Bob Becking is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University.

• Introduction1How Persian Power Entered Egypt1.1 Egypt Before the Persians1.2. Persia’s Rise to Power1.3 Cambyses Came to Egypt1.4 Darius’ Consolidation1.5 ‘The Silver and the Ebony were brought from Egypt’ or: The Character of Persian Rule in Egypt1.6 Who was Cambyses and what exactly is meant by the verb ‘to conquer’?2Yehudites at Elephantine: Provenance, Identity, and Religion2.1 Jews, Judaeans, Judaeo-Arameans, or Yehudites?2.2 How Did They Come to Egypt?2.3 Religious Identity2.4 Yehudite Identity in Elephantine3 Multi-ethnic Elephantine: Some Remarks on Different Minor Ethnicities in a Persian Border Garrison3.1 Introduction3.2 Eastern Satrapies3.3 Anatolia3.4 Phoenicians3.5 Philistine3.6 The Aegean Sea3.7 Various People3.8 Conclusion and Prospect4Pax Persica: Cooperation, Cohabitation, and Acceptance4.1 Introduction4.2 Intermarriage4.3 Salutations in Letters4.4 Trade Contacts4.5 Oaths and Other Deities4.6 An Interreligious Figurine4.7. Conclusions and Questions 5 Control through Education, Law, and Military Power5.1 Introduction: Two Literary Texts5.2 Aḥiqar as Scribal Propaganda5.3 The Function of the Aramaic Version of the Behistun Inscription5.4 Law5.5 Military5.6 An Inadequate Analogy6 Disruptions of the Inter-Ethnic Solidarity6.1 A Stone of Contention6.2 A Conflict between Egyptians and Yehudites6.3 Burglary in Times of Turmoil6.4 The Crisis around the Demolition of the Temple of Yahô in Elephantine6.5 Concluding Question7 Khnum is Against us Since Hananiah has been in Egypt’ On Two Historical Movements in the Fifth Century BCE7.1 From the oasis in the desert to the Land of the Pyramids (Papyrus Amherst 63)7.2 The Egyptian Strive for Independence8Beyond the Final Curtain8.1 Independent under Nepherites8.2 The Fate of the Yehudites and other Minorities8.3 Some Speculations8.4 Conclusions8.5 A Final Remark

“A good and stimulating read. It represents an innovative approach to research on Elephantine. The most important strength—construing the ‘fate’ of the Yehudite community in light of the rise and fall of pax persica—makes the book a contribution to the Yehudite community’s history and a microhistorical contribution to Achaemenid studies. Both students and experts will gain from reading the book.”—Gard Granerød Review of Biblical Literature

Bob Becking is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University.

• Introduction1How Persian Power Entered Egypt1.1 Egypt Before the Persians1.2. Persia’s Rise to Power1.3 Cambyses Came to Egypt1.4 Darius’ Consolidation1.5 ‘The Silver and the Ebony were brought from Egypt’ or: The Character of Persian Rule in Egypt1.6 Who was Cambyses and what exactly is meant by the verb ‘to conquer’?2Yehudites at Elephantine: Provenance, Identity, and Religion2.1 Jews, Judaeans, Judaeo-Arameans, or Yehudites?2.2 How Did They Come to Egypt?2.3 Religious Identity2.4 Yehudite Identity in Elephantine3 Multi-ethnic Elephantine: Some Remarks on Different Minor Ethnicities in a Persian Border Garrison3.1 Introduction3.2 Eastern Satrapies3.3 Anatolia3.4 Phoenicians3.5 Philistine3.6 The Aegean Sea3.7 Various People3.8 Conclusion and Prospect4Pax Persica: Cooperation, Cohabitation, and Acceptance4.1 Introduction4.2 Intermarriage4.3 Salutations in Letters4.4 Trade Contacts4.5 Oaths and Other Deities4.6 An Interreligious Figurine4.7. Conclusions and Questions 5 Control through Education, Law, and Military Power5.1 Introduction: Two Literary Texts5.2 Aḥiqar as Scribal Propaganda5.3 The Function of the Aramaic Version of the Behistun Inscription5.4 Law5.5 Military5.6 An Inadequate Analogy6 Disruptions of the Inter-Ethnic Solidarity6.1 A Stone of Contention6.2 A Conflict between Egyptians and Yehudites6.3 Burglary in Times of Turmoil6.4 The Crisis around the Demolition of the Temple of Yahô in Elephantine6.5 Concluding Question7 Khnum is Against us Since Hananiah has been in Egypt’ On Two Historical Movements in the Fifth Century BCE7.1 From the oasis in the desert to the Land of the Pyramids (Papyrus Amherst 63)7.2 The Egyptian Strive for Independence8Beyond the Final Curtain8.1 Independent under Nepherites8.2 The Fate of the Yehudites and other Minorities8.3 Some Speculations8.4 Conclusions8.5 A Final Remark

“A good and stimulating read. It represents an innovative approach to research on Elephantine. The most important strength—construing the ‘fate’ of the Yehudite community in light of the rise and fall of pax persica—makes the book a contribution to the Yehudite community’s history and a microhistorical contribution to Achaemenid studies. Both students and experts will gain from reading the book.”—Gard Granerød Review of Biblical Literature

Bob Becking is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University.

• Introduction1How Persian Power Entered Egypt1.1 Egypt Before the Persians1.2. Persia’s Rise to Power1.3 Cambyses Came to Egypt1.4 Darius’ Consolidation1.5 ‘The Silver and the Ebony were brought from Egypt’ or: The Character of Persian Rule in Egypt1.6 Who was Cambyses and what exactly is meant by the verb ‘to conquer’?2Yehudites at Elephantine: Provenance, Identity, and Religion2.1 Jews, Judaeans, Judaeo-Arameans, or Yehudites?2.2 How Did They Come to Egypt?2.3 Religious Identity2.4 Yehudite Identity in Elephantine3 Multi-ethnic Elephantine: Some Remarks on Different Minor Ethnicities in a Persian Border Garrison3.1 Introduction3.2 Eastern Satrapies3.3 Anatolia3.4 Phoenicians3.5 Philistine3.6 The Aegean Sea3.7 Various People3.8 Conclusion and Prospect4Pax Persica: Cooperation, Cohabitation, and Acceptance4.1 Introduction4.2 Intermarriage4.3 Salutations in Letters4.4 Trade Contacts4.5 Oaths and Other Deities4.6 An Interreligious Figurine4.7. Conclusions and Questions 5 Control through Education, Law, and Military Power5.1 Introduction: Two Literary Texts5.2 Aḥiqar as Scribal Propaganda5.3 The Function of the Aramaic Version of the Behistun Inscription5.4 Law5.5 Military5.6 An Inadequate Analogy6 Disruptions of the Inter-Ethnic Solidarity6.1 A Stone of Contention6.2 A Conflict between Egyptians and Yehudites6.3 Burglary in Times of Turmoil6.4 The Crisis around the Demolition of the Temple of Yahô in Elephantine6.5 Concluding Question7 Khnum is Against us Since Hananiah has been in Egypt’ On Two Historical Movements in the Fifth Century BCE7.1 From the oasis in the desert to the Land of the Pyramids (Papyrus Amherst 63)7.2 The Egyptian Strive for Independence8Beyond the Final Curtain8.1 Independent under Nepherites8.2 The Fate of the Yehudites and other Minorities8.3 Some Speculations8.4 Conclusions8.5 A Final Remark

“A good and stimulating read. It represents an innovative approach to research on Elephantine. The most important strength—construing the ‘fate’ of the Yehudite community in light of the rise and fall of pax persica—makes the book a contribution to the Yehudite community’s history and a microhistorical contribution to Achaemenid studies. Both students and experts will gain from reading the book.”—Gard Granerød Review of Biblical Literature