A historical geography of the Judean and Samarian Hill Country, 539 BCE-70 CE

This thesis is a historical geography of the Judean and Samarian Hill Country between the 6th century BCE and 1st century CE. The Hill Country is a small region of Palestine bordered by the Jordan Valley in the east, the Shephelah and the Coastal Plains in the west, the Negev in the south, the Jezreel Valley in the north, and the Carmel Range in the northwest. Across six chapters, I explore the ways the environment shaped (and was shaped by) the society, economy and culture of the local population, drawing on a selection of literary, epigraphic and material evidence, and arguing for the coherence and value of this fascinating historical unit.