Nebuchadnezzar II Conquers Jerusalem
Nebuchadnezzar II had submitted Judah to Babylonian suzerainty after the Battle of Carchemish (605 BCE), at which he had defeated the Egyptians. When Jehoiakim subsequently rebelled, relying on promises of Egyptian support, Nebuchadnezzar responded. The Babylonian Chronicle records: In the seventh year, the month of Kislev, the king of Babylonia mustered his army and marched to Hattu-land. He encamped against the city of Judah and on the second day of Adar he captured the city and seized its king. The city was not destroyed in this first conquest; the deportees were the leadership class. The deportees were settled in Babylon where they maintained a distinct community and continued to develop their religious and literary traditions. It is in exile that much of the Hebrew Bible reached its canonical form. A remarkable confirmation was found among the Ishtar Gate archives: tablets recording rations distributed to Yaukin, king of the land of Yahud, the Biblical Jehoiachin.
- Year: 597 BCE
- Category: Military
