Category:Decapolis (subject)

Decapolis (Ten Cities) was a confederation of semi-autonomous Hellenistic cities in Roman Palestina.

Overview

The Decapolis was a confederation of Hellenistic cities, established by Pompey in 63 BCE. All of cities were located in Transjordan with the only exception of Scythopolis. The cities were given semi-autonomous status, which they maintained during the Roman period.

List of cities of the Decapolis

• 1. Gerasa (Jerash, Jordan)

• 2. Scythopolis (Beth-Shean, Israel)

• 3. Hippos (Hippus or Sussita) in Israel

• 4. Gadara (Umm Qais, Jordan)

• 5. Pella (West of Irbid) in Jordan

• 6. Philadelphia (modern day Amman, Jordan)

• 7. Dion / Capitolias (Beit Ras, Jordan) in Jordan (Dion, Jordan)

• 8. Canatha (Qanawat, Syria)

• 9. Raphana (Jordan)

• 10. Damascus (Syria)

Other cities sometimes included are:

• Arabella (Irbid), in Jordan
• Arbila, in Jordan
• Al Husn in Jordan

The Decapolis in ancient sources

Gospel of Mark

Mark 5:20 -- And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

Mark 7:31 -- Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.

Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 4:25 -- And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

The Decapolis in scholarship

The Decapolis in fiction

External links

• Wikipedia

Select Bibliography (articles)

• Decapolis / Arthur Segal / In: The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism (2010 Collins / Harlow), edited volume, 528-530