View source for Judea

{{Short description|Region in the Levant}}
{{Redirect|Judaea|the Roman province|Judaea (Roman province)}}
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{{Infobox landform
| name              = Judea
| type              = [[Mediterranean Basin|Region]]
| photo             = Giv'at Seled, near Tzafririm.jpg
| photo_caption     =
| coordinates       = {{coord|31|40|N|35|00|E|type:region|display=inline,title}}
| part_of           = {{hlist|[[State of Palestine|Palestine]]|[[Israel]]}}
| highest_point     = [[Mount Hebron]]
| highest_elevation = {{Convert|1020|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}
| area              = <!-- {{Convert|NN|ha|acres}} -->
| geology           = <!-- or |type = -->
| website           = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
|native_name={{lang|he|{{Script/Hebrew|יְהוּדָה}}|rtl=yes}}|native_name_lang=he|location=[[Southern Levant]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=September 2023}}
'''Judea''' or '''Judaea''' ({{IPAc-en|dʒ|uː|ˈ|d|iː|ə|,_|dʒ|uː|ˈ|d|eɪ|ə}};<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of Judaea in English |url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/judaea |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720211322/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/judaea |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 20, 2021 |website=Lexico Dictionaries |access-date=20 July 2021}}</ref>  {{Hebrew name|hebrew=יהודה|stan=Yəhūda|tiber=Yehūḏā}}; {{langx|el|Ἰουδαία}}, {{Transliteration|el|Ioudaía}}; {{langx|la|Iudaea}}) is a mountainous region of the [[Levant]]. Traditionally dominated by the city of [[Jerusalem]], it is now part of [[State of Palestine|Palestine]] and [[Israel]]. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the present day; it originates from [[Judah (son of Jacob)|Yehudah]], a [[Hebrew name]]. Yehudah was a son of [[Jacob]], who was later given the name "[[Israel (name)|Israel]]" and whose sons collectively headed the [[Twelve Tribes of Israel]]. Yehudah's progeny among the [[Israelites]] formed the [[Tribe of Judah]], with whom the [[Kingdom of Judah]] is associated. Related nomenclature continued to be used under the rule of the [[Babylonia]]ns (the [[Yehud (Babylonian province)|Yehud province]]), the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]] (the [[Yehud Medinata|Yehud province]]), the [[Hellenistic period|Greeks]] (the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean Kingdom]]), and the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] (the [[Herodian kingdom|Herodian Kingdom]] and the [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea province]]).<ref name="Crotty">{{cite book |last=Crotty |first=Robert Brian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6X6hDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=The Christian Survivor: How Roman Christianity Defeated Its Early Competitors |publisher=Springer |year=2017 |isbn=9789811032141 |page=25 f.n. 4 |quote=The Babylonians translated the Hebrew name [Judah] into Aramaic as Yehud Medinata ('the province of Judah') or simply 'Yehud' and made it a new Babylonian province. This was inherited by the Persians. Under the Greeks, Yehud was translated as Judaea and this was taken over by the Romans. After the Jewish rebellion of 135 CE, the Romans renamed the area Syria Palaestina or simply Palestine. The area described by these land titles differed to some extent in the different periods. |access-date=28 September 2020}}</ref> Under the Hasmoneans, the Herodians, and the Romans, the term was applied to an area larger than Judea of earlier periods. In 132 CE, the Roman province of Judaea was merged with [[Galilee]] to form the enlarged province of [[Syria Palaestina]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Clouser |first=Gordon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pcTSTn82KjYC&dq=judea+galilee+merged+palestina&pg=PT323 |title=Jesus, Joshua, Yeshua of Nazareth Revised and Expanded |date=2011 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-1-4620-6121-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Spolsky |first=Bernard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nl72AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 |title=The Languages of the Jews: A Sociolinguistic History |date=2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-05544-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Brand |first1=Chad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jgxCDwAAQBAJ&dq=judea+galilee+merged+palestina&pg=PA1208 |title=Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary |last2=Mitchell |first2=Eric |last3=Staff |first3=Holman Reference Editorial |date=2015 |publisher=B&H Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8054-9935-3 |language=en}}</ref>
The term ''Judea'' was used by English speakers for the hilly internal part of [[Mandatory Palestine]] until the Jordanian rule of the area in 1948.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> Most of the region of Judea was incorporated into what the Jordanians called ''ad-difa'a al-gharbiya'' (translated into English as the "West Bank"),<ref name="Philologos" /> though "Yehuda" is the Hebrew term used for the area in modern [[Israel]] since the region was captured and occupied by Israel in 1967.<ref name=":9" /> The Israeli government in the 20th century used the term Judea as part of the Israeli administrative district name "[[Judea and Samaria Area]]" for the territory that is generally referred to as the [[West Bank]].<ref name="Caplan2011">{{cite book|author=Neil Caplan|title=The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Contested Histories|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JyAgn_dD43cC&pg=PT18|date=19 September 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1405175395|page=8}}</ref>
==Etymology==
The name  ''Judea'' is a Greek and [[Latin (language)|Roman]] adaptation of the name "[[Tribe of Judah|Judah]]", which originally encompassed the territory of the [[Israelite]] tribe of that name and later of the ancient [[Kingdom of Judah]]. [[Nimrud Tablet K.3751]], dated {{circa}} 733 BCE, is the earliest known record of the name Judah (written in [[Assyrian cuneiform]] as Yaudaya or KUR.ia-ú-da-a-a).
Judea was sometimes used as the name for the entire region, including parts [[Transjordan (region)|beyond the river Jordan]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/3135423|title=Studies in Palestinian Geography. II. Judea|author=Riggs, J. S.|year=1894|journal=The Biblical World|volume=4|issue=2|pages=87–93|doi=10.1086/471491 |jstor=3135423 |s2cid=144961794 | issn = 0190-3578 }}</ref> In 200 CE [[Sextus Julius Africanus]], cited by [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]] (''Church History'' 1.7.14), described "Nazara" ([[Nazareth]]) as a village in Judea.<ref>"A few of the careful, however, having obtained private records of their own, either by remembering the names or by getting them in some other way from the registers, pride themselves on preserving the memory of their noble extraction. Among these are those already mentioned, called Desposyni, on account of their connection with the family of the Saviour. Coming from Nazara and Cochaba, villages of Judea, into other parts of the world, they drew the aforesaid genealogy from memory and from the book of daily records as faithfully as possible." ([[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius Pamphili]], [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.vi.vii.html ''Church History'', Book I, Chapter VII],§ 14)</ref> The [[King James Version]] of the Bible refers to the region as "Jewry".<ref>For example at {{bibleverse||Luke|23:5|KJV}} and {{bibleverse||John|7:1|KJV}}</ref>
"Judea" was a name used by English speakers for the hilly internal part of [[Mandatory Palestine]] until the Jordanian rule of the area in 1948. For example, the borders of the two states to be established according to the UN's 1947 partition scheme<ref name=":7">{{cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/DPA/DPR/unispal.nsf/0/7F0AF2BD897689B785256C330061D253 |title=A/RES/181(II) of 29 November 1947 |publisher=Unispal.un.org |access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref> were officially described using the terms "Judea" and "Samaria" and in its reports to the League of Nations Mandatory Committee, as in 1937, the geographical terms employed were "Samaria and Judea".<ref name=":8">{{cite web|url=https://unispal.un.org/DPA/DPR/unispal.nsf/0/7BDD2C11C15B54C2052565D10057251E |title=Mandate for Palestine – Report of the Mandatory to the LoN (31 December 1937) |publisher=Unispal.un.org |access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref> [[Jordan]] called the area ''ad-difa'a al-gharbiya'' (translated into English as the "West Bank").<ref name=Philologos>[http://www.forward.com/articles/131482/ "This Side of the River Jordan; On Language,"] Philologos, September 22, 2010, Forward.</ref> "Yehuda" is the Hebrew term used for the area in modern [[Israel]] since the region was captured and occupied by Israel in 1967.<ref name=":9">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/307117/Judaea |title=Judaea |publisher=Britannica |access-date=2012-12-31}}</ref>
==Historical boundaries==
[[Image:Judea 1 by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|The [[Judean Mountains|Judean hills]]]]
[[File:Broken columns seen above regional highway 375.jpg|thumb|Old Roman road in Judea]]
=== Roman-era definition ===
The first century Roman-Jewish historian [[Josephus]] wrote (''[[The Jewish War]]'' 3.3.5):<blockquote>In the limits of Samaria and Judea lies the village [[As-Sawiya#Khan as-Sawiya (Khirbet Berkit)|Anuath, which is also named Borceos]].<ref>Based on [[Charles William Wilson]]'s (1836–1905) identification of this site, who thought that Borceos may have been a place about 18 kilometers to the south of Neapolis (Nablus) because of a name similarity (''Berkit''). See p. 232 in: {{cite book |author= Wilson, Charles William |author-link= Charles William Wilson |title= Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt |url= https://archive.org/details/picturesquepales01wilsuoft |volume=1 |year=1881 |publisher= [[D. Appleton & Company|D. Appleton]] |location=New York}}. This identification is the result of the equivocal nature of Josephus' statement, where he mentions both "Samaria" and "Judea." Samaria was a sub-district of Judea. Others speculate that ''Borceos'' may have referred to the village [[Burqin, Palestine|Burqin]], in northern Samaria, and which village marked the bounds of Judea to its north.</ref> This is the northern boundary of Judea. The southern parts of Judea, if they be measured lengthways, are bounded by a village adjoining to the confines of [[Arabia]]; the [[Jews]] that dwell there call it Jordan. However, its breadth is extended from the river Jordan to Joppa. The city Jerusalem is situated in the very middle; on which account some have, with sagacity enough, called that city the Navel of the country. Nor indeed is Judea destitute of such delights as come from the sea, since its maritime places extend as far as Ptolemais: it was parted into eleven portions, of which the royal city [[Jerusalem]] was the supreme, and presided over all the neighboring country, as the head does over the body. As to the other cities that were inferior to it, they presided over their several [[toparchies]]; Gophna was the second of those cities, and next to that Acrabatta, after them Thamna, and [[Lod|Lydda]], and [[Emmaus]], and Pella, and [[Idumea]], and [[Ein Gedi|Engaddi]], and [[Herodium]], and [[Jericho]]; and after them came Jamnia and [[Jaffa|Joppa]], as presiding over the neighboring people; and besides these there was the region of Gamala, and Gaulonitis, and Batanea, and Trachonitis, which are also parts of the kingdom of Agrippa. This [last] country begins at Mount Libanus, and the fountains of Jordan, and reaches breadthways to [[Sea of Galilee|Lake Tiberias]]; and in length is extended from a village called Arpha, as far as Julias. Its inhabitants are a mixture of Jews and Syrians. And thus have I, with all possible brevity, described the country of Judea, and those that lie round about it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/josephus-wara.html |title=Ancient History Sourcebook: Josephus (37 – after 93 CE): Galilee, Samaria, and Judea in the First Century CE |publisher=Fordham.edu |access-date=2012-12-31}}</ref></blockquote>
Elsewhere, Josephus wrote that "Arabia is a country that borders on Judea."<ref>Josephus, ''[[Antiquities of the Jews|Antiquities]]'' XIV.I.4. ([http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D14%3Asection%3D14 14.14])</ref>
==Geography==
[[Image:Valley of Elah-Med woodland.jpg|thumb|[[Mediterranean]] [[oak]] and [[terebinth]] [[woodland]] in the [[Valley of Elah]], southwestern Judea]]
Judea is a mountainous region, part of which is considered a [[desert]]. It varies greatly in height, rising to an altitude of {{convert|1020|m}} in the south at the [[Hebron Hills]], {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} southwest of [[Jerusalem]], and descending to as much as {{convert|400|m}} ''below'' sea level in the east of the region. It also varies in rainfall, starting with about {{convert|400|–|500|mm|in}} in the western hills, rising to {{convert|600|mm|in}} around western Jerusalem (in central Judea), falling back to {{convert|400|mm|in}} in eastern Jerusalem and dropping to around {{convert|100|mm|in}} in the eastern parts, due to a [[rain shadow]]: this is the [[Judaean Desert]]. The climate, accordingly, moves between [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] in the west and [[desert climate]] in the east, with a strip of [[semi-arid climate]] in the middle. Major urban areas in the region include Jerusalem, [[Bethlehem]], [[Gush Etzion]], Jericho and [[Hebron]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lifeintheholyland.com/picturesque_palestine_vol1.htm |title=Picturesque Palestine I: Jerusalem, Judah, Ephraim |publisher=Lifeintheholyland.com |access-date=2012-12-31}}</ref>
Geographers divide Judea into several regions: the Hebron hills, the Jerusalem saddle, the [[Bethel]] hills and the Judaean Desert east of Jerusalem, which descends in a series of steps to the [[Dead Sea]]. The hills are distinct for their [[anticline]] structure. In ancient times the hills were forested, and the [[Bible]] records agriculture and sheep farming being practiced in the area. Animals are still grazed today, with shepherds moving them between the low ground to the hilltops as summer approaches, while the slopes are still layered with centuries-old stone [[Terrace (agriculture)|terracing]]. The Jewish Revolt against the Romans ended in the devastation of vast areas of the Judean countryside.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ansmagazine.com/Winter07/ |title=Unlikely A Tale of Two Conquests: The Unlikely Numismatic Association Between the Fall of New France (AD 1760) and the Fall of Judaea (AD 70) |publisher=Ansmagazine.com |access-date=2012-12-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707042740/http://ansmagazine.com/Winter07/ |archive-date=2012-07-07 }}</ref>
[[Mount Hazor]] marks the geographical boundary between Samaria to its north and Judea to its south.
==Narrative of the biblical patriarchs==
Judea is central to much of the narrative of the [[Torah]], with the [[Patriarchs]] [[Abraham]], [[Isaac]] and [[Jacob]] said to have been buried at [[Hebron]] in the [[Tomb of the Patriarchs]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
==History==
===Israel and Judah, Assyrian and Babylonian periods===
{{main|History of ancient Israel and Judah}}
[[File:Levant 830.svg|thumb|Map of the southern [[Levant]], c. 830s BCE<small>{{legend|#00ff00|Kingdom of Judah}}</small>]]
The early history of Judah is uncertain; the biblical account states that the Kingdom of Judah, along with the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]], was a successor to a [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|united monarchy of Israel and Judah]], but modern scholarship generally holds that the united monarchy is ahistorical.<ref name=Kuhrtp438>{{cite book|last=Kuhrt|first=Amiele|title=The Ancient Near East|year=1995|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415167628|page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientneareastc00akuh/page/438 438]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ancientneareastc00akuh/page/438}}</ref><ref name="Finkelstein, Israel 2002">Finkelstein, Israel, and Silberman, Neil Asher, ''The Bible Unearthed : Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts'', Simon & Schuster, 2002. {{ISBN|0-684-86912-8}}</ref><ref name="bibleinterp.com">{{cite web|url=https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2014/07/wri388001 |title=The Bible and Interpretation – David, King of Judah (Not Israel) |publisher=bibleinterp.arizona.edu |date=2014-07-13 |access-date=2018-09-20}}</ref><ref>Thompson, Thomas L., 1999, ''The Bible in History: How Writers Create a Past'', Jonathan Cape, London, {{ISBN|978-0-224-03977-2}} p. 207</ref> Regardless, the Northern Kingdom was conquered by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] in 720&nbsp;BCE. The Kingdom of Judah remained nominally independent, but paid tribute to the Assyrian Empire from 715 and throughout the first half of the 7th century BCE, regaining its independence as the Assyrian Empire declined after 640&nbsp;BCE, but after 609 again fell under the sway of imperial rule, this time paying tribute at first to the Egyptians and after 601&nbsp;BCE to the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]], until 586&nbsp;BCE, when it was finally conquered by Babylonia.
===Persian and Hellenistic periods===
{{main|Yehud Medinata}}
[[File:1stMithritadicwar89BC.svg|thumb|left|250px|Hasmonean Kingdom at its greatest extent under [[Salome Alexandra]]]]
The Babylonian Empire fell to the conquests of [[Cyrus the Great]] in 539&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cyrus the Great {{!}} Biography & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cyrus-the-Great |access-date=2022-06-26 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Judea remained under Persian rule until the conquest of [[Alexander the Great]] in 332&nbsp;BCE, eventually falling under the rule of the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] [[Seleucid Empire]] until the revolt of [[Judas Maccabeus]] resulted in the [[Hasmonean]] dynasty of kings who ruled in Judea for over a century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palestine – The Hasmonean priest-princes|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Palestine/The-Hasmonean-priest-princes |access-date=2022-06-26 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
===Early Roman period===
{{See also|Judaea (Roman province)}}
Judea lost its independence to the Romans in the 1st century BCE, becoming first a tributary kingdom, then a province, of the Roman Empire. The Romans had allied themselves to the [[Maccabees]] and interfered again in 63&nbsp;BCE, at the end of the [[Third Mithridatic War]], when the [[proconsul]] [[Pompey]] ("Pompey the Great") stayed behind to make the area secure for Rome, including his [[Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC)|siege of Jerusalem in 63 BCE]]. Queen [[Salome Alexandra]] had recently died, and a civil war broke out between her sons, [[Hyrcanus II]] and [[Aristobulus II]]. Pompeius restored Hyrcanus but political rule passed to the [[Herodian dynasty]], who ruled as [[Judaea (Roman province)#Background|client kings]].
In 6&nbsp;CE, Judea came under direct Roman rule as the southern part of the province of [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea]], although Jews living there still maintained some form of independence and could judge offenders by their own laws, including capital offences, until c. 28 CE.<ref>[[Babylonian Talmud]], ''Avodah Zarah'' 8b; ibid, ''Sanhedrin'' 41a</ref> The province of Judea, during the late [[Hellenistic period]] and early [[Roman Empire]] was also divided into five conclaves: Jerusalem, [[Gadara]], [[Amathus, Transjordan|Amathus]], [[Jericho]], and [[Sepphoris]],<ref>[[Josephus]], ''Antiquities'' Book 14, chapter 5, verse 4</ref> and during the Roman period had eleven administrative districts ([[toparches|toparchies]]): Jerusalem, [[Jifna|Gophna]], [[Aqraba, Nablus|Akrabatta]], [[Khirbet Tibnah|Thamna]], [[Lod]], [[Emmaus]], [[Pella, Jordan|Pella]], [[Edom#Classical Idumaea|Idumaea]], [[Ein Gedi]], [[Herodium|Herodeion]], and [[Jericho]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Schürer |first=E. |author-link=Emil Schürer |title=Geschichte des jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi [A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ] |series=Geschichte de jüdischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi.English |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |translator=Miss Taylor |volume=1 |date=1891 |location=New York |page=157 |language= en |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.ah63dw;view=1up;seq=171 }} Cf. Flavius Josephus, The ''Wars of the Jews'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0148%3Abook%3D3%3Asection%3D51 3:51].</ref>
=== Jewish–Roman wars and Late Roman period ===
====First Jewish–Roman War====
In 66 CE, the Jewish population [[First Jewish–Roman War|rose against Roman rule]] in a revolt that was unsuccessful. Jerusalem was [[Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70)|besieged in 70&nbsp;CE]]. The city was razed, the [[Second Temple]] was destroyed, and much of the population was killed or enslaved.<ref>{{cite web |title=Titus' Siege of Jerusalem – Livius |url=https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/roman-jewish-wars/roman-jewish-wars-4/? |website=www.livius.org |language=en}}</ref>
====Bar Kokhba revolt====
In 132 CE, the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] (132–136&nbsp;CE) broke out. After an initial string of victories, rebel leader [[Simeon Bar Kokhba]] was able to form an independent Jewish state that lasted several years and included most of the district of Judea, including the Judean Mountains, the Judean Desert, and northern Negev desert, but probably not other sections of the country.
====Aftermath====
When the Romans finally put an end to the uprising, most of the Jews in Judea were killed or displaced, and a sizable number of captives were sold into slavery, leaving the district mostly depopulated. Jews were expelled from the area surrounding Jerusalem.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Bar |first=Doron |date=2005 |title=Rural Monasticism as a Key Element in the Christianization of Byzantine Palestine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4125284 |journal=The Harvard Theological Review |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=49–65 |doi=10.1017/S0017816005000854 |jstor=4125284 |s2cid=162644246 |issn=0017-8160 |quote=The phenomenon was most prominent in Judea, and can be explained by the demographic changes that this region underwent after the second Jewish revolt of 132–135 C.E. The expulsion of Jews from the area of Jerusalem following the suppression of the revolt, in combination with the penetration of pagan populations into the same region, created the conditions for the diffusion of Christians into that area during the fifth and sixth centuries. [...] This regional population, originally pagan and during the Byzantine period gradually adopting Christianity, was one of the main reasons that the monks chose to settle there. They erected their monasteries near local villages that during this period reached their climax in size and wealth, thus providing fertile ground for the planting of new ideas.}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Citation |last=Schwartz |first=Seth |title=Political, social, and economic life in the Land of Israel, 66–c. 235 |date=2006 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-judaism/political-social-and-economic-life-in-the-land-of-israel-66c-235/9B8F740CD3C91D2600B977B8A5EA2A09 |work=The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 4: The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period |volume=4 |pages=36–37 |editor-last=Katz |editor-first=Steven T. |access-date=2023-03-31 |series=The Cambridge History of Judaism |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/chol9780521772488.003 |isbn=978-0-521-77248-8}}</ref><ref name= Taylor>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=J. E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XWIMFY4VnI4C&pg=PA243 |title=The Essenes, the Scrolls, and the Dead Sea |date=15 November 2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199554485 |quote=These texts, combined with the relics of those who hid in caves along the western side of the Dead Sea, tells us a great deal. What is clear from the evidence of both skeletal remains and artefacts is that the Roman assault on the Jewish population of the Dead Sea was so severe and comprehensive that no one came to retrieve precious legal documents, or bury the dead. Up until this date the Bar Kokhba documents indicate that towns, villages and ports where Jews lived were busy with industry and activity. Afterwards there is an eerie silence, and the archaeological record testifies to little Jewish presence until the Byzantine era, in En Gedi. This picture coheres with what we have already determined in Part I of this study, that the crucial date for what can only be described as genocide, and the devastation of Jews and Judaism within central Judea, was 135 CE and not, as usually assumed, 70 CE, despite the siege of Jerusalem and the Temple's destruction}}</ref> No village in the district of Judea whose remains have been excavated so far has not been destroyed during the revolt.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Eshel |first=Hanan |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7672733 |title=The Cambridge History of Judaism |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge |isbn=9780521772488 |editor-last=T. Katz |editor-first=Steven |volume=4. The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period |location=Cambridge |pages=105–127 |chapter=4: The Bar Kochba Revolt, 132 – 135 |oclc=7672733}}</ref> Roman emperor [[Hadrian]], determined to root out Jewish nationalism, changed the name of the province from [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea]] to [[Syria Palaestina]].<ref>Ben-Sasson, H.H. (1976). ''A History of the Jewish People'', Harvard University Press, {{ISBN|0-674-39731-2}}, page 334: "In an effort to wipe out all memory of the bond between the Jews and the land, Hadrian changed the name of the province from Iudaea to Syria-Palestina, a name that became common in non-Jewish literature."</ref> The province's Jewish population was now mainly concentrated in Galilee, the [[Israeli coastal plain|coastal plain]] (especially in [[Lydda]], [[Jaffa|Joppa]], and [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]]), and smaller Jewish communities continued to live in the [[Beth She'an Valley]], the [[Mount Carmel|Carmel]], and Judea's northern and southern frontiers, including the southern [[Hebron Hills]] and along the shores of the Dead Sea.<ref>Goodblatt, David (2006). "The political and social history of the Jewish community in the Land of Israel", in William David Davies, Louis Finkelstein, Steven T. Katz (eds.) [https://archive.org/details/cambridgehis_xxxx_1984_004_8494287/page/n437 <!-- pg=406 --> ''The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 4, The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period''], Cambridge University Press, pp. 404–430 (406).</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Mor |first=Menahem |title=The Second Jewish Revolt |year=2016 |publisher=Brill |pages=483–484 |isbn=978-90-04-31463-4 |doi= 10.1163/9789004314634 |quote=Land confiscation in Judaea was part of the suppression of the revolt policy of the Romans and punishment for the rebels. But the very claim that the sikarikon laws were annulled for settlement purposes seems to indicate that Jews continued to reside in Judaea even after the Second Revolt. There is no doubt that this area suffered the severest damage from the suppression of the revolt. Settlements in Judaea, such as [[Herodium|Herodion]] and [[Bethar]], had already been destroyed during the course of the revolt, and Jews were expelled from the districts of [[Gophna]], Herodion, and [[Aqraba, Nablus|Aqraba]]. However, it should not be claimed that the region of Judaea was completely destroyed. Jews continued to live in areas such as Lod (Lydda), south of the Hebron Mountain, and the coastal regions. In other areas of the [[Land of Israel]] that did not have any direct connection with the Second Revolt, no settlement changes can be identified as resulting from it.}}</ref>
The suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt led to widespread destruction and displacement throughout Judea, and the district saw a decline in population. The Roman colony of [[Aelia Capitolina]], which was built on the ruins of Jerusalem, remained a backwater for the duration of its existence.<ref name=":4" /> The villages around the city were depopulated, and arable lands in the region were confiscated by the Romans. Having no alternative population to fill the empty villages led the authorities to establish imperial or legionary estates and monasteries on confiscated village lands to benefit the elites and, later, the church.<ref name=":6">Seligman, J. (2019). "Were There Villages in Jerusalem's Hinterland During the Byzantine Period?" In Peleg- Barkat O. et. al. (eds.), ''Between Sea and Desert: On Kings, Nomads, Cities and Monks. Essays in Honor of Joseph Patrich''. Jerusalem: Tzemach. pp. 167–179.</ref> This also initiated a process of romanization that took place during the Late Roman period, with pagan populations penetrating the region and settling alongside Roman veterans.<ref name="ZissuKlein">{{cite journal |last1=Zissu |first1=Boaz |author-link1=:he:בועז זיסו |last2=Klein |first2=Eitan |year=2011 |title=A Rock-Cut Burial Cave from the Roman Period at Beit Nattif, Judaean Foothills |journal=[[Israel Exploration Journal]] |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=196–216 |url=http://lisa.biu.ac.il/files/lisa/shared/Zissu-Klein-IEJ_61-2011.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816223801/http://lisa.biu.ac.il/files/lisa/shared/Zissu-Klein-IEJ_61-2011.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-16 |access-date=2014-08-16}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> There was only a revival of village settlement on the eastern edges of Jerusalem's hinterland, on the transition between the arable highlands and the [[Judaean Desert]]. Those settlements grew on marginal lands with vague ownership and unenforced state land dominion.<ref name=":6" />
===Byzantine period===
[[File:Israel Byzantine 5c.jpg|250px|right|thumb|5th century CE: Byzantine provinces of Palaestina I (Philistia, Judea and Samaria) and Palaestina II (Galilee and Perea)]]
Judea's decline only came to an end in the fifth century CE, when it developed into a monastic center, and Jerusalem became a major Christian pilgrimage and ecclesiastical hub.<ref name=":4" /> Under [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] rule, the regional population, composed of pagan populations who had migrated there after Jews were driven out following the Bar Kokhba revolt, gradually converted to [[Christianity]].<ref name=":5" />
The Byzantines redrew the borders of the land of Palestine. The various Roman provinces ([[Syria Palaestina]], [[Samaria]], [[Galilee]], and [[Peraea]]) were reorganized into three dioceses of Palaestina, reverting to the name first used by Greek historian [[Herodotus]] in the mid-5th century BCE: [[Palaestina Prima]], [[Palaestina Secunda|Secunda]], and Tertia or [[Palaestina Salutaris|Salutaris]] (First, Second, and Third Palestine), part of the [[Diocese of the East]].<ref name="Shahinp8">Shahin (2005), p. 8</ref><ref name="NYTimesIdniopulos">{{cite news|title=Weathered by Miracles: A History of Palestine From Bonaparte and Muhammad Ali to Ben-Gurion and the Mufti|author=Thomas A. Idniopulos|year=1998|access-date=2007-08-11|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/i/idinopulos-miracles.html | work=The New York Times}}</ref> Palaestina Prima consisted of Judea, Samaria, the [[Paralia (Palestine)|Paralia]], and [[Perea (Holy Land)|Peraea]] with the governor residing in [[Caesarea Palaestina|Caesarea]]. Palaestina Secunda consisted of Galilee, the lower [[Jezreel Valley]], the regions east of Galilee, and the western part of the former [[Decapolis]] with the seat of government at [[Beit She'an|Scythopolis]]. Palaestina Tertia included the [[Negev]], southern Jordan—once part of Arabia—and most of [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]], with [[Petra]] as the usual residence of the governor. Palestina Tertia was also known as Palaestina Salutaris.<ref name="Shahinp8" /><ref name="Salutaris">{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-439113/Palaestina-Salutaris|title=Roman Arabia|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011233133/https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-439113/Palaestina-Salutaris|archive-date=2007-10-11|access-date=2007-08-11}}</ref> According to historian H.H. Ben-Sasson,<ref>H.H. Ben-Sasson, ''A History of the Jewish People'', Harvard University Press, 1976, {{ISBN|0-674-39731-2}}, p. 351</ref> this reorganisation took place under [[Diocletian]] (284–305), although other scholars suggest this change occurred later, in 390.
=== Crusader period ===
According to Ellenblum, the Franks tended to settle in the southern half of the region between Jerusalem and Nablus since there was a sizable Christian population there.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ronnie |first=Ellenblum |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/958547332 |title=Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-58534-0 |pages=225–229 |oclc=958547332}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Ehrlich |first=Michael |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1310046222 |title=The Islamization of the Holy Land, 634–1800 |publisher=Arc Humanities Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-64189-222-3 |location=Leeds |pages=111–112 |chapter=Judea and Jerusalem |oclc=1310046222}}</ref>
=== Mamluk period ===
Most of the people living in the northern portion of Judea in the late 16th century were Muslims; some of them resided in towns that today have significant Christian populations. According to the 1596–1597 Ottoman census, [[Birzeit]] and [[Jifna]], for instance, were wholly Muslim villages, while [[Taybeh, Ramallah|Taybeh]] had 63 Muslim families and 23 Christian families. There were 71 Christian families and 9 Muslim families in [[Ramallah]], although the Christians there were recent arrivals who had moved from the [[Al-Karak|Kerak]] area only a few years previously. According to Ehrlich, the region's Christian population decreased as a result of a combination of factors including impoverishment, oppression, marginalization, and persecution. [[Sufism|Sufi activity]] took place in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, which most likely pushed Christian villagers in the region to convert to Islam.<ref name=":3" />
==Timeline==
* Around 900–586 BCE: [[Kingdom of Judah]]
* 586–539 BCE: [[Yehud (Babylonian province)|Yehud]], [[Babylonian Empire]]
* 539–332 BCE: [[Yehud (Persian province)|Yehud Medinata]], [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]]
* 332–305 BCE: [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)#Empire|Macedonian Empire of Alexander the Great]]
* 305–198 BCE: [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic Egypt]]
* 198–141 BCE: [[Seleucid Empire]]
* 141–37 BCE: The [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean kingdom]] established by the [[Maccabees]], under the Roman Empire after 63 BCE
* 63 BCE: [[Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC)|Pompey's conquest of Jerusalem]]
* 37 BCE – 132&nbsp;CE: [[Herodian dynasty]] ruling Judea as a [[vassal state]] of the Roman Empire (37–4&nbsp;BCE [[Herod the Great]], 4&nbsp;BCE – 6&nbsp;CE [[Herod Archelaus]], 41–44&nbsp;CE [[Agrippa I]]), interchanging with [[Roman Governors of Judea|direct Roman rule]] (6–41, 44–132)
* c. 25 BCE: [[Caesarea Maritima]] is built by Herod the Great, replacing Jerusalem as the capital
* 6 CE the Roman Empire deposed Herod Archelaus and converted his territory into the Roman province of Judea.
** [[Census of Quirinius]], too late to correspond to census related to [[Jesus]]' birth
* 26–36: [[Pontius Pilate]] prefect of [[Roman Judea]] during the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]]
* 66–73: [[First Jewish–Roman War]], includes [[Destruction of the Second Temple]] in 70
* 115–117: [[Kitos War]]
* 132: Judea was merged with Galilee into the enlarged province of [[Syria Palaestina]].<ref name=":1"/><ref name=":2"/>
==Selected towns and cities==
Judea, in the generic sense, also incorporates places in Galilee and in Samaria.
{|class="wikitable"
|+ Place Names of Judea
|-
! style="background:Navajowhite; text-align:center; width:65px"|English
! style="background:Navajowhite; text-align:center"|Hebrew (Masoretic, 7th–10th century CE)
! style="background:Navajowhite; text-align:center"|Greek (Josephus, LXX, 3rd century BCE – 1st century CE)
! style="background:Navajowhite; text-align:center"|Latin
! style="background:Navajowhite; text-align:center"|Arabic
|-
| style="text-align:center" |[[Jerusalem]]
| style="text-align:center;"| ירושלם
| style="text-align:center;"| Ιερουσαλήμ
| style="text-align:center;"| Herusalem (Aelia Capitolina)
| style="text-align:center;"| القدس (al-Quds)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Jericho]]
| style="text-align:center;"| יריחו
| style="text-align:center;"| Ίεριχω
| style="text-align:center;"| Hiericho / Herichonte
| style="text-align:center;"| أريحا (Ariḥa)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Shechem]] / [[Nablus]]
| style="text-align:center;"| שכם
| style="text-align:center;"| Νεάπολις<br>(Neapolis)
| style="text-align:center;"| Neapoli
| style="text-align:center;"| نابلس (Nablus)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Jaffa]]
| style="text-align:center;"| יפו
| style="text-align:center;"| Ἰόππῃ
| style="text-align:center;"| Ioppe
| style="text-align:center;"| يَافَا (Yaffa)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Ashkelon|Ascalon]]
| style="text-align:center;"| אשקלון
| style="text-align:center;"| Ἀσκάλων (Askálōn)
| style="text-align:center;"| Ascalone
| style="text-align:center;"| عَسْقَلَان (Asqalān)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Beit She'an|Beit Shean]]
| style="text-align:center;"| בית שאן
| style="text-align:center;"| Σκυθόπολις (Scythopolis)<br>Βαιθσάν (Beithsan)
| style="text-align:center;"| Scytopoli
| style="text-align:center;"| بيسان (Beisan)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Bayt Jibrin|Beth Gubrin]] /[[Maresha]]
| style="text-align:center;"| בית גוברין
| style="text-align:center;"| Ἐλευθερόπολις<br>(Eleutheropolis)
| style="text-align:center;"| Betogabri
| style="text-align:center;"| بيت جبرين (Bayt Jibrin)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Lajjun|Kefar Othnai]]
| style="text-align:center;"|  (לגיון) כפר עותנאי
| style="text-align:center;"| xxx
| style="text-align:center;"| Caporcotani (Legio)
| style="text-align:center;"| اللجّون (al-Lajjûn)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Peki'in]]
| style="text-align:center;"| פקיעין
| style="text-align:center;"| Βακὰ<ref>[[Josephus]], ''[[The Jewish War]]'' 3.3.1</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| xxx
| style="text-align:center;"| البقيعة (al-Buqei'a)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Yibna|Jamnia]]
| style="text-align:center;"| יבנה
| style="text-align:center;"| Ιαμνεία
| style="text-align:center;"| Iamnia
| style="text-align:center;"| يبنى (Yibna)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Samaria (ancient city)|Samaria]] / [[Sebastia, Nablus|Sebaste]]
| style="text-align:center;"| שומרון / סבסטי
| style="text-align:center;"| Σαμάρεια / Σεβαστή
| style="text-align:center;"| Sebaste
| style="text-align:center;"| سبسطية (Sabastiyah)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Banias|Paneas / Caesarea Philippi]]
| style="text-align:center;"| פנייס
| style="text-align:center;"| Πάνειον (Καισαρεία Φιλίππεια)<br>(Paneion)
| style="text-align:center;"| Cesareapaneas
| style="text-align:center;"| بانياس (Banias)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Acre, Israel|Acre / Ptolemais]]
| style="text-align:center;"| עכו
| style="text-align:center;"| Πτολεμαΐς (Ptolemais)<br>Ἀκχώ (Akchó)
| style="text-align:center;"| Ptoloma
| style="text-align:center;"| عكّا (ʻAkka)
|-
| style="text-align:center" | [[Emmaus]]
| style="text-align:center;"| אמאוס
| style="text-align:center;"| Ἀμμαοῦς (Νικορολις)<br>(Nicopolis)
| style="text-align:center;"| Nicopoli
| style="text-align:center;"| عمواس ('Imwas)
|}
== See also ==
* [[Timeline of the name Judea]]
* [[Seleucid Empire]] versus [[Maccabean Revolt]]
* [[History of Palestine]]
* [[Ioudaios]]
* [[Kitos War]]
* [[Judaea (Roman province)]]
* [[State of Judea]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Judea}}
* [http://www.Fsmitha.com/h1/ch17.htm Judea and civil war]
* [https://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jewish_wars/jwar01.htm The subjugation of Judea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110010232/http://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jewish_wars/jwar01.htm |date=2016-11-10 }}
* [https://www.livius.org/jo-jz/judaea/judaea.htm Judaea 6–66 CE] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503144950/http://www.livius.org/jo-jz/judaea/judaea.htm |date=2015-05-03 }}
* [http://www.biblelandpictures.com/gallery/gallery.asp?categoryid=107 Judea photos]
{{Judea and Samaria}}
{{Deserts}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Judea| ]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Israel]]
[[Category:Geography of the State of Palestine]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible regions]]
[[Category:New Testament regions]]
[[Category:West Bank]]