Great Assembly

According to Jewish tradition, the Great Assembly (Hebrew: כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה, romanized: Kəneset haGədōlā, also translated as Great Synagogue or Synod) was an assembly of possibly 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, which existed from the early Second Temple period (around 516 BCE) to the early Hellenistic period (which began in the region with Alexander's conquest in 332 BCE), roughly coinciding with the Persian hegemony over the nation of Israel. The assembly's members, known as Anshei Knesset HaGedolah (אַנְשֵׁי כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה, the "Men of the Great Assembly"), traditionally included such figures as Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Mordechai and Zerubbabel. Among the developments in Judaism that are attributed to the sages of this period are the fixing of the Jewish biblical canon (including the Book of Ezekiel, Daniel, Esther, and the Twelve Minor Prophets); the introduction of the Feast of Purim; and the institution of many prayers and rituals including the Amidah prayer.