# Philadelphia (Amman)

Philadelphia (Ancient Greek: Φιλαδέλφεια) was a historical city located in the southern Levant that was part of the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine empires between the third century BC and the seventh century AD, when its ancient name was restored to Amman during the Islamic era. The city was initially centered on the Citadel Hill and had later spread to the nearby valley in which a stream flowed.
In the 3rd century BC, the ancient city of Rabbath Ammon was occupied by Ptolemy II, the Macedonian ruler of Egypt, who rebuilt and named it Philadelphia to honor his nickname. After the Roman conquest in 63 BC, Philadelphia became a prominent member of the Decapolis, a regional league of ten cities. It experienced significant growth in the 2nd century AD, with numerous structures being constructed, including a theater, nymphaeum, a temple, and a network of colonnaded streets.
Philadelphia became part of the Byzantine Empire in the early 4th century, and was home to several bishops and churches. The city was soon damaged by the 363 Galilee earthquake. In the 630s, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Levant, restoring Philadelphia's ancient Semitic name to Amman, and beginning the Islamic era. The city became part of the district of Jund Dimashq and an important stop on the way to the Islamic holy cities of the Hejaz. Christians continued to practice their faith, referring to the city as Philadelphia until at least the 8th century.

## Etymology

Rabbath Ammon was renamed by Ptolemy II after he occupied it to honor his own nickname Philadelphus, which was acquired after having married his older sister Arsinoe II around 273/2 BC, with both being called "Philadelphoi" (Koinē Greek: Φιλάδελφοι "Sibling-lovers"). While sibling-marriage conformed to the traditional practice of the Egyptian pharaohs, it was considered incestuous by the Greeks, but later Ptolemic rulers carried on with this practice. The marriage may not have been consummated, since it produced no children.
The city continued to be referred to by its native name of Rabbat Amman, as indicated by a papyrus belonging to Zenon of Kaunos, who was a Ptolemic official in Egypt in the mid-third century BC. Greek historian Polybius also referred to the city as Rabbat Amman in the mid-second century BC when describing its capture by Seleucid ruler Antiochus III in 213 BC, while Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus writing in the fourth century AD referred to Philadelphia's strong fortifications.

## History
### Ancient Ammon

The city has evidence of human habitation since the 8th millennium BC, with traces found on Citadel Hill and in the adjacent valley, where a stream once flowed near the Neolithic village of Ayn Ghazal. In the first millennium BC, the city was called Rabbat Ammon and served as the capital of a small state. This Ammonite kingdom had maintained independence by allying with neighboring Levantine cities against Assyrian advances. Ammon was eventually conquered by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC, followed by the Babylonians and the Achaemenid Persians by the 5th century BC.
American archaeologist Henry Innes MacAdam wrote that Amman's "defensible acropolis, several springs creating a perennial stream and adequate arable land nearby, were partly responsible for its rise to prominence in both Biblical and classical times. Equally important was the city's fortunate position at the juncture of north-south and east-west trade routes."

### Founding as Philadelphia by the Greeks

The conquest of the Near East by the Macedonians under Alexander the Great in 332 BC introduced Hellenistic culture into the region. After Alexander's death, his empire split among his generals, with the Ptolemies based in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria. The Ptolemic-Seleucid rivalry turned the region east of the Jordan River into a disputed frontier, with Ammon increasing in strategic importance, especially considering its citadel hill.
In the 270s BC, the Ptolemic ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy II Philadelphus occupied much of the southern Levant from the Seleucids. The Seleucids were more keen than the Ptolemies in establishing new cities, nevertheless Ptolemy II established a number of small cities east of the Jordan River to create wealth and tax it. Thus, Ammon was reestablished around 255 BC and renamed as Philadelphia (Ancient Greek: Φιλαδέλφεια) to honor Ptolemy's own nickname.
The name change was regarded of little importance, as the city was continued to be referred to using its old name of Rabbat Ammon. The city also continued to be ruled for the Greek Ptolemies by the same local family that had ruled it on behalf of the Achaeminid Persians, the Jewish Tobiad dynasty. Later, the city was wrestled from the Ptolemies by the Seleucids led by Antiochus III the Great in 218 BC, which brought most of Transjordan under his control.
The Arab Nabataeans exploited the Seleucid-Ptolemic rivalry to establish their Nabatean Kingdom centered in Raqmu (Petra) south of Transjordan, which kept Ammon in a border zone. The Nabataeans exercised a form of control in Ammon with Seleucid decline in the second century AD, but the Tobiads continued to rule it virtually independently. The initial Greek presence in Amman was centered on the Citadel Hill, and had later spread into the Amman valley.

### Flourishing under Roman rule and the Decapolis

The Romans under Pompei conquered much of the Levant in 63 BC. In that century, Philadelphia was gifted by Roman general Mark Antony to Ptolemaic Egypt's Cleopatra. The city regained a level of local autonomy after the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, when it became part of the ten-city league known as the Decapolis, with Philadelphia as a gateway to Nabataea and Arabia as the league's southernmost member. This league included cities north of Philadelphia, mostly in Transjordan, such as Gerasa (Jerash), Gedara (Umm Qays), Pella (Tabqet Fahl), Arbila (Irbid), Scythopolis (Beit She'an), Capitolias (Beit Ras) and Damascus. The league's membership expanded to 18 by the second century AD, making a definite membership list contested among historians.
The Roman annexation of the Nabataean Kingdom as the province of Arabia Petraea in 106 AD led to the construction of the Via Traiana Nova by Emperor Trajan, which connected Aila (Aqaba) with Damascus through Philadelphia. Consequently, the second century AD saw Philadelphia thriving, with the city being constructed in the classical Roman style, with a large theater, a nymphaeum, public baths, a forum, and a network of colonnaded streets in the valley, as well as a temple dedicated to Hercules atop the citadel hill.
In the Roman era, the northern bank of the Seil in the Amman valley contained a colonnaded street, an east–west road known as Decumanus, that no longer exists, while the southern bank contained a forum, a Theater, an Odeon Theater, a Nymphaeum, and baths. This lower part of the city in the valley was connected through a stairs to the upper part at the Citadel Hill. The hill was built as an Acropolis, and contains a temple dedicated to Hercules.
* A large 6,000 seat Roman Theater
* A small 500 seat Odeon Theater
* Nymphaeum fountain and baths

### Beginning of Byzantine rule

When Philadelphia became part of the Byzantine Empire, it became an Episcopal see and was home to several bishops and churches. The Christian Byzantine period was considered a period of decline for Philadelphia.

### Islamic era and renaming to Amman

In the 630s, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Levant from the Byzantines, beginning the Islamic era in the region. Muslims restored the city's ancient name by renaming it Amman, which became part of the district of Jund Dimashq. With the Umayyad Caliphate establishing itself with Damascus as its capital in 661, Amman became an important stop on the way south to the Islamic holy cities of the Hejaz. The transition of power to Muslim rule was peaceful and Christians continued to practice their faith and pave churches with mosaics, including the floor mosaics of the St. Stephen's Church at Umm ar-Rasas south of Amman, made during the Abbasid Caliphate in the 8th century.

## Religion
### Greek period

Stephanus of Byzantium wrote in the 6th century AD that Philadelphia was "famous." He also wrote that it had been previously called Ammana, and later Astarte which is a Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. Stephanus mentions that the city was called Ashtoret after a Phoenician goddess that was identified with the Greek Asteria. The deity Asteria was the city goddess as learnt from coins uncovered in the city, and was the mother goddess of the Pheonician god Melqart in Tyre who was later identified with the Greek god Hercules.
Asteria and her son Hercules had a special cult in the city, indicating that Philadelphia and Tyre were linked by cult and religion together. Settlers were accustomed to take their god's with them to their new cities, leading to the theory that Ptolemy II used the Hellenized inhabitants of Tyre to form the population of Philadelphia, which is supported by evidence of Pheonician inhabitance in cities of the southern Levant including Philadelphia. The lack of information about when these settlers came limits the ability to form conclusions on whether they had arrived with or before Ptolemy II's founding of Philadelphia.