Artaxerxes I

Artaxerxes, known as Artaxerxes I Longimanus (465—423 b.c.), king of Persia, 3rd son and successor of Xerxes. Three kings bore the name Artaxerxes in Persian history, but only the 1st is mentioned in Biblical history. Like his father, he was a weak ruler, easily influenced by courtiers and women, and spent most of his life in his various palace cities while the empire was ruled by trusted friends and relatives, and his military campaigns were carried out by his generals. According to Ezr 4:7—23, Artaxerxes once prohibited the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

According to ch 7, Artaxerxes in his 7th regnal year (457 b.c. according to the Jewish civil year running 6 months later than the Persian) sent the Jewish scribe Ezra back to Jerusalem with extensive privileges to reorganize Judah's judicial and administrative structure as a Jewish state within the Persian Empire—in harmony with the Laws of Moses. Ezra also received generous financial support from the king, and a permit to lead back to Palestine all Jews who desired to return to their homeland. Several thousand exiles made use of this opportunity.

Artaxerxes later appointed his Jewish cupbearer, Nehemiah, as governor of the province of Judah, and sent him to Jerusalem to complete the city wall, the rebuilding of which had run into difficulties because of the antagonism of Judah's neighboring nations (Neh. 1 2). This permit was given in the 20th year of Artaxerxes (444 b.c. by the same Jewish calendar). After Nehemiah had served as governor of Judea for 12 years he was recalled to the Persian court but later was allowed to serve a second term (chs 5:14 13:6, 7).