Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Though the secrets of Nabataean religious ceremonies are hidden in history, there is a strong sense of what one
might call 'spiritual presence' enveloping Petra's high places of sacrifice: the god blocks, carved niches, altars and
sacrificial basins all indicate that the hilltops were holy ground, used by the priests for mediating between heaven
and earth.
The Romans
You only have to visit Jerash for five minutes, trip over a
fallen column and notice the legions of other columns beside,
to gain an immediate understanding of the importance of the
Romans in Jordan - and the importance of Jordan to the Ro-
mans. This magnificent set of ruins is grand on a scale that is
seldom seen in modern building enterprises and indicates the
amount of wealth the Romans invested in this outpost of their
empire. Jerash was clearly worth its salt and, indeed, it was the
lucrative trade associated with the Nabataeans that attracted
the Romans in the first place. It's perhaps a fitting legacy of
their rule that the Jordanian currency, the dinar, derives its
name from the Latin
denarius
(ancient Roman silver coin).
The Romans brought many benefits to the region, construct-
ing two new roads through Jordan - the Nova Via Traiana (AD 111-114) linking Bosra
with the Red Sea, and the Strata Diocletian (AD 284-305) linking Azraq with Damascus
and the Euphrates. A string of forts in the Eastern Desert at Qasr al-Hallabat, Azraq and
Umm al-Jimal was also built to shore up the eastern rim of the empire.
The 2nd and 3rd centuries were marked by a feverish expansion of trade as the Via
Traiana became the main thoroughfare for Arabian caravans, armies and supplies. The
wealth benefited the cities of Jerash, Umm Qais and Pella, members of the Decapolis
(
Click here
)
, a league of provincial cities that accepted Roman cultural influence but re-
tained their independence.
With the eventual demise of the Roman Empire, and the fracturing of trade routes over
the subsequent centuries, Jordan's entrepreneurial leadership of the region never quite re-
gained the same status.
Jordan's Ro-
man Spectacles
»
»Citadel, Amman
»
»Roman Theatre, Downtown
Amman
»
»Oval Plaza, Jerash
»
»Decumanus maximus,
Umm Qais
»
»Hint of former glories at
Pella
