In 586 BC the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II captured Jerusalem after an eighteen-month siege, burned the Temple built by Solomon, and ended the Kingdom of Judah. Thousands of the elite were deported to Babylon, an event known as the Babylonian exile. During the exile, Jewish scribes collected and edited many of the texts of the Hebrew Bible, and the community developed a faith based on law and scripture rather than a temple. In 539 BC Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and allowed the exiles to return, and the Second Temple was completed in 516 BC.
Before and after
- 600 BCEBirth of Cyrus the Great
- from 16 March 597 BCE to 1 January 538 BCEBabylonian captivity
- c. 595 BCESolon reforms Athens
- from 589 BCE to 587 BCESiege of Jerusalem
- 587 BCENebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple
- 575 BCEIshtar Gate
- 564 BCEDeath of Aesop
- from 553 BCE to 428 CEKingdom of Armenia
- c. 550s BCEConstruction of Circus Maximus
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 431 BCE to 404 BCEPeloponnesian War
- 335 BCEAlexander the Great crosses into Asia
- from 264 BCE to 146 BCEPunic Wars
- 217 BCEHannibal destroys the Roman army at Cannae
- from 59 BCE to 51 BCECaesar begins the conquest of Gaul
- 2 September 31 BCEOctavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 6th century BCE.