Persian Jerusalem

Persian Jerusalem is also known as 2nd temple Judaism. It is called 2nd temple Judaism because during this time the 2nd temple was rebuilt and the people returned to the land, Jerusalem.
In 539 BCE Alexander the Great. The literature for this period is seen in chronicles, which rewrites the books of Samuel and Kings, the minor prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachai, Ezra and Nehemiah, 2nd Isaiah and the dead sea scrolls. Ezekial has a vision of the merkavah and the rebuilding of the temple. The merkavah means that God would emerge as a mobile entity.
King Cyrus from Persia conquered the Babylonians while the Jews were in exile. He wanted the Jews out of Persia so he helped the Jewish people return from exile and gave them money to rebuild the temple. This can be seen in the cyrus cylinder. The Cyrus cylinder a general return to the homeland. In Nehemiah and Ezra the Persian kings are portrayed as liberators. This idea leads to the Persian Messiah. The Jewish people liked King Cyrus because he helped them return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
Judaism and Zoroastrianism have a resemblance to each other. During the 2nd temple period Zoroastrianism, the Persian religion, greatly influenced Judaism. The temple was rebuilt around 520-515 BCE under Darius I. The first return included Joshua, Haggai, Zechariah, and Zerrubabel. The evidence of the first return outside the bible are the Yehud coins. These were coins that showed that Judah had become a Persian province. These are coins that are minted that say Yehud.
There was a question raised of whether the Jewish people needed the temple to be rebuilt or not. After the 1st temple had been destroyed people had different methods of practice. The population of Jerusalem was mainly depopulated. There was a conflict between the returning exiles and the people that already lived there. The temple was rebuilt but it was not as grand as the original temple.