Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE DECAPOLIS
The Roman commercial cities within modern Jordan, Syria and Israel and the Palestinian Territories became known
collectively as the Decapolis in the 1st century AD. Despite the etymology of the word, it seems that the Decapolis
consisted of more than 10 cities, and possibly as many as 18 (Decaoctodecapolis?!). The league of cities served to
unite Roman possessions and to enhance commerce in the region. In Jordan the main Decapolis cities were Philad-
elphia (Amman), Gadara (Umm Qais), Gerasa (Jerash), Pella (Taqabat Fil), and possibly Abila (Qweilbeh) and Cap-
itolias (Beit Ras, near Irbid).
Rome helped facilitate the growth of the Decapolis by granting the cities a measure of political autonomy, within
the protective sphere of Rome. Each city operated more like a city-state, maintaining jurisdiction over the surround-
ing countryside and even minting its own coins. Indeed, coins from Decapolis cities often used words such as
'autonomous', 'free' and 'sovereign' to emphasise their self-governing status.
The cities may have enjoyed semi-autonomy but they were still recognisably Roman, rebuilt with gridded streets
and well-funded public monuments. A network of Roman roads facilitated the transport of goods from one city to
the next, and the wheel ruts of carriages and chariots can still be seen in the paving stones at Umm Qais and Jerash.
The so-called 'imperial cult', which revolved around mandatory worship of the Roman emperor, helped unify the
cities in the Decapolis while simultaneously ensuring that its residents didn't forget the generosity of their Roman
benefactors.
Wandering the streets of the ruined cities today, it's easy to imagine life 2000 years ago: the centre bustling with
shops and merchants, and lined with cooling water fountains and dramatic painted facades. The empty niches would
have been filled with painted statues; buildings clad in marble and decorated with carved peacocks and shell motifs;
and churches topped with Tuscan-style terracotta-tiled roofs.
The term 'Decapolis' fell out of use when Emperor Trajan annexed Arabia in the 2nd century AD although the
sister cities continued to maintain connections with one another for another 400 years. Their eventual demise was
heralded by the conquest of the Levant in 641 by the Umayyads. Political, religious and commercial interests shifted
to Damascus, marginalising the cities of the Decapolis to such an extent that they never recovered.
