T
he Old Testament of the Bible
describes the journey of
the Israelites to the Prom-
ised Land. They needed to
cross the kingdom of Edom,
a land that straddled modern southern
Israel and Jordan. The Israelites pleaded with
the Edomites to “go by the King’s Highway
until we have passed through your territory”
(Num. 21:22).
The existence of the King’s Highway can be
traced back to the Bronze Age. This royal route
was central to trade in the Middle East, con-
necting Egypt via the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red
Sea all the way north to Damascus. No great
empire was centered along this road, but the
cities along it grew rich from commerce,
as traders bearing grain from Egypt, in-
cense from Yemen, pearls from the Red
Sea, and spices from India traveled along
the King’s Highway.
One of the greatest cities was Jerash,
founded as Greek culture was spreading
across the region. Enriched by trade, Jer-
ash was shaped by waves of conquerors until
it was absorbed by the eastward expansion of
Rome. Lying 30 miles north of the Jordanian
capital Amman, today Jerash is prized as one of
the best preserved of the Roman Decapolis, the
10 Hellenistic cities clustered along the empire’s
eastern border.Beside the River of Gold
According to inscriptions, Jerash, or Gerasa, was
named for its first inhabitants: the old soldiers—
gerasmenos means elderly people in Greek—of
Alexander the Great’s campaigns in the earlyfourth century B.C. After having fought against
the Persians, tradition says these veterans were
rewarded with a parcel of fertile land between
the Jordan Valley and the desert.
Although the site may well have served as a
temporary garrison for Alexander, this found-
ing story is unlikely. The original name of the
city was not, in fact, Jerash, which is a Semitic
name, but rather Antiochia ad Chrysorrhoam,
a Greek name that means “Antioch beside the
river of gold.” This early settlement was likely
founded by the second-century B.C. Seleucid
king Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
The Seleucid kings were descended from
Alexander the Great’s general Seleucus I Nica-
tor, who seized control of the eastern part of
Alexander’s vast empire in 312 B.C. His dynasty
spread Greek customs and culture throughout
the Middle East in the third and second centu-
ries B.C. The Greek colonists probably merged
with the local population who had been living
there as early as the Neolithic period.
Having carefully chosen this lucrative spot
on the King’s Highway, the Seleucids started
work on their new city with a flurry of build-
ing, dedicating temples to various gods in the
Greek pantheon. As well as competing with
other Hellenized towns and cities in prestige
and trade, Jerash also maintained close ties with
them, including Philadelphia (now the Jordanian
capital Amman) and Heliopolis (today Baalbek
in eastern Lebanon).
Jerash was a prominent commercial center,
and a diverse group of peoples interacted there.
Greek colonists and indigenous Aramaeans
rubbed shoulders with merchants from Persia,
Parthia, and even India. To the south of JerashJEWEL
OF
THE
EASTAN IMPERIAL
VISITOR
A second-century
aureus (above)
bears the head of
Emperor Hadrian,
who wintered in
Jerash in A.D. 129-
130 during his
travels across the
Roman Empire.102 b.c.
Alexander
Jannaeus, king of
Judaea, conquers
Jerash ending its
occupation by a
local warlord.175-164 b.c.
King Antiochus IV,
a successor of one
of Alexander’s
generals, founds
Jerash on the site of
an older settlement.63 b.c.
Pompey the Great
gains control of
the region. Jerash
enjoys both
autonomy and
Roman protection.a.d. 106
Trajan absorbs Jerash
and Petra into the
province of Arabia
Petraea, and begins
a major building
program in Jerash.a.d. 129-130
Emperor Hadrian
winters in the city.
Enriched by trade,
Jerash begins
a century-long
golden age.ASF/ALBUM
30 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019