'Persia and the Bible' - The 5th Annual Biblical Archaeology Day Conference

10:00am - 4:30pm / Saturday 14th May 2016 / Venue: Central Teaching Hub
Type: Conference / Category: Department
Add this event to my calendar

Create a calendar file

Click on "Create a calendar file" and your browser will download a .ics file for this event.

Microsoft Outlook: Download the file, double-click it to open it in Outlook, then click on "Save & Close" to save it to your calendar. If that doesn't work go into Outlook, click on the File tab, then on Open & Export, then Open Calendar. Select your .ics file then click on "Save & Close".

Google Calendar: download the file, then go into your calendar. On the left where it says "Other calendars" click on the arrow icon and then click on Import calendar. Click on Browse and select the .ics file, then click on Import.

Apple Calendar: The file may open automatically with an option to save it to your calendar. If not, download the file, then you can either drag it to Calendar or import the file by going to File >Import > Import and choosing the .ics file.

The Persians and their predecessors the Medes play a significant role in the latter part of the Old Testament. The Persian king Cyrus issued a decree authorising the Jews to return from exile to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple; the story of queen Esther's courage in thwarting a plot to eradicate the Jews took place in the reign of the Persian king Xerxes; the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt by Nehemiah in the reign of Artaxerxes of Persia. But what were the Jews doing in the Upper Egyptian town of Elephantine? And why did the Persians adopt Aramaic as their official language? These themes and questions are the types of issues that our experts will address on the day.