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What was the Babylonian Captivity?

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The Babylonian Captivity, also called the Babylonian Exile, was the forced displacement of Judaeans to Babylonia following the Neo-Babylonian empire’s conquest under Nebuchadnezzar II of the kingdom of Judah in 598/7 and 587/6 bce. Several deportations took place, and not all Judaeans were forced to leave their homeland. The captivity formally ended in 538 bce, when Cyrus the Great gave the Jews permission to return to Judaea and rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. The Babylonian Captivity had a profound and lasting impact on the history and development of Judaism.