In this paper, I would like to explore how midrashic texts portray the world and people of ancient Persia, as well as the Jews who lived during the Achaemenid era (Ezra, Nehemiah, etc.). Part of a larger project, this paper will eventually assist me in comparing these depictions with those in the Babylonian Talmud in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of the differences between Palestinian and Babylonian representations of Iranian Jewish life. My approach to these midrashim will be primarily literary, though historical considerations and contexts will also serve useful. I believe that this topic might also fit in well with the secnod panel on "the culture of memory," in which I would be happy to participate.