Achmetha (Ecbatana)

Achmetha — Ecbatana — was the capital of Media and a summer residence of the Persian kings. It holds a quiet but crucial place in the story of the temple's rebuilding.

The lost decree

When opponents tried to halt the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple, a search was made in the royal archives. "And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record" — Cyrus's original decree authorising the work (Ezra 6:2).

The work confirmed

On the strength of that recovered decree, King Darius ordered the opponents to let the work proceed and even to fund it from the royal revenue (Ezra 6:7–12) — and the temple was finished (Ezra 6:15).

A capital of the empire

As one of the great royal cities, Achmetha was a natural place for such an archive to be stored — and providentially, for the decree to be preserved.

Achmetha is Ecbatana, modern Hamadan in north-western Iran, the ancient capital of Media and a royal seat of the Persian Empire. Its cooler highland climate made it a summer capital — and, as Ezra 6 records, the repository where Cyrus's decree was filed and later found.