Tatnai

Tatnai (or Tattenai) was the Persian governor of the satrapy "Beyond the River" (Trans-Euphrates) during the early reign of Darius I Hystaspes. When he inspected the Jewish rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple, he wrote to Darius asking whether the project had royal authorization (Ezra 5:3–6). Darius searched the royal archives, found Cyrus's original decree authorizing the rebuilding (Ezra 6:3–5), and ordered Tatnai not only to stop hindering the work but to supply building materials and animals for sacrifice from the royal revenues (Ezra 6:7–12). Tatnai complied (Ezra 6:13). A cuneiform text from 502 B.C. mentions a governor named Tattannu in this region, providing extra-biblical corroboration of the name.