Jews have faced a long history of persecution and racism. Envy, greed and lust for power caused groups such as the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans (to name a few) to persecute, exile and threaten the existence of the Hebrew community. The diaspora was certainly not a single event taking place over the course of one night, but rather a series of dispersals by different groups of people that have continued to the present day. The diaspora led to the spread of the Hebrew population and its culture and beliefs, which ultimately strengthened the Hebrew community. The Hebrew diaspora was a forced movement of Hebrews resulting directly from racial prejudice and anti-Semitic movements, ultimately resulting in the spread of the Hebrew community and its culture and belief systems throughout the world. The diaspora was not a new concept as it affected communities such as Africans through the infamous African slave trade before the Hebrew diaspora. So when did the diaspora first affect the Hebrew community? The Hebrews had a long history of persecution, beginning with their first exile from the kingdom of Assyria. The Hebrew community was exiled more than once, dispersing the population and the community across the entire surface of the globe. However, the first diasporas that emerged within the Hebrew community were the result of the brutal actions of the Assyrian and later Babylonian kingdoms. In 721 BCE, the Assyrians invaded the Jewish homeland – Israel – and subsequently conquered and wiped out that country's Northern Kingdom. Around 587 BCE, the Babylonians invaded and destroyed the southern kingdom of Israel. The Assyrians and Babylonians drove the Hebrews from their home ...... middle of paper ......ning. Internet. March 27, 2014. “Ancient Jewish History: The Diaspora.” The diaspora. Jewish Virtual Library. Internet. March 27, 2014. .The editors of the Encyclopædia Britannica. “Diaspora (Judaism).” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Internet. March 27, 2014. < ““The Jewish Diaspora.” PBS. PBS. Internet. March 27, 2014. “The Jewish Diaspora.” PBS. PBS. Internet. March 27, 2014. .Wiesel, Elie and Marion Wiesel. Night. New York, NY: Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. Print.