History and Literature of the Palestinian Jews from Cyrus to Herod 550 BC to 4 BC

From the time of Cyrus to the time of Herod, except for a brief period of independence in the second and first centuries BC, Judea was subservient to either the Persians, the Hellenistic kingdoms, or the Romans. Only in the area of religion did the Jews maintain their freedom almost without interruption. Their greatest tangible achievement in these centuries was in literature. During this period I...