As you can see in the tweet below, Jason D. Greenblatt, special Middle East envoy for President Donald J. Trump is delighted to display the new, officially recognized map of Israel, which includes the no longer disputed, liberated territory of the Golan. Greenblatt wrote: “Welcome to the newest addition of our international maps system after @POTUS issued a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.”
Welcome to the newest addition of our international maps system after issued a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights pic.twitter.com/1D0GTdwtix
— Jason D. Greenblatt (@jdgreenblatt45)
In the First century BCE, the Golan came under the control of Herod the Great by Augustus Caesar. Following the death of Herod the Great in 4 BCE, Augustus Caesar adjudicated that the Golan fell within the Tetrarchy of Herod’s son, Herod Philip I. After Philip’s death in 34 CE, the Romans absorbed the Golan into the province of Syria, but Caligula restored the territory to Herod’s grandson Agrippa in 37 CE. Following Agrippa’s death in 44, the Romans again annexed the Golan to Syria, promptly to return it again when Claudius traded the Golan to Agrippa II, the son of Agrippa I, in 51 as part of a land swap.
All of which suggests that the Golan has been part of Eretz Israel for at least 2,000 years.
Although nominally under Agrippa’s control and not part of the province of Judea, the Jewish communities of the Golan joined their coreligionists in the First Jewish-Roman War, only to fall to the Roman armies in its early stages. Gamla was captured in 67; according to Josephus, its inhabitants committed mass suicide, preferring it to crucifixion and slavery. Agrippa II contributed soldiers to the Roman war effort and attempted to negotiate an end to the revolt. In return for his loyalty, Rome allowed him to retain his kingdom but finally absorbed the Golan for good after his death in 100.
Now we’re back, and Rome, in its modern form, over in Washington, DC, is on our side.