Ruins from ancient Persia
One of numerous ruins of ancient Persia.

About…
Persia in the Bible

also known as: Iran (a term signifying the land of the Aryans / “Iran” name formally adopted in 1935)

Map of modern Iran

Introduction

The Bible references the Persian Empire primarily in the later books of the Old Testament (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Daniel).

At its height, the Persian Empire was vast, extending from the India (Hodu) Indus River Valley to ancient Thrace, and from the Caspian Sea to the Red Sea, Cush (upper Nile) and the Persian Gulf. It included Media (Madai) (now Kurdistan and northwestern Iran) and Elam (SW Iran).

The Persians were originally a Medic tribe which settled in Persia, on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf. They were Aryans, their language belonging to the eastern division of the Indo-European group. One of their chiefs, Teispes, conquered Elam in the time of the decay of the Assyrian Empire, and established himself in the district of Anzan.

His descendants branched off into two lines, one line ruling in Anzan, while the other remained in Persia.

King Cyrus

Cyrus II, king of Anzan, finally united the divided power, conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylonia, and carried his arms into the far East. His son, Cambyses, added Egypt to the empire, which, however, fell to pieces after his death. It was reconquered and thoroughly organized by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, whose dominions extended from India to the Danube.

It was Persia’s Cyrus the Great who liberated the Jews in Babylon (Ezra 1:1-2) and returned the holy temple artifacts to Jerusalem which had been taken by King Nebuchadnezzar.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, all the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” —2 Chronicles 36:22-23

Kings

World’s largest empire

With close to 50-million people, the ancient Persian empire, under the rule of Darius I, was the world’s largest by percentage of world population, according to the Guinness Book of World Records:

By share of population, the largest empire was the Achaemenid Empire, better known as the Persian Empire, which accounted for approximately 49.4 million of the world’s 112.4 million people in around 480 BC—an astonishing 44%.

Other notable people of Persia

Cities and places related to Persia

Modern Persia/Iran

The Persian-language, also known as Farsi, is “the most widely spoken member of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages.”

The nation's largest cities are Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj and Shiraz.

Politically, Persia, in modern times, came to be known as Iran, and came under the control of Shia Islamists with an exceptionally poor and brutal human rights record, especially against Christians and Jews. In all the world, the Islamic Republic of Iran is the nation most determined to utterly destroy the nation of Israel.

Culturally, the names “Persia” and “Iran” are today used interchangeably.

As of 2026, Iran has a population of approximately 93 million (source: UN/Worldometer). Its Islamic government claims that over 99% are Muslims. This number is grossly exaggerated. Realistic surveys of private beliefs indicate growing secularism/non-religiosity.

Realistic estimates (accounting for underreporting due to apostasy laws, social pressure):

Independent surveys (e.g., 2020–2023 online polls—GAMAAN: Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran) suggest much higher non-religious/irreligious (~20–40%, “nones,” atheists ~9%, agnostics ~6%) and lower practicing Muslims (~30–40% Shia). Zoroastrian identification inflated (~8% in one poll, likely symbolic/protest). The Islamic government claims that there are only 100,000–300,000 Christians, including ethnic Armenians/Assyrians. Hoever, the actual number is likely higher due to converts (~hundreds of thousands unofficially).

Other things related to Persia

Article Version: February 13, 2026