Perea

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Perea
Perea and the surrounding provinces in the 1st century AD

Peräa ( ancient Greek Περαία Peraia 'the otherworldly', Latin Peraea ) is the name of one of the four provinces of ancient Palestine east of the Jordan Trench .

location

Perea extended south of the Sea of ​​Galilee to the Dead Sea . According to Flavius ​​Josephus, the northern border of Perea ran south of the city of Pella in Dekapolis, the eastern border to the west of Gerasa , today Jerash , and Philadelphia , today Amman . The southern border ran along the Machaerus , the western border along the Jordan . The areas around Chesbon and Madaba , which had been incorporated into the Jewish Empire under Alexander Jannäus , probably no longer belonged to Perea since the death of Herod the Great . In the south and east Perea bordered the territory of the Nabataeans .

The Perea area was mostly desert. Only a small part was suitable for growing olives, wine and dates. The main cities were Amathous and Gadara .

history

Gilead

The Perea area was formerly part of Gilead . From 733 BC BC the area belonged to the Assyrian Empire , then to the Persian Empire . After the conquest by Alexander the Great , Greek cities were founded. Until about 200 BC The area belonged to the Ptolemaic , then to the Seleucid Empire . The inhabitants of Perea at that time were mostly of non-Jewish descent.

Hasmoneans

During the Maccabees' uprising , Judas Maccabeus and his brothers were active in the Perea area several times, creating tension between the predominantly non-Jewish population and the Jewish minority. After the emergence of the Jewish Hasmonean state , John Hyrcanus I increased the Jewish influence in Perea. Nevertheless, it was not until the reign of Alexander Jannäus that Gadara and Amathous were conquered after the siege by the Hasmoneans. In the year 88 BC In BC Alexander Jannäus also incorporated the rest of Perea into the Hasmonean state.

Herodians

In 57 BC BC, not long after Pompey took Jerusalem for the Romans, his legate Aulus Gabinius made Perea one of the five districts of the Jewish country with its own administrative center in Amathous. When his term of office was up, Gadara became the capital of Perea. When Herod the Great 37 BC BC became king over the Jewish land, Perea was also included in his rulership. Herod made Pheroras governor of Perea. At Herod's request, Emperor Augustus bestowed the title of tetrarch on Pheroras , which briefly made Perea an independent tetrarchy within the Jewish country.

After Herod's death in 4 BC Perea was ruled by Herod Antipas until 39 AD , who had John the Baptist beheaded in the fortress of Machaerus. Herod Agrippa I ruled the area from 39–44 AD . At that time Perea was considered part of the Jewish land. As tensions between Jews and Samaritans arose again and again at Passover , many Jews from Galilee preferred to travel to Jerusalem not through Samaria but through Perea.

Iudaea Province

After Agrippa's death, Perea was combined with some other areas to form the province of Iudaea , which was administered by Roman procurators . In 54 AD (at Nero's accession to the throne) the northern part of Perea was added to the kingdom of Herod Agrippas II . The southern part of Perea remained part of the province of Judea. The following procurators of Judea also administered Perea:

During the Jewish War (66–70 AD), Perea rose against Roman rule. Emperor Vespasian's intervention in 68 resulted in a stream of refugees from Perea to Jericho in Judea. After the end of the war, the southern part of Perea was incorporated into the province of Syria . After the death of Herod Agrippa II in 98, the northern part of Perea was also integrated into the province of Syria.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus , Jüdischer Krieg 3, 46–47.
  2. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus, Jüdischer Krieg 2, 458–459. Eusebius of Caesarea , Onomasticon , 136, 7,13; 18.3.
  3. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus, Jüdischer Krieg 3, 44–45.
  4. ↑ HW Hoehner: Herod Antipas . Cambridge 1972, p. 54-55 .
  5. ↑ Cf. 1 Makk 5: 45-54 EU .
  6. ↑ a b c Martin Noth : History of Israel . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1986, ISBN 3-647-52120-5 , p. 362-364 .
  7. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus, Ant 18, 119.