After the reign of Sulaiman , Israel split into two kingdoms: the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. This division occurred around 930 BCE.
The Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BCE. Many of its inhabitants were exiled, and the ten northern tribes effectively disappeared from history. The Southern Kingdom of Judah continued to exist.
In 586 BCE, the Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, conquered the Southern Kingdom of Judah and destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. This led to the Babylonian Exile, where a significant portion of the Jewish population was taken into captivity in Babylon.
In 539 BCE, the Persian King Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon. He issued an edict allowing the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. This marked the end of the Babylonian Exile.
The Jews returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Second Temple, which was completed in 516 BCE. This era is marked by the presence of Persian and later Hellenistic influence on Jewish culture.
Following the conquests of Alexander the Great, the region came under the influence of Hellenistic culture. This period saw significant cultural and religious interactions, including the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, known as the Septuagint.
In the 2nd century BCE, the Jewish people revolted against the Seleucid Empire’s attempts to suppress their religious practices. The Seleucid Empire was one of the Hellenistic empires that emerged following the death of Alexander the Great. This revolt led to the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty also known as the Maccabean dynasty.
By the 1st century BCE, the Roman Republic transitioned into the Roman Empire. The region of Judea (formerly the Southern Kingdom of Judah) came under Roman control, leading to tensions and conflicts.
The 1st century CE holds profound significance in Islamic tradition as a period that witnessed the emergence of several key prophetic figures, We will discuss it in the next article.
Written by Abdu Shaheed Azhary, available at moralstudy.com. Stay tuned for Part 5.