From Judea to “Palestina”: How Rome Erased the Name of Israel: The Complete History of Israel and Judah up to Emperor Hadrian’s Decree

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From Judea to “Palestina”: How Rome Erased the Name of Israel

The Complete History of Israel and Judah up to Emperor Hadrian’s Decree

By Ronen Kolton Yehuda (MKR: Messiah King RKY)

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1. Introduction – The End of Judea and the Birth of “Palestina”

In the second century CE, after centuries of Jewish sovereignty, exile, and resistance, the Roman Empire sought to erase the very memory of Israel from the map.

Following the failure of the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE), Emperor Hadrian issued one of the most deliberate acts of cultural and national erasure in history: he renamed the land of Israel, or Judea, as “Syria Palaestina.”

This was not a neutral administrative decision. It was a calculated act of humiliation — intended to sever the link between the Jewish people and their ancestral homeland.

By adopting the name Palestina — derived from the Philistines, the ancient enemies of Israel who had long vanished — Hadrian symbolically replaced the people of Israel with their ancient foes.

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2. Why Emperor Hadrian Renamed Judea

After crushing the Bar Kokhba Revolt, Hadrian undertook a campaign of suppression and transformation:

1. Jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt as a Roman city called Aelia Capitolina, named after himself (Aelius Hadrianus) and Jupiter Capitolinus, the Roman chief god.
2. Jews were banned from entering Jerusalem, except for one day a year — the Ninth of Av, the day of mourning for both Temple destructions.
3. The province of Judea was renamed to Syria Palaestina — a deliberate insult meant to erase “Judea” from maps, language, and consciousness.

This renaming was part of a wider Roman strategy of “damnatio memoriae” — the condemnation and deletion of a nation’s memory. It was, in essence, the world’s first example of cultural genocide through toponymy (place-naming).

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3. The Historical Roots of Israel and Judah

a. The Patriarchs and the Covenant

The history of Israel begins with Abraham, the patriarch who received the divine promise of the Land of Canaan.

Through Isaac and Jacob (Israel), his descendants became the Twelve Tribes of Israel, forming the foundation of a people and faith tied to a specific land.

b. From Exodus to Settlement

After the Exodus from Egypt under Moses, the Israelites wandered for forty years before entering the land under Joshua ben Nun.

They established tribal territories and lived under a loose confederation of Judges who led the people in times of crisis.

c. The United Monarchy

Around the 10th century BCE, Israel united under a single monarchy:

• King Saul – the first anointed king of Israel.
• King David – unified the tribes, conquered Jerusalem, and made it the spiritual capital.
• King Solomon – built the First Temple, which became the heart of Israelite worship.

d. The Division of the Kingdom

After Solomon’s death (ca. 930 BCE), internal strife divided the nation:

• The Northern Kingdom of Israel (capital: Samaria).
• The Southern Kingdom of Judah (capital: Jerusalem), ruled by the House of David.

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4. The Conquests and Exiles

• 722 BCE – The Assyrian Empire conquered Israel and exiled the northern tribes, known as the Ten Lost Tribes.
• 586 BCE – The Babylonian Empire destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple, exiling Judah’s elite to Babylon.

This was the first great exile, remembered as the Babylonian Captivity. Yet even in exile, the Jewish identity endured, leading to the famous Psalm:

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, when we remembered Zion.” (Psalm 137:1)

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5. Return and the Second Temple Period

When Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon, he permitted the Jews to return (538 BCE).

They rebuilt Jerusalem and the Temple (completed in 516 BCE), marking the beginning of the Second Temple Period.

Under Persian and later Greek rule, Judea maintained a degree of autonomy, governed by priests and local councils.

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6. The Hasmonean Independence

In 167 BCE, under the Seleucid Greek Empire, King Antiochus IV Epiphanes tried to suppress Jewish religion.

The resulting Maccabean Revolt, led by Judah Maccabee, achieved a miraculous victory and restored Jewish independence.

The Hasmonean Kingdom (140–63 BCE) expanded, minted coins, and established a sovereign Jewish state once again — a rare revival in ancient history.

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7. The Roman Conquest and Herodian Rule

In 63 BCE, the Roman general Pompey entered Jerusalem, marking the beginning of Roman influence.

Later, Herod the Great (37–4 BCE) ruled as a Roman client king, rebuilding the Second Temple on a grand scale.

After his death, Rome established direct rule over Judea, eventually forming the Province of Judea under Roman governors such as Pontius Pilate.

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8. The Great Jewish Revolts

• The Great Revolt (66–70 CE):
  Jews rebelled against Roman oppression. In 70 CE, Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian, destroyed the Second Temple.
  Jerusalem was burned, and thousands were killed or enslaved.

• The Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE):
  Decades later, Simon Bar Kokhba led a final uprising.
  For three years, Judea was briefly liberated — coins were struck with the words “For the Freedom of Israel.”
  But Rome’s retaliation was total. Villages were razed, the population massacred, and Hadrian’s renaming completed the erasure.

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9. The Legacy of the Name “Palestina”

The name “Palestina” survived in Roman and later Byzantine administrative terminology, but it was never the name of a distinct nation or people.

Its use served political purposes — to replace Israel and Judea in imperial discourse.

Yet throughout centuries of exile, the Jewish people continued to pray “Next year in Jerusalem.”

The name “Judea” lived in liturgy, memory, and heart — proving that no empire, however powerful, can erase a people’s spiritual homeland.

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10. Conclusion – Erasure and Survival

Emperor Hadrian’s renaming of Judea to “Palestina” was meant to bury the Jewish nation under the rubble of history.

Instead, it became a symbol of defiance.

The Jews survived exile, persecution, and dispersion — and returned to rebuild their state nearly two millennia later, under the very name that Hadrian tried to destroy: Israel.

In the long arc of history, names imposed by empires fade.

But those born of covenant and faith endure.

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