# 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, Ammon was seized by Ptolemy II, the Greek ruler of Egypt, who rebuilt and renamed it Philadelphia in honor of his nickname. The city's importance grew as it became a frontier in the Syrian Wars, frequently shifting hands between the Ptolemaic and the Seleucid empires. After the Roman conquest in 63 BC, Philadelphia became a prominent member of the Decapolis league. During the Greek and Roman periods, the Arab Nabataeans maintained a significant presence in the city. Philadelphia experienced significant growth in the 2nd century AD, with the construction of several prominent landmarks, 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

In the mid-third century BC, Rabbath Ammon was occupied and renamed to Philadelphia by Ptolemy II to honor his own nickname, which he had acquired after having married his older sister Arsinoe II, with both being called "Philadelphoi" (Koinē Greek: Φιλάδελφοι "Sibling-lovers"). The marriage may not have been consummated, since it produced no children.
Despite the name change, the city continued to be referred to by its native name of Rabbat Amman, as indicated by a papyrus belonging to Zenon of Kaunos, a Ptolemic official based 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, while Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus writing in the fourth century AD referred to it as Philadelphia and noted its 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 cited Amman's geography and central location as reasons for its rise in ancient times:
   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 cities (such as Acre, Philoteria, Pella, and Philadelphia) 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 initial Greek presence in Amman was centered on the Citadel Hill, and had later spread into the Amman valley.
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. In 259 BC, a Ptolemic papyrus refers to the existence of a Cleruchy (settlement) ruled by Tobias at "Birta of the Ammanitis," with Birta likely to refer to the Citadel Hill. Later, the city was wrestled from the Ptolemies by the Seleucids led by Antiochus III in 218 BC, which brought most of Transjordan under his control.
Philadelphia returned to Ptolemic hands after Seleucid defeat in the 217 BC Battle of Raphia. Ptolemic hegemony only ended with Seleucid victory in the 200 BC Battle of Panium, bringing most of the southern Levant including Philadelphia under Seleucid rule. Despite this, Philadelphia enjoyed independence from Seleucid rule during various times in the first half of the second century BC. Around 135 BC, Roman historian Josephus mentions Philadelphia was ruled by a tyrant named Zenon Kotylas. The city did not fall to the hands of Hasmonean ruler Alexander Jannaeus in the first century BC.
The Arab Nabataeans exploited the Seleucid-Ptolemic rivalry to establish their Nabatean Kingdom centered in Raqmu (Petra) in the third century BC, 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. Nabataean presence in Decapolis cities was prevalent, with the most substantial evidence found in Philadelphia, including Nabataean bowls found in Jabal Amman, as well as several Nabataean coins found in the Roman forum, indicating presence of a large Nabataean community in the city during the first century AD.

### 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, Gedara, Pella, Arbila, Scythopolis, Capitolias 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 Phoenician 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 Phoenician 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.