page_title: Yehud Medinata
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Yehud Medinata / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent according to Oxford Atlas of World History 2002. Sources: Visible online: 2002 Oxford Atlas of World History p.42 (West portion of the Achaemenid Empire) and p.43 (East portion of the Achaemenid Empire).(in English) (2002) Atlas of World History, Oxford University Press, pp.&#160;42-43 ISBN&#58; 9780195219210.&#32; Visible online: Philip's Atlas of World History (1999) The Times Atlas of World History, p.79 (1989)(in English) (1989) The Times Atlas of World History, Times Books, p.&#160;79 ISBN&#58; 9780723003041.&#32;
context_page_description: Yehud Medinata, or simply Yehud, was a colony of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, ruled by mostly Jewish governors. The territory was considerably smaller and with a far thinner population than its predecessor, the kingdom of Judah. The area of Yehud Medinata corresponded to the previous Babylonian province of Yehud, which was formed after the fall of the kingdom of Judah to the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Yehud Medinata, part of the Persian satrapy of Eber-Nari, continued to exist for two centuries, until being incorporated into the Hellenistic empires following the conquests of Alexander the Great.
context_section_description: In the late 7th century BCE Judah became a vassal-kingdom of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, but there were rival factions at the court in Jerusalem, some supporting loyalty to Babylon and others urging rebellion. In the early years of the 6th century, despite the strong remonstrances of the prophet Jeremiah and others, King Jehoiakim revolted against Nebuchadrezzar. The revolt failed, and in 597 BCE, many Judahites, including the prophet Ezekiel, were exiled to Babylon. A few years later, Judah revolted yet again. In 589 Nebuchadnezzar again besieged Jerusalem, and many Jews fled to Moab, Ammon, Edom and other countries to seek refuge. The city fell after an 18-month siege and Nebuchadnezzar again pillaged and destroyed Jerusalem and burned the Temple. Thus, by 586 BCE, much of Judah was devastated, the royal family, the priesthood, and the scribes, the country's elite, were in exile in Babylon, and the former kingdom suffered a steep decline of both economy and population.
  The former kingdom of Judah then became a Babylonian province Yehud, with Gedaliah, a native Judahite, as governor (or possibly ruling as a puppet king). According to Miller and Hayes, the province included the towns of Bethel in the north, Mizpah, Jericho in the east, Jerusalem, Beth-Zur in the west and En-Gedi in the south. The administrative centre of the province was Mizpah. On hearing of the appointment, the Jews that had taken refuge in surrounding countries returned to Judah. However, before long, Gedaliah was assassinated by a member of the former royal house, and the Babylonian garrison was killed, triggering a mass movement of refugees to Egypt. In Egypt, the refugees settled in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and Pathros, and Jeremiah went with them as moral guardian.
  The numbers deported to Babylon or who made their way to Egypt and the remnant that remained in Yehud province and in surrounding countries are subject to academic debate. The Book of Jeremiah reports that a total of 4600 were exiled to Babylon. To such numbers must be added those deported by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BCE after the first siege to Jerusalem, when he deported the king of Judah, Jeconiah, and his court and other prominent citizens and craftsmen along with a sizable portion of the Jewish population of Judah, numbering about 10,000. The Book of Kings also suggests that it was 8000. Israel Finkelstein, a prominent archaeologist, suggests that the 4600 represented the heads of households and 8000 was the total, and 10,000 is a rounding upwards of the second number.  Jeremiah also hints that an equivalent number may have fled to Egypt. Given such figures, Finkelstein suggests that three fourths of the Judahite population had remained in Judah.
caption: The Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, including the Yehud Province.[6][7][8][9]
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