Temple Ruins of a Roman Hero and God
The Citadel,
Amman
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| Ticket Office of the Citadel Photo: supplied |
The Citadel
is a historical and an archaeological site in downtown Amman, the capital of Jordan.
In Arabic it is called Jabal Al Qal’a. It is located on one of the hills that
originally made up Amman. It is 837 m above sea level and the highest point in
Amman. This hill is L-shaped and it was fortified during the Bronze Age (1800
BC).
History
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| Gist of The Citadel's History and Archaeological Sites Photo: Bulbul Sur |
The Citadel
is considered to be one of the oldest, continuously inhabited place in the world. It
is inhabited since the pottery Neolithic period. It was fortified during the Bronze
Age and became the Kingdom of Ammon (modern Amman) sometime after 1200 BC during the Iron Age.. It was later
occupied by various Empires: 8th century BC- Assyrians; 10th century BC-
Babylonians; 3rd century BC- Ptolemies, the Seleucids; 1st century BC- Romans;
3rd century AD- Byzantines; 7th century AD- Umayyad.
After the
decline of the Umayyad, the place became an abandoned pile of ruins, sporadically used by Bedouins and seasonal farmers.
Most of the
buildings still visible at the site are from Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad era.Many structures collapsed due to several earthquakes, especially during the severe earthquake in 747 AD.
During the Iron
Age the Citadel was called Rabbath-Ammon. The Amman Citadel inscription comes
from this period, an example of early Phoenician writing. The site was
conquered by the Greeks in 331 BC, became Roman around 30 BC and finally came
under Muslim rule in AD 661 .The Citadel declined in importance under Ayyubid
rule in the 13th century. The major buildings in the Citadel site are The Temple of Hercules, a Byzantine Church and Umayyad Palace.
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| Ancient Ruins at Citadel Site Photo: Bulbul Sur |
The Temple of
Hercules
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| The Massive Columns of The Temple of Hercules Photo:supplied |
The sprawling
complex is full of ancient ruins and the prominent among them is the Temple of
Hercules. It is the most significant Roman structure and said to be larger than any temple in Rome itself.The temple faces east. The path leading towards
it is a slight climb upwards. According to an inscription it was built in the
same period as the Roman Theater in Amman when Geminius Marcianus was Governor
of the Province of Arabia (AD 162-166).
This huge
temple is 31 m long by 26 m wide .It has an outer temenos (sacred enclosure) measuring 122 by 72 m .The temple portico is framed by 6 columns which are 10 m (33 ft.) tall.
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| Huge Ancient Stones near the Colossal Temple Ruins Photo:Supplied |
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| A view of the Semi-Circular Roman Theater from the Citadel Photo:Bulbul Sur |
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| A Glimpse of Downtown Amman from The Citadel |
