Cyrus Cylinder (c. 539 B.C.E.

) -- an archaeological artifact that

independently confirms a Biblical account told in the Book of
Ezra. King Cyrus of Persia issued an edict that permitted the
Jewish exiles in Babylonia (which Cyrus had just conquered) “
‘to go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house of the
Lord, the God of Israel,’ ” which the Babylonian troops had
destroyed, and to return to their homes (Ezra 1:1–4).