Latest / The Achaemenid Empire: Persia's Golden Age of Power — Fexingo History / The Achaemenid Siege of Samaria: When Persia Resettled the Lost Tribes
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- Lucas: We've talked a lot about the big sieges and the grand projects of the Achaemenids — the Royal Road, the canal, the palaces. But one of the most consequential things the Persians did was far more subtle, and it still echoes today. Luna: What do you mean? Lucas: I'm talking about population transfers. The Assyrians started it, the Babylonians continued it, but the Achaemenids perfected it. One of their most famous resettlements was in Samaria — the region between Judea and Galilee. After the Neo-Assyrian Empire collapsed, the territory was in chaos. The Persians, under Cyrus and later Darius, needed to stabilize it. Lucas: So they brought in people from other parts of the empire — specifically from Cutha, a city in Babylonia, and from other places like Hamath and Sepharvaim. These deportees were settled in Samaria and intermingled with the remaining Israelites. Over time, they became the Samaritans. Luna: Wait — the Samaritans, as in the New Testament Samaritans? The ones who had the good Samaritan? Lucas: Exactly those. But their origin story is deeply rooted in Achaemenid policy. The biblical account in 2 Kings 17 describes how the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and placed them in the cities of Samaria. But that was just the beginning. Under the Persians, this community was reorganized into a coherent province. Lucas: The Persians appointed a governor for Samaria, and the most famous one was a man named Sanballat the Horonite. We know him from the Book of Nehemiah, where he fiercely opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls. Sanballat was a Persian loyalist, and he saw a revitalized Jerusalem as a threat to his own power base. Luna: So the Persians were playing local factions against each other? Lucas: Exactly. That was classic Achaemenid strategy — divide and rule, but also integrate and co-opt. Sanballat wasn't just a troublemaker; he was a key figure in Persian administration. We actually have evidence of him from outside the Bible — the Elephantine papyri, which are Aramaic documents from a Jewish military colony in Egypt, mention Sanballat and his sons. They show he was governor of Samaria under Darius II, around 407 BCE. Luna: That's incredible. So there's real historical evidence for him? Lucas: Yes. The papyri record correspondence between the Jewish community at Elephantine and the authorities in Jerusalem and Samaria. In one letter, the Jews ask for help rebuilding their temple, and they mention that they've already contacted Sanballat's sons. So we have a paper trail connecting these biblical figures to the Persian court. Lucas: And there's more. In the 1960s, archaeologists discovered the Samaria Papyri in a cave at Wadi Daliyeh, northwest of Jericho. These are legal documents from the 4th century BCE, written in Aramaic, that record slave sales, loans, and property transfers. They show a thriving Persian-era Samaria with a robust economy tied into the empire's networks. Luna: And this is the same community that later built their own temple on Mount Gerizim? Lucas: Exactly. The Samaritans considered Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, as the chosen place for worship. That schism started in the Persian period, fueled by these political rivalries. Sanballat's son-in-law, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, married a daughter of Sanballat and built a temple on Gerizim. That deepened the split. Luna: So the Persians didn't just move people — they reshaped religious identities. Lucas: And that's the thing about the Achaemenid Empire. They were masters of soft power. They didn't force Zoroastrianism on anyone. Instead, they used local elites, tax incentives, and strategic resettlement to create a stable, multicultural empire. The Samaritans are one of the most enduring legacies of that policy. Luna: And if you're finding these connections between ancient policy and modern identities as fascinating as we do, this is the kind of independent history podcast that thrives because of listener support. Lucas: Yeah, we keep Fexingo ad-free and focused on these deep dives — and that's only possible because some of you choose to chip in. If you'd like to help, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep these conversations going. Luna: Alright, back to Samaria. So what happened to the Samaritan temple? Lucas: It stood for centuries. It was destroyed by the Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus in the 2nd century BCE, but the community survived. Even today, there are several hundred Samaritans living near Mount Gerizim and in Holon, Israel. They still practice their version of the ancient Israelite religion, with the Torah as their only scripture. Lucas: And their existence is a direct result of Achaemenid imperial strategy. The Persians didn't just build roads and palaces — they engineered societies. Luna: It makes you think about how empires shape the world long after they're gone. Lucas: Exactly. And the Achaemenids were particularly good at it. Their population transfers weren't just punitive — they were administrative. They moved skilled workers, farmers, and soldiers to places where they were needed. The Samaria resettlement was part of a larger pattern. Lucas: We also have records from the Persepolis Fortification Archive of workers being moved around the empire. It was a massive logistical operation. The bureaucracy was incredible — thousands of tablets recording rations, travel passes, and assignments. Luna: Did the Persians ever deport people as punishment, like the Assyrians did? Lucas: Sometimes. After rebellions, they would remove troublemakers. But more often, it was development policy. They settled people in underpopulated regions to boost agriculture and tax revenue. Samaria was a prime target because it was fertile and strategically located between Mesopotamia and Egypt. Luna: So the Samaritans were essentially economic migrants under imperial direction. Lucas: That's one way to see it. But they also brought their own gods and traditions. The Bible says the new settlers worshipped a mix of deities — Succoth-Benoth, Nergal, Ashima — alongside Yahweh. Over time, they syncretized and became monotheistic, but with distinct practices. Lucas: The Samaritans claim descent from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, not from the deportees. So there's a contested origin story. But archaeologically, the Persian period shows a clear break from earlier Israelite material culture in Samaria. Luna: A break — how so? Lucas: The pottery styles change, new types of seals appear, and the script shifts to a distinctive Samaritan script. There's also evidence of Persian-style administrative buildings, like the palace at Samaria that likely served as the governor's residence. It was a Persian provincial capital, not just a local town. Luna: So the Persians invested in it. Lucas: They did. And that investment paid off. Samaria became a loyal province that supplied troops and resources for Persian campaigns, including the ill-fated invasion of Greece under Xerxes. The Samaritans likely served in the Persian army. Lucas: One more thing — the name 'Samaria' itself goes back to the Israelite kingdom, but under the Persians it became a distinct administrative unit. The province of Samaria was part of the satrapy 'Beyond the River' — Eber-Nari in Aramaic — which covered everything west of the Euphrates. Luna: So it was a key piece of the imperial puzzle. Lucas: Absolutely. And when Alexander the Great conquered the region, he didn't disrupt the system much. The Samaritans initially cooperated with him, but later revolted. Alexander destroyed their city and settled Macedonian veterans there. But the Samaritan community persisted. Luna: Their story really does show how deep the Persian influence ran. Lucas: It's a reminder that the Achaemenid Empire wasn't just about kings and battles — it was about how ordinary people's lives were reshaped by imperial policy. The Samaritans are still here, a living testament to that.