Dispersion of Israel

1. Assyrian Deportations (722–721 BC)

Event: Destruction of Samaria (Northern Kingdom of Israel).
Nation responsible: Neo‑Assyrian Empire.
Outcome: Large portions of Israel’s population deported across Assyria — the earliest major Jewish dispersion.

2. Babylonian Exile (597–587/586 BC)

Events:
- 597 BC: First deportation after Babylon’s siege of Jerusalem.
- 587/586 BC: Destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple; second major deportation.
Nation responsible: Neo‑Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II.
Outcome: Thousands exiled to Mesopotamia; beginning of a major diaspora community.

3. Persian Period (539–530 BC)

Event: Persia conquers Babylon (539 BC).
Nation involved: Achaemenid Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great.
Outcome: Jews permitted to return (c. 538–530 BC), though many remained dispersed in Mesopotamia and Egypt.

4. Hellenistic Dispersions (4th–1st centuries BC)

Events: After Alexander the Great’s conquests, Jewish migration expanded.
Nations involved: Greek/Hellenistic kingdoms — Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Empire, and other successor states.
Outcome: Large Jewish communities formed in Egypt (Alexandria), Syria, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Italy.

5. Roman Conquest (63 BC)

Event: Pompey conquers Jerusalem.
Nation responsible: Roman Republic though the citizens asked for their help.
Outcome: Increased Jewish movement into Roman territories; diaspora communities grew.

6. Roman Destruction of the Second Temple (70 AD)

Event: First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD); Romans destroy Jerusalem and the Second Temple (70 AD).
Nation responsible: Roman Empire.
Outcome: Major dispersal of Jews across the Roman Empire; imposition of the Jewish Tax. Area renamed Palestine.

7. Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 AD)

Outcome: Further expulsions and forced migrations; Judea heavily depopulated; diaspora communities strengthened across Rome, Egypt, Syria, and beyond. Still in process of being built.
Event: Second Jewish–Roman War.
Nation responsible: Roman Empire.