Judea

Common questions

What was Judea?

Judea (Latin Iudaea, Hebrew Yehudah) was the southernmost of the three traditional divisions of ancient Palestine, alongside Galilee and Samaria, its core being the hill country from Bethel to Beersheba including Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron. The name descends from the tribe and Iron-Age Kingdom of Judah, and survived through the Babylonian and Persian province of Yehud.

When did Judea exist?

Judea existed Herodian Kingdom of Judaea; existed 37 BC – AD 6; province thereafter. On this map it is drawn AD 1–5.

What was the capital of Judea?

Judea was ruled from Jerusalem; Caesarea Maritima (from c. 25 BC).

How large was Judea at its height?

Under Herod the kingdom covered Judea proper, Samaria, Galilee, Idumaea, Perea and the districts northeast of the Sea of Galilee — roughly 32,000 km² at maximum, bordered by Nabataean Arabia to the east, Egypt to the south, Phoenicia and the Mediterranean to the west and Syria to the north. Josephus described Judea as divided into eleven toparchies with Jerusalem "the navel of the country."

Who ruled Judea?

Rome installed the Idumaean Antipater's son Herod as king in 37 BC. Herod the Great (r. 37–4 BC) ruled all of Palestine as a loyal Roman client, rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple on a monumental scale, founding the harbour city of Caesarea Maritima and fortresses such as Masada and Herodium.

How did Judea end?

On the map, the kingdom disappears in AD 6 when Archelaus was exiled and Judea became a Roman province. Tensions under direct rule exploded in the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73): Jerusalem was besieged and razed and the Second Temple destroyed in 70.

How was Judea governed?

As a client kingdom, Judea combined a Hellenistic-style royal court with Jewish institutions: the Temple priesthood, the Sanhedrin, and Torah law, which Jews were permitted to apply even in capital cases until about AD 28.