Judaea

Name used in Graeco-Roman times for the southernmost region of Palestine, now divided between Israel and Jordan. The area takes the form of a long zigzag central spine which has a series of steep spurs to the east and west. It is now an agricultural region, and grows wheat, barley, and olives. The name Judaea is still used by some Israelis to refer to the southern part of the West Bank.

Judaea was originally established by the Israelite tribe of Judah, but was overrun by the Babylonians in 587 BC. The Jews returned from Babylonian exile in 537 BC, and by 165 BC Judaea had become an independent kingdom under the Maccabees; in 63 BC it became a province of the Roman Empire and was later amalgamated with Palestine. Judaea came under British mandatory administration in 1923.

The limits of the region varied at different times. The Jewish historian Josephus says that it extended from Annath in the north to the village of Jordan in the south, from Jaffa in the west to the Jordan in the east. St Luke, however, frequently uses the title to include the whole of western Palestine. In the time of Herod Idumaea, the region stretching south of Judaea to the Sinai desert was included in the term.