Gerasa – Jerash

The ancient city of Gerasa was continuously inhabited from the 2nd century BC to the 8th century AD. Originally founded by the Greeks, the city experienced its boom under the Romans. With the end of Roman rule, Gerasa’s importance declined again, but the unique architectural monuments were preserved.

Gerasa is the best-preserved city of the Decapolis and the most visited archaeological site in Jordan after Petra. Decapolis means “ten-city” and refers to ten ancient cities east and south of the Sea of Galilee, between Damascus in the north and Philadelphia (now Amman) in the south.

The emergence of the Decapolis as a political-geographical unit is dated to the first century BC and was the result of the liberation of the cities by Pompey in 64/63 BC.

The Decapolis is mentioned in various ancient writings such as the New Testament(Mark 5:20 and 7:31, Matthew 4:25). At the time of Jesus, the Decapolis was not directly part of the kingdom of Judea, but rather an area in which Herod Antipas and later his nephew, Herod Agrippa I, ruled as Roman vassals.

Hadrian’s Arch

Hadrian’s Arch is a three-towered arch of honor that was erected in honor of Emperor Hadrian in 130.

The structure was erected on the occasion of Hadrian’s visit to the city of Gerasa in the winter of 129/130 or spring of 130. The approximately 37.45 m wide, 9.25 m deep and 21 m high arch was restored between 2005 and 2007. A dedicatory inscription in Greek on a tabula ansata was attached to the arch of honor, making it easy to date.

The Hippodrome

The south gate

While Hadrian’s Arch and the Hippodrome lie outside the city walls, we enter the Roman city through the South Gate. The South Gate is very similar to Hadrian’s Arch, albeit larger, which is why it could have served as a model for Hadrian’s Arch.
We meet a small school class with their teacher outside the South Gate. We then climb up the slope to the South Theater and the Temple of Zeus.

The South Theater

It is the largest and oldest of the three theaters of ancient Gerasa. The south theater was built right next to the sanctuary of Zeus on the west side of the same hill and may also have served ritual purposes. Although the inhabitants plundered stones from here to build their houses until the 1950s, it was surprisingly well preserved.
Several dedicatory inscriptions allow the southern theater to be dated fairly precisely. These show that the building was inaugurated around 90 AD, during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian (81-96 AD), but was probably not yet completed, as later inscriptions refer to progress on the respective parts of the building. The various dedications from donors show how much wealthy citizens of Gerasa contributed to the financing of the theater.

The Temple of Zeus

The temple dedicated to Zeus Olympios on the uppermost terrace was built on the site of an earlier Roman temple and was completed and consecrated in 162/163 AD. It is a ring-hall temple on a 41 x 28 m podium, the best-known type of ancient temple, in which the cella (the inner main room) is surrounded by an outer ambulatory bounded by columns. There were eight columns at the front and back, ten on each of the two long sides in between and two further columns with Corinthian capitals almost 15 m high in the vestibule. A staircase with two landings led up from the lower terrace, which was as wide as the temple and has not survived.

From the Temple of Zeus you can enjoy a stunning view of today’s Jerash (Gerasa) and the oval square with the adjoining “Cardo”, the north-south columned street.

The oval square

The unique design of the Oval Square, also known as the Oval Forum, cleverly connects two divergent main axes of the ancient city. When the new Cardo was laid out at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD as a north-south connection and the main street of the city, it had to incorporate the central sanctuary of Zeus in a representative way, which was not possible through a frontal approach due to the river valley and the rules of Roman urban planning with a rectangular street network. The ingenious architectural solution is an elongated, elliptical square (approx. 90 x 80 m), whose elegantly curved colonnades place the sanctuary of Zeus as the dominant feature in the center.

The Cardo

The Cardo is the processional and trade route that runs from north to south. It is 800 meters long. Until the early 2nd century AD, the course of Gerasa’s streets was determined by the terrain and the traffic routes that developed over time. It was only when the city became part of the Provincia Arabia, which was founded by the Roman Empire after the annexation of the Nabataean Empire in 106 AD under Emperor Trajan, that the planned expansion and reconstruction began. As far as possible, the older street network was overlaid with a rectangular (orthogonal) grid.

The North Theater

The exceptionally well-preserved and carefully restored North Theater was originally built in the first half of the 2nd century as abouleuterion for the meetings of the boules (city councillors) and the representatives of other administrative units of the city.
In 165/166 AD, the Bouleuterion was converted into an odeon, a “small” theater for recitations, singing and musical performances, where meetings continued to be held.

The Temple of Artemis

The last building we visit is the Temple of Artemis. In keeping with our motto “you don’t have to see everything”, we leave it at that and return to the MAN.

The temple of Artemis was built around the middle of the 2nd century. The Artemis of Gerasa is probably the Greek interpretation of a Semitic goddess, apparently the Phoenician Astarte or the Syrian Atargatis. Like Astarte, Artemis is also interpreted as a moon goddess and is depicted on coins in Gerasa with the crescent moon.

With our great colleagues Regina and Peter, we once again go out for a fine meal.
The landlord is delighted to have German-speaking foreigners visiting and plays German pop songs over his loudspeaker system – oh how nice ….

Mountain of the prophet Elijah

In stark contrast to the pagan temples of the Roman city of Gerasa, on the mountain of the prophet Elijah we come to a place where the Eternal and not man-made God of heaven and earth wrote history. According to ancient tradition, Elijah is said to have ascended to heaven from here. This can be read in the Old Testament in 2 Kings chapter 2:

“And it came to pass, while they were yet walking and talking together, behold, there came a chariot of fire with fiery horses, and separated them both. And Elijah ascended to heaven in a whirlwind.”

Through the Jordan Valley to Gadara

Gadara

Gadara was a Greco-Roman city that belonged to the cities of the Decapolis. Today’s ruins in Jordan are located on a high plateau near the small town of Umm Qais east of the Jordan River, about ten kilometers southeast of the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, which is visible from the city. The Yarmuk River flows not far from the extensive ancient ruins.

The Roman ruins cannot compete with those of Gerasa. However, a later village has been preserved and partially restored here and the view is magnificent. Unfortunately, the haze is again so thick that it is difficult to make out the Sea of Galilee in the distance.

In the Bible, Gadara is mentioned as a city in the land of the Gadarenes, which is associated in the Gospel of Matthew with the casting out of the legionary demon from two men. This story is also found in the Gospels of Mark and Luke, where the place Gerasa is mentioned. The demons left the men and drove into a large herd of pigs, which then plunged into the lake.

A special feature of Jordan is that we are allowed to stay overnight free of charge in the parking lot at all excavation sites. Of course, our passports are checked first, but after that we are free and we can see that the security team is happy to see us.

The pitch

The historic village

The Roman city

View of the Sea of Galilee

Ibri

We set off in the direction of the Jordanian/Iraqi border. We want to do some shopping in Ibri. But the food supply here no longer seems to be the same as further south. Empty racks and much less choice. But that doesn’t matter – we’re far from starving.

Then we continue. The further east we go, the more the landscape becomes desert. We spontaneously decide to spend the night at a ruined site, where we are again given permission without any problems.

Umm al-Jimal

Umm al-Jimal “Mother of Camels” is best known for the exceptionally well-preserved remains of a Byzantine and early Islamic city, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2024. The ruins of around 150 buildings, mostly from the Byzantine period, are still clearly visible today.

Umm al-Jimal emerged in the first century AD as an agricultural and trading suburb of the Nabataean capital Bostra. This is documented by several inscriptions in ancient Greek and Nabataean, often on gravestones. These prove that at least two of the inhabitants of Umm al-Jimal were active in the city council of Bostra. The population at this time is estimated at 2000 to 3000 people. An altar to the main Nabataean god Dushara was found in the western part of the city, and other surviving gods also have regional references: a Zeus Epikoos and the deity Solmos, known only in a single inscription, have been recorded.

In the evening light, we stroll through the ruins, which lie somewhat confusingly in the landscape. Here and there, however, we recognize structures of buildings. There were several larger and smaller Byzantine churches scattered across the ruins. We don’t get too excited, but we’re already here and we don’t begrudge the custodians for being proud of their ruins.

Journey to the Iraqi border