Amman

Visitors to Jordan and the Decapolis cities usually start their trip in Amman, Jordan's modern capital and the ancient Rabbath-Ammon, capital city of the Ammonite Kingdom. Traces of the Iron Age city wall still ring Citadel Hill (in Arabic, Al Qal'a) in downtown Amman - the same spot the Greeks, Romans and Umayyad Muslims used for their monumental buildings during the next 1,000 years. But Amman has a much older history. At 'Ain Ghazal, in north Amman, recent excavations by an American team have uncovered a Stone Age (Neolithic era) village from around 6000 B.C., and traces of an Early Bronze Age village from around 3000 B.C.

The Greco-Roman city at Amman, known as Philadelphia, was founded by the Hellenistic Ptolemies, and named after the ruler of Egypt Ptolemy Philadelphos (285-246 B.C.). It became a member city of the Decapolis, and its territory marked the southern limits of the region of the Decapolis. The ruins of the Roman city include the great 5,000-seat theater and its adjacent odeon (a small, covered theater) in downtown Amman; parts of the forum, the nymphaeum (public fountain dedicated to the Nymphs) and the colonnaded main street of the city; the temple of Hercules on the summit of Citadel Hill; and a large mausoleum some five kilometers east of the modern Sports City towards Zerqa, known as Qasr Nuweijis. In the first century of the Islamic era, Amman continued to serve as a capital city and seat of the local Umayyad governor. Excavations on Citadel Hill, near the archeological museum and Roman ruins, have revealed a large Umayyad complex that includes a governor's palace, residential areas, public buildings and a fortification wall - all built over earlier Roman structures.

Philadelphia (Amman, Jordan)

Visitors to Jordan and the Decapolis cities usually start their trip in Amman, Jordan's modern capital and the ancient Rabbath-Ammon, capital city of the Ammonite Kingdom. Traces of the Iron Age city wall still ring Citadel Hill (in Arabic, Al Qal'a) in downtown Amman - the same spot the Greeks, Romans and Umayyad Muslims used for their monumental buildings during the next 1,000 years. But Amman has a much older history. At 'Ain Ghazal, in north Amman, recent excavations by an American team have uncovered a Stone Age (Neolithic era) village from around 6000 B.C., and traces of an Early Bronze Age village from around 3000 B.C.

The Greco-Roman city at Amman, known as Philadelphia, was founded by the Hellenistic Ptolemies, and named after the ruler of Egypt Ptolemy Philadelphos (285-246 B.C.). It became a member city of the Decapolis, and its territory marked the southern limits of the region of the Decapolis. The ruins of the Roman city include the great 5,000-seat theater and its adjacent odeon (a small, covered theater) in downtown Amman; parts of the forum, the nymphaeum (public fountain dedicated to the Nymphs) and the colonnaded main street of the city; the temple of Hercules on the summit of Citadel Hill; and a large mausoleum some five kilometers east of the modern Sports City towards Zerqa, known as Qasr Nuweijis. In the first century of the Islamic era, Amman continued to serve as a capital city and seat of the local Umayyad governor. Excavations on Citadel Hill, near the archeological museum and Roman ruins, have revealed a large Umayyad complex that includes a governor's palace, residential areas, public buildings and a fortification wall - all built over earlier Roman structures.