Jerash

The Oval Forum and Cardo Maximus in ancient Jerash

Archaeologists have found ruins of settlements dating back to the Neolithic Age. Moreover, in August 2015, an archaeological excavation team from the University of Jordan unearthed two human skulls that date back to the Neolithic period (7500–5500 BC) at a site in Jerash, which forms solid evidence of inhabitance of Jordan in that period especially with the existence of 'Ain Ghazal Neolithic settlement in Amman. The importance of the discovery lies in the rarity of the skulls, as archaeologists estimate that a maximum of 12 sites across the world contain similar human remains.[15]

Evidence of settlements dating to the Bronze Age (3200–1200 BC) have been found in the region.[16][17][18]

Jerash is the site of the ruins of the Greek city of Gerasa, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River.[19][2] Ancient Greek inscriptions from the city support that the city was founded by Alexander the Great and his general Perdiccas, who allegedly settled aged Macedonian soldiers there during the spring of 331 BC, when he left Egypt and crossed Syria on route to Mesopotamia. However, other sources, namely the city's former name of "Antioch on the Chrysorrhoas, point to a founding by Seleucid King Antioch IV, while still others attribute the founding to Ptolemy II of Egypt.[20]

In the early 80s BC Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus besieged and conquered Gerasa, incorporating it into the Kingdom of Judea. Archeological findings indicate that public buildings in Gerasa may have been destroyed during that period.[21]

Ancient Jerash against the backdrop of the modern city

Colonnaded Street

With the Roman conquest of the area in 63 BCE, the short-lived Jewish rule of Gerasa came to an end.[22] Pompey attached the city to the Decapolis, a league of Hellenistic cities that enjoyed considerable autonomy under Roman protection. The historian Josephus mentions the city as being principally inhabited by Syrians, and also having a small Jewish community.[23][22] During the First Jewish–Roman War, Gerasa was among the few non-Jewish cities in the region not to kill or imprison its Jewish residents, and its residents even escorted any Jews who wanted to leave to the border.[21]

Jerash was the birthplace of the mathematician Nicomachus of Gerasa (Greek: Νικόμαχος) (c. 60 – c. 120 AD).[24] It has been proposed to identify it as Geresh, a place mentioned by Josephus as the birthplace of Jewish Zealot leader Simon bar Giora, but other scholars identify it with modern-day Jurish.[21][25]

In the second half of the 1st century AD, the city of Jerash achieved great prosperity. In AD 106, Jerash was absorbed into the Roman province of Arabia, which included the cities of Philadelphia (modern day Amman), Petra and Bostra. The Romans ensured security and peace in this area, which enabled its people to devote their efforts and time to economic development and encouraged civic building activity.[26] Emperor Trajan constructed roads throughout the province, and more trade came to Jerash. Emperor Hadrian visited Jerash in AD 129–130, and the triumphal arch known as the Arch of Hadrian was built to celebrate this occasion.[20]

Map of the Decapolis showing the location of Gerasa (Jerash)

The city finally reached a size of about 80 ha (200 acres) within its walls.[27] Beneath the foundations of a Byzantine church that was built in Jerash in AD 530 there was discovered a mosaic floor with ancient Greek and Hebrew-Aramaic inscriptions. The presence of the Hebrew-Aramaic script has led scholars to think that the place was formerly a synagogue, before being converted into a church.[28] Jerash was invaded by the Persian Sassanids in AD 614. Few years later, the Byzantine army was defeated in the Battle of the Yarmuk by the invading Muslim forces and these territories became part of the Rashidun Caliphate.

The city flourished during the Umayyad Caliphate. It had numerous shops and issued coins with the mint named "Jerash" in Arabic. It was also a center for ceramic manufacture; molded ceramic lamps had Arabic inscriptions that showed the potter's name and Jerash as the place of manufacture. The large mosque and several churches that continued to be used as places of worship, indicated that during the Umayyad period Jerash had a sizable Muslim community that co-existed with the Christians.[29] In CE 749, a devastating earthquake destroyed much of Jerash and its surroundings.

In the early 12th century a fortress was built by a garrison stationed in the area by the Zahir ad-Din Toghtekin, atabeg of Damascus. Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem, captured and burned the fortress in 1121–1122 CE. Although the site of the fortification has often been identified with the ruins of the temple of Artemis, there is no evidence of the creation of a fortification in the temple in the 12th century. The location of this fort is probably to be found at the highest point of the city walls, in the north-eastern hills.[30]

Small settlements continued in Jerash during the Mamluk Sultanate, and Ottoman periods. This occurred particularly in the Northwest Quarter and around the Temple of Zeus, where several Islamic Mamluk domestic structures have now been excavated.

In 1596, during the Ottoman era, Jerash was noted in the census as Jaras, being located in the nahiya of Bani Ilwan in the liwa of Ajloun. It had a population of 12 Muslim households. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olive trees/fruit trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues and a press for olive oil/grape syrup; a total of 6,000 akçe.[7]

In 1838 Jerash was noted as a ruin.[31]

The Jerash nymphaeum.

Remains in the Greco-Roman Gerasa include:

• The unique oval plaza, which is surrounded by a fine Ionic colonnade
• The two large sanctuaries dedicated to Artemis and Zeus with their well preserved temples
• Two theatres (the South Theatre and the North Theatre)
• The long colonnaded street or cardo and its side streets or decumani
• The two tetrapyla of Jerash, one at the intersection of northern-decumanus and cardo maximus and the other at the intersection of southern-Decumanus and cardo maximus[33]
• The Hadrian's Arch
• The circus/hippodrome
• Two major thermae (communal baths complexes)
• A large nymphaeum fed by an aqueduct
• A beautiful macellum or porticoed market
• A trapezoidal plaza delimited by two open-exedra buildings
• An almost complete circuit of city walls
• Two large bridges across the nearby river
• An extramural sanctuary with large pools and a small theatre.

Most of these monuments were built by donations of the city's wealthy citizens. The south theatre has a focus in the center of the pit in front of the stage, marked by a distinct stone, and from which normal speaking can be heard easily throughout the auditorium. In 2018, at least 14 marble sculptures were discovered in the excavation of the Eastern Baths of Gerasa, including images of Aphrodite and Zeus.[34]

A large Christian community lived in Jerash. A large cathedral was built in the city in the 4th century, the first of at least 14 churches built between the 4th and the 7th-century, many with superb mosaic floors.[35] The supposed sawmill of Gerasa is well described in the Visitors Centre. The use of water power to saw wood or stone is well known in the Roman world: the invention occurred in the 3rd century BC. They converted the rotary movement from the mill into a linear motion using a crankshaft; good examples are known also from Hierapolis and Ephesus.

• Rashidun Mosque
• Umayyad Mosques
• Umayyad Houses
• Jarash, view of archaeological site from south west

Recently the city of Jerash has expanded to include many of the surrounding areas.

Jerash has an ethnically diverse population. The vast majority are Arabs, though the population includes small numbers of Kurds, Circassians and Armenians.[39] A majority is Muslim.

Jerash became a destination for many successive waves of foreign migrants. In 1885, the Ottoman authorities directed the Circassian immigrants who were mainly of peasant stock to settle in Jerash, and distributed arable land among them.[20] The new immigrants have been welcomed by the local people. Later, Jerash also witnessed waves of Palestinian refugees who flowed to the region in 1948 and 1967. The Palestinian refugees settled in two camps; Souf camp near the town of Souf and Gaza (Jerash) camp at Al Ḩaddādah village.[40][41]

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 3,796 inhabitants in Jerash,[42] of whom 270 were Christians.[43]

According to the Jordan national census of 2004, the population of the city was 31,650 and was ranked as the 14th largest municipality in Jordan. According to the last national census in 2015, the population of the city was 50,745, while the population of the governorate was 237,059.[1]