Second Temple period

The era of Jewish history from the completion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem around 516 BCE to its destruction by Rome in 70 CE. It encompassed Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman rule and major transformations in Jewish life.

Babylonian exile: The forced displacement of Judeans to Babylonia after the Babylonian conquest of the kingdom of Judah. The return from exile under Persian rule enabled the temple’s reconstruction.
Achaemenid Empire: The Persian Empire ruled by the Achaemenid dynasty from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE. Its administration governed Judea during the period’s early centuries.
Alexander the Great: The Macedonian king who conquered the Persian Empire and created a vast empire before his death in 323 BCE. His conquests brought Judea under Hellenistic successor kingdoms.
Septuagint: The ancient Greek translation of Jewish scriptures, produced in stages, chiefly in the Hellenistic period. It reflects Jewish life and scripture in the Greek-speaking world.
Second Temple Judaism: The diverse religious traditions and practices of Jews during the Second Temple period. It names the religious world that developed within this historical era.
Cyrus the Great: The Persian ruler who conquered Babylon in 539 BCE and permitted displaced peoples, including Judeans, to return home. His conquest and policies opened the way for Judean restoration.
Ptolemaic Kingdom: A Hellenistic kingdom ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt after Alexander the Great’s death. Ptolemaic rule brought Judea into the successor states’ competition for territory.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes: A Seleucid king whose policies in Judea provoked revolt in the second century BCE. His actions became a central trigger in the Maccabean uprising.
Maccabean Revolt: A Jewish uprising against Seleucid rule that began in 167 BCE and led to an independent Hasmonean kingdom. The revolt reshaped Judean rule and restored the Temple’s worship.
Pharisees: A Jewish movement of the late Second Temple period associated with interpretation of Torah and traditions of ancestral law. Their teachings helped shape later rabbinic Judaism.

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