Answer :
3) The high priests were primarily responsible for ruling the Jews under the Persian Empire. Persian governors exercised general oversight, while the Persians allowed cultural and religious freedom as long as their subjects were loyal and paid taxes.
Under the Persian Empire, the internal government of the Jews was primarily in the hands of 3) the high priests. The high priests had a significant role in ruling the Jewish people while the Persian governors (satraps) maintained general oversight. The high priest position became hereditary, and often the high priest also held significant secular power. This situation arose after the Persian king Cyrus II allowed the Judeans to return and rebuild their temple in Judah, showing the Persians' tolerance towards different religions and cultures within their empire. The Persian empire valued loyalty, tax payment, and military support but did not mandate cultural assimilation, which allowed the Jews to maintain their unique cultural and religious identity under Persian rule.
In 539 BCE, Babylon fell to the Persians. (This event is dated securely from non-biblical sources). According to the Bible, in his first year (i.e., in 538 BCE) Cyrus the Great decreed that the deportees in Babylon could return to Yehud and rebuild the Temple.
