Iranian Jews, also known as Persian Jews, constitute one of the oldest communities of the Jewish diaspora. Dating back to the biblical era, they originate from the Jews who arrived in Iran as Babylonian captives. Books of the Hebrew Bible (i.e., Esther, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah) bring together an extensive narrative shedding light on contemporary Jewish life experiences in ancient Iran; there has been a continuous Jewish presence in Iran since at least the time of Cyrus the Great (the 6th century BCE), who led the Achaemenid army's conquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and subsequently freed the Judahites from the Babylonian captivity.
After 1979, Jewish emigration from Iran increased dramatically in light of the country's Islamic Revolution and fall of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Today, the vast majority of Iranian Jews reside in Israel and the United States.
Terminology Today, the terms Iranian Jews or Persian Jews are mostly used to refer to Jews from Iran, which was known historically as Persia. In various scholarly and historical texts, the term has extended to be used in reference to Jews who speak various Iranian languages. Iranian immigrants in Israel, nearly all of whom are Jewish, are referred to as Parsim 'Persians'. In Iran, Persian Jews and Jewish people in general are both described with four common terms: Kalimi (), which is known the most proper term; Yahudi (), which is less formal but correct; Yisrāel (), the term Jewish people use to refer to themselves as descendents of the Israelites; and Johūd (), a term with highly negative connotations considered offensive by many Jews.
History
Jews had been residing in Persia since around 727 BC, having arrived in the region as slaves after being captured by the Assyrian and Babylonian kings. According to one Jewish legend, the first Jew to enter Persia was Serah bat Asher, granddaughter of the Patriarch Jacob. The biblical books of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, and Esther contain references to the life and experiences of Jews in Persia and accounts of their relations with the Persian kings. In the book of Ezra, the Persian kings are credited with permitting and enabling the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple; its reconstruction was effected "according to the decree of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia" (Ezra 6:14). This great event in Jewish history took place in the late sixth-century BC, by which time there was a well-established and influential Jewish community in Persia.
Jews in ancient Persia mostly lived in their own communities. Iranian Jews lived in the ancient (and until the mid-20th century still extant) communities not only of Iran, but also the Armenian, Georgian, Iraqi, Bukharan, Afghan and Mountain Jewish communities.Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006 p. 233James Stuart Olson, Lee Brigance Pappas, Nicholas Charles Pappas. An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994 p. 305Begley, Sharon. (7 August 2012) Genetic study offers clues to history of North Africa's Jews | Reuters . In.reuters.com. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
Some of the communities have been isolated from other Jewish communities to the extent that their classification as "Persian Jews" is a matter of linguistic or geographical convenience rather than actual historical relationship with one another. Scholars believe that during the peak of the Persian Empire, Jews may have comprised as much as 20% of the population.The Jews of Iraq. Dangoor.com. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
According to Encyclopædia Britannica: "The Jews trace their heritage in Iran to the Babylonian Exile of the 6th century BC[E] and, like the Armenians, have retained their ethnic, linguistic, and religious identity."Iran on the Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Britannica.com. Retrieved 2011-05-29. But the Library of Congress's country study on Iran states that "Over the centuries the Jews of Iran became physically, culturally, and linguistically indistinguishable from the non-Jewish population. The overwhelming majority of Jews speak Persian as their mother language, and a tiny minority, Kurdish."Iran – Jews. Country-data.com. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
Achaemenid period (550–330 BC)
Under Cyrus the Great
According to the biblical account Cyrus the Great was "God's anointed", having freed the Jews from Babylonian rule. After the conquest of Babylonia by the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Cyrus granted all the Jews citizenship. Though he allowed the Jews to return to the Land of Israel (around 537 BC), many chose to remain in Persia. Thus, the events of the Book of Esther are set entirely in Iran. Various biblical accounts say that over forty thousand Jews did return (See Jehoiakim, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Jews).
The historical nature of the "Cyrus decree" has been challenged. Professor Lester L Grabbe argues that there was no decree, but that there was a policy that allowed exiles to return to their homelands and rebuild their temples. He also argues that the archaeology suggests that the return was a "trickle", taking place over perhaps decades, resulting in a maximum population of perhaps 30,000. Philip R. Davies called the authenticity of the decree "dubious", citing Grabbe. Arguing against the authenticity of Ezra 1.1–4 is J. Briend, in a paper given at the Institut Catholique de Paris on 15 December 1993, who denies that it resembles the form of an official document but reflects rather the biblical prophetic idiom."
Mary Joan Winn Leith believes that the decree in Ezra might be authentic and, along with the Cyrus Cylinder, that Cyrus, like earlier rulers, was through these decrees trying to gain support from those who might be strategically important, particularly those close to Egypt which Cyrus wished to conquer. She also wrote that "appeals to Marduk in the cylinder and to Yahweh in the biblical decree demonstrate the Persian tendency to co-opt local religious and political traditions in the interest of imperial control."
By some accounts, the tomb of the prophet Daniel is located in Susa. The Second Temple was eventually (re)built in Jerusalem, with assistance from the Persians, and the Israelites assumed an important position in the Silk Road trade with China.
Under Darius the Great
Cyrus ordered rebuilding the Second Temple in the same place as the first; however, he died before it was completed. Darius the Great came to power in the Persian Empire and ordered the completion of the temple. According to the Bible, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah urged this work. The temple was ready for consecration in the spring of 515 BC, more than twenty years after the Jews' return to Jerusalem.
Under Ahasuerus (Bible) According to the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible, Haman was an Agagite noble and vizier of the empire under Ahasuerus (), who is generally identified as Xerxes I, the son of Darius the Great, emperor of the Achaemenid Empire, in the 6th century BCE. According to the story, Haman and his wife Zeresh instigated a plot to kill all the Jews in Persia. The plot was foiled by Esther, a Jewish queen consort of Persia. As a result, Ahasuerus ordered the hanging of Haman and his ten sons. The events of the Book of Esther are celebrated as the holiday of Purim.
Parthian period (247 BC – 224 AD)
Jewish sources contain relatively few direct references to the Parthian influence; the name “Parthia" itself rarely appears in the rabbinic texts. Nevertheless, Jews lived under Arsacid (Parthian) rule for nearly five centuries, mainly in Babylonia (lower Mesopotamia) and adjacent regions. Prince Sanatruk of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, is mentioned in the "Small Chronicle" as one of the Diadochoi, or Successors to Alexander the Great. A Roman rescript in favour of the Jews reached an Arsaces as well, according to I Maccabees 15:22 (during the rule of Simon Thassi); however, it is not specified which Arsaces. Not long afterward, Jewish forces under John Hyrcanus I joined the Selucide kingAntiochus VII Sidetes, emperor of the Seleucid Empire, against the Parthians and invaded this region of Lower Mesopotamia. After the allied armies defeated the Parthians (129 BC) at the Great Zab (Lycus), Hyrcanus ordered a two-day halt on account of Shabbat and Shavuot. In 40 BC, the Parthians captured the Hasmonean Hyrcanus II and according to their custom, cut off his ears in order to render him unfit for rulership. The Jews of Lower Mesopotamia, (Babylonia), considered installing a High Priest for the exiled Hyrcanus, independent of Land of Israel. But ultimately a Babylonian Jew, Ananelus (Hananel) was appointed High Priest in Jerusalem, illustrating the importance of the Jews of Lower Mesopotamia community.
The Parthian Empire rested on a loosely structured system of vassal kings rather than tight central control. This arrangement had clear disadvantages, as illustrated by the rise of a short-lived 'robber state' under the brothers Anilai and Asinai near Nehardea in Babylonia during the rein of Artabanus III (c. 18-33 CE). Josephus recounts how the brothers, after defeating a Parthian satrap, were granted limited authority by the king before internal strife and external pressure brought their enterprise to an end. Despite such local disruptions, Arsacid policy towards Jews was generally tolerant and non-interfering in religious matters, continuing in broad outline the approach of the earlier Achaemenid Empire. The most striking example is the conversion of the royal house of the Parthian vassal kingdom of Adiabene -Queen Helena and her son King Izates- to Judaism in the first century CE. These episodes, together with the absence of systematic religious persecution, demonstrate both the practical tolerance of Parthian kings and the extent to which the Parthians positioned themselves as heirs to Achaemenid traditions of governance over diverse populations. So protective were the Parthians of the minority over whom they ruled that an old Jewish saying tells: "When you see a Parthian charger tied up to a tombstone in the Land of Israel, the hour of the Messiah will be near."
The Jewish community of Lower Mesopotamia wished to support their fellow Judean brethren against the Roman Emperor Vespasian, but organized resistance in the Roman Empire mainly occurred during Trajan Parthian campaign (c. 115-117 CE). Jews in the region joined the unrest against Roman forces and suffered heavy losses when the uprising was suppressed.
Philo of Alexandria, writing in the early first century CE, already described a numerous Jewish population east of the Euphrates, including Babylonia. This community grew further through immigration after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. With the fall of Jerusalem, Lower Mesopotamia became an important center and refuge for Judaism. The collapse of the Bar Kochba revolt (132-136 CE) also appears to have added to the number of Jewish refugees there.
In the struggles between the Parthians and the Romans, the Jews had reason to side with the Parthians, their protectors. Parthian kings elevated their leaders to a kind of nobility, known as the Exilarch. Previously the authorities had used the Jews mainly as collectors of revenue. The Parthians may have granted this recognition for services rendered, particularly to those claiming descent from the Davidic line. The establishment of the Exilarch provided a central authority over the numerous Jewish subjects, who proceeded to develop their own internal affairs.
Sasanian period (226–634)