page_title: Abila (Decapolis)
section_title: Byzantine and Early Muslim periods
hierarchical_section_title: Abila (Decapolis) / History and archaeology / Byzantine and Early Muslim periods
caption_attribution_description: Abila (Decapolis) العربية: صورة لكنيسة القرن السادس التي تم العثور عليها في منطقة طبقة فحل (أبيلا)، في محافظة إربد الأردنية، حيث تظهر الصورة بعض الأعمدة الحجرية المتبقية من الكنيسة.
context_page_description: Abila, distinguished as Abila in the Decapolis, and also known for a time as Seleucia, and Raphana, was a city in the Decapolis; the site, now referred to as Qweilbeh, occupies two tells, Tell al-Abila and Khirbet Tell Umm al-Amad.
  The site was submitted to the list of tentative World Heritage sites under criteria I, III and IV on June 18, 2001, by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
context_section_description: Abila continued to thrive in the Byzantine period and became a prominent regional Christian centre, as proven by the presence of several large churches. Further evidence has shown that the site was used for Christian worship from at least the seventh- to eighth-century.
  Destruction visited upon the city by either war (the conquest by Persian armies in 614) or the earthquake of 633 led to a period of abandonment.
  The site was again inhabited in the Umayyad period, when a large building was erected over the ruins of the theatre. There was repeated destruction caused by the 749 earthquake.
caption: Sixth century church found on Tell Abila
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