There were three Persian kings named Artaxerxes: Artaxerxes I (464-424 BC), Artaxerxes II (403-359 BC) and Artaxerxes III (358-337 BC). Ezra 4:7 refers to Artaxerxes I. This is the king who reigned in Persia when Ezra and Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem.1 The Persian king Artaxerxes I would have been keen to maintain Persian control over Judah and the surrounding areas in the light of another Egyptian rebellion which began in 460 BC.2
7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.