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Iturea and Trachonitis
When giving the setting for the beginning of the public ministry of John the Baptist, Luke links Iturea with Trachonitis under the rule of Herod Philip (Lk 3:1). This is the only place in the Bible where these areas are mentioned. These are in a region to the north-east of Galilee with undefined and often changing boundaries. The Romans frequently altered the boundaries, dividing the land into tetrarchies and provinces, then merging them, making this area rather indistinct.
Iturea
Iturea was the land of the Itureans, or Jetureans, who were an Arab tribe, whose name was derived from the descendants of Jetur, one of the sons of Ishmael (Gen 25:15, 1 Chr 1:31). They originally lived in the Trans-Jordan, but were pushed out by the Israelites. Warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh defeated a number of peoples including Jetur, and occupied their land until the exile (1 Chr 5:18-22). The Itureans were described as formidable archers, notorious robbers and the most barbarous of all tribes by various ancient historians.
History
The history of Iturea is little-known and fragmentary. In the late second century BC by the time of the Hasmonean rule of Judea, the Itureans had spread southwards to upper Galilee. In 104 BC Judas Aristobulus and his brother Antigonus fought against the Itureans to spread Judaism into Galilee, forcing them to submit to circumcision and live according to the laws of the Jews if they wished to remain in the land (Ant 13.11.3 [318]). Many classical historians, including Josephus, Strabo, Pliny and Dio Cassius, refer to Iturea in their writings.
Between 85 and 40 BC, there was civil war in Syria, resulting in the fall of the Seleucid kingdom and the coming of the Romans. A ruler of the Itureans, Ptolemaeus, son of Mennaeus (c. 85 - 40 BC) controlled the mountainous country from Chalcis, from where he terrorised Damascus (Strabo Geography 16.2.10). He was conquered and had to pay tribute to Pompey in 64 BC. His son was Lysanias (40 - 36 BC) became king of the Itureans. He was killed by Antony, who gave the region to Cleopatra (Ant 15.4.1). After the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC, the area of Trachonitis and Galilee was controlled by Zenodorus from23 to 20 BC. Emperor Augustus then allocated the region to the kingdom of Herod the Great, who in turn left the region to his son Philip (Lk 3:1). It then became part of the kingdom of Herod Agrippa I, until it was incorporated into the larger Roman province of Syria.
Trachonitis
In Greek Trachonitis means ‘stony region’. The Trachones is mentioned in Strabo’s Geography, where there is a footnote which says that ‘Trachones means ‘rugged, strong tracts’ (Geog 16.2.20). He also identifies it as ‘two trachones’, “The city Damascus is also a noteworthy city, having been, I might almost say, even the most famous of the cities in that part of the world in the time of the Persian empire; and above it are situated two Trachones, as they are called” (Geog 16.2.20). The two trachones are identified as the two volcanic areas, el-Leja south of Damascus and es-Safa east of Damascus.
Other writers normally refer to the single area of el-Leja. This is an Arabic name meaning ‘the refuge’. Josephus described the difficulties of entering Trachonitis because of the rocks and where robber bands lived in caves (Ant 15.10.1). El-Leja, or Lajat, is a well-defined area about 50 km (31 miles) south-east of Damascus about 40 km (25 miles) long and 32 km (20 miles) wide where lava was deposited 15 m (50 feet) thick from a great volcanic eruption. The land is almost impossible to use for agriculture, except for some vineyards and areas where there was enough vegetation that sheep and goats could be kept. In the Arabian Nights, the cities of Trachonitis are called ‘the black cities’ because the buildings were made with black basalt rock. There are significant Roman remains from the time of Trajan (AD 98 - 117).
History
According to Josephus (Ant 15.10.1) there was a man named Zenodorus who became a partner with the robbers living in the Traconites and encouraged them to raid the area around Damascus. This was reported to Caesar, who then allocated the land to Herod the Great around 9 BC. When Herod the Great died around 4 BC, the area of Trachonitis was given to his son Philip (Ant 17.8.1). The rule of Philip as tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis is used by Luke to date the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist (Luke 3:1), the only mention of this area in the NT. Philip ruled as the tetrarch for about 37 years. Philip died around AD 34, after which the area became part of the Roman province of Syria (Ant 18.4.6). The emperor Caligula gave the territory to Agrippa I, who ruled it from AD 37 to AD 44 (Ant 18.6.10 [237]). After the death of Agrippa I, Traconitis was ruled directly from Rome, until it was given to Agrippa II in AD 53 (Ant 20.7.1). Later it was returned to direct Roman rule, until it was incorporated into the new province of Arabia around AD 106.
Abilene
The tetrarchy of Abilene is only mentioned once in the Bible, when Luke dated the start of the ministry of John the Baptist by Lysanias ruling over Abilene (Lk 3:1). The name of Abilene came from the city of Abila, also called Abila Lysaniou, probably named after an earlier ruler also called Lysanias, who was tetrarch of Abilene from 40 BC to 36 BC. In AD 41, Abilene was added to the kingdom of Agrippa I by Claudius (Ant 18.6.10 [237]). Claudius also gave the city of Chalsis in central Iturea to a brother and later son-in-law of Agrippa I, who became known as Herod of Chalsis (War 2.11.5 [217]). Herod Agrippa II inherited the kingdom of Chalsis in AD 50, but it was taken from him in AD 53 by Claudius. In return, he was given the Herod Philip’s tetrarchy of Abilene, Batanea and Trachonitis (Ant 20.7.1 [138]). After Agrippa’s death in AD 93, his kingdom was made part of the huge province of Syria.
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