The events of the Gospel of John take place in Palestine, incorporated into the Roman Empire in 63 b.c.Appointed by the Romans as king over the Jews in 37 b.c., Herod the Great ruled until his death in 4 b.c.The Romans divided his kingdom among his descendants. The predominantly Gentile region of the Decapolis, or “Ten Cities,” was a loose confederation of semiautonomous cities administered by the Roman legate of Syria.
