Judaea

Judaea, also Judea, was a historic region in the southern Levant, centered on Jerusalem. In ancient times it encompassed the southern part of the land of Judah, with fluctuating boundaries under successive rulers. The area includes the Judean Mountains and surrounding districts, and its geography shaped political and religious life in the Second Temple period.

The name derives from Judah, the Davidic tribal territory that became a political unit after the split of the united monarchy. Following the Babylonian exile, Judea re‑emerged under Persian, Hellenistic, and later Hasmonean rule. The Hasmonean dynasty (roughly 140–37 BCE) established a semi‑independent Jewish state that expanded its territory. In 37 BCE, Herod the Great became king of Judea under Roman suzerainty, and after his death the region came to be administered by Rome, eventually becoming a directly governed Roman province around 6 CE.

During the First Jewish–Roman War (66–70 CE), the Second Temple was destroyed. A subsequent revolt (132–136 CE) was crushed, and in the aftermath the Romans renamed the province Syria Palaestina, while Jerusalem was repurposed as Aelia Capitolina, signaling the end of Judaea as a distinct political entity. The name Judaea appears in classical sources for the region and its inhabitants, particularly Jews, but Roman reorganizations reduced its use as a separate provincial designation.

Today, the historical territory of Judaea is associated with parts of the central and southern Levant, including areas around Jerusalem and the surrounding highlands. Its legacy persists in religious, archaeological, and historical discussions about the period of the Second Temple and early Roman rule.