Esther study section

Esther maps & timelines

Esther unfolds in Susa, at the heart of a Persian Empire stretching from India to Ethiopia.

The setting

The Persian empire

Mediterranean Sea(the Great Sea)Red SeaPersian GulfCaspian SeaNileEuphratesTigrisASSYRIABABYLONIAISRAELIsrael to Assyria, 722 BCJudah to Babylon, 586 BCand back, from 538 BCJerusalemSamariaNinevehBabylonSusaRiblah0100200300miles
Two deportations and one return, drawn to scale. Jerusalem to Babylon is about 900 miles by the road up the Euphrates and down again, since nobody crossed the desert directly. The return under Cyrus retraced it, and most of the exiles did not come.

Timeline

My notes