L'Era Pre-Christian: Judea

Judea occupies the entire southern part of Palestine. It is the most mountainous and almost exclusively arid region, sometimes desert, even if there is no lack of more fertile areas, favorable to agriculture, and rich oases.

The most particular and interesting geographical feature is the Dead Sea, the largest salt lake in the world.

The lake is located approx 390 meters below the level of the Mediterranean and is deeper than 400 meters. Its waters have a very high salt concentration (six times higher than that of other seas) and its banks are completely deserted and inhospitable, while flora and fauna are almost absent in its depths.

The water and mud of the lake offer the possibility of being exploited for thermal treatments.

In addition to the Dead Sea, Judea also includes the area of ​​the desert of Judah and that of the Negev desert, once completely uninhabited and now home to some experimental agricultural centers.

In Judea, since ancient times, he lived on pastoralism, while agriculture was intensely practiced in the oases.

Even today these are the most intensely practiced activities.

In the past the most important cities were Jerusalem (which was the capital of the Southern Kingdom), Bethlehem, Jericho (in the center of a very fertile oasis), Hebron (capital of the desert of Judah), Beer Sheba (in the Negev desert) e, towards the coast, Ashdod, Ascalona e Gaza. Even today the most important city is undoubtedly Jerusalem, holy city for Jews, Christians and Muslims: also important are Jericho, Hebron and modern Ramallah.

With the years, political changes, the borders of Judea, like those of other regions, have changed. The name Judea comes from the tribe of Judah. Many of those who returned from Babylonian exile were of the tribe of Judah, and they were called Jews and their land Judea. In New Testament times, Judea roughly went from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea. Judea is the land located east of Bethlehem.