The Roman province of Judaea shifted its capital from Jerusalem to Caesarea Maritima in 6 AD. This administrative change marked the beginning of direct Roman rule over the region following the deposition of Herod Archelaus.
Emperor Hadrian changed the name of the province from Judaea to Syria Palaestina after the Bar Kokhba revolt ended in 135 CE. Historians state the renaming aimed to obliterate the Jewish character of the land and wipe out all memory of the bond between Jews and the land.
Moshe David Herr estimated that by the end of the 4th century Jews made up only about one-third of the population in Syria Palaestina. Gentile migrants from Arabia, Syria, and Phoenicia settled in the area after land confiscation while Samaritans concentrated in Samaria.
New pagan cities were founded at Eleutheropolis now known as Bayt Jibrin and Diopolis now called Lod. Nicopolis also emerged as another Hellenized city under Septimius Severus between 193 and 211 AD.
Diocletian added much of Arabia Petraea to the province around 300 CE and moved Legio X Fretensis from Aelia Capitolina to Aila today known as Eilat or Aqaba. In circa 390 Syria Palaestina was reorganized into several administrative units including Prima Secunda and Salutaris.