I was reading the book "The Silk Roads" which said that in 525 BC one of the Persian Emperors was known as as "The Messiah" because of his generous treatment of minorities and his help given to the Jews to aid their escape from Babylonian captivity.
At that time Persia faced persistent problems from the North but had an aggressive army to keep the peace. The Sums paid for that peace were substantial.
Over time Greek generals culminating in Alexander the Great looked East with a combination of fear and respect. Eventually Alexander was to conquer Persia. It was then ruled for nearly 300 years by descendants of Ptolemy one of Alexandra the Great's generals.
It was the Ptolemaic system that applied to Egypt just as it did to Persia that started the registration of all births. In the world of Jesus Christ, his birth would have been registered by an Official whose interest was the birth was in registering an additional future taxpayer for the empire.
Attitudes to Christianity first spread east via The Jewish communities, they received reports of Jesus life and death in Aramaic and Hebrew
There were Christian stories which included stirring stories that were told about the Christians' customs and literature.
The Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity which clearly brought about sea change in how other nations viewed them.
I was saddened to hear when reading "The Silk Roads" that, in the Christian era, when there were hostilities and the troops revolted over a proposed reduction in pay, the Commanding Officer paraded the image of Jesus Christ in front of the Troops. He said that complaint was not compatible with Christianity, but he was Christian.
At that time Persia faced persistent problems from the North but had an aggressive army to keep the peace. The Sums paid for that peace were substantial.
Over time Greek generals culminating in Alexander the Great looked East with a combination of fear and respect. Eventually Alexander was to conquer Persia. It was then ruled for nearly 300 years by descendants of Ptolemy one of Alexandra the Great's generals.
It was the Ptolemaic system that applied to Egypt just as it did to Persia that started the registration of all births. In the world of Jesus Christ, his birth would have been registered by an Official whose interest was the birth was in registering an additional future taxpayer for the empire.
Attitudes to Christianity first spread east via The Jewish communities, they received reports of Jesus life and death in Aramaic and Hebrew
There were Christian stories which included stirring stories that were told about the Christians' customs and literature.
The Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity which clearly brought about sea change in how other nations viewed them.
I was saddened to hear when reading "The Silk Roads" that, in the Christian era, when there were hostilities and the troops revolted over a proposed reduction in pay, the Commanding Officer paraded the image of Jesus Christ in front of the Troops. He said that complaint was not compatible with Christianity, but he was Christian.
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