answersLogoWhite

0

What is the history of the Jews in Persia?

Updated: 8/16/2019
User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

Best Answer

Answer 1

About 1182 B.C.E. when the Great Cyrus (KOROSh KABIR) was king of Iran, he allow them to live in peace and freedom. They are living in Iran now.

Answer 2

Answer 1 brushes aside nearly 3000 years of Persian Jewish History. The Persian Empire under Cyrus was relatively hospitable to the Jews. There is, of course, the Story of the Book of Esther, but most scholars believe this to be fictional. The Persian Empire was Jew-friendly until its conquest by the Hellenized Greeks and incorporation into the Seleucid Empire. There was Anti-Semitic discrimination by these Persian Greeks.

The Seleucids in turn were replaced by the Parthians who had a very pro-Jewish outlook, safeguarding Babylon from the Romans and allowing Jewish scholarship to continue. The Parthians were replaced by the Sassanids who had a strong Zoroastrian government which considered it a duty to repress other religions including Judaism. The Sassanids were replaced by the Rightly-Guided Islamic Caliphate which put the Jews in the second-class status of Dhimmis who were taxed inordinately and denied many rights such as the ability to testify in court against Muslims and to bear arms.

The Mongols under Hülegü Khan invaded and conquered Persia, abolishing the Dhimmi system and favoring Jews and Christians. This brought the ire of Muslim Persian leadership which began mass violence against both the Mongols and the Jews, attempting to restore Islamic dominance. Jews like Rashid ad-Din Hamdani who converted to Islam were stigmatized and considered "false Muslims" much in the way the Spaniards would later stigmatize Jewish converts to Christianity as false Christians. This was the first instance of racial Anti-Semitism in the entire world. The Safavid and Qajjar Dynasties only made the situation worse for Jews since the Safavids were well-known for forcing Sunni Muslims and non-Muslims to convert to Shiite Islam, many times by violence.

The Pahlavi Dynasty was much more West-leaning and therefore afforded Jews an equal status with the now Shiite majority of Iran. Several Jews were close to the Pahlavis. When the Islamic Republic of Iran replaced the Pahlavi Iranian Empire, Jews were again relegated to a lower status. They have a representative in the Majlis purely on the ethnic basis who is forced to agree with the Regime's views regardless of personal opinion. Iran maintains the largest Jewish community outside of Israel in the Middle East at 10,000 individuals, but the majority of Persian Jews live outside of Iran in either California or Israel because of the Islamic Republic's discriminatory treatment towards them.

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What is the history of the Jews in Persia?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

What as the relationship between early Hebrews and Jews and Persia?

The Jews of Persia were Hebrews that moved to Persia. They were the same people.


Who were the enemies of Persia?

the Jews


Which king liberated the Jews?

Cyrus the Great of Persia defeated the Babylonians and liberated the Jews.


What did the Jews do after Cyrus permitted them to return home.?

Many Jews returned to Israel while a large percentage chose to remain in Persia.


Who allowed Jews to return from exile?

Cyrus king of Persia.


What was Iran known as when Arab armies conquered it?

Iran was called Persia at that point in history; it was ruled by the Sassanid Empire.


Whom did the Babylonians and Jews welcome as their conqueror?

King Cyrus the Great of Persia.


When the Jews of Persia are ordered killed Mordecai puts on sackcloth accessorized with these?

ashes


What did the Jews after Cyrus permitted them to return home?

Many Jews returned to Israel while a large percentage chose to remain in Persia.


What has the author Robert Grant Watson written?

Robert Grant Watson has written: 'A history of Persia from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the year 1858' -- subject(s): Accessible book, History 'A history of Persia'


What ruler predicted by Isaiah allowed the Jews to return after the Babylonian exile?

Cyrus of Persia.


What was hamans plot against the Jews?

Haman plotted to exterminate all of the Jews of Shushan, Persia. Instead, he was executed on the date he had chosen for the extermination.