TRACHONITIS trăk’ ə nī’ tĭs (Τραχωνῖτις, G5551, rough or hilly, region). It is mentioned in Luke 3:1, as the name of the tetrarchy of Philip, brother of Herod, tetrarch of Galilee. In 23 b.c. Herod received the task of pacifying the Batanea, Trachonites and Auranites, unruly tribes to the NE of the Jordan and S of Damascus. After his death in 4 b.c., the Emperor Augustus divided Herod’s domain among his three sons, of whom the third son, Herod Philip, was granted this territory. It consisted of newly settled lands, most of his subjects being non-Jews. The Jews forming a minority of colonists, remained loyal to Philip since they had been settled there by the dynasty. Later in a.d. 37 Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, was endowed with the tetrarchy of Philip by the emperor Caligula. Later he was granted the rest of his grandfather’s domains by the emperor Claudius.

Trachonitis was only a small part of this tetrarchy, located around Trachon in the NE of the territory. It corresponds with the modern al-Laja’, a plateau of some 350 sq. m., consisting of volcanic lava beds, intercalated with volcanic necks, ash beds, and sills. The dissected terrain, the thin soils, and its proximity to the desert to the E, all contributed to its poverty, sparsity of population, and the lawless character of the district. The “region of Argob” (Deut 3:4) within the domain of Og of Bashan, prob. included part of this wild country. Josephus, in the 1st cent. a.d., refers to its inhabitants as predatory (Antiq. XVI. I. 1 [27]ff.). Several Rom. officials attempted programs of pacification with varying success. Later a Rom. road was constructed through the area, and eventually in a.d. 106 Trajan transformed Trachonitis into a new province which he called “Arabia.” Its new capital was Bostra (Bozra).