Umm Qais History

History

The ancient town of Gadara was captured from the Ptolemies by the Seleucids in 198 BC, and then the Jews under Hyrcanus captured it from them in 100 BC. Under the Romans, the fortunes of Gadara, taken from the Jews in 63 BC, increased rapidly and building was undertaken on a typically grand scale.

Herod the Great was given Gadara following a naval victory and he ruled over it until his death in 4 BC - much to the disgruntlement of locals who had tried everything to put him out of favour with Rome. On his death, the city reverted to semi-autonomy as part of the Roman province of Syria.

With the downfall of the Nabataean kingdom in AD 106, Gadara continued to flourish, and was the seat of a bishopric until the 7th century. By the time of the Muslim conquest, however, it was little more than a small village. Throughout the Ottoman period the village was substantially rebuilt.

In 1806 Gadara was 'discovered' by Western explorers and the local inhabitants claim to have formed the first government in Jordan, as well as signing the first agreement with the British in 1920. Excavations did not commence until 1982, when locals were finally repatriated to modern Umm Qais village. The site has recently been restored with German funding.