Nebuchadnezzar Takes Jerusalem: Babylonian Captivity Begins
The event known as the Babylonian Captivity began in 597 B.C. when King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon conquered Jerusalem, marking a significant turning point in Jewish history. This invasion led to the forced relocation of approximately 10,000 upper- and middle-class Jews to Babylon, the capital of Nebuchadnezzar's empire, located in present-day Iraq. Unlike the earlier Assyrian conquest, which scattered the population of Israel and led to the disappearance of the Ten Lost Tribes, the Babylonians allowed the exiled Jews to maintain their communal identity. Nebuchadnezzar’s actions were partly a response to the political maneuvering of Judah's King Jehoiakim, who had allied with Egypt against Babylon. The situation escalated again in 586 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar returned to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon, furthering the hardships faced by the Jewish people.
The Babylonian Captivity represents a crucial period of displacement that catalyzed the Jewish Diaspora, while the eventual conquest of the Babylonians by the Persians in 538 B.C. allowed many Jews to return home, though many chose to remain in Babylon. This historical episode is significant for understanding the evolution of Jewish identity and community resilience in the face of adversity.
Nebuchadnezzar Takes Jerusalem: Babylonian Captivity Begins
Nebuchadnezzar Takes Jerusalem: Babylonian Captivity Begins
The Babylonian Captivity of the Jewish people, which initiated the Diaspora or dispersal of Jews throughout the world, began in 597 b.c. when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II conquered Jerusalem. (This biblical Babylonian Captivity should not be confused with the much later and unrelated “Babylonian Captivity” of the Roman Catholic Church, which occurred when the papacy was forced to take up residence in Avignon, France, from a.d. 1309 to 1377.) According to some historical evidence, the city fell on March 16, 597 b.c.
The reign of Solomon in the 10th century b.c. had marked the height of the ancient independent Jewish state, roughly covering the region later known as Palestine. After King Solomon's death at some point in the early 920s b.c., his son Rehoboam was unable to maintain control over the nation, and 10 Jewish tribes to the north formed their own state. Henceforth Solomon's domain was split into two kingdoms—Israel to the north, its capital at Samaria, and Judah to the south, its capital at Jerusalem. Politically and militarily divided, the Jews were unable to retain their conquests in the region and became vulnerable to larger and more powerful neighbors.
In 722 b.c. the Assyrians conquered Israel and, in order to pacify the region, used the time-honored practice of relocating the population. They forced the upper classes of Israel, who were the most powerful segment of society and therefore represented the greatest threat, to go to scattered locations throughout the Middle East, and they moved in loyal Assyrians to replace them. The relocated Jews became known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, for they disappeared from history, as they were divided into small groups and thus easily assimilated into various local populations.
The southern state, Judah, then became the political football of several competing empires, namely Assyria and Babylonia to the east and Egypt to the south and southwest. Judah was caught in the middle but retained nominal independence by paying tribute to whatever empire was in the ascendancy at the moment. However, in 601 b.c. King Jehoiakim of Judah swore fealty to the Egyptians after a Babylonian defeat and thus angered the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. Nebuchadnezzar attacked and in 597 took Jerusalem, replacing Jehoiakim with a new king named Zedekiah who Nebuchadnezzar thought would be more loyal. Nebuchadnezzar also embarked on a massive relocation program, following the ancient Assyrian practice, and forced the emigration of approximately 10,000 upper- and middle-class Jews (commoners were typically left unmolested). Unlike the Assyrians, however, Nebuchadnezzar did not divide up the people he relocated but moved them en masse to Babylon, the sprawling city that was the capital of his empire, in what would become the modern-day nation of Iraq. Therefore, while the Jews endured many hardships in Babylon, they were able to maintain a communal identity and, unlike the Ten Lost Tribes, did not disappear from history.
Nebuchadnezzar was betrayed by Zedekiah a few years later, and in 586 b.c. he took Jerusalem again, this time destroying the city and burning down the famous Temple of Solomon. Again he deported Jews, but far fewer than before, in part because many had fled to Egypt as his armies approached. The Babylonians would themselves soon succumb to another rising empire. They were conquered by the Persians, and in 538 b.c. King Cyrus of Persia permitted the Jews of Babylon to come home. The Babylonian Captivity was thus ended, although most of the Jews declined to return. The Persians would rule the Middle East, including the Jewish lands, for another two centuries until they in turn were conquered by Alexander the Great.