King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered the Philistine cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron. Gaza remained deserted, but the others recovered and continued into later times. Zephaniah does not mention Gath, the fifth major Philistine city (see 1 Samuel 6:17), which had either disappeared or become unimportant by Zephaniah’s time.