The Book of Joshua holds little historical value.[3] The archaeological evidence shows that Jericho and Ai were not occupied in the Near Eastern Late Bronze Age.[31] The story of the conquest most likely represents the nationalist propaganda of the 8th century BCE kings of Judah and their claims to the territory of the Kingdom of Israel;[20] incorporated into an early form of Joshua written late in the reign of king Josiah (reigned 640–609 BCE). The book was probably revised and completed after the fall of Jerusalem to the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE, and possibly after the return from the Babylonian exile in 538 BCE.[3]:10-11