Umm el-Jimal

Little is known of pre-historical times in Umm el-Jimal, aside from the few scattered remains of what appear to be settlements of nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes. In some of these places it is possible to find chert knapping stones and some prehistoric tools. In the nearby wadis the remains of kites, which are large animal traps, have been found. The prehistoric people would have used these to catch large groups of animals at once.[1]

The Nabataean peoples were the first to build permanent homesteads in the area in the first century AD. The settlement was mainly a farming community and a trading outpost dependent on Bostra, the nearby capital of the Nabataeans. Though the evidence for this village survives only in fragments, there are numerous Nabataean inscriptions from this period, mostly tomb stones. At least two men mentioned on these served as members of the Bostra City Council.[2]

As the Romans continued their conquest of the surrounding areas, the Nabataean king saw his state's demise as inevitable, so he ceded his kingdom to the Roman emperor Trajan in AD 106. The Romans named the newly acquired territory Provincia Arabia and promptly set up local governments. The Praetorium, so named by H. C. Butler in 1905, may have been built for this purpose in the third century AD.[2]

Everything changed after the rebellion led by Queen Zenobia of Palmyra in AD 275. The local people were no longer allowed to govern themselves, but had to submit to harsh foreign rule. Due to its location on the fringe of the Empire, Umm el-Jimal became a military outpost complete with a garrison and a new Tetrarchic-era fort. As Roman imperial power began to diminish, this earlier castellum lost its military function, and Umm el-Jimal gradually transformed from a military station to a civilian town. Paradoxically, from the point of view of the local Arab residents of the Hauran, this change may have been viewed as liberation rather than decline.[2]

The Roman provincial administrators were replaced by Byzantine rulers in the fifth century. One of the rulers, Dux Pelagius, built smaller military quarters. These quarters were the later castellum, which is now known as the Barracks. As the local population gradually converted to Christianity the town reemerged as a prosperous agricultural and trading community. The 150 houses still standing today were constructed in this period, the fifth and sixth centuries. In the sixth century there was an explosion of church construction, 15 of which can still be seen today. The population continued to grow, reaching an estimated 6,000 inhabitants. In the seventh century, however, power of the region was ceded to the Islamic Umayyad Empire.[2]

The Islamic era at Umm el-Jimal began in 640 when the Rashidun Caliphs took control of the area. Much remodeling was done throughout the site so as to repurpose buildings to suit their own needs. The Praetorium and House XVIII are examples of buildings repurposed as dwelling places, while House 53 was possibly repurposed into a mosque. Despite all of this, the population decreased and the site was slowly abandoned with the help of an earthquake in circa 749 that destroyed many buildings and set much of the architecture off balance. The site was completely deserted under the Abbasid Caliphs in the ninth century.[2]

T.E. Lawrence wrote of "ruined Um el Jemal", "There seemed evidence of bluntness of mind in these Roman frontier cities, Um el Jemal, Um el Surab, Umtaiye. Such incongruous buildings, in what was then and now a desert cockpit, accused their builders of insensitiveness; almost of a vulgar assertion of man's right (Roman right) to live unchanged in all his estate."[3][4]

There are a number of altars to Nabataean gods located on the site of Petra, including Dushara Aarra. Dushara, a god of Petra, is linked to Aarra, the patron god of Bostra, who become a unique regional deity. Both the Nabataean and Greek versions of his name can be seen inscribed on the die (middle section) of an altar, found in the western area of the ruins. Another god present at the site is Zeus Epikoos, a mixture of Zeus and the local deity Epikoos. In this case an altar was found in a courtyard, representative of a regional god. The altar found at Umm el-Jimal suggests personal devotion by a local resident to this deity. The third deity found at Umm el-Jimal is Solmos, who is not known elsewhere and may also be a local deity, perhaps only worshipped by the people of Umm el-Jimal and the immediate surrounding area. His name is found only once, on an altar inscription in the main ruins of Umm el-Jimal. Because this is the only known evidence of the worship of Solmos, it is reasonable to believe his worshipers were relatively few and localized. There is evidence on tombstones and small altars scattered throughout the site that suggests the worship of other deities, perhaps personal or familial gods not worshiped communally.[5]

Due to the tolerant nature of the early Roman occupation, little was contested during this period. The people of the region were able to continue their religious practices they had followed prior to the Roman occupation. Thus, it is likely that many of the regional gods like Zeus Epikoos and Solmos were still worshiped as the local deities.[5]

Late Roman Temple

After the rebellion of Palmyra most of the regional religious practices stopped altogether. This was due to harsh restrictions that were implemented by the Roman government to ensure that the people would not rise up again. There is evidence however, that a small Roman shrine surviving in House 49 may have served the garrison that was stationed in the Tetrarchic castellum.[5]

Late Roman Temple

The West Church

The Byzantine Empire is representative of the Christianization of the Roman Empire by Constantine in the early fourth century AD. The change in religious affiliation influenced even the far reaches of the Empire, and is therefore evident here in Umm el-Jimal. Christian symbols can be found throughout the site carved into stone and by the architectural influences. The doctrinal shift in clergy-laity (parishioner) relations is represented by the addition of altar screens in the front of the churches and narthexes to their entries. Besides Christianity's influence through the construction of multiple churches on the site, some complexes may have had monastic use. The later castellum (Barracks) was converted into a monastery by the addition of a chapel to the main building. The towers, which were also added, are inscribed with the names of the four archangels and other Christian inscriptions. The inscriptions give the impression that these successful residents relied for protection more directly on God, to whom they felt close, rather than on an emperor who seemed so far away.[5]

Umayyad Umm el-Jimal appears to have been part Christian and part Muslim with the two religious groups coexisting under the policy of the Dhimma. Scholars debate the idea that some of the churches in Umm el-Jimal were converted into mosques. In these former churches, the apse was blocked off and the focus of the structure's space was shifted south towards Mecca. Whether this is the case or not, it is more evident that two houses were converted to mosques with typically Umayyad plans and a small tower on the exterior of its west face indicating the presence of a minaret. The predominant Muslim modern community is served by several newly constructed mosques outside the antiquities.[5]