ABSTRACT
Jerusalem suffered extensive damage at the hands of the Babylonians around 586 bce, after a siege of about a year and a half. According to the biblical account, the Temple and the palace were burnt, evidence of Nebuchadrezzar’s desire to eliminate Jerusalem as a religious and political center. The biblical account picks up again with its description of the Restoration of Zion with king Cyrus allowing the exiles to return to Jerusalem. The Book of Haggai, which makes no mention of the returnees from Babylonia, provides details on the exhortations of Haggai to the residents of Jerusalem to get them to return to the building project. During the reign of Alexander Jannaeus, an aqueduct bringing water to the Temple was constructed between the pools south of Bethlehem and the Temple Mount. By the time of Alexander, the Hasmonean royal palace, from which one could see the Temple Mount, was probably already in existence.
