587-332 CE - Babylonian/Persian Rule Nebuchadnezzar lays seige to Jerusalem, and destroys the Temple. Judah becomes a Babylonian province, and the Jews are taken into exile in Babylonia. In 539 King Cyrus of Persian conquers the Babylonian Empire. He frees the Jews, permitting them to return to their homeland, and eventually rebuild the temple. Judah becomes a Persian province after the end of the Babylonian exile of the Jews. About the picture: Second Temple Period archeology excavations on the Ophel site near the Western Wall. 8000-4000 BCE 3000-1200 BCE 1700 1200-600 BCE 587-332 BCE 520 BCE 332-63 BCE 166 BCE 63-324 CE 6-3 BCE 66 CE 68 CE 132-135 CE 135-324 CE 324-638 CE 614 CE 638-1099 CE 1099-1291 CE 1291-1917 CE 1492 1517 1886 1918-1948 1948 1950-67 1968-1988 1974 1977 1982 1993 2000