The next change in the political geography of the land was brought about by the conquests of Assyria. The northern kingdom was invaded, Samaria its capital taken, and the whole people of the land carried away captive. Foreign colonists were placed in their room ; and these, adopting the Jewish law, and conforming to some extent to the Jewish ritual, were the founders of the nation and sect of the SAMARITANS. A great part of Pales tine—nearly the whole of the kingdom of Israel— now became a province of the Assyrian empire, and afterwards passed with it into the hands of the Babylonians. About a century and a half later, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took Jerusalem, and led the other section of the Jewish nation cap tive. Thus all Palestine lost its nationality, and was ruled by a provincial satrap.
4. From the Captivity to the Destruction of salem by Titus.—This was the most eventful period of Jewish history, and the most remarkable for the changes which it brought about in the political geography of Palestine. The division of the land into tribes was now completely broken up, and was never again established. Many of the ancient na tions which the Israelites had driven from their borders wholly or partially, returned to their pos sessions. The Moabites reoccupied the Mishor immediately after the first captivity ; and hence the burden of Moab,' written by Isaiah (xv., xvi.), and the terrible prophetic curse pronounced by Jeremiah (xlviii.), include that country which the Moabites originally possessed before the conquests of Sihon (Num. xxi. 26, 30), and which they reoc cupied after the captivity of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, to whom Moses had allotted it. It ap pears also that the ancient tribes of Bashan re gained their old territories, and re-established the old names—Bashan, Argob, Haurtin, Golan— which were subsequently better known as the Greek provinces of Batanaa, Trachonitis, Aura nitis, and Gaulonitis (Porter's Damascus, vol. ii.) The Idumeans or Edomites having been driven out of their own mountain homes by the Nabatheans, established themselves along and within the bor ders of southern Palestine, to which they gave the name Iduincea [1DumiEA]. The neighbouring na tions and tribes also seem to have encroached upon the territories of the northern tribes of Israel ; and a large Gentile element was then and afterwards introduced into Galilee, which produced important effects upon the subsequent history of the Jews in that province [GALILEE].
Under the mild rule of Cyrus the captive Jews were permitted to return to their own land. Ezra
and Nehemiah re-established the ancient worship, and rebuilt the temple ; but politically, the country remained a province of the Babylonian and Persian empires till the time of Alexander the Great, when it fell under Greek rule. On the death of Alex ander the kingdom of the Seleucidm was estab lished in Syria, and that of the Ptolemies in Egypt. Palestine became at first a part of the former ; but the rival dynasty soon attacked and captured it, and it remained for more than half a century, nominally at least, under the rule of the Egyptian monarchs. Then war broke out between Syria and Egypt, and the maritime plain of Palestine be came the battle-field. Aided by the Seleucicke, the Jews threw off the yoke of the Ptolemies (B. c. 198), and became subject to the former. During all these troubles the Jews had an ecclesiastical government of their own, the high-priest being chief. But when Antiochus Epiphanes ascended the throne of Syria, he captured Jerusalem, put thousands of the inhabitants to death, and at tempted to abolish their worship. These acts of barbarity roused the spirit of the whole nation. The priestly family of the Maccabees headed a noble band of patriots, and after a long and heroic struggle succeeded in establishing the independ ence of their country [MACCABEES]. The Mac cabees gradually extended their conquests over Samaria, Galilee, and a part of the country beyond Jordan. But internal dissensions and civil wars sprang up, and gave occasion for the interference of Rome ; and Pompey invaded Palestine and cap tured Jerusalem in the year B.C. 63. A heavy I tribute was levied, but the people were still per mitted to retain their own rulers. In the year B.C. 39, Herod the Great received the title of ' King of Judrea' from the Roman emperor, and two years afterwards he succeeded in establishing himself on the throne LHERODIAN FAMILY].
At his death Herod bequeathed his kingdom to his three sons, Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip ; hut the supreme authority was in the hands of the Roman prefect and procurators. In the N. T., and in the writings of Greek and Roman geogra phers of that age, Palestine is usually spoken of as divided into a number of provinces. Those on the west of the Jordan were yztairei on the south, Samaria in the centre, and Galilee on the north, and the latter was subdivided into Upper and Lower. The provinces east of the Jordan were Percea, em bracing Gilead and the Mishor of Moab ; and the four subdivisions of Bashan already mentioned Gaulanitis, /heraldic's, Batana'a, and Trachonitis.