The ancient site was founded by the Nabateans, probably in the late 4th or early 3rd century BCE. Roman historian Ptolemy identifies Elusa as a town in Idumea west of the Jordan River. After the Roman annexation of Nabataea in 106 CE, Elusa grew to become the principal city of the central Negev, at the time part of the western Arabia Petraea province.
Elusa became one of the first Negev towns to have a large Christianpopulation, and Christians and pagans lived side by side. While the bishops of Elusa participated in the church councils 431 and 451 CE, tombstones found in the local cemetery indicate that there were pagans living in Elusa as late as the early 5th century, when the city belonged to Palaestina Tertia
