or BASHAN, in Ancient Geography, a territory beyond Jordan, mentioned in Scripture, and called by Jose- phus, Eusebius, and Jerome, Batanaea. The sacred writers include in Bashan that part of the country eastward of the Jordan which was given to the half tribe of Manasseh, sit- uated to the north of Gilead. After the Babylonian captivity it was subdivided into Batanaea or Basan, Trachonitis, Au- ranitis, and Gaulonitis. To settle the limits of these, how- ever, is now impossible. Bashan was famous for its pastures and large breed of cattle.