Cryptic (geology)
The Cryptic era is an informal term for the earliest geologic evolution of the Earth and Moon. It is the oldest (informal) era of the Hadean eon, and it is commonly accepted to have begun close to 4533 million (about 4.533 billion) years ago when the Earth and Moon formed. No samples exist to date the transition between the Cryptic era and the following Basin Groups era for the Moon (see also Pre-Nectarian), though sometimes it is stated that this era ended 4150 million years ago for one or both of these bodies. Neither this time period, nor any other Hadean subdivision, has been officially recognized by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.
Hauran
There are records of settlements in the Hauran in the Ancient Egyptian Amarna letters and the Book of Deuteronomy of the Old Testament. The region was then known as "Bashān". Control of it was contested between the Aramean kingdom of Damascus and the Kingdom of Israel in the second half of 2000 BCE. It was ultimately conquered and pillaged by the Assyrian Empire, which held onto it between 732 to 610 BCE. Bashan later saw security and prosperity under Achaemenid rule; its settlements became better developed and culturally Aramized.