Editing History of the ancient Levant (section)

====Under Neo-Babylonians====
After the [[Battle of Carchemish]], which effectively annihilated Assyrian resistance and [[Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt|Egypt]]ian intervention, Nebuchadnezzar II [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|besieged Jerusalem]] and destroyed the Temple (597 BC), starting the period of the [[Babylonian captivity]], which lasted about half a century. Nebuchadnezzar also [[Siege of Tyre (586–573 BC)|besieged]] the Phoenician city of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] for 13 years (586–573 BC).

The subsequent balance of power was, however, short-lived. In the 550s&nbsp;BC, the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenids]] revolted against the Medes and gained control of their empire, and over the next few decades annexed the realms of [[Lydia]], [[Damascus]], [[Babylonia]], and Egypt into their empire, consolidating control as far as [[India]]. This vast kingdom was divided up into various [[satrap]]ies and governed roughly according to the Assyrian model, but with a far lighter hand. [[Babylon]] became one the empire's four capitals, and the lingua franca was [[Aramaic]]. Around this time [[Zoroastrianism]] became the predominant religion in [[Iran|Persia]].