Umm Qais
From BlogJordan
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Umm Qais, also sometimes Umm Qays, (Arabic: أم قيس) Is Jordan's second largest city hosting a large university located on the site of the ruined Hellenistic-Roman city of Gadara. The town was also called Antiochia or Antiochia Semiramis and Seleucia. Gadara was a semi-autonomous city of the Roman Decapolis. [1] The Easton's Bible Dictionary describing the nearby ruins as: The most interesting remains of Gadara are its tombs, which dot the cliffs for a considerable distance round the city, chiefly on the north-east declivity; but many beautifully sculptured sarcophagi are scattered over the surrounding heights. They are excavated in the limestone rock, and consist of chambers of various dimensions, some more than 20 feet square, with recesses in the sides for bodies...[2] Though itself not an important city for sightseeing as the nearby ruins of Gadara, the Irbid houses two very worthwhile museums, and forms a good base from which to explore the northern Jordan Valley or to start a trip to Syria. |
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Ancient Gadara
The name Gadara appears to be Semitic, possibly derived from the Hebrew gader, meaning "fence" or "border"[3].
Strategically situated between a number of key trading routes connecting Syria and Palestine, Antiochus the Great conquered it as part of the Seleucid invasion of Palestine in 218 BC - Renaming the city Antiochia Semiramis (or Antiochia for short) and Seleucia. Alexander Janneus then invested the place, and reduced it after a ten months' siege. In 63 BC, Pompey liberated Gadara, some ancient text saying it had declined in Jewish hands, and joined it to the Roman league of ten cities, the Decapolis.
Unhappy with the competition for trade by nearby Nabataeans (in Petra), Mark Anthony dispatched King Herod the Great to weaken the Nabataeans, who finally gave up their northern interest in 31 BC. In appreciation for his efforts, Rome rewarded Herod with Gadara. The emperor turning a deaf ear to accusations of the inhabitants against Herod for oppressive conduct.
After Herod's death it was joined to the province of Syria, 4 BC. At the beginning of the Jewish revolt 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. A party in the city surrendered it to Vespasian, who placed a garrison there. It continued to be a great and important city, and was long the seat of a bishop.[4]
Blessed with fertile soil and abundant rainwater Gadara became resort of choice for Romans vacationing in the nearby Himmet Gader Springs. The city reached its peak of prosperity in the 2nd century AD. New colonnaded streets, temples, theaters and baths sprouted. Meleagros compared Gadara with Athens, which testifies to the city's status as a creative center of Hellenism in the ancient Near East.
Christianity spread slowly among Gadarenes because of their strong paganism past. When Christianity was finally proclaimed the official religion of the Byzantine Empire, Gadara participated in the ecclesiastical council held in Nicaea in 325 AD, and a five aisled church was built during the same century on top of the Roman underground mausoleum, as evidence to the victory of Christianity over Roman Paganism[5].
During the 6th century, decline set in, and in 636 AD a decisive military clash between Byzantines and Arab Muslims took place not far from Gadara. And while there is no evidence, however, of widespread destruction in the city during the conquest - an earthquake around 747 AD destroyed the city to the point of abandonment[6].
Modern Day Umm Quais[7]
Despite earthquakes, the elements and the march of modern civilization, much of Umm Qais' historical splendor remains in tact. Most notable is a 6,000 seat Greco-Roman ampitheater still used for performances today; complete with a recently-restored odeon of Tyche.
From there, a Roman road flanked by colonnaded street carved out of black basalt stone leads past the Nymphaeum - a Roman bath complex - into a recently excavated five-aisled basilica from the 4th century. This terrace, built directly over a Roman-Byzantine tomb, offers a view into the tomb from the interior of the church.
Located alongside the old Roman city gate on the road from the Sea of Galilee, everything about this distinctive arrangement of a church above a tomb at this particular place strongly indicates it was designed and built to commemorate the very spot where the Byzantine faithful believed Jesus performed his miracle.
Controversy in Country of the Gadarenes
Referred only in Scripture as the country of the Gadarenes in Matthew 8:28 and the country of the Gerasenes in Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26, Luke 8:37, scholars find themselves at odds debating over the geographical exactitude of the miracle described in all four verses cited. The former Gadara, the latter Jerash[8].
This dispute is generally attributed to a textual alteration where the earliest Greek manuscripts, the Alexandrian texts, have the original reading of Matthew is "in the region of the Gadarenes." Where as the later Caesarean text, usually associated with Origen, renders the verse to read "in the country of the Gerasenes."[9]. Origen initially rejecting Gadara for its lack of high ridges and steep slopes down which the pigs.
Where there is no dispute between the Gospels is the nature and effect of the miracle which reads:
When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. - Matthew 8:28-34 (NIV)[10]
References
- ↑ Wikipedia Umm Qais / Gadara
- ↑ Easton's Bible Dictionary: Gadara
- ↑ The KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon: gader
- ↑ The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Gadara
- ↑ Jordanian Board of Tourism: Religion & Faith
- ↑ Wikipedia: Umm Quais
- ↑ Jordanian Tourism Board of North America
- ↑ Bible.org: The Demons And The Pigs
- ↑ Comparing Bible Translations
- ↑ Matthew 8:28-34 (NIV)
