Judea (Yehuda in Hebrew) was once a territory of the tribe of Judah, named for the descendants of Judah who was one of Jacob’s (also called Israel) sons. In the Bible, the region is called the Land of Judah and later its acquired Latin name of Judea. After defeating the Jews in the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132-135 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed it Syria Palaestina after the former inhabitants of the Land.
Judea is the mountainous region of Israel with lowland areas. The highest point is Mount Hebron with a height of 3340 feet. Near Jericho and the Dead Sea, the lowest point is 1300 feet below sea level. In the Bible, the Land of Judea has many famous cities including Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Bethel, Shiloh and Jericho.
According to the Biblical narrative, most of the tribes of Israel dispersed and were assimilated after the Assyrian conquest in the 8th century BC. Following this,
mostly only the tribe of Judah and its territory survived. Modern Jewish people believe themselves to be descendants of the tribe of Judah; therefore the religion is called Judaism and the nationality is Jewish or Judean.