Final answer:
The northern kingdom of Israel was captured by the Assyrians, and the southern kingdom of Judah was later captured by the Babylonians. The correct answer to the question is option (c) Israelites; Assyrians; Babylonians.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the historical context provided by 2 Kings, the northern kingdom of Israel was captured by the Assyrians, while the southern kingdom of Judah was later captured by the Babylonians. The Assyrians first conquered and destroyed Israel in 722 BCE, leading to the dispersal and loss of identity among the Israelites, a phenomenon often referred to as the "lost tribes" of Israel.
Subsequently, the southern kingdom of Judah managed to withstand an Assyrian siege partly due to a plague that afflicted the Assyrian army, but it eventually became a tribute-paying vassal of the Assyrians before being conquered by the Babylonian empire under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II.
Answering the fill-in-the-blank section based on the information given, the correct sequence is: (c) Israelites; Assyrians; Babylonians. This corresponds to choice (c) in the question given.