Palaestina Prima
The province of Palaestina Prima came into existence in the late 4th century through a series of reforms of the Roman provincial administration which subdivided many provinces into smaller administrative units. The intent of these reforms were to circumscribe the ability of provincial governors with strong garrisons to stage revolts and to improve efficiency by reducing the area controlled by each governor. Provinces were clustered into regional groups called "dioceses". Thus, the province of Syria Palaestina and neighboring regions were organized into the provinces "Palaestina Prima", "Palaestina Secunda", and "Palaestina Tertia" or "Palaestina Salutaris" (First, Second, and Third Palestine). "Palaestina Prima" with its capital in Caesarea Maritima encompassed the central parts of Palestine, including the coastal plain, Judea, and Samaria. "Palaestina Secunda" had its capital in Scythopolis and included northern Transjordan, the lower Jezreel Valley, the Galilee, and the Golan area. "Palaestina Tertia" with its capital in Petra included the Negev, southern Transjordan, and parts of the Sinai Peninsula. These provinces became part of the "Dioceses Orienties", a diocese grouping the near eastern provinces.