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GERASA (Ancient city) JORDAN
Gerasa (Gerasa: Eth. Gerasenos), a city of Coelesyria, according to
Ptolemy (v. 15); reckoned to the Decapolis by Pliny, for it is clear that Gerasa
must be substituted for Galasa, as by Harduin. (Plin. v. 18.) It is associated
with Philadelphia, as the eastern boundary of Peraea, by Josephus (B. J. iii.
2), and mentioned in conjunction with Pella and Scythopolis (i. 4; ii. 19). But,
according to Ptolemy, it was 35 miles from Pella. Its site is marked by the very
extensive ruins of Gerash, about 35 miles east of the Jordan, at the eastern extremity
of the land of Basihan, and on the borders of the great desert of the Hauvan.
It is remarkable, considering the importance of the ruins, that the historical
notices are so scanty; but it appears to have attained its celebrity posterior
to the classical geographers, as all the fragments of the inscriptions to be found
among the ruins bear the name of the emperor Antoninus. It is much to be regretted
that the results of the careful survey of this interesting city by Captains Irby
and Mangles, in company with Mr. Bankes, have never yet been given to the world.
It was first discovered by Seetzen, in 1805-1806, and afterwards described by
the enterprising Burckhardt; since which time it has been frequently visited and
described by European travellers. The summary description of those most accurate
observers Captains Irby and Mangles must suffice in this place; but for fuller
particulars the reader may consult Burckhardt (Syria, pp. 252-264) and Buckingham
(Travels in Palestine, caps. xx. xxi.), the former of whom has furnished a general
plan of the city, and the latter a more accurate plan, with details of the principal
buildings. But the best idea of the extent and grandeur of the ruins may be obtained
from the wonderfully accurate reproduction in three engravings from Daguerreotype
drawings by Dr. Keith, published in illustration of the 36th edition of his father's
work on The Evidence of Prophecy, in which the principal streets and buildings
are clearly to be distinguished. The summary description above alluded to is as
follows:
It has been a splendid city, built on two sides of a valley, with a fine stream
running through it; the situation is beautiful. The town has been principally
composed of two main streets, crossing each other in the centre at right angles,
like Antinoe. The streets have been lined with a double row of columns, some of
which are Ionic and some Corinthian; the pavement is exceedingly good, and there
is an elevated space on each side for foot passengers; the marks of the chariot
wheels are visible in many parts of the streets. Djerash, supposed to be either
Pella or Gerasa, but in some respects answering to neither, can boast of more
public edifices than any city we have seen. There are two theatres, two grand
temples, one, as appears by a Greek inscription, dedicated to the sun, like that
at Palmyra, and not unlike that edifice, being constructed in the centre of an
immense double peristyle court. The diameter of the columns of the temple is five
feet, and the height of just proportions; tile capitals are Corinthian and well
executed. One singularity in this edifice is a chamber under ground, below the
principal hall of the temple, with a bath in the centre. Five or six inferior
temples are scattered about the town, and a magnificent Ionic oval space, of 309
feet long, adds greatly to the beauty of the ruins. The scene of the larger theatre
is nearly perfect, presenting a singularity very rarely to be met with. There
are two grand baths, and also two bridges crossing the valley and river. The temples,
and both theatres, are built of marble, but not of very fine sort. Three hundred
yards from SW. gate is the Circus or Stadium, and near it is the triumphal arch.
The cemetery surrounds the city, but the sarcophagi are not very highly finished;
upwards of 230 columns are now standing in the city. There is to the NE., about
200' yards distance, a very large reservoir for water, and a picturesque tomb
fronted by 4 Corinthian columns; near it also is an aqueduct. These ruins, being
overgrown with wood, are objects of considerable interest. There are numerous
inscriptions in all directions, chiefly of the time of Antoninus Pins; most of
them are much mutilated; but the one I allude to about the Temple of the Sun,
was on the propyleum of that edifice, which has been a grand piece of architecture.
On the whole, we hold Djerash to be a much finer mass of ruins than Palmyra; the
city has three entrances of richly ornamented gateways, and the remains of the
wall, with its occasional towers, are in wonderful preservation.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PETRA (Ancient city) JORDAN
II. In Asia. 1. (Petra, Ptol. v. 17. § 5, viii. 20. § 19; Petra or
Petrai, Suid. s. v. Hi'enethlios; the SELA of the Old Testament, 2 Kings, xiv.
7; Isaiah, xvi. 1: respecting its various names see Robinson, Biblical Researches,
vol. ii. Notes and Ill. p. 653), the chief town of Arabia Petraea, once the capital
of the Idumaeans and subsequently of the Nabataei, now, Wady Musa.
Petra was situated in the eastern part of Arabia Petraea, in the district
called under the Christian emperors of Rome Palaestina Tertia (Vet. Rom. Itin.
p. 721, Wessel.; Malala, Chronogr. xvi. p. 400, ed. Bonn). According to the division
of tile ancient geographers, it lay in the northern district, Gebalene; whilst
the modern ones place it in the southern portion, Esh-Sherah, the Seir, or mountain-land,
of the Old Testament (Genesis, xxxvi. 8). It was seated between the Dead Sea and
the Elanitic gulf; being, according to Diodorus Siculus (xix. 98), 300 stadia
S. of the former, whilst the Tab. Peut. places it 98 Roman miles N. of the latter.
Its site is a wilderness overtopped by Mount Hor, and diversified by cliffs, ravines,
plains, and Wadys, or watered valleys, for the most part but ill cultivated. Strabo
(xvi. p. 779) describes it as seated in a plain surrounded with rocks, hemmed
in with barren and streamless deserts, though the plain itself is well watered.
Pliny's description (vi. 32), which states the extent of the plain at rather less
than 2 miles, agrees very nearly with that of Strabo, and both are confirmed by
the reports of modern travellers. It is an area in the bosom of a mountain, swelling
into mounds, and intersected with gullies. (Irby and Mangles, ch. viii.) It must
not, however, be understood to be completely hemmed in with rocks. Towards the
N. and S. the view is open; and from the eastern part of the valley the summit
of Mount Hor is seen over the western cliffs. (Robinson, ii. p. 528.) According
to Pliny (l. c.) Petra was a place of great resort for travellers.
Petra was subdued by A. Cornelius Palma, a lieutenant of Trajan's
(Dion Cass. lxviii. 14), and remained under the Roman dominion a considerable
time, as we hear of the province of Arabia being enlarged by Septimius Severus
A.D. 195 (id. lxxv. 1, 2; Eutrop. viii. 18). It must have been during this period
that those temples and mausoleums were made, the remains of which still arrest
the attention of the traveller; for though the predominant style of the architecture
is Egyptian, it is mixed with florid and over-loaded Roman-Greek specimens, which
clearly indicate their origin. (Robinson, ii. p. 532.)
The valley of Wady Musa, which leads to the town, is about 150 feet
broad at its entrance, and is encircled with cliffs of red sandstone, which gradually
increase from a height of 40 or 50 feet to 200 or 250 feet. Their height has been
greatly exaggerated, having been estimated by some travellers at 700 and even
1000 feet (Irby and Mangles, ch. viii.; Stephens, ii. p. 70; see Robinson, ii.
p. 517 and note). The valley gradually contracts, till at one spot it becomes
only about 12 feet broad, and is so overlapped by the cliffs that the light of
day is almost excluded. The ravine or Sik of Wady Musa extends, with many windings,
for a good English mile. It forms the principal, and was anciently the only avenue
to Petra, the entrance being broken through the wall. (Diod. Sic. ii. 48, xix.
97; Robinson, ii. p. 516; Laborde, p. 55.) This valley contains a wonderful necropolis
hewn in the rocks. The tombs, which adjoin or surmount one another, exhibit now
a front with six Ionic columns, now with four slender pyramids, and by their mixture
of Greek, Roman, and Oriental architecture remind the spectator of the remains
which are found in the valley of Jehoshaphat and in other parts of Palestine.
The further side of the ravine is spanned by a bold arch, perhaps a triumphal
one, with finely-sculptured niches evidently intended for statues. This, like
the other remains of this extraordinary spot, is ascribed by the natives either
to the Pharaohs or to the Jins or evil genii. Along the bottom of the valley,
in which it almost vanishes, winds the stream mentioned by Strabo and Pliny, the
small but charming Wady Musa. In ancient times its bed seems to have been paved,
as many traces still show. Its stream was spanned by frequent bridges, its sides
strengthened with stone walls or quays, and numerous small canals derived from
it supplied the inhabitants with water. But now its banks are overspread with
hyacinths, oleanders, and other flowers and shrubs, and overshadowed by lofty
trees.
Opposite to where the Sik terminates, in a second ravine-like but
broader valley, another monument, the finest one at Petra, and perhaps in all
Syria, strikes the eye of the traveller. This is the Khuzneh,--well preserved,
considering its age and site, and still exhibiting its delicate chiselled work
and all the freshness and beauty of its colouring. It has two rows of six columns
over one another, with statues between, with capitals and sculptured pediments,
the upper one of which is divided by a little round temple crowned with an urn.
The Arabs imagine that the urn contains a treasure, - El Khuzneh, whence the name,
- which they ascribe to Pharaoh (Robinson, ii. p. 519). The interior does not
correspond with the magnificence of the facade, being a plain lofty hall, with
a chamber adjoining each of its three sides. It was either a mausoleum, or, more
probably, a temple.
From this spot the cliffs on both sides the Wady are pierced with
numerous excavations, the chambers of which are usually small, though the facades
are occasionally of some size and magnificence; all, however, so various that
scarce two are exactly alike. After a gentle curve the Wady expands, and here
on its left side lies the theatre, entirely hewn out of the rock. Its diameter
at the bottom is 120 feet (Irby and Mangles, p. 428), and it has thirty-three,
or, according to another account, thirty-eight, rows of seats, capable of accommodating
at least 3000 spectators. Strangely enough, it is entirely surrounded with tombs.
One of these is inscribed with the name of Q. Praefectus Florentinus (Laborde,
p. 59), probably the governor of Arabia Petraea under Hadrian or Antoninus Pius.
Another has a Greek inscription, not yet deciphered. A striking effect is produced
by the bright and lively tints of the variegated stone, out of which springs the
wild fig and tamarisk, while creeping plants overspread the walls, and thorns
and brambles cover the pedestals and cornices (Isaiah, xxxiv. 13). Travellers
are agreed that these excavations were mostly tombs, though some think they may
originally have served as dwellings. A few were, doubtless, temples for the worship
of Baal, but subsequently converted into Christian churches.
Proceeding down the stream, at about 150 paces from the theatre, the
cliffs begin to expand, and soon vanish altogether, to give place to a small plain,
about a mile square, surrounded with gentle eminences. The brook, which now turns
to the W., traverses the middle of this plain till it reaches a ledge of sandstone
cliffs, at a distance of rather more than a mile. This was the site of Petra,
and is still covered with heaps of hewn stones, traces of paved streets, and foundations
of houses. There are remains of several larger and smaller temples, of a bridge,
of a triumphal arch of degenerate architecture, and of the walls of a great public
building--Kusr Faron, or the palace of Pharaoh.
On an eminence south of this is a single column (Zub Faron, i. e.
hasta virilis Pharaonis), connected with the foundation-walls of a temple whose
pillars lie scattered around in broken fragments. Laborde (p. 59) thinks that
the Acropolis occupied an isolated hill on the W. At the NW. extremity of the
cliffs is the Deir, or cloister, hewn in the rock. A ravine, like the Sik, with
many windings, leads to it, and the approach is partly by a path 5 or 6 feet broad,
with steps cut in the rock with inexpressible labour. Its facade is larger than
that of the Khuzneh; but, as in that building, the interior does not answer to
it, consisting of a large square chamber, with a recess resembling the niche for
the altar in Greek ecclesiastical architecture, and bearing evident signs of having
been converted from a heathen into a Christian temple. The destruction of Petra,
so frequently prophesied in Scripture, was at length wrought by the Mahometans.
From that time it remained unvisited, except by some crusading kings of Jerusalem;
and perhaps by the single European traveller, Thetmar, at the beginning of the
13th century. It was discovered by Burckhardt, whose account of it still continues
to be the best. (Robinson, ii. p. 527.) Laborde's work is chiefly valuable for
the engravings.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PHILADELPHIA (Ancient city) JORDAN
Philadelpheia (Philadelpheia: Eth. Philadelpheus). A town of Palestine
in the district of Peraea, east of Jordan, near the river Jabbok, was the later
name of Rabbath-Ammon, sometimes called Rabbah only, the ancient capital of the
Ammonites. (Dent. iii. 11 ; Josh. xiii. 25.) It was besieged by Joab and taken
by David. (2 Sam. xi. 1, xii. 26-31; 1 Chron. xx. 1.) It recovered its independence
at a later period, and we find the prophets denouncing its destruction. (Jer.
xlix. 3; Ezek. xxv. 5.) Subsequently, when this part of Palestine was subject
to Aegypt, the city was restored by Ptolemy Philadelphus, who gave it the name
of Philadelpheia. (Steph. B. s. v.; Euseb. Onom. s. v. Rhamath, Hamman.) Stephanus
says that it was originally called Ammana, afterwards Astarte, and lastly Philadelpheia.
It is frequently mentioned under its new name by Josephus (B. J. i. 6. § 3, i.
19. § 5, ii. 18. § 1), and also by Ptolemy (v. 17. § 23), Pliny (v. 18. s. 16),
Hierocles (p. 722), and upon coins. (Eckhel, vol. iii. p. 351.) The old name,
however, did not go out of use, for Polybius speaks of the city under the name
of Rabbatamana (Rhabbatamana, v. 71); and the ruins are now called Amman, a name
which they also bore in the time of Abulfeda. (Tab. Syr. p. 91.) Burckhardt has
given a description of these ruins, with a plan. The most important are the remains
of a large theatre. There are also remains of several temples, some of the columns
being three feet and a half in diameter. A river flows through the ruins of the
town. (Burckhardt, Syria, p. 357.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
GADARA (Ancient city) JORDAN
(ta Gadara). A large fortified city of Palestine, situated on an eastern tributary of the Jordan. Vespasian, in his first campaign in Galilee, took it, slaughtered the inhabitants, and burned the city.
GERASA (Ancient city) JORDAN
A city of Coele-Syria, about thirty-five miles east of the Jordan.
The historical notices of this place are very scanty, yet the extent and magnificence
of the existing ruins show it to have been once a great and wealthy city. Its
site is now called Djerash, and there are remains of two theatres, two large temples
and five or six smaller ones, a forum, two fine baths, a triumphal arch, a large
reservoir, and two bridges.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PELLA (Ancient city) JORDAN
A city of Palestine, east of the Jordan, in Peraea. It was the place of refuge of the Christians who fled from Jerusalem before its capture by the Romans.
PETRA (Ancient city) JORDAN
The Catholic Encyclopedia
AVILA (Ancient city) JORDAN
A Ptolemaic town in N Palestine, ca. 19 km N of Irbid, which attained
importance in the Hellenistic-Roman period. It was conquered by Antiochus III
(Polyb. 5.71; 16.39). At the beginning of the 1st c. B.C. it was taken by Alexander
Jannaeus (Joseph., AJ 11.136), but freed by Pompey in 64 B.C., who made it autonomous.
At this time, when it became part of the Decapolis, it minted its own coins. Seleucid
influence is evident in the title Seleucia Abila, found on coins from the time
of Caracalla. Eusebius (Onom. 32.14) knew the place as 19 km E of Gadara. In the
Byzantine period it was part of Palestina Secunda. It has not been excavated,
but surveys have noted the bridge connecting the two mounds of the site, the fortifications,
a Roman temple, a theater, and a basilica.
A. Negev, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
GADARA (Ancient city) JORDAN
This a village NE of Jericho, near Tell Gedur, which preserved the
ancient name of the place. Obodas I, king of the Nabateans, defeated Alexander
Jannaeus here (Joseph. AJ 13.356). From the 1st c. B.C. on it was part of the
Jewish region of Peraea, and also its capital. It was conquered by Vespasian in
A.D. 63, but Jews still lived there in the Byzantine period.
A. Negev, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 6 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
GERASA (Ancient city) JORDAN
About 48 km N of Amman/Philadelphia in the hills of Gilead S of the
Hauran. It was transformed from a village into a considerable town in Hellenistic
times, perhaps by Antiochos IV Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.), and was known then as
Antioch on the Chrysorhoas. Early in the 1st c. B.C. it was annexed by Alexander
Janneus to Jewish territory, and in 63 B.C. Pompey in his reorganization of the
East assigned it to Roman Syria as one of the towns of the Decapolis; in the 3d
c. A.D. it was elevated to the rank of colony. As a provincial agricultural, mining,
and caravan town Gerasa flourished under the Roman Empire, remaining relatively
prosperous until in the 7th c. it was captured first by the Persians (614) and
then by the Arabs (635). One of the few ancient writers to mention Gerasa is Josephus
(BJ 1.104, 2.458, etc.); however, several hundred inscriptions, chiefly of Imperial
date, have been found on the site. Considerable excavation and restoration has
taken place since 1920.
In plan the town is divided N and S into two inwardsloping, unequal
parts by the Chrysorhoas. There is a perennial spring within the walls; N of the
site in Roman times a reservoir was built from which an aqueduct ran to the town.
The chief gates are N and S and they received the main roads of the area, which
were among those much renovated and augmented in the East in Trajan's time. The
town walls, so slight as to be almost cosmetic, are sprinkled with small towers
and enclose ca. 100 ha. Perhaps ten or fifteen thousand people lived in Gerasa
in the early 2d c. A.D.
What can be seen today is post-Hellenistic in date and consists almost
entirely of principal streets and public buildings; few private or domestic remains
have been uncovered. The architecture of Gerasa is richly worked and in some ways
baroque, a successful synthesis of the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial styles.
Also, much of the monumental building typology of imperial towns is represented;
Gerasa is a significant site in these respects. This is clearly shown by a huge
triumphal arch, a large part of which still stands outside the town walls to the
S. It was probably erected to commemorate a visit by Hadrian during the winter
of 128-29. About 37.5 m wide, it is divided into five bays characterized by niches,
aediculae, orders at three different scales, and decorative architectural sculpture
of floral motifs. Beside this arch stood the town stadium.
A street plan approximately orthogonal, at least with regard to the
major thoroughfares, was laid upon the site apparently in Early Imperial times.
The southernmost portion of the town, however, is not subject to this grid: the
S gate gives obliquely onto a large paved area of irregularly oval plan surrounded
by an Ionic colonnade (ca. 66 x 99 m, and built ca. A.D. 300; there was a rather
similar plaza at Palmyra). Nearby, and also independent of the orthogonal system,
is a large Temple of Zeus (begun ca. A.D. 22 but finished in the 160s). It is
of typical Romano-Syrian type, with unfluted peristyle columns arranged 8 by 12,
the whole raised on a broad and high podium. The cella wall is decorated with
scalloped niches on the exterior and broad pilasters on the interior. Nearby is
the S theater, first constructed in the 1st c. A.D. but later rebuilt. Its elaborate
scaenae frons, now partly restored, consists of projecting and retreating pavilions
and aediculae, with orders of varying scales.
The main street runs N from the oval plaza. To the E of this street
bridges carried the main cross streets over the Chrysorhoas ravine. The main street
and many of the subsidiary streets were colonnaded; sometimes the Corinthian order
was used, sometimes the Ionic. Two of the major intersections with the main street
were marked by tetrapyla; of these the S one was set in a large circular space
with tabernae round about. Some of the column shafts along the streets carry brackets
for sculpture, in the Palmyrene manner, and in order to emphasize the locations
of entrances to major buildings the height of the colonnade was from time to time
raised above the standard level. Along the main N-S street were placed a large,
scenically designed nymphaeum and propylaea to the (later) Cathedral and to the
Temple of Artemis.
The last-named is an elaborate system of architectural screens and
openings articulated by aediculae and a rich profusion of decoration. It is centered
upon a majestic staircase that rises up the W slope of the town to give onto the
immense, walled precinct of Artemis (all from the mid 2d c. A.D.). This complex,
one of the major monuments of Roman religious architecture in the Near East, measures
ca. 240 by 120 m. The temple proper is ca. 52.5 m in length and stands in a colonnaded
temenos. In design it is rather similar to that of the Temple of Zeus but with
columns disposed 6 by 11. The podium is high, the porch deep, and the order Corinthian
(some columns stand--they are unfluted and carry a suggestion of double entasis;
this is the order that appears in so many Gerasa buildings).
To the E of the main N-S street are the remains of two baths; in the
N ruins there is a large, well-preserved room roofed by a true pendentive dome
made of stone (2d c. A.D.?). To the W of this, across the main street, there is
a second (N) theater, set beside a handsome rectangular plaza. Outside the town
to the N, beside the reservoir, there is a third, smaller, theater.
Early Christian remains at Gerasa are important. At least 13 churches
are known (seven from the time of Justinian), and their plans and to a degree
their elevations can be recovered. Both basilican and centralized designs were
built, largely from materials taken from earlier structures. Almost all these
churches can be dated, and some excellent mosaics have been revealed. Three examples
of Gerasa churches may suffice. The Cathedral, of the second half of the 4th c.,
was approached from the main N-S street by way of a colonnaded, monumental staircase.
The building, of the three-aisled basilican type, was erected on the site of a
Temple to Dionysos, parallel to and slightly below the precinct of the great Temple
of Artemis. Just beyond the Cathedral, to the W, was a courtyard centering on
a miraculous fountain. Farther to the W, in the center of a complex of three churches,
was the Church of St. John the Baptist, built in 529-33. It was planned as a circle
inscribed in a square, with the corners of the latter receiving deep niches; this
is a variant on the slightly earlier Cathedral at Bosra, to the N. At the Church
of the Prophets, Apostles, and Martyrs of the 460s the plan consists of a cross
inscribed in a square, with the remaining corner rectangles walled off into all
but discrete volumes. All of these churches had apses projecting toward the E.
By the late 8th c. people were still living around the S tetrapylon
circle and in the oval plaza. Today, some of Gerasa's mosaics are still in situ;
other materials from the site can be seen in the archaeological museum in Jerusalem
and at the Yale University Art Gallery.
W. L. Macdonald, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 45 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
PELLA (Ancient city) JORDAN
Town on the S slopes of the Gilead ca. 12.8 km SE of Scythopolis (Beisan).
It is known from early Egyptian historical texts as Pehal, and evidence indicates
that it was also settled in the Iron Age. Veterans of Alexander the Great's army
founded the Greek settlement, naming it for the birthplace of Alexander in Macedonia.
Polybios (5.70) mentions it among the cities conquered in 218 B.C. by Antiochos
the Great, and during the Hellenistic period Pella was known as a center of Greek
culture. Alexander Jannaeus conquered it after several futile attempts in 80 B.C.,
and the inhabitants who refused to convert to Judaism left the city (Joseph. AJ
13.397). Pompey conquered Pella, then freed it and made it part of the Decapolis
(AJ 14.75). Gabinius, the procurator of Syria, rebuilt it, and Pliny (HN 5.16.70)
mentions its famous spring. The city was destroyed in the war against the Romans
in A.D. 66. In the late Roman and Byzantine periods, however, it was an important
Christian center.
There are remains of the Israelite, Hellenistic, and early Roman periods,
and four churches of the Byzantine era.
A. Negev, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 64 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
PETRA (Ancient city) JORDAN
In the mountains of Idumaea 300 km S of Amman, Petra was the capital
of the kingdom of Nabataea and a flourishing caravan city. It was annexed by Trajan
in A.D. 106 and visited by Hadrian in 130. The Moslem conquest in the 4th c. brought
decline and oblivion.
The site, rediscovered in 1812, is a basin shut in by cliffs of brightly
colored sandstone into which many monuments were cut. The monuments are often
baroque in their variety of form and richness of decoration. The only access is
by the Siq, a narrow defile 2 km long cut by the wadi Musa, whose waters were
diverted by an ancient tunnel. A rock-cut necropolis at the entry to the Siq has
nefesh (obelisks or stelai symbolizing the soul of the deceased) and, farther
along, baetyls (aniconical representations of the divinity).
The most famous of Petra's monuments, the Khazne or treasury, rises
in the middle of the Siq. Its pink sandstone facade, more than 40 m high, is exotically
decorated, suggesting a Corinthian temple topped by a tholos in a courtyard with
porticos. Its interior is a vast cross-shaped chamber. The monument may be a mausoleum
of King Aretas IV, who died in A.D. 40.
At the exit of the Siq is a large theater cut into the rock in the
2d c. A.D. There is also a small theater, more recent in date, at a bend of the
wadi Musa. A paved street, the cardo, ran along the wadi and was the town's main
axis. To N and S the town rose tier on tier over fairly steep slopes. It was larger
in circumference in the 1st c. B.C. than in the 2d c. A.D. First one sees the
hemicycle enclosing the basin of a public fountain or nymphaeum, then the ruins
which, to the S, may be markets and a large temple, and to the N a palace and
a gymnasium. To the W the cardo reaches a monumental arch with three bays, which
gives access to a sacred area of the 1st c. A.D. The area contains the base of
a monumental altar and a square cella with stucco decoration. These are remains
of the main temple, known as Qasr Firaun, consecrated to Dusares. According to
Suidas, its gold-covered baetyl would have been enthroned in the axial chapel.
The cliff of el-Habis, which dominates the Qasr to the W, was covered with Nabataean
houses.
The E cliff has extraordinary funerary facades. To the S, at the exit
of the Siq, are tiers of tombs crowned with merlons or steps. Farther to the left
is the tall Doric urn tomb of the middle of the 1st c. A.D., which was turned
into a cathedral in A.D. 446. Then come the Corinthian Tomb, which imitates the
Khazne, and the Palace Tomb, resembling the long facade of a Parthian palace;
both are the burial places of princes and princesses of the last Nabataean dynasty.
The narrow and overburdened facade of the tomb of Sextus Florentinus (legate in
Arabia ca. A.D. 127) stands 300 m farther N cut into a rocky spur.
There are many High Places on the neighboring plateaus, with enclosing
walls, sacrificial areas, altars, bases for baetyls, triclinia cut in the rock,
and basins. On the ed-Deir plateau, the main one is dedicated to the god Dushara.
There is also a theater in the gorge of the wadi es-Sabrah.
J. P. Rey-Coquais, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 75 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
PHILADELPHIA (Ancient city) JORDAN
Town E of the Jordan which received a Macedonian settlement and the
name of Philadelphia from Ptolemy II Philadelphos (285-246 B.C.). In the 2d c.
B.C. it passed under Seleucid control and in the 1st c. B.C., liberated by Pompey,
it was one of the main cities of the Decapolis. In the 2d c. A.D. Philadelphia
was incorporated into the Roman province of Arabia.
The ancient town, along a wadi, is mostly covered by the modern city.
The citadel stands on a long steep hill to the N; the acropolis, a theater, and
a nymphaeum are the principal remains of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
The main artery was a long avenue with a colonnade on each side on
the N bank of the wadi, which was channeled and covered by vaulting as it passed
through the town. To the E was the entrance to the town, a monumental gate with
three bays; a splendid tomb once stood near it. To the W another colonnaded avenue,
at right angles to the first, ran NW. The public baths were near the crossroads
to the N. Remains of a large nymphaeum with three apses, of the 2d or 3d c. A.D.,
lie to the S: the facade had a portico with tall Corinthian columns and three
semicircular frontoni siriachi under triangular pediments, while the back wall
was decorated with superimposed niches, the lower ones under segmental pediments,
the upper niches under triangular ones. A building to the SW has very similar
niches and may belong to the same group of buildings. The apse of the building
to the SW was reused in a Christian church.
On the S bank a theater of the 2d c. A.D. is cut into a hill facing
the citadel. Its hemicycle is open to the N and has three stories of 13, 14, and
16 tiers of seats; it is crowned by a portico and a high supporting wall with
a large axial exedra. Access to the orchestra was by vaulted side corridors under
the tiers of seats. All that remains are the foundations of the stage, the scaenae
frons, and the wall of the exterior facade. A large trapezoidal space extended
in front of the theater. Eight columns of the S portico are standing, four smaller
columns of the N portico and, on the E side, a fairly well-preserved odeum, which
was part of the theater complex.
The citadel has three terraces from E to W, with supporting walls
of fine masonry. The N front of the acropolis is partly of Seleucid, partly of
Roman date, and is a good example of ancient fortifications. The large W terrace
had a monumental gate to the S, at the end of the stairways from the lower town;
propylaea to the stairways have been identified beside the colonnaded avenue.
The ruins of a large temple of Hercules, dated by an inscription to the reign
of Marcus Aurelius, stand on the SE corner of the citadel, dominating the town.
Its Corinthian columns were more than 9 m high. A gigantic statue of Hercules
(pieces of which have been found) stood next to the temple. A wall adorned with
conch niches runs along part of the very high terrace. At the N end, the ruins
of another Roman structure can be seen beyond Byzantine or Omayyad buildings.
J. P. Rey-Coquais, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 29 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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