THE NEGEV DESERT constitutes the entire area between the Shiqma stream (Wādī al-Ḥasī) to the north and the Red Sea to the south, the borders between Israel, the Gaza Strip, and Egypt to the west, and the Arava streambed between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea along the Israeli–Jordanian border to the east. The Negev is divided into three main regions: the area of Beer Sheba, with nearly 200 mm of rain per annum in average; the Negev Highlands, with 100 mm p.a.; and the area of Eilat, with 20 mm p.a. These variances dictate significant variances in the settlement pattern. The northern area, around Beer Sheba, allows for agriculture and for the existence of large settlements. The Negev Highlands enable agriculture in specific ecological niches, and settlements of limited size, whereas the climate of Eilat only sustains agriculture around oases, and the settlements in this region are few and rather small. Nomads lived across the entire region, though in small numbers.

The Early Islamic Period

The Negev prospered during the Byzantine period. In the north, Beer Sheba was an urban centre surrounded by villages, farms, and monasteries. The population of the Negev Highlands was concentrated in the city of Elusa and various semi-urban settle-ments, known today as the Desert Cities of the Negev, as well as various rural settle-ments.There was also a city in Ayla, on the Red Sea coast, more than 200 kilometres to the south of the desert cities. These were separate areas; the great distance between the Highlands and the Red Sea, combined with the difficulties and dangers along the road, caused the two areas to develop independently.

In the Roman Empire, a city was a settlement whose urban status was confirmed as such by the authorities. Cities were built according to a specific plan featuring several typical institutions and buildings. In later periods, a city would have an episcopal see. Therefore, although the urban centre in Beer Sheba had several urban characteristics, it was not considered a city. No coins minted in Beer Sheba have ever been found, it was not described by contemporaries as a civitas, and it did not have an episcopal see. However, it was a large settlement with a military camp and several churches, indicators of Beer Sheba's urban character. The same applies to the so-called “Desert Cities.”