Insight Guides Jordan by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Jordan
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2018-01-25T05:00:00+00:00

The Decapolis riddle

The term Decapolis has never been found on coins, inscriptions or literary sources originating in the area; all ancient references come from literary sources elsewhere. For this reason, the Decapolis has always been something of a riddle: scholars still debate whether the term refers to a formal league or confederation of 10 cities bound by commercial, political and security bonds, or to something less systematic. Though it is mentioned in the New Testament as a “region”, Roman-era references suggest it may have been an administrative district, created when the general Pompey conquered the region in 63 BC.

Modern scholarship now agrees that at its height in the Roman period, the Decapolis was probably a loose association of geographically contiguous Graeco-Roman provincial cities that shared cultural, commercial and political interests. Different lists of Decapolis cities from several historical periods provide the names of more than 10 cities, indicating that the definition of the region also changed over time. The most recent scholarship identifies the cities as: Philadelphia (Amman), Gerasa (Jarash), Pella, Gadara (Umm qays), Raphana and Capitolias (Bayt ras) all in Jordan; Scythopolis (Beisan or Bethshean) and Hippos (Hippus or Sussita) in Israel; Damascus, and Canatha (Qanawat) in Syria.

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