Gerasa

My last day spent travelling to and from Jerash plus a five hour exploration of the site felt almost the best day of the week. We were just a relaxed two wandering under a peerless blue sky and very warm sun. The route was virtually on a level and I was able to resist the diversionary temptation of inviting steps promising ever more delectable views. We entered through the Triumphal Gate of Hadrian at the South end of the ancient site of Gerasa and began to discover the amazingly-preserved Roman city garlanded annually in Spring, by swathes of wild flowers..

The town was developed by the Romans in the first century B.C. though it had been colonised previously by Alexander the Great and archaeological remains from the period 2500-2,700 B.C. testify to the existence of settlements there in the Bronze and Iron ages. But, in spite of a mixture of stylistic periods for individual remains, the city conforms overall to a typical Roman urban plan, chiefly designed in the first century A.D. following its capture by Pompey’s army in about 63 B.C. That said, the Nabataeans,[major trading partners] and especially their capital, Petra, exerted a huge influence on both civil and religious architecture in Jerash. 

In the first century A.D. Gerasa enjoyed peace and prosperity. There was great building activity as trade with Syria and the Nabataeans flourished bur peak popularity for Jerash occurred in the third century A.D.  when it was granted the status of a colony by Emperor Caracalla in 217 A.D. Citizens were free, enjoying equal rights with Romans including a tax-free privileged civic life. But a series of wars, economic, religious and political disputes served to damage the city while, following the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire in 324 A.D, some problems were resolved, the ancient pagan temples became neglected and many fine Roman buildings were pillaged for stone to build at least fourteen Byzantine churches. Nonetheless, fine mosaic pavements, marble architecture and classic decoration show the continuing wealth of Jerash until 636 A.D. when the rapid diffusion of Islam brought Mohammedanism to the city. At least one mosque was built in Gerasa and there are the remains of 8th century Islamic buildings with beautiful

Part of the Cardo, the 800 metre long Colonnaded

 Street, a main thoroughfare along which the most

important buildings were arranged.
The drains beneath the Cardo formed the central
canal of an elaborate sewage system and many
stone manhole covers are still in place.
Ruts caused by the metal wheels of chariots
are still visible on the Cardo.

geometric mosaic floors.

Ancient and profitable trade routes were broken amid increasingly widespread pillaging by Roman armies and gradually, inexorably, the city's prosperity was stifled and it shrank to a quarter of its size. A major earthquake in 747 A.D. reduced much of Gerasa to ruins and by the twelfth century the city was uninhabited. The Governor of Damascus took the opportunity to convert the abandoned Temple of Artemis into a Crusader castle though this was eventually lost to Baldwin 1, the Crusader King of Jerusalem. The site remained chiefly abandoned until 1806 when Ulrich Seezen re-discovered it. Later in the nineteenth century Jordanian families began to colonise Gerasa which could still boast the essentials for successful settlement: fertile land, a strategic position and the presence of water. Circa 1878 Circassians also took refuge there during a period of Ottoman suppression, planting gardens amidst the ruins and building new dwellings. The modern city of Jerash has flourished in the last one hundred and forty years and is now one of the marvels of Jordanian inheritance. Acknowledging this importance is the recent elevation of Jerash to the status of capital of the Jerash Department.

:

An intricately-sculpted Corinthian capital resting on other remains of

former glory

The exquisite Oval Forum set between the Temple of Zeus and the Cardo. It boasts an impressive array of

Ionic columns, measures about 90 metres in length and 80 in width. It is paved with heavy stones laid

to follow the elliptical curves of the colonnades and beneath the heavy paving stones still lie ceramic water pipes.

The Nymphaeum, the most richly decorated building in

Gerasa and a public fountain, arranged on two storeys,

with an elaborate decorative scheme.

It is, in effect, a semi-circular recess with 7 semi-circular

niches to contain statues of water nymphs and other divinities.

My visit to Jerash has elevated my existing admiration of Rome and its art and architecture to the level of hero worship! To behold the remains of Gerasa is to witness a stunning combination of art, architecture and landscape.

The South Theatre, an important centre for entertainments 

and festivals. Also used to receive visiting artists,

celebrities and popular heroes.