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Decapolis

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The Decapolis (Greek: ) was a group of ten Greek Hellenistic cities on the eastern frontier of the Greek and late Roman Empire in the Southern Levant in the first centuries BC and AD. Most of the cities were located to the east of the Jordan Rift Valley, between Judaea, Iturea, Nabataea, and Syria.

Key facts

Country.conventional_long_name
Decapolis
Country.common_name
Decapolis
Country.image_map
The-Decapolis-map.svg
Country.map_caption
The ten cities of Decapolis marked in black italics
Country.empire
Roman Empire
Country.status
Client state
Country.year_start
63 BC
Country.year_end
AD 106
Country.p1
Coele-Syria
Country.p2
Hasmonean kingdom
Country.s1
Arabia Petraea
Country.s2
Syria Palaestina
Country.common_languages
Koine Greek, Aramaic, Arabic, Latin, Hebrew
Country.religion
Hellenistic religion, Imperial Cult
Country.event_end
Trajan's annexation of Arabia Petrea
Country.event_start
Pompey's conquest of Syria
Country.today
IsraelJordanSyria

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Decapolis
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Decapolis
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~11 min read

Article

10 sections
Contents
  • Cities
  • History
  • Hellenistic period
  • Autonomy under Rome
  • Direct Roman rule
  • Evolution and excavation
  • Culture
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

The Decapolis (Greek: ) was a group of ten Greek Hellenistic cities on the eastern frontier of the Greek and late Roman Empire in the Southern Levant in the first centuries BC and AD. Most of the cities were located to the east of the Jordan Rift Valley, between Judaea, Iturea, Nabataea, and Syria.

The Decapolis was a center of Hellenistic culture in a region which was otherwise populated by Jews, Arab Nabataeans and Arameans. The cities formed a group because of their language, culture, religion, location, and political status, with each functioning as an autonomous city-state dependent on Rome. They are sometimes described as a league of cities, although some scholars believe that they were never formally organized as a political unit.

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