Decapolis

Decapolis
Δεκάπολις
64 BC–AD 117/135
Capital		Not specified
Languages		Koine Greek, Aramaic, Latin, Hebrew
Religion		Imperial cult (ancient Rome)
Government		Not specified
History
•	Conquest of Syria by Pompeus	64 BC
•	Revisions of Trajan and finally the Bar Kokhba revolt	AD 117/135
Preceded by Succeeded by Coele-Syria Arabia Petraea Syria Palaestina
Today part of		Israel  Jordan  Syria
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The Decapolis (Greek: Δεκάπολις, Ten Cities) was a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in the southeastern Levant. The cities were grouped together because of their language, culture, location, and political status, with each functioning as an autonomous city-state. Though sometimes described as a "league" of cities, it is now believed that they were never formally organized as a political unit. The Decapolis was a center of Greek and Roman culture in a region which was otherwise ancient Semitic-speaking peoples (Nabataeans, Arameans, and Judeans). In the time of the Emperor Trajan, the cities were placed into the provinces of Syria and Arabia Petraea; after a later reorganization several cities were placed in Syria Palaestina and later Palaestina Secunda. Most of the Decapolis region is located in modern-day Jordan, but Damascus is in Syria and Hippos and Scythopolis are in Israel.

The names of the traditional Ten Cities of the Decapolis come from the Roman historian Pliny the Elder (N.H. 5.16.74). They are:

Damascus was further north than the others and so is sometimes thought to have been a "honorary" member. Josephus stated that Scythopolis was the largest of the ten towns. Anglican Bishop Charles Ellicott therefore suggested that Damascus was not included in Josephus' list.

According to other sources, there may have been as many as eighteen or nineteen Greco-Roman cities counted as part of the Decapolis. For example, Abila is very often cited as belonging to the group.

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Wikipedia