About Jerash

In ancient times, Jerash was one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities in the ancient Near East (today Middle East). Founded as a Hellenistic city in the 2^nd century BCE, it was one of the cities of the Roman Decapolis. Jerash is today noted for its fine Roman and Byzantine ruins, ranked among one of the best-preserved cities of the Decapolis.

Roman and Byzantine Empire

Jerash flourished from its prime location at the axes of several trade routes. It developed into the magnificent Greek-Roman city complex of 2^nd century CE, to which almost twenty Byzantine churches were added by 600 AD, and then numerous Umayyad buildings in the 7^th century. Ancient Jerash was divided in two by the Jerash Wadi. Most of the inhabitants lived on the east side while the west side was the religious, administrative and economic centre.

Highlights of Jerash

The monumental gateway, Hadrian’s Arch, leads over the 15,000-seat Hippodrome to the Sanctuary of Zeus, right in the heart of the town. The famous Oval Plaza is the only oval-shaped plaza ever found in a classical-era city site. The colonnaded Cardo Maximus is original and laid out in the 1^st century. The Sanctuary of Artemis was Jerash’s most important and largest temple complex, rimmed by ten towering Corinthian columns. The Cathedral Complex was built atop an earlier classical-era temple.

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