Nebuchadnezzar II pushed his army across the Euphrates River and drove 900 miles west toward the Mediterranean coast. He crushed rebellious vassal states along the route to secure his empire. Moving thousands of infantry and cavalry across the arid landscape demanded brutal discipline and an unbroken supply line.
The military vanguard arrived outside Jerusalem in the early months of 597 b.c. Babylonian administrative records confirm the siege began during month 12 of the calendar year. King Jehoiachin looked at the overwhelming force surrounding his walls and surrendered the city on the second day of Adar without a fight. The invading soldiers immediately secured the gates and stripped the royal treasuries to punish the rebellion of the previous ruler.
The soldiers entered the central temple and systematically dismantled the heavy gold vessels dedicated to the Hebrew Deity. Nebuchadnezzar then ordered the forced deportation of 10,000 citizens from the crippled capital. His captains marched 7,000 fighting men and 1,000 skilled metalworkers into columns for the long walk back to Babylon. The physical wealth of the city vanished in a few short days.
A conquered city pays for its own ruin when the victor carries away the very hands that built it.
The sudden absence of those skilled hands left Jerusalem entirely hollowed out. The Babylonian king installed a new puppet ruler named Zedekiah over the remaining impoverished population. Zedekiah governed a fractured and bankrupt city while his predecessor sat in a foreign prison. This fragile arrangement demanded absolute submission to a foreign king who possessed the military capacity to level the remaining walls.