Northern Jordan is a rugged land, dominated by barren hills, marked by blackish soil and the hardness of volcanic basalt. It is a frontier place where peoples and armies have moved, along which history has marked a deep groove. From here one peers beyond, towards Syria, Israel and Lebanon, one observes in silence that land, holy and without peace. From the top of the city of Gadara a vast panorama opens as far as the eye can see. To the east a wide valley welcomes the placid flow of the Jordan River. In a depression that sinks 213 meters below sea level, one glimpses in the distance the Lake of Tiberias, a holy place in the Gospels where Christ called the first disciples to Himself1. To the north flows the Yarmuk stream, beyond which stretch the Golan Heights with Mount Hermon, places always disputed and the scene of great battles.
Like the one that in 636 marked the victory of the Arabs over the Byzantines and also the beginning of Gadara’s decline. On a plateau abutting steep slopes, the ruins of the ancient Hellenistic city still stand, now in the archaeological site of Umm Qais. Dusty, at times dominated by vegetation, lonely rest two theatres, a nymphaeum, a Christian basilica with black columns. It is not difficult to recognise in those architectural remains the lost and immeasurable greatness of the city of Gadara in ancient times. Walking along the cardo, from south to north, we can identify part of the urban fabric and the main buildings of Roman and early Christian times. The paved decumanus proceeds from east to west, flanked by some surviving columns. The ruins and the natural landscape of Gadara are now one, blended by more than a thousand years of neglect.
Gadara, city of Decapolis
On this border land – in Hebrew gader – on the route from Palestine to Syria, Alexander the Great established a military garrison. It was 332 BC and the Macedonian armies were returning from their victorious campaign in Egypt, during which the great emperor had founded Alexandria. Thus Gadara arose: the outpost became populated, houses erected and roads built. Within a few years, a great Hellenistic city developed, whose fame grew along with its culture. Philosophers and poets were born in Gadara, including Menippus (3rd century BC), Meleager (late 2nd century BC – early 1st century BC) and Philodemus (c. 110 BC – c. 35 BC).
In 218 BC Antiochus III conquered the city, then renamed it Antiochia and then Seleucia2. Remains of the Seleucid city’s defensive walls and the bases of some pentagonal towers survive. Gadara became Jewish territory under Alexander Iannæus around 83 BC3. Then it was conquered by the Roman troops of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in 63 BC, like much of the region4. By order of Augustus, from 30 BC it was administered by Herod the Great5 and finally annexed to the province of Syria in 4 BC6. At that time Gadara was listed in the Decapolis, i.e. among the ten most important cities of Hellenistic and Roman tradition in the Middle East7.
Roman monuments
Here, there are many monuments recalling the passage of the Romans. These are valuable architectural testimonies well preserved to this day. From the 1st century AD onwards, the Romans promoted an unprecedented urban renewal. This saw the expansion of the city and the erection of a solid perimeter fortification. The city of Gadara hosted the great aqueduct (Qanawat al-Faraoun). From the 2nd century AD, it brought water from one of the many springs on the plateau into the city, transporting it to a capacious cistern under the main square.
Along the cardo are the remains of the spectacular west theatre from the 2nd century AD. Its cavea, still intact, could seat three thousand spectators. To the north was another theatre, of which only the ground plan remains. The building in the 4th-5th century became an amphitheatre after demolishing the scaenae frons. The Ottomans used its basalt blocks for the construction of hovels. In the immediate vicinity, we can see the remains of a sacred area. The temenos already housed a temple in the Hellenistic period, possibly dedicated to Zeus. Nonetheless, it was destroyed during the first Jewish revolt (66-70 AD). The sacred area was then re-established for worship by the Romans in the 2nd century AD.
To the north the cardo is interrupted by the decumanus, perpendicular to it, which reached a length of 1.7 kilometres. Flanked by columns, the street passed through the Tiberias Gate (1st century AD) and ended to the west at a monumental three-arched entrance arch. At the intersection of the cardo and decumanus, there are a nymphaeum from the 2nd century, which served as a public fountain, and a large terrace, which housed the market area. Near the monumental access, during the 2nd century, the Romans built a hippodrome.
Christian Gadara
The city of Gadara became the seat of a diocese as early as the 4th century. In the Byzantine era it experienced a flourishing period. This included the construction of thermal baths, a five-nave basilica (4th century) on a pre-existing Roman hypogeum near the Tiberias Gate, and a church (7th century) near the southern theatre.
Another magnificent Christian basilica arose between the 6th and 7th century on the market terrace. As the structure stood along the slope of the hill, the highest part of the podium was maintained by substructures with arcades that could accommodate numerous shops. The basilica thus dominated the entire city and was accessible from the lower street by a flight of steps. The building had a square nave with an east-facing apse, partly carved directly out of the rock. In the north there was a porticoed atrium. The nave of the basilica contained an octagonal space enclosed by columns, sancta sanctorum reserved for the clergy, at whose altar archaeologists have found the relics of an anonymous saint. The eight shafts, with Corinthian capitals, are reused and came from a Roman building.
Decline and oblivion of the city of Gadara
The Arab conquest of 636 ushered in a slow decline. To avoid enslavement, the inhabitants of Gadara had to pay huge taxes to the new conquerors. Hence, this crushed the economy, mainly based on trade. Like Philadelphia, under the Muslim caliphs Gadara would certainly have been reborn. But a tragic fate befell it. In 746, a devastating earthquake razed it to the ground, leading to its final abandonment. As the centuries passed, Gadara was covered by the soil. The place where it stood was forgotten and its name fell into oblivion like a treasure that vanishes amidst memories and tales of legendary times.
Samuele Corrente Naso
Notes
- Gospel of Luke 5, 1-11. ↩︎
- Polybius, Histories, 71. However, there is uncertainty about the sources due to the fact that, according to some authors, there were two cities in Palestine with the same name. ↩︎
- Josephus Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews, XIII, iii, 3; The Jewish War, I, iv, 2. ↩︎
- Josephus Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews, XIV, iv, 4; The Jewish War, I, vii, 7. ↩︎
- Josephus Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews, XV, vii, 3; The Jewish War, I, xx, 3. ↩︎
- Josephus Flavius, Antiquities of the Jews, XVII, xi, 4; The Jewish War, II, vi, 3. ↩︎
- Pliny the Elder, Naturalis historia, V, XV, reports the cities of Decapolis: Gerasa, Gadara, Philadelphia, Pella, Damascus, Scythopolis, Hippos, Dion, Raphana, Canatha. ↩︎
