Echoes of the Achaemenid Imperial Signature in the Book of Ezra

Abstract

The local impact of the Achaemenid empire varies according to the environment, urban development and prior political organization of each controlled territory. Anyway, an emphasis on accounting and accountability is shared by different sources, including later and literary ones, from different cultural areas when referring to the Achaemenid empire. The paper analyses some passages of the biblical book of Ezra in this light, emphasizing the echoes of the impact and transformation brought by the Achaemenid dominion on local territories by means of its administration, using the evidence from the Takht-e Jamshid/Persepolis Fortification and Treasury documents as a term of comparison.