JUDAEA  , the name given to the

southern part of Palestine as occupied by the Jewish community in post-exilic days under Persian, Greek and Roman overlordship . In Luke and Acts the term is sometimes used loosely to denote the whole of western Palestine . The limits of Judaea were never very precisely defined and—especially on the northern frontier—varied from time to time . After the death of Herod, Archelaus became ethnarch of Samaria, Idumea and Judaea, and when he was deposed Judaea was merged in Syria, being governed by a pro-curator whose headquarters were in Caesarea . For a description of the natural features of the country see PALESTINE; for its history see JEWS and JUDAH . Cf . T . Mommsen, The Provinces of the Roman Empire, ch. xi .