destroyed Jerusalem with fire.  People were taken as slaves or killed.  Those that could fled as far as possible to safer ground.  Judea  became a Roman province by 6 CE. Decades later, it was descending into chaos. By 132 CE, Aluf (General) Bar Kokhba had taken back Jerusalem and held it for 3 years until he was killed in battle.                                          

In spite of the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt, Jews remained in the land of Israel in significant numbers. The Jews who remained there went through numerous experiences and armed conflicts against consecutive occupiers of the Land. Some of the most famous and important Jewish texts were composed in Israeli cities at this time. The Jerusalem Talmud, the completion of the Mishnah and the system of niqqud (In Hebrew orthography, niqqud or nikud is a system of diacritical signs used to represent vowels or distinguish between alternative pronunciations of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Several such diacritical systems were developed in the Early Middle Ages.

In this period the tannaim and amoraim were active rabbis who organized and debated the Jewish oral law. A major catalyst in Judaism is Judah haNasi, who was a wealthy rabbi and one of the last tannaim, oral interpreters of the Law. He was in good standing with Roman authority figures, which aided in his ascent to being the Patriarch of the Jewish community in Palestine. 

                    Aluf Bar Kokhba (Ben Kosiba Simeon) d: 135 CE

              Nephew of Rabbi Eleazar of Modiin, of Davidic descent. 

Following the 1st-century Great Revolt and the 2nd-century Bar Kokhba revolt, the destruction of Judea exerted a decisive influence upon the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world, as the center of worship shifted from the Temple to Rabbinic authority.

Some Jews were sold as slaves or transported as captives after the fall of Judea, others joined the existing diaspora, while still others remained in Judea and began work on the Jerusalem Talmud. The Jews in the diaspora were generally accepted into the Roman Empire, but with the rise of Christianity, restrictions grew. Forced expulsions and persecution resulted in substantial shifts in the international centers of Jewish life to which far-flung communities often looked, although not always unified, due to the Jewish people's dispersion itself. Jewish communities were thereby largely expelled from Judea and sent to various Roman provinces in the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. 

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Head of Aphrodite, 1st century AD copy of an original by Praxiteles. The Christian cross on the chin and forehead was intended to "deconsecrate" a Holy pagan artifact. Found in the Agora of Athens. National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), when he destroyed a temple for the purpose of constructing a church. Christian historians alleged that Hadrian (2nd century) had constructed a temple of Aphrodite on the site of the crucifixion on Golgotha hill in order to suppress Jewish-Christian veneration there.

                              

Lucius Quietus, left and Emperor Hadrian, above

Hadrian, Roman Emperor from 117 to 138 had removed and executed the savage governor of Judea, Lucius Quietus.  Lusius Quietus was a Roman general and governor of Judaea in  117. He was the principal commander against the Jewish rebellion known as the Kitos War(The Kitos War was one of the major Jewish–Roman wars. The rebellions erupted in 115, when most the Roman armies were fighting Trajan's Parthian War on the eastern border of the Roman Empire.)  As both a general and a highly acclaimed commander, he was notably one of the most accomplished Berber statesmen in ancient Roman history.  Originally a Berber prince, Lusius' father and his warriors had supported the Roman legions in their attempt to subdue (northern modern-day Morocco) during Aedemon's revolt in 40.

 Hadrian also supported Egyptian Jewry in disputes with Greeks, making a favorable impression on the Jews.  Then he forbade circumcision.  He visited Palestine in 130 and decided to convert Jerusalem into a roman colony, calling after himself, Aelina Capitolina.  that's when Bar Kokhba rebelled.  He won over the Jewish army and received the title, Imperator.  Judea was then a consular province called Syria-Palaestina.  The ruins of Jerusalem were reconstructed as a pagan city, and an equestrian statue of Hadrian was erected on the site of the Holy of Holies.   

 Jews had spread from their homeland in Judaea across the Mediterranean and there were major Jewish communities in Syria, Egypt, and Greece. Practicing a very different religion from that of their neighbors, they were often unpopular. As a result, Jewish communities were often close-knit, to protect themselves and their faith.

Jews had lived in Rome since the second century BCE. Julius Caesar and Augustus supported laws that allowed Jews protection to worship as they chose. Synagogues were classified as colleges to get around Roman laws banning secret societies and the temples were allowed to collect the yearly tax paid by all Jewish men for temple maintenance.

There had been upsets: Jews had been banished from Rome in 139 BC, again in 19 AD and during the reign of Claudius. However, they were soon allowed to return and continue their independent existence under Roman law.  That was Rome.  Living in Palestine was another thing.

                                         
 Julian, the only emperor to reject Christianity after the conversion of Constantine, allowed the Jews to return to "holy Jerusalem which you have for many years longed to see rebuilt" and to rebuild the Temple. However Julian was killed in battle on 26 June 363 in his failed campaign against the Sassanid Empire, (The Sasanian or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians, and called the Neo-Persian Empire by historians, was the last Persian imperial dynasty before the Muslim conquest in the mid seventh century AD.  The Third Temple was not rebuilt at that time.  

Julian was Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism in its place, caused him to be remembered as Julian the Apostate by the Christian Church

During the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 many Jews sided against the Eastern Roman Empire in the Jewish revolt against Heraclius, which successfully assisted the invading Persian Sassanids in conquering all of Roman Egypt and Syria. In reaction to this further anti-Jewish measures were enacted throughout the Eastern Roman realm and as far away as Merovingian France. Soon thereafter, 634, the Muslim conquests began, during which many Jews initially rose up again against their Eastern Roman rulers.

The Sasanian Empire conquered Jerusalem after a brief siege in 614, during the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, after the Persian Shah Khosrau II appointed his general Shahrbaraz to conquer the Byzantine controlled areas of the Near East. Following the victory in Antioch, Shahrbaraz conquered Caesarea Maritima, the administrative capital of the province. By this time the grand inner harbor had silted up and was useless, however the Emperor Anastasius had reconstructed the outer harbor and Caesarea remained an important maritime city, providing the Persian Empire with access to the Mediterranean Sea. The Sasanian Persians were joined by Nehemiah ben Hushiel. 

 Benjamin of Tiberias (a man of immense wealth), who enlisted and armed Jewish soldiers from Tiberias, Nazareth and the mountain cities of Galilee, and together with a band of Arabs and additional Jews from southern parts of the country they marched on Jerusalem.

Some 20,000 Jewish rebels joined the war against the Byzantine Christians. Depending on the chronicler figures of either 20,000 or 26,000 are given.  The Persian army reinforced by Jewish forces led by Nehemiah ben Hushiel and Benjamin of Tiberias would capture Jerusalem–without resistance, or after a siege and breaching the wall with artillery, depending on the source. 

As to Syria-Palaestina, "Palaestina Prima consisted of Judea, Samaria, the Paralia, and Peraea, with the governor residing in Caesarea. Palaestina Secunda consisted of the Galilee, the lower Jezreel Valley, the regions east of Galilee, and the western part of the former Decapolis, with the seat of government at Scythopolis. Palaestina Tertia included the Negev, southern Transjordan part of Arabia, and most of Sinai, with Petra as the usual residence of the governor. Palestina Tertia was also known as Palaestina Salutaris.

 The Christian emperors persecuted their Jewish subjects and restricted their rights. Constantine the Great had moved the Roman capital from Rome to Constantinople ('New Rome') c. 330, sometimes considered the start of the Byzantine Empire, and with the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, Christianity became the state church of the Roman Empire. 

I would say that the turmoil of constant war in the land of Judea from the time taken in 70 CE kept Jews from returning.  Either the land was in the hands of the Romans or the Iranians (Sassinids), making Jews most unpopular.  What Jews did was to pray 3 times a day for their return to Judah and Jerusalem to be returned to them.  

Resource:

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/jews.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_the_Roman_Empire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_(emperor)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_pagans_in_the_late_Roman_Empire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria_Palaestina