When the Persian Empire conquered the Babylonians, one of Cyrus the Persian's first acts was to decree that any Jew who had been deported to Babylon, by Nebuchadnezzar, nearly 70 years earlier could return to his homeland to help rebuild the temple. His proclamation read: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem. Cyrus apparently believed he had been divinely authorized to rule many nations with many gods and goddesses. He honored the various gods of the nations by rebuilding the temples to their gods. After Cyrus's proclamation, almost 40,000 Jews left Babylon and headed for Jerusalem. Cyrus sent silver and gold goblets with the exiles to be returned to the temple at Jerusalem. These sacred vessels were plundered by Babylon and placed in the temple of Nebuchadnezzar's god, Marduk to declare his dominance over the God of the Jews.