Judaea

Early Roman period

In 6 CE, Judea came under direct Roman rule as the southern part of the province of Judaea, although Jews living there still maintained some form of independence and could judge offenders by their own laws, including capital offences, until c. 28 CE. The Hashmonean kingdom, after Pompey's conquest, was divided in 57 BCE by Gabinius, the governor of Syria, into five administrative districts (synedria or toparchies), as mentioned by Josephus, later on the region of historical Judaea proper being further divided; the exact number of Judaean districts (in the end ten or eleven according to Josephus and Pliny) and their location is disputed, Schürer amending the ancient authors' list as follows: Jerusalem in the centre, later becoming the district of Orine ("Orine Judaea", 'mountainous [region of] Judaea'); Gophna, Akrabatta north of it; Thamna and Lydda to the northwest; Emmaus (possibly future Nicopolis/Imwas, although other towns in the region also bore that name) to the west; Bethleptepha (rather than Josephus' Pella) to the southwest; Idumaea to the south; Engaddi and Herodeion to the southeast; and Jericho to the east. Schürer dismisses Pliny's listing of "Jopica" (Joppa) and Josephus' of Pella, as these were, in his opinion, independent cities not included in Judaea proper.