Decapolis Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description

The Decapolis (Greek: deka, ten; polis, city) was a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in Syria and Palestine. The ten cities were not an official league or political unit, but they were grouped toether because of their language, culture, location, and political status. The Decapolis cities were centers of Greek and Roman culture in a region that was otherwise Semitic (Jewish, Nabatean, and Aramean). With the exception of Damascus, the "Region of the Decapolis" was located in modern-day northeastern Israel and northwestern Jordan. Each city had a certain degree of autonomy from provincial governments.

The names of the traditional Ten Cities of the Decapolis come from the Roman historian Pliny the Elder. They are:

• Gerasa (Jerash), one of the best known, sometimes called the "Asian Pompeii"
• Scythopolis (Beth-Shean), the only city on the western side of the Jordan River
• Hippos (Sussita), on the Sea of Galilee
• Gadara (Umm Qays)
• Pella
• Philadelphia, modern day Amman, the capital of Jordan
• Dion
• Canatha
• Raphana
• Damascus, the capital of modern Syria; Damascus was considerably north of the others and so is sometimes thought to have been an "honorary" member.

According to other sources, there may have been as many as seventeen Greco-Roman cities considered to be part of the Decapolis. For example, Abila is very often cited as belonging to the group.

The Decapolis started to be mentioned shortly after the Roman general Pompey conquered Palestine in 63 BC. The Roman government wanted Roman culture to flourish in the farthest reaches of the empire, which at the time included eastern Palestine. So they encouraged the growth of these ten cities, allowing them some political autonomy within the protective sphere of Rome (for example, each city minted its own coins). The cities became collectively known as the Decapolis. The New Testament gospels of Mark and Luke mention that the Decapolis region was location of Jesus' ministry.

The Decapolis was no longer identified as a distinct region after the emperor Trajan added the province of Arabia to the Roman Empire. The new province was east of Palestine, so the Decapolis was no longer the Greco-Roman cultural front line. In addition, the cities were more fully integrated into the Roman province of Syria. The Decapolis cities lost their distinctiveness, and we have no mention of them as a group after the second century AD. However, historians and archaeologists often speak of the "Decapois cities" and "Decapolis region" even when referring to these cities in later time periods.

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