Map of Babylonians conquering Judah
Map of Babylonians conquering Judah in 586 BC.
Attack of the Babylonians
Map of Joshua’s southern campaign
Map of Joshua's southern campaign
Southern campaign
Bible map of Sennacherib’s attack on Judah
Bible map of Sennacherib's attack on Judah
Assyria attacks Judah
Bible map of Assyrians attacking Jerusalem
Bible map of Assyrians attacking Jerusalem
Assyrians attack Jerusalem
Map of Babylonians conquering Jerusalem
Map of Babylonians conquering Jerusalem
Babylon erases Judah from the map
Map Persian province of Judah
Map Persian province of Judah
Map of the Persian province of Judah
After the Jewish nation of Judah fell to Babylonian invaders in 586, many survivors lived in exile. Some returned 50 years later, when Persians freed them.
It was only a partial freedom. The Jews lived for the next 200 years as a tiny province of Persia: Yehud, which is translated "Judah" or "Judea."
It was roughly a 40-mile-wide square plug of ground (60 km), in territory that became known as Palestine. The Jewish province included Jerusalem and beyond, into what are now central parts of Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Jerusalem is where Jews sacrificed animals to God. So when the Jews returned, they built a new temple and later restored some of the walls around the city, but not to the larger size it was before the defeat.
Map of Judah as a Persian province