Decapolis
Δεκαπόλις
Decapolis (Δεκαπόλις), a district of Palestine, so named from the ten cities contained within its limits. They are variously given by different writers, as in Pliny's time--in quo non omnes eadem observant.
According to him, most authorities gave Damascus, Philadelphia, Rhaphana, Scythopolis, Gadara, Hippos, Dios, Pella, Galasa (? Gerasa), Canatha (5.18). In this view the district comprehended the southern part of Syria, part of Peraea, as well as the neighbourhood of Bisan, on the west of the Jordan. But in St. Matthew (4.25) Decapolis
is distinguished from beyond Jordan;
which would show that the districts were not conterminous. Josephus calls Scythopolis the greatest city of Decapolis
(B. J. 3.8.7), but does not name the others. Eusebius describes it as the part of Peraea that lies about Hippos, Pella, and Gadara.
(Onomast. s. v.)
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.