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Umm Qais (Jordan)
Umm Qais is a town in Jordan located on the site of the ruined Hellenistic-Roman city of Gadara (Hebrew: gad´a-ra) (Greek: transliterated Gádara). The town was also called Antiochia or Antiochia Semiramis and Seleucia. Gadara was a semi-autonomous city of the Roman Decapolis. Country of the Gadarenes The Miracle A controversy exists regarding the site found in all three of the synoptic Gospels, where Jesus healed the demoniacs and cast the demons into a herd of swine which ran into the sea. The Gospel accounts record that Jesus, along with His disciples, stepped upon the shore and “immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man” possessed by demons named Legion (Mark 5:2). Jesus then spoke to the demons and demanded them to depart, sending them into a nearby “herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain” (Luke 8:32). The possessed pigs, “ran violently down the steep place into the sea” and “those who kept them fled and went away into the city” (Matt. 8:32-33). Based upon the Gospel accounts, the location of the miracle had to have a nearby port, tombs for the men to live in, an area for pigs to graze, a nearby city to which the men could flee, and most importantly, a steep bank for the herd to rush down. The problem that has yet to be dealt with however is the site’s topography. Origen initially rejected Gadara for its lack of high ridges and steep slopes down which the pigs “ran violently down into the sea” (Matt 8:32). Above the port there are multiple hills which could potentially match up with the biblical account. The most likely site is found at the end of a chain of hills that has a bank descending into the sea. The bank is the modern site of Tell es S’alib located near the New Testament Gadaran suburb of es-Samrah (Laney 1977: 141). A visual representation of the location of this tell can be seen in Mendel Nun’s work The Land of the Gadarenes (1989: 5). Although this tell may not have had as steep a slope as that found at Kursi, it does have a hill that runs into the sea and could accommodate a “large herd of swine numbering about 2,000” (Mark 5:11). In addition to the slope, other features of the site make it match up well with the biblical account of the miracle. In excavations by B. De Vries completed in 1973, a Roman tomb from the time of Jesus was found in a valley nearby es-Samrah (Holm-Nielson 1992: 867). This could account for the tombs in which the demoniacs lived. Also, there is needed a nearby site where the swine would have grazed and “the groves of oak trees on the plateau above would have provided the acorns they favored” (Walking in their Sandals: 2). Thus, the site of Gadara can align both textually and geographically with the biblical account of the demoniacs and the herd of swine. The city of Gadara is represented today by the ruins of Umm Qais on the heights south of el-Hummeh - the hot springs in the Yarmk valley - about 6 miles Southeast of the Sea of Galilee. It may be taken as certain that the jurisdiction of Gadara, as the chief city in these regions, extended over the country East of the Sea, including the lands of the subordinate town, Gerasa. The figure of a ship frequently appears on its coins: conclusive proof that its territory reached the sea.Josephus also makes reference to the territory of Gadara “which lay on the frontiers of Tiberius and formed the eastern boundary of Galilee,” again placing the region of Gadara along the coast of the Sea of Galilee (Laney 1977: 134). The place might therefore be called with propriety, either “land of the Gerasenes”, with reference to the local center, or “land of the Gadarenes”, with reference to the superior city. History The name Gadara appears to be Semitic. It is probably derived from the Hebrew gader (), meaning "fence" or "border". It is still heard in Jedr, which attaches to the ancient rock tombs, with sarcophagi, to the east of the present ruins. They are closed by carved stone doors, and are used as storehouses for grain, and also as dwellings by the inhabitants. The place is not mentioned till later times. It was taken by Antiochus the Great when in 218 BC he first invaded Palestine (Polyb. v.71). At this time, the city was renamed Antiochia Semiramis (or Antiochia for short) and Seleucia. [[1]] Alexander Jannaeus invested the place, and reduced it after a ten months' siege (Ant., XIII, iii, 3; BJ, I, iv, 2). Pompey is said to have restored it, 63 BC (Ant., XIV, iv, 4; BJ, I, vii, 7); from which it would appear to have declined in Jewish hands. He gave it a free constitution. From this date the era of the city was reckoned. It was the seat of one of the councils instituted by Gabinius for the government of the Jews (Ant., XIV, v, 4; BJ, I, viii, 5). It was given by Augustus to Herod the Great in 30 BC (Ant., XV, vii, 3; BJ, I, xx, 3). The emperor would not listen to the accusations of the inhabitants against Herod for oppressive conduct (Ant., XV, x, 2 f). After Herod's death it was joined to the province of Syria, 4 BC (Ant., XVII, xi, 4; BJ, II, vi, 3). At the beginning of the Jewish revolt the country around Gadara was laid waste (BJ, II, xviii, 1). The Gadarenes captured some of the boldest of the Jews, of whom several were put to death, and others imprisoned (ibid., 5). A party in the city surrendered it to Vespasian, who placed a garrison there (BJ, IV, vii, 3). It continued to be a great and important city, and was long the seat of a bishop (Reland, Palestine, 776). With the conquest of the Arabs it came under Muslim hands. It was largely destroyed by an earthquake around 747 AD, and abandoned. Identification and description Gadara was one of the Ten Cities of the Decapolis. Umm Qais answers the description given of Gadara by ancient writers. It was a strong fortress (Ant., XIII, iii, 3), near the Hieromax - i.e. Yarmk (Pliny the Elder N H, xvi) - east of Tiberias and Scythopolis, on the top of a hill, 3 Roman miles from hot springs and baths called Amatha, on the bank of the Hieromax. The narrow ridge on which the ruins lie runs out toward the Jordan from the uplands of Gilead, with the deep gorge of Wdy Yarmk - Hieromax - on the north, and Wdy el Arab on the south. The hot springs, as noted above, are in the bottom of the valley to the north. The ridge sinks gradually to the East, and falls steeply on the other three sides, so that the position was one of great strength. The ancient walls may be traced in almost their entire circuit of 2 miles. One of the great Roman roads ran eastward to Derah; and an aqueduct has been traced to the pool of Khab, about 20 miles to the north of Derah. The ruins include those of two theaters, a basilica, a temple, and many important buildings, telling of a once great and splendid city. A paved street, with double colonnade, ran from east to west. The ruts worn in the pavement by the chariot wheels are still to be seen. That there was a second Gadara seems certain, and it may be intended in some of the passages referred to above. It is probably represented by the modern Jedr, not far from es-Salt (Buhl, Geographic des alten Palastina, 255; Guthe). Josephus gives Pella as the northern boundary of Peraea (BJ, III, iii, 3). This would exclude Gadara on the Hieromax. The southern city, therefore, should be understood as "the capital of Peraea" in BJ, IV; vii, 3. Source: Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umm_Qais |
