Explanation: The Jews have had a… rough history, shall we say? But of all the polities which have come into contact with the ethnoreligion, Achaemenid-era Persia (Iran) was one of the few who gave them a little breathing room. After a significant number had been enslaved by Babylon, Cyrus the Great of Persia, after conquering Babylon, released all the Jews from their state of slavery/exile. In addition, he guaranteed their religious rights, and paid out of his own treasury to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.

For this reason, Cyrus is the only non-Jewish figure named in Hebrew scriptures as a ‘Messiah’ - an ‘annointed one’ who is considered a savior. Cyrus the Liberator!