THIS BOOK LOOKS AT AN EXTRAORDINARY TIME IN ISRAEL'S HISTORY. THE MAJORITY OF ITS PEOPLE WERE LOCATED IN PERSIA, NOT IN THEIR HOMELAND. GOD HAD USED HIS POWER OVER BABYLONIAN RULERS TO CAUSE THEM TO EXPAND THEIR EMPIRE. MANY JEWS WERE BROUGHT TO BABYLON AS CAPTIVES. IN A SHORT TIME THE PERSIAN EMPIRE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THE BABYLONIAN, THUS THIS EPISODE OF JEWISH HISTORY.