5.) _The completion of the Old Testament canon._ The prophets after the restoration were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; but the author of most of the latest books was Ezra, who also arranged the Old Testament nearly, perhaps fully, in its present form. Thenceforward no more books were added, and the scribe or interpreter took the place of the prophet. [Illustration: ALEXANDER'S EMPIRE.] 2. =The Greek period.= (B. C. 330-166.) In the year 330 B. C. Alexander the Great won the empire of Persia in the great battle of Arbela, by which the sovereignty of the East was transferred from Asia to Europe, and a new chapter in the history of the world was opened. Alexander died at the hour when his conquests were completed, and before they could be organized and assimilated; but the kingdoms into which his empire was divided were all under Greek kings, and were all Greek in language and civilization. Judea was on the border between Syria and Egypt, and belonged alternately to each kingdom. We divide this period into three subdivisions. 1.) _The reign of Alexander._ (B. C. 330-321.) The Jews had been well treated by the Persian kings and remained faithful to Darius, the last King of Persia, in his useless struggle. Alexander marched against Jerusalem, determined to visit upon it heavy punishment for its opposition, but (according to tradition) was met by Jaddua, the high-priest, and turned from an enemy to a friend of the Jews. 2.) _The Egyptian supremacy._ (B. C. 311-198.) In the division of Alexander's conquests Judea was annexed to Syria, but it soon fell into the hands of Egypt, and was governed by the Ptolemies (Greek kings of Egypt) until 198 B. C. The only important events of this period were the rule of Simon the Just, an exceptionally able high-priest, about 300 B. C., and the translation of the Old Testament into the Greek language for the use of the Jews of Alexandria, who had lost the use of Hebrew or Chaldee. This translation was made about 286 B. C., according to Jewish tradition, and is known as the Septuagint version. It was regarded as an act of sacrilege by the Palestinian Jews to translate their Holy Scriptures into the language of heathens, and for centuries the anniversary of the completion of the Septuagint was observed as a day of humiliation and prayer.