Israel became an important local power in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE before falling to the Assyrians ; the southern kingdom , Judah , enjoyed a period of richness as a dependency of the greater empires of the region before a revolt against Babylon led to it being destoried early in the 6th century . By the 9th century BCE the kingdom of Israel had emerged as an important local power before falling to the Assyrians in 722 BC ; its southern neighbor , the kingdom of Judah , enjoyed a period of prosperity as a client-state of the greater empires of the region before a revolt against Babylon led to its destruction by Babylon in 586 BC .