Judaism is thought to have been in the near east as early as the eleventh century BC. Judaism is a monotheistic religion which was relatively unique in the time period. Judaism was influenced by history contexts at the time. Around the sixth century BC the Jews lived in Israel and Judah The two split apart around 930 BC. In the late 17th century BC and the early 16ty century BC the assyrians and then the babylonians conquered the Jewish kingdom and forced them to move. The time after the babylonians conquered the Jewish kingdom was called the Babylon exile which played a major role in shaping jewish thoughts.
