Editing Decapolis (section)

==Cities==
The names of the traditional ten cities of the Decapolis come from [[Natural History (Pliny)|Pliny's ''Natural History'']].<ref>Natural History, 5.16.74</ref> They are:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!City
!Comments
!Location
|-
|[[Amman#Classical period: Philadelphia|Philadelphia]]
|Capital of modern Jordan
|{{flagicon|Jordan}} [[Amman]], Jordan
|-
|[[Jerash#Hellenistic period|Gerasa]]
|
|{{flagicon|Jordan}} [[Jerash]], Jordan
|-
|[[Gadara]]
|
|{{flagicon|Jordan}} [[Umm Qais]], [[Jordan]]
|-
|[[Pella, Jordan|Pella]]
|West of [[Irbid]]
|{{flagicon|Jordan}} Tabaqat Fahl, [[Jordan]]
|-
|[[Dium (Coele-Syria)|Dion (Tell Ashari)]]
|Sometimes also identified with [[Aydoun]]
|{{flagicon|Syria}} Tell Ashari, Syria
|-
|[[Raphana]]
|Usually identified also with Raepta and Arpha<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kleb |first=Jens |date=2022 |title=Raphana of the Decapolis and its successor Arpha - The search for an eminent Greco-Roman City |url=https://peercommunityjournal.org/item/10_24072_pcjournal_201/ |journal=Peer Community Journal |language=fr |volume=2 |doi=10.24072/pcjournal.201 |s2cid=254729593 |issn=2804-3871|doi-access=free }}</ref>
|{{flagicon|Syria}} Ar-Rafi'ah, Syria
|-
|[[Beit She'an#Hellenistic period|Scythopolis]]
|Only city west of the [[Jordan River]]
|{{flagicon|Israel}} [[Beit She'an]], [[Israel]]
|-
|[[Hippos, Israel|Hippos]]
|Mentioned by Pliny as Dio Hippos, usually this entity is divided into Dion and Hippos. The Aramaic name of Hippos was [[Hippos (Golan Heights)|Sussita]]
|{{flagicon|Syria}} [[Sussita]], [[Quneitra Governorate]]
|-
|[[Qanawat|Canatha]]
|A city rich on water, at the north-western slope of the [[Hauran|Jebel Hauran]] (Mons Al-Sadamus, [[Jabal al-Druze|Jebel al-Druz]])
|{{flagicon|Syria}} [[Qanawat]], Syria
|-
|[[Damascus]]
|Capital of modern Syria<ref>{{cite web|title=Decapolis - Ancient Greek League, Palestine|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Decapolis-ancient-cities-Palestine|website=Encyclopædia Britannica Online Edition}}</ref>
|{{flagicon|Syria}} Damascus, Syria
|-
| colspan="3" |Pliny also mentions in his enumeration important regions around and between the cities
|-
|Trachonitis
|the [[Lajat]]/Leja, including the surroundings from [[Al-Sanamayn|Az (al) Sanamayn]] (west) until the [[:File:05-Karte_des_Ostjordanlandes_uebersicht-Deutscher_Palaestina_Verein-Leipzig_1908-Detail.jpg|Ard of Batanea]] (Batanaea Plain) in the east of it.
|{{flagicon|Syria}} el-Mushmije, Ezra, Khalkhale, Syria
|-
|Paneas
|The region around [[Banias]]/Caesarea Phillipi
|{{flagicon|Syria}} Banias, Syria
|-
|Abilene
|The small realm of [[Lysanias]], see [[Abila Lysaniou|Abila Lysaniae]]
|{{flagicon|Syria}} [[Souq Wadi Barada]], Syria
|-
|Arca
|The western part around the See of Galilee with [[Tarichaea]] ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Ταριχαία or Ταριχέα) and [https://www.dekapolis-aquaedukt.de/en/bedeutende-orte/philoteria Philoteria] at its southern end.
|{{flagicon|Israel}} [[Al-Sinnabra|Sinnabra]], [[Yardenit]], [[Israel]]
|-
|Ampelloessa
|Usually identified with [[Abila (Decapolis)|Abila]] also known as "Abila Viniferos", 12 miles east of Gadara (see [[Onomasticon_(Eusebius)|Onomasticon]]) and Capitolias 
|{{flagicon|Jordan}} Abila, Beit Ras, Ard el-Karm, Jordan
|-
|Gabe
|Region of Gabe, later also known as [[Jabiyah]]
|{{flagicon|Syria}} Muzeirib / Nawa, Syria
|}
Damascus was further north than the others and so is sometimes thought to have been an "honorary" member. [[Josephus]] states that Scythopolis was the largest of the ten towns.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/war-3.htm Wars of the Jews, Book 3, chapter 9, section 7], accessed 6 December 2016</ref> Biblical commentator [[Edward Plumptre]] suggests that this is the reason why Damascus was not included in Josephus' list.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Matthew 4 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers |url=https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/matthew/4.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=biblehub.com}}</ref> According to other sources, there may have been as many as 18 or 19 Greco-Roman cities counted as part of the Decapolis.