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Judah's revolts against Babylon (601–586 BCE) were attempts by the
Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...
to escape dominance by the
Neo-Babylonian Empire The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to ancient Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC a ...
. Resulting in a Babylonian victory and the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah, it marked the beginning of the prolonged hiatus in Jewish self-rule in Judaea until the
Maccabean Revolt The Maccabean Revolt () was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167 to 160 BCE and ended with the Seleucids in control of ...
of the 2nd century BCE. Babylonian forces captured the capital city of
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
and destroyed
Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...
, completing the fall of Judah, an event which marked the beginning of the
Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...
, a period in
Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their Jewish peoplehood, nation, Judaism, religion, and Jewish culture, culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Jews originated from the Israelites and H ...
in which a large number of Judeans were forcibly removed from Judah and resettled in
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
(rendered in the Bible simply as "Babylon").


Background

Egypt was the regional power until the Battle of Charchamesh around 606 BCE. Later, Babylonia came and ended the Egyptian rule, established its own dominance, and made Judah its vassal.


First revolt

According to the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Jehoiakim Jehoiakim, also sometimes spelled Jehoikim was the eighteenth and antepenultimate King of Judah from 609 to 598 BC. He was the second son of King Josiah () and Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. His birth name was Eliakim. Background Af ...
decided to stop the payments and went to war with Babylonia.
Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...
,
Ammon Ammon (; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; '; ) was an ancient Semitic languages, Semitic-speaking kingdom occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Wadi Mujib, Arnon and Jabbok, in present-d ...
and
Chaldea Chaldea () refers to a region probably located in the marshy land of southern Mesopotamia. It is mentioned, with varying meaning, in Neo-Assyrian cuneiform, the Hebrew Bible, and in classical Greek texts. The Hebrew Bible uses the term (''Ka� ...
went to war against Judah alongside Babylonia. ().
Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar II, also Nebuchadrezzar II, meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir", was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC to his own death in 562 BC. Often titled Nebuchadnezzar ...
besieged Jerusalem in 597 BCE and managed to capture the city and King
Jehoiachin Jeconiah ( meaning "Yahweh has established"; ; ), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin ( ''Yəhoyāḵin'' ; ), was the nineteenth and penultimate king of Judah who was dethroned by the King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BC ...
, Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle along with all of the aristocracy of Jerusalem. He then looted the treasures of the
Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...
, including the golden implements. Nebuchadnezzar exiled 10,000 of the officers, the craftsmen, and 7,000 soldiers, after which he appointed Jehoiachin's uncle, Mattaniah, as king of Judah. Later, Mattaniah changed his name to Zedekiah.


Second revolt

In July 587 BCE, Zedekiah rebelled against Babylonia, making an alliance with Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem again, starving the people (). Later, the Babylonian troops managed to get inside the walls and conquer the city, yet Zedekiah and some of his troops managed to escape to
Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...
, where they fought against the Babylonians (called Chaldeans by the Bible), who captured Zedekiah and his sons and brought them in chains to Babylonia, where Zedekiah's children were executed in front of him. On the seventh day of Av, Nebuzaradan, captain of Nebuchadnezzar's body guard, burned down Solomon's Temple, destroyed the walls of Jerusalem, and exiled the rest of the Jews to Babylonia. He appointed Gedalia as the administrator of the Jews that were not exiled from Judah. Judah ceased to exist a year later, in 586 BCE. Gedalia was murdered in 582 BCE.


See also

* List of conflicts in the Near East


Bibliography

*
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' 2 Kings 2425,
Book of Jeremiah The Book of Jeremiah () is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1#Superscription, Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the book as "th ...
,
Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Nevi'im#Latter Prophets, Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and one of the Major Prophets, major prophetic books in the Christian Bible, where it follows Book of Isaiah, Isaiah and ...
, 2 Chronicles 36 * Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish-Babylonian war 7th century BC in the Kingdom of Judah 6th century BC in the Kingdom of Judah 7th-century BC conflicts 7th-century BC rebellions 6th-century BC conflicts 6th-century BC rebellions Hebrew Bible battles Nebuchadnezzar II Jewish rebellions Wars involving the states and peoples of Asia Military history of Babylonia