Iturea

Iturea Ancient Greek: Ἰτουραία , Itouraía) is the Greek name of a Levantine region north of Galilee during the Late Hellenistic and early Roman periods. It extended from Mount Lebanon across the plain of Massyas to the Anti-Lebanon mountains in Syria, with its centre in Chalcis.

Itureans

The Itureans (Greek: Ἰτουραῖοι) were semi-nomadic tribe. Modern scholarship identifies them as an Arab or Aramaean people. They first rose to power in the aftermath of the decline of Seleucid power in the 2nd century BCE, when, from their base around Mt. Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, they came to dominate vast stretches of Syrian territory, and appear to have penetrated into northern Palestine as far as the Galilee.

Ethnic origins

The exact origin of the Itureans is disputed. Some scholars believe that the Itureans were either an Arab or Aramaic people.Shlomo Sand asserts that they were perhaps basically Phoenician, or an admixture of these with Arabs and Aramaeans.

Etymology

Several etymologies have been proposed for the name Iturea: