Editing Decapolis (section)

===Autonomy under Rome===
Under Roman rule, the cities of the Decapolis were not included in the territory of the [[Herodian kingdom]], its successor states of the [[Herodian tetrarchy]], or the [[Judea (Roman province)|Roman province of Judea]]. Instead, the cities were allowed considerable political autonomy under Roman protection. Each city functioned as a polis or [[city-state]], with jurisdiction over an area of the surrounding countryside. Each minted its own coins. Many coins from Decapolis cities identify their city as "autonomous," "free," "sovereign," or "sacred"—terms that imply some sort of self-governing status.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Mare |first=Harold W. |editor-first=David Noel |editor-last=Freedman |title=Eerdman's Dictionary of the Bible |publisher=William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company |date=2000 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/eerdmansdictiona0000unse/page/333 333–334] |chapter=Decapolis |isbn=0-8028-2400-5 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/eerdmansdictiona0000unse/page/333 }}</ref>

[[Image:Jerash BW 12.JPG|thumb|The oval [[Forum (Roman)|forum]] and [[cardo]] of Gerasa ([[Jerash]], Jordan)]]
The Romans left their cultural stamp on all of the cities. Each one was eventually rebuilt with a Roman-style grid of streets based around a central [[cardo]] and/or [[decumanus]]. The Romans sponsored and built numerous temples and other public buildings. The [[Roman imperial cult|imperial cult]], the worship of the Roman emperor, was a very common practice throughout the Decapolis and was one of the features that linked the cities. A small open-air temple or façade, called a [[kalybe (temple)|kalybe]], was unique to the region.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Segal |first=Arthur |date=2001 |title=The "Kalybe Structures" : Temples for the Imperial Cult in Hauran and Trachon: An Historical-architectural Analysis |journal=Assaph: Studies in Art History |publisher=Tel Aviv University |volume=6 |pages=91–118 }}</ref>
[[File:The Decapolis at the time of Plinus t.E. and before 106 A.D..jpg|alt=The Decapolis at the time of Plinus t.E. and before 106 A.D|thumb|'''The Decapolis at the time of Plinus t.E. and before 106 A.D''']]
The cities may also have enjoyed strong commercial ties, fostered by a network of new [[Roman roads]]. This has led to their common identification today as a "federation" or "league". The Decapolis was probably never an official political or economic union; most likely it signified the collection of city-states which enjoyed special autonomy during early Roman rule.<ref>"Decapolis" in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. Ed. Eric M. Meyers, S. Thomas Parker. Oxford Biblical Studies Online. Nov 14, 2016.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ww1.oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com/?subid1=567cc02c-706c-11e9-83ad-a6e1c2575d0f|title=oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com|website=ww1.oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com|access-date=2019-05-07|archive-date=9 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509110923/http://ww1.oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com/%3Fsubid1%3D567cc02c-706c-11e9-83ad-a6e1c2575d0f|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[New Testament]] gospels of [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]], and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] mention that the Decapolis region was a location of the [[ministry of Jesus]]. According to {{Bibleverse||Matthew|4:23-25|NKJV}} the Decapolis was one of the areas from which Jesus drew his multitude of [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]], attracted by His "healing all kinds of sickness". The Decapolis was one of the few regions where Jesus travelled in which [[Gentile]]s were in the majority: most of Jesus' ministry focused on teaching to Jews. [[Mark 5]]:[[Legion (demon)|1-10]] emphasizes the Decapolis' gentile character when Jesus encounters a herd of pigs, an animal forbidden by [[Kashrut]], the Jewish dietary laws. A [[Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac|demon-possessed man]] healed by Jesus in this passage asks to be included among the disciples who traveled with Jesus; but Jesus does not permit him, as he wanted him to tell his friends what the Lord had done and instructs him to remain in the Decapolis region.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Mark|5:18-20|NKJV}}</ref>