The Israelites are accustomed to persecution and domination. One of its arch enemies, who has remained a demonic figure in Jewish history, is Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. In the movie “The Matrix”, the ship which Neo (messiah figure) is on is called the Nebuchadnezzar, which is trying to force itself into the city of Zion (another term for Israel).
On this day March 16th, in 597 BC, Jerusalem is successfully conquered by Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar had been laying siege to Jerusalem, which at that point was a city entirely walled for defenses. The Babylonians destroyed the Jewish Holy Temple which sits where Mount Rock is.
This was the start of the Jewish exile in what is called the diaspora. Israel’s King Jehoiachan had ceased paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar; thus, Nebuchadnezzar decided he would invade Jerusalem and place another king in his stead, Zedekiah. Zedekiah was a puppet to the Babylonian empire and was the last king of the Jews when they had their Holy Temple. All of this is documented in the Babylonian Chronicles where important dates and events were kept about Babylon.