Gadara ( el, Γάδαρα ''Gádara''), in some texts Gedaris, was an ancient

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

city, for a long time member of the Decapolis city league, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

. Its ruins are today located at Umm Qais, a small town in the Bani Kinanah Department and

Irbid Governorate Irbid or Irbed ( ar, إربد) is a governorate in Jordan, located north of Amman, the country's capital. The capital of the governorate is the city of Irbid. The governorate has the second largest population in Jordan after Amman Governorate, ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, near its borders with

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. It stood on a hill above sea level overlooking the Yarmouk River gorge, with the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

and the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

well visible to the north and northwest.

History

Gadara was situated in a defensible position on a ridge accessible to the east but protected by steep falls on the other three sides. It was well-watered, with access to the Ain Qais spring and cisterns.. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Gadara was a centre of Greek culture in the region, considered one of its most Hellenised and enjoying special political and religious status.

Hellenistic period

By the third century BC the town was already of some cultural importance. It was the birthplace of the satirist Menippus (3rd century BC), a slave who became a Cynic philosopher and satirised the follies of mankind in a mixture of prose and verse. His works have not survived, but were imitated by

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

and by

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed supersti ...

Philodemus of Gadara Philodemus of Gadara ( grc-gre, Φιλόδημος ὁ Γαδαρεύς, ''Philodēmos'', "love of the people"; c. 110 – prob. c. 40 or 35 BC) was an Arabic Epicurean philosopher and poet. He studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before moving ...

was born there, later studied under the Epicurean Scholarch Zeno of Sidon in Athens, and went on to teach Epicurean philosophy to the father-in-law of Caesar at the Villa of the Pisos in

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the n ...

(Italy). The scrolls that have been found and deciphered in his library constitute an important testimony of Roman

Epicureanism Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by ...

. In the early first century BC Gadara gave birth to its most famous son, Meleager. He was one of the most admired Hellenistic Greek poets, not only for his own works but also for his anthology of other poets, which formed the basis of the large collection known as the

Greek Anthology The ''Greek Anthology'' ( la, Anthologia Graeca) is a collection of poems, mostly epigrams, that span the Classical and Byzantine periods of Greek literature. Most of the material of the ''Greek Anthology'' comes from two manuscripts, the ' ...

. The Greek historian

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

describes Gadara as being in 218 BC the "strongest of all places in the region". Nevertheless, it capitulated shortly afterwards when besieged by the Seleucid king

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the r ...

of Syria. Under the Seleucids, it was also known as Antiochia ( grc, Αντιόχεια) or ( grc, Ἀντιόχεια Σεμίραμις, ''Antiókheia Semíramis'') and as Seleucia ( grc, Σελεύκεια). The region passed in and out of the control of the Seleucid kings of Syria and the Ptolemies of Egypt. Gadara was captured and damaged by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus.

Roman period

In 63 BC, when the Roman general

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

placed the region under Roman control, rebuilt Gadara and made it one of the semi-autonomous cities of the Roman Decapolis,. and a bulwark against

Nabataean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern L ...

expansion. But in 30 BC Augustus placed it under the control of the Jewish king Herod. Jewish-Roman historian

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

relates that after King Herod's death in 4 BC, Gadara was made part of the Roman province of

Josephus relates that in AD 66, at the beginning of the Jewish revolt against the Romans, the country around Gadara was laid waste, The Gadarenes captured some of the boldest of the Jews, of whom several were put to death and others imprisoned. Some in the town surrendered to emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...

, who placed a garrison there. The 2nd century AD Roman aqueduct to Gadara supplied drinking water through a

qanat A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...

long. Its longest underground section, running for 94 km, is the longest known tunnel from

ancient times Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

Byzantine and Early Muslim periods

Gadara continued to be an important town within the Eastern Roman Empire, and was long the seat of a Christian

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

. With the conquest of the Arabs, following the Battle of Yarmouk in 636 it came under Muslim rule. Around

749 __NOTOC__ Year 749 ( DCCXLIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 749 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...

it was largely destroyed by an earthquake, and was abandoned.

Gadara in the Gospels

The

synoptic Gospels The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose ...

mention the

Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be d ...

, with some ancient manuscripts replacing Gerasene with Gadarene or Gergesene.

Ecclesiastical history

Ancient Gadara was important enough to become a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

bishopric of the Metropolitan Archbishopric of Scythopolis, the capital of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Palestina Secunda Palæstina Secunda or Palaestina II was a Byzantine province from 390, until its conquest by the Muslim armies in 634–636. Palaestina Secunda, a part of the Diocese of the East, roughly comprised the Galilee, Yizrael Valley, Bet Shean Valley ...

, but it faded with the city after the Muslim conquest.

Titular see

The diocese was nominally restored no later than the 15th century as Titular bishopric of Gadaræ in Latin of Gadara in Curiate Italian, from 1925 renamed solely Gadara. It is vacant, having had the following incumbents, all of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank : * Johann Erler, Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1432.07.12 – 1469) * Matthias Kanuti,

Benedictine Order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

(O.S.B.) (1492.07.09 – 1506) * Domingo Pérez Rivera (1741.03.06 – 1771.11.12) * Jan Benisławski,

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

(S.J.) (1783 – 1812.03.25) * Anton Gottfried Claessen (1844.07.25 – 1847.09.29) * Joseph-Hyacinthe Sohier,

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons de ...

(M.E.P.) (1850.08.27 – 1876.09.03) * Edward MacCabe (1877.06.26 – 1879.04.04) (later Cardinal) * Giuseppe Macchi (1880.02.27 – 1889.04.03) (later Archbishop) * Giuseppe Schirò (1889.07.30 – 1895.11.29) (later Archbishop) * Nicolae Iosif Camilli,

Conventual Franciscans The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

(O.F.M. Conv.) (1896.02.25 – 1901.03.27) (later Archbishop) * Venceslao (1901.07.15 – 1932.09.02) * Martial-Pierre-Marie Jannin, M.E.P. (1933.01.10 – 1940.07.16) * Jean Cassaigne, M.E.P. (1941.02.20 – 1973.10.31)

Notable inhabitants

Gadara was once called the "city of philosophers". David Sider notes that Gadara was produced numerous remarkable philosophers, writers and mathematicians, but in spite of that and of being large enough to boast two theatres, it saw all its famous sons move to Greece and Italy in search of career opportunities. Among others, Gadara was home to (chronologically): * Menippus of Gadara (3rd century BC), Cynic satirist * Meleager of Gadara (1st century BC), Cynic philosopher and poet *

(1st century BC), Epicurean philosopher and poet * Theodorus of Gadara (1st century BC), orator Strabo's Geographybr>16.2.29
/ref> * Demetrius of Gadara (1st century BC), the most important, influential and well-known

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...

of the

Pompey Magnus Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

. * Philo of Gadara (early 2nd century AD), mathematician, calculated a highly accurate value for π *

Oenomaus of Gadara Oenomaus of Gadara ( grc-gre, Οἰνόμαος ὁ Γαδαρεύς, ''Oinomaus ho Gadareus''; fl. 2nd century AD), was a Pagan Cynic philosopher. He is known principally for the long extracts of a work attacking oracles, which have been preserve ...

(2nd century AD), Cynic philosopher * Apsines of Gadara (3rd century AD), rhetoricianBlank, David
"Philodemus"
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), accessed 3 June 2020.

Rediscovery

Umm Qais was recognised by Ulrich Seetzen in 1806 as the ancient site of Gadara.

Description

The ancient walls may now be traced in almost their entire circuit of 3 km. One of the Roman roads ran eastward to Ḍer‛ah; and an aqueduct has been traced to the pool of Ḳhab, about 20 miles to the north of Ḍer‛ah. The ruins include those of "baths, two theaters, a hippodrome, colonnaded streets and, under the Romans, aqueducts," a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

and other buildings, telling of a once splendid city. A paved street, with double

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...

, ran from east to west. The ruts worn in the paved road by the wheels of ancient vehicles are still to be seen. In 2017, archaeologists discovered an ancient temple that was built in the

Hellenistic era In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...

in the 3rd century BC. The temple is believed to have been dedicated to

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as ...

. Hellenistic pottery was also found on the site. The temple, built following the design of

distyle in antis In classical architecture, distyle in antis denotes a temple with the side walls extending to the front of the porch and terminating with two antae, the pediment being supported by two pilasters or sometimes caryatids. This is the earliest type o ...

, consists of a pronaos, a

podium A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be use ...

and a naos, the holy chamber of the temple. Archaeologists have also discovered a network of water tunnels at the centre of the ancient town, which are separated from the external tunnel that was discovered decades ago in the area. Umm Qais Galilee-Golan panorama

Tourism

The formerly residence of the Ottoman governor known as Beit Rousan ("Rousan House") serves as a visitor centre and museum, where numerous archaeological finding from Gadara are on display.

References

Citations

General bibliography

*Holm-Nielson, Svend, "Gadarenes", in ''Anchor Bible Dictionary'' vol. 2, ed. D.N. Freedman (1992. New York: Doubleday) *Laney, J. Carl, ''Geographical Aspects of the Life of Christ'' npublished_Th.D._dissertation,_Dallas_Theological_Seminary_.html" ;"title="Dallas_Theological_Seminary.html" ;"title="npublished Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary">npublished Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary ">Dallas_Theological_Seminary.html" ;"title="npublished Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary">npublished Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary (1977) *Nun, Mendel, ''Gergesa (Kursi)'' (1989 Kibbutz Ein Gev) *Nun, Mendel, ''Ports of Galilee'', in Biblical Archaeology Review; 25/4: 18 (1999) * *Weber, Thomas, ''Umm Qais: Gadara of the Decapolis'' (1989. Amman: Economic Press Co.) *''This entry incorporate
text from
the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia with some modernisation.''

External links

GCatholic - (titular) bishopricIrbid Guide
(in Arabic)
Greater Irbid Municipality

Irbid news

{{Irbid Governorate Archaeological sites in Jordan Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Western Asia Catholic titular sees in Asia Decapolis Hellenistic colonies New Testament cities