JERASH – A SPECTACULAR ROMAN CITY IN JORDAN The ancient city of Jerash was one of the great classical cities of the Near East. Developed in the Hellenistic period, when it was part of the Decapolis the Land of the 10 cities, it became a major and prosperous provincial centre in the Roman Period. It is set in the fertile hills of the Gilead, the region to the east of the Jordan River near the Sea of Galilee. It was called Gerasa in antiquity. During the 2nd and 3rd Centuries AD, during the pax Romana, Jerash developed into a grand metropolis adorned with fine civic and religious buildings. Jerash lay in the region between Seleucid Syria and Ptolemaic Egypt and would have been fought over frequently. Pompey the Great, the conquering Roman General, arrived in 63 BC. He had recently annexed Antioch and effectively brought the Seleucid Empire to an end, creating the new Roman province of Syria. Judea was reduced to a small subject state and the Hellenised cities in the Decapolis were re-granted their autonomy within the higher Roman administration of the Province of Syria. The ‘ten cities’ now had a new start, the majority declaring a new era and taking Year 63 BC as the start of a new calendar from which future events were to be dated. The Pax Romana which followed Pompey’s reorganisation of the east was largely a period of stability and growth. After Pompey’s reorganisation, the city of Jerash began to spill into small suburbs. A new Temple to Zeus began to be constructed during the first half of the 1st Century AD. An inscription records substantial gifts of money made towards building work in AD 22 and AD 42 by Zabdion and Aristonas at the Zeus Sanctaury. The late 1st Century AD was a period of feverish construction at Jerash. Building work continued on the temple of Zeus, funded by a private bequest by a wealthy citizen called Thon son of Demetrius. In addition to this, the South Theatre was taking shape. It had been started in the reign of Domitian (AD 81-96) and some of the finance came from private sources – Titus Falvius son of Dionysus donated the back row of seats. In the northern part of the site the temple of Artemis was given a portico and sacred pool – private bequest provided an altar and an andron, a meeting hall. Alexander son of Apollas constructed a doorway to honour Artemis. In AD 73 a separate temple of Hera was constructed. The famous Oval Piazza of Jerash (also called the Oval Forum) was probably laid out towards the end of the 1st Century AD along with the entire length of the cardo, the main NS colonnaded road which leads through the city. Originally its entire length was constructed in the Ionic order, but the southern and middle sections were later widened and given more fashionable Corinthian style columns instead. By this point the South theatre was well advanced and the temenos of Zeus would have been completed. By the end of the 1st Century AD the main streets had been marked out and the suburbs were beginning to be filled in. The Second Century AD (from Trajan to the Antonine Emperors) was the Golden Age for development of Jerash. Trajan was looked upon as the ‘saviour and founder’ of Jerash according to an inscription on the North Gate, giving some indication that the citizens of the town realised who had provided the stimulus to development of Jerash. Hadrian spent at least part of the winter of AD 129 in Jerash, which would have been considered a great honour to the city – for a short while Jerash was the functional capital of the Empire and the streets would have been full of the enormous retinue which followed Hadrian around the Empire (possibly as many as 5000 persons). Hadrian appears to have raised the city to the status of ‘holy, inviolate and autonomous city’. To honour the emperor, a huge archway was constructed south of the city which suggested that some extension of the urban landscape was envisaged in this area. The construction of such an arch, and the idea of large scale development, suggests that the citizens of Jerash saw a very prosperous future ahead of them. The end of the 2nd Century AD, the period of the Antonine Emperors (Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus covering the period AD 138-192) was a period of prosperity and wealth for the region of the Decapolis. Building projects were undertaken on a grand scale in Jerash. A new temple was constructed to the patron deity of the city; Artemis. This temple, with its huge propylaea gateway, was constructed by Attidius Cornelianus and was dedicated in AD 150. The cardo street, the main NS road of Jerash, was widened from the oval Piazza to the North tetrapylon, and the order of the columns was changed from Ionic to Cornithian. A great new drain was inserted underneath the pavement. At the junction of the cardo and the southern decumanus (the main EW streets), four pylons were raised at the four angles of the crossing. The Temple of Dionysus was given a new grand entrance, or propylaea and a monumental flight of stairs, while in AD 191 the Nymphaeum or water fountain was added to the streetscape. A temple was built to the god Zeus about AD 163 – this was perhaps to make sure that the King of the Gods was not outdone by the Temple to his daughter Artemis. From this period also can be attributed the North Theatre complex – it is possible that the West baths were also created at this time. B.C. Archaeology travel will be leading study tours of Israel and Jordan in November 2015 and April 2016 ISRAEL & JORDAN: ARCHAEOLOGY & HISTORY A new tour exploring the ancient Levant led by Dr Michael Birrell Includes: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Megiddo, Hazor, Masada, Amman, Jerash, Dead Sea, 2 days Petra 6th - 27th November 2015 and 3rd - 23rd April 2016 $8600.00 including airfares from Australia Itinerary: bcarchaeology/israel_jordan.html
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 06:45:25 +0000
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