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TRACHONITIS.—Mentioned in Luk_3:1 as the name of the tetrarchy of Philip. It is to be identified with the lava region S.E. of Damascus, known to the Greeks as Trachon, and to modern Arabs as the Lejâ. An inscription discovered by Burckhardt in 1810 at Mismiyeh dispels all doubt as to the identity of this region with Trachon. It has ever been regarded as a refuge from invaders. Josephus frequently speaks of the inhabitants of these parts as predatory (Ant. XVI. ix. 1, x. 1). Philip’s rule, on the other hand, he describes as just and gentle (Ib. XVIII. iv. 6). Trajan in a.d. 106 transformed Trachonitis into a new province, which he called ‘Arabia,’ making Bosra its capital.
George L. Robinson.