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Iraqi Jewry is the oldest continuous Jewish community in the world, older than European Jewry by 1,500 years. It begins not with persecution but with Abraham leaving Ur Kasdim, and is forged in 586 BCE when Nebuchadnezzar destroys the First Temple and exiles Judea's elite to Babylon. When Cyrus the Persian permits return in 538 BCE, most stay. Those who stayed built the academies of Sura, Pumbedita, and Nehardea, where the Babylonian Talmud was composed. The community survived 2,500 years until the Farhud (1941) and the mass aliyah of 1950-51 emptied it.
Cultural note, When an Iraqi Jew (Bavli) tells you "my family lived in Baghdad before Islam existed," it is literal. The community predates the Arab conquest by 1,200 years and the Babylonian Talmud bears the city's name. Understanding Galut Bavel is understanding why Mizrahi Israelis carry a different historical memory than Ashkenazim, one that centers on Babylon, not Europe; on Cyrus, not Rome; on continuity, not rupture.
Biblical Origins (Ur, Babel)
Babylonian Exile 586 BCE
Cities & Geography (Bavel/Iraq)
Return vs Stay (538 BCE)
Continuous Community Terms
Tehillim 137: Al Naharot Bavel
The exile psalm, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion." Composed by Judean exiles on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris, recited in every Jewish home before Tisha B'Av and at the breaking of the glass at every Jewish wedding. Read aloud, these are the foundational words of Galut Bavel.