Cathedra

Little is known about Lod (Lydda) and its environs during the Persian period (536-332 B.C.E.), although the city is mentioned in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah and in other sources reflecting that period. Some scholars place it within the province of Yehud; others, within the province of Samaria — all of which has demographic-ethnic significance. Placing Lod within Yehud points to a large Jewish settlement in that province during the Persian period; including it within the province of Samaria would indicate a Jewish population there. The key to the special status of Lod in the Persian period lies with Jaffa, which was then ruled by Sidon, and had considerable influence over the environs. Scholars believe that Jaffa was given to Sidon by the Persians in exchange for aid in their naval warfare against the Greeks during the first half of the fifth century B.C.E. It is possible that the fertile agricultural hinterland of Jaffa — which included Lod — was part of that deal. Later, with the destruction of Sidon (in 345 B.C.E.), the special ties between Jaffa and Lod were undoubtedly severed.