the Holy Lands:

the area along the Jordan River.

The Jordan River ran from the north to the Sea of Galilee and then to the Dead Sea in the south. This area was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 63 BC. In 37 BC, the Romans appointed Herod the Great to govern this area (not including Phoenicia and Arabia) as a king. The capital was at Jerusalem. Herod died in 4 BC and was succeeded by his sons. From AD 6 to 135 this area was ruled by the Roman government as the province of Iudaea, with its capital at Caesarea. In AD 135 the Romans changed the name of the province to Syria Palaestina.