In 586 BC, Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah are destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian empire. It is estimated that Judah lost more than two-thirds of its population in what is one of the greatest tragedies of Jewish history.

In this episode, we try to understand why this happened? How Babylonia came to power? And what did Judah do wrong to bring upon itself this calamity?

Using the ancient records of imperial Assyria and Babylonia, we reconstruct the turbid history of the 7th century BC. We watch Assyria fall from its greatest heights to non-existence and geopolitical chaos that this causes. Judah is caught between Babylonia and Egypt with no good options.

Lastly, we use archeology to get a snapshot of post-destruction Judah and to get a better understanding of the catastrophe that had befallen the Judeans.

This episode was re ...