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Um Qais, the ancient Gadara

Greek period

Located in northern Jordan, Um Qais is home to the ancient ruins of Gadara.

Gadara was an important center of Greek culture in the region. If archaeological evidence is to be believed, Um Qais was founded at the beginning of the 3rd century BC as a Greek colony by the troops of Alexander the Great. Gadara was considered the strongest fortress in the region, which was justified by its strategic position in the 6 Syrian wars that opposed the Selucides and the Ptolemaics between 274 and 188 BCE.

Roman period

Later, the Nabataeans dominated the region until the capture of the region by the Roman general Pompey. Gadara was attached to Judea and the death of King Herod was attached to the Roman province of Syria.

A water supply system of 170 km of tunnels and aqueducts was built to bring water from the springs of southern Syria to a growing population.

Many monuments visible today date from the time of Septimius Severus, from 235 to 193 BC.

Gadara has long retained its importance, and at the beginning of the Christianization of the Eastern Roman Empire, it was the seat of a bishopric.

Muslim period

The Muslims conquered the region in 636 and a large part of the city was destroyed by a major earthquake in 749. But the city was partly rebuilt and appears in the 13th century in the writings of historians under the name of Mukais, which would evolve into Um Qais.

about the place, Umm Qais:

Umm Qais is a small town located on the borders with Syria and Israel in northern Jordan. In Greco-Roman times it bore the name of Gadara. Gadara was an important cultural center and preserves magnificent ruins.

 

 

Spoken comments in the film: 

Jordan is full of remarkably preserved Roman sites. Um Qais is one of those sites. Um Qais is a small town located on the border with Syria and Israel in northern Jordan. 

In Greco-Roman times, it was called Gadara. Gadara was an important cultural center and preserves magnificent ruins.