Judea: Map & History
Judea or Judaea is a mountainous region of the Levant.
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Judea or Judaea is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Israel and the West Bank. The name is derived from the Hebrew name Yehudah, and was used during the Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. Under the Hasmoneans, the Herodians, and the Romans, the term was applied to an area larger than the Judea of earlier periods. In the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Roman province of Judaea was renamed Syria Palaestina.
Modern Countries Once Part of Judea
At its mapped extent, Judea covered territory in 3 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Palestine144 BCE – 5 CE · most
- Jordan110 BCE – 5 CE · a large part
- Israel144 BCE – 5 CE · a large part
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Judea's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Judea in Depth
History
According to the biblical story of the Patriarchs, Abraham came to the Land of Canaan as commanded by God and moved around in the hill country (Judaea and Samaria) and the Negev. The country is described as populated by Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites and other population groups. This pattern continued with his son Isaac, his son Jacob and his 12 sons and daughter, Dinah and their families. The Patriarchs Sarai, Abraham, Isaac, Rebecca and Jacob were buried at Hebron in the Tomb of the Patriarchs according to Genesis and Exodus.
After the Conquest of Joshua the Israelite tribes conquered and lived in most of the land west of the river Jordan and in the northern part east of that river for close to 400 years.
Geography
Judea is a mountainous region, part of which is considered a desert. It varies greatly in height, rising to an altitude of 1,020 metres (3,350 ft) in the south at the Hebron Hills, 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, and descending to as much as 400 metres (1,300 ft) below sea level in the east of the region. It also varies in rainfall, starting with about 400–500 millimetres (16–20 in) in the western hills, rising to 600 millimetres (24 in) around western Jerusalem (in central Judea), falling back to 400 millimetres (16 in) in eastern Jerusalem and dropping to around 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in the eastern parts, due to a rain shadow: this is the Judaean Desert.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Judea (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Judea Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Judea appears, with the other states of the time.
Judea Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 32,758 km² in 72 BCE.
Judea: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Judea exist?
Judea is dated to 144 BCE – 5 CE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
How large was Judea at its peak?
At its peak in 72 BC Judea covered about 32,758 km².
How did the map of Judea change over time?
Judea appears on 2 dated world maps in the atlas, from 100 BCE to 1 CE. Each shows its borders in that year next to the other states of the time.