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Perea or Peraea (Greek language: Περαία, "peraia") was the term used mainly during the early Roman period for part of ancient Transjordan. It lay broadly east of Judea and Samaria, which were situated on the western side of the Jordan River, and southwest of the Decapolis.
Perea was part of the kingdom of Herod the Great and his descendants, and later of subsequent that included Iudaea.
Encompassing roughly 2,625 square kilometers, Josephus was accurate in stating that Perea surpassed Galilee in size, as Galilee spanned approximately 2,200 square kilometers. Josephus depicted Perea mainly as "desert" and "rugged," with pockets of well-cultivated areas, a feature now undergoing transformation due to extensive irrigation initiatives.
Perea was the portion of the kingdom of Herod the Great occupying the eastern side of the Jordan River valley, from a point about one third the way down the lower Jordan River (i.e. the segment connecting the Sea of Galilee with the Dead Sea), to a point about one third down the eastern shore of the Dead Sea; it did not extend very far to the east. Herod the Great's kingdom was bequeathed to four heirs, of which Herod Antipas received both Perea and Galilee. He dedicated the city of Livias in the north of the Dead Sea to the wife of Augustus, Julia Augusta, born Livia Drusilla. In 39 CE, Perea and Galilee were transferred from disfavoured Antipas to Agrippa I by Caligula. and note 1164 With his death in 44 CE, Agrippa's merged territory was made a province again, including Judaea and for the first time, Perea. and notes 1370, 1376 From that timeTwo cities of Perea, Abela and Iulias (Livias), make an exception, having been kept by Agrippa II (Mason, S. ) to his death c. 100 CE. Perea was part of the shifting Roman provinces to its west: Judaea, and later Syria Palaestina, Palaestina and Palaestina Prima. Attested mostly in Josephus' books, the term was in rarer use in the late Roman period. It appears in Eusebius' Greek language geographical work, Onomasticon, but in the Latin translation by Jerome, Transjordan is used.
'Greater The part of Judaea adjoining Syria is called Galilee, and that next to Arabia and Egypt Peraea. Peraea is covered with rugged mountains, and is separated from the other parts of Judaea by the river Jordan (in the original Latin: "Supra Idumaeam et Samariam Iudaea longe lateque funditur. Pars eius Syriae iuncta Galilaea vocatur, Arabiae vero et Aegypto proxima Peraea, asperis dispersa montibus et a ceteris Iudaeis Iordane amne discreta.")
Peraea ...much larger indeed than, is generally desert and rugged, and too wild for the growth of delicate fruits. In some parts, however the soil is loamy and prolific, and trees of various kinds cover the plains ; but the olive-tree, the vine, and the palm tree, are those principally cultivated. It is also sufficiently irrigated by mountain streams ; and (should these in the dog-days fail) by ever flowing springs. In length, it extends from Machaerus to Pella : in breadth, from Philadelphia to the Jordan : its northern districts being bounded, as we have already said, by Pella ; and those on the west, by the river. The land of Moab forms its southern limit ; while Arabia and Silbonitis, with Philadelphia and Gerasa, constitute its eastern boundary.Silbonitis is a textual error for Sebonitis, i.e. Heshbon. ()
New Testament commentators speak of Jesus' Perean Ministry, beginning with his departure from Galilee (Matthew 19:1; Mark 10:1) and ending with the anointing by Mary in Bethany (Matthew 26:6) or his journey towards Jerusalem commencing from Mark 10:32.
==Later incorporation==
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