Prior to the period of Persian domination over Israel 538 BCE, this evil entity is not to be found in Biblical texts. It was under the influence of the Persians, with their Zoroastrian concept of a conflict between the spirit of light and good (represented by the god Ahura-Mazda) and the spirit of darkness and evil (represented by the god Ahriman) that Hebrews transformed one of heaven’s angels into an opponent of God and the source of evil.