Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC) 597 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
About the battle
The siege of Jerusalem (597 BC) was a military campaign carried out by Nebuchadnezzar II, king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, in which he besieged Jerusalem, then capital of the Kingdom of Judah. The city surrendered, and its king Jeconiah was deported to Babylon and replaced by his Babylonian-appointed uncle, Zedekiah. The siege is recorded in both the Hebrew Bible (2 Kings 24:10–16) and the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle.
In 601 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II unsuccessfully attempted to take Egypt and was repulsed with heavy losses. Jehoiakim—the king of Judah—seized this opportunity to revolt against Babylonian rule, taking a pro-Egyptian position, despite the strong remonstrances of the prophet Jeremiah. The circumstances of Jehoiakim's death are not clear. He was succeeded by his young son, Jeconiah.
The Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, and in March 597 BC the city surrendered. Jeconiah, his court and other prominent citizens and craftsmen, were deported to Babylon. This event is considered to be the start of the Babylonian captivity and of the Jewish diaspora. Jeconiah's uncle, Zedekiah, was installed as vassal king of Judah.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC) (revision 1378907738), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Jewish–Babylonian War
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