Jerash lies on a plain surrounded by hilly wooded areas and fertile basins. In 63 BC, it came under Roman rule and was one of the ten great Roman cities of the Decapolis League. Jerash looks back to more than 6,500 years of history. The city’s golden age came under Roman rule, during which time it was known as Gerasa. The site is now generally acknowledged to be one of the best-preserved Roman provincial towns in the world. Hidden for centuries in sand before being excavated and restored over the past 70 years, Jerash reveals a fine example of the grand, formal provincial Roman urbanism that is found throughout the Middle East, comprising paved and colonnaded streets, soaring hilltop temples, theatres, public squares and plazas, baths, fountains and city walls pierced by towers and gates.
