In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of The Lord spoken by Jeremiah, The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: "The Lord, The God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build a Temple [see Temples] for Him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you - may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build The Temple of The Lord, The God of Israel, The God who is in Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:1-3)
Persian culture and religion has had a significant impact on western civilization. Persians had a concept of "One World" and the "Unification of All People" which was taken up by Alexander, the Romans and future world powers. The Persian religion, known as Zoroasterianism, was founded C. 600 BC by prophet Zoroaster. Zoroaster wrote down his beliefs in a sacred book known as the "Zend Avesta." The central theme of the religion is a belief in a struggle between good and evil. Persians had a dual god system with "Ahura Mazda" (light) representing goodness and "Ahriman" (Darkness) representing evil. The concept of heaven and hell also was important to the Persians. Many believe the three wisemen were Zoroastrian priests. Many concepts of Zoroasterianism seem to have been integrated into the Christian religion.