Judea: History, Geography, and Roman Era

Judea: Historical Region

Judea, or Judæa, is the name given to the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel. This area is now divided between Israel and another territory.

The name Judea is a Greek adaptation of the name "Judah." This name originally encompassed the territory of the Israelite tribe of that name and later the ancient Kingdom of Judah.

Location and Historical Boundaries

The original boundaries were:

• South: Bethsûr
• North: Beth-horon
• West: Latrun or Emaüs
• East: the Jordan River

History

Human settlement in Judea stretches back to the Stone Age. Paleoanthropologists believe the region was one of the routes through which Homo sapiens travelled out of Africa to colonize the rest of the world around 100,000 years ago.

Roman Conquest

Judea lost its independence to the Romans in the 1st century BCE, becoming first a tributary kingdom, then a province, of the Roman Empire.

Bar Kokhba Revolt

The Jews rebelled again 70 years later under the leadership of Simon bar Kokhba. They established the last Kingdom of Israel, which lasted three years before the Romans managed to conquer the province permanently.

Geography

Judea is a mountainous region, part of which is considered to be a desert. It varies greatly in height:

• It rises to an altitude of 1,020 m (3,346 ft) in the south at Mount Hebron, 30 km (19 miles) southwest of Jerusalem.
• It descends to as much as 400 m (1,312 ft) below sea level in the east of the region.

Rainfall also varies, starting with about 400–500mm in the western hills and rising to 600mm around western Jerusalem. The climate transitions between Mediterranean in the west, desert climate in the east, with a strip of steppe climate in the middle.

Geographical Divisions

Geographers divide Judea into several distinct regions:

1. The Hebron hills
2. The Jerusalem saddle
3. The Bethel hills
4. The Judean Desert east of Jerusalem

The hills are distinct for their anticline structure. In ancient times, these hills were forested. During the last century, many areas in Judea, especially in the western parts and the Jerusalem circumference, were reforested and afforested by the JNF.