The northern part of Edom became known by a separate name as Gebalene (Gebal in Ps. lxxxiii. 7), the modern Jibal, "mountain country." Seir or Mt. Seir, a synonym for Edom, not to be confused with the Judaean locality (Josh. xv. 10), has been identified with the modern _es-sarah_, the hilly region to the south of Petra; though its use probably varied in ancient times as much as that of Edom certainly did. Mt. Halak, apparently one of its offshoots (Josh. xi. 17, xii. 7), is of uncertain identification, nor can the exact position of Paran (probably desert of _et-Tih_) or Zin (Sin) be precisely determined. The chief Edomite cities extended from north to south on or adjoining an important trade-route (see below); they include Bozrah (Buseire), Shobek, Petra (the capital), and Ma'an; farther to the south lay the important seaports Ezion-Geber (mod. 'Ain el-Ghudyan, now 15 m. north of the head of the Aelanitic Gulf) and Elath (whence the gulf derives its name). Petra (q.v.) is usually identified with the biblical Sela, unless this latter is to be placed at the south end of the Dead Sea (Judg. i. 36). The sites of Teman and Dedan, which also were closely associated with Edom (Jer. xlix. 7 seq.; Ez. xxv. 13), are uncertain. No doubt, as a general rule, the relations between Edomites and the "sons of the east" (Ezek. xxv. 10; Job i. 3) and the "kingdoms of Hazor" (nomad states; Jer. xlix. 28, 30, 33) varied considerably throughout the period of O.T. history. The land of Edom is unfruitful and forbidding, with the notable exception of fertile districts immediately south of the Dead Sea and along its eastern border. It was traversed by an important trade-route from Elath (the junction for routes to Egypt and Arabia) which ran northwards by Ma'an and Moab; but cross-routes turned from Ma'an and Petra to Gaza or up the Ghor (south end of Dead Sea) to Hebron and Jerusalem.[1] Thus Edom formed a prominent centre for traffic from Arabia and its seats of culture to Egypt, the Philistine towns, Palestine and the Syrian states, and it enjoyed a commercial importance which made it a significant factor in Palestinian history.