Judea

Judea, or Judaea, is a historic region in the southern part of the Levant, regions that roughly correspond to parts of the modern-day West Bank and surrounding areas. The name derives from the tribe of Judah and the Kingdom of Judah described in biblical and post-biblical sources. In classical antiquity, Judea referred to the southern portion of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and later the southern Judaean hinterland around Jerusalem.

Geographically, Judea lay inland from the coastal plain, stretching from the hill country around Jerusalem toward the Negev. Its core included Jerusalem and nearby settlements, making it a focal point of political, religious, and cultural activity in Jewish history. The term was used across different periods, including the Hasmonean expansion in the 2nd century BCE and the Herodian and early Roman eras.

In the Roman period, Judea began as a client kingdom under Herod the Great. After 6 CE, it became a Roman province governed by Roman prefects, with Jerusalem as a central urban center. It was the scene of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–70 CE), which ended with the destruction of the Second Temple, and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE), after which the Romans renamed the province Syria Palaestina. The historical region continued to be referenced in Jewish and Christian texts and in archaeological contexts.

Today, the term Judea is used in historical and archaeological contexts to denote the ancient southern Levantine region. In modern usage, it is occasionally employed to describe parts of the West Bank, a designation that reflects ongoing political sensitivity and differing national narratives.