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Amman Citadel
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Amman Citadel
The Amman Citadel (Arabic: القلعة, romanized: al-Qal'a, lit. 'the Fortress') on Citadel Hill (Arabic: جبل القلعة, romanized: Jabal al-Qal'a, lit. 'Fortress Mount') is an archaeological site on an L-shaped hill towering over Downtown Amman, in the central part of the capital of Jordan.
The Amman Citadel is considered to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited places. Evidence of inhabitance since the Neolithic period has been found and the hill was fortified during the Bronze Age (1800 BCE). The hill became the capital of the Kingdom of Ammon, sometime after 1200 BCE. It later came under the sway of major powers such as the Assyrian, Babylonian, Ptolemaic, Seleucid, Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad empires. During classical antiquity the city expanded far beyond Citadel Hill, which was given the role of an acropolis. After the Umayyads came a period of decline and for much of the following millennium, the former city became an abandoned pile of ruins only sporadically used by Bedouins and seasonal farmers; this hiatus came to an end in 1878, when the Ottoman Empire resettled there displaced Circassian refugees.
Most of the structures still visible at the site are from the Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad periods. The major remains at the site are the Temple of Hercules, a Byzantine church, and the Umayyad Palace. The Jordan Archaeological Museum was built on the hill in 1951. While archaeological discoveries have been made at many sites within modern Amman, Citadel Hill still holds particularly high potential. Archaeologists have been working at the site since the 1920s, including Western and Jordanian-led projects, but a great part of the Citadel remains unexcavated.
Excavations undertaken since the 1920s by Italian, British, French, Spanish, and Jordanian archaeologists have uncovered signs of human occupation from as far back as the Middle Bronze Age (1650–1550 BCE) in the form of a tomb that held pottery and scarab seals.
During the Iron Age, the Citadel was home to the Ammonite Kingdom. Several artifacts were discovered confirming its historicity. The Amman Citadel Inscription comes from this period, and is considered to be the oldest known inscription in the Ammonite language, written in the Phoenician alphabet.
From the Hellenistic period, there were not many architectural changes, but pottery provides evidence of occupation. The site became Roman around 30 BCE, and eventually came under Muslim rule in 661 CE. The Citadel declined in importance under Ayyubid rule in the 13th century, but a watchtower was added to the site during this period.
The Great Temple, better but inaccurately known as the Temple of Hercules, is thought to be the most significant Roman structure within the Amman Citadel. According to an inscription, the temple was built when Geminius Marcianus was governor of the Province of Arabia (AD 161–166), in the same period as the Roman Theatre (still standing below Citadel Hill).
The temple stood on a podium 43 by 27 m (141 by 88 ft). The temple measured about 30 by 24 m (98 by 79 ft), with an additional outer sanctum of 121 by 72 m (397 by 236 ft).[citation needed] The portico at the front of the temple had six columns c. 13.5 m (45 ft) tall, but there were no columns standing along the sides of the temple, as was the case with some other Roman temples. Some archaeologists[who?] interpret the lack of remains of any additional columns as an indication that the temple was probably not finished, and believe the leftover marble was used to build the Byzantine church nearby.[citation needed] The remains of the building and of the statue found near it offer reason to believe that the Amman temple was comparable in size with many of those in ancient Rome.
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Amman Citadel AI simulator
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Amman Citadel
The Amman Citadel (Arabic: القلعة, romanized: al-Qal'a, lit. 'the Fortress') on Citadel Hill (Arabic: جبل القلعة, romanized: Jabal al-Qal'a, lit. 'Fortress Mount') is an archaeological site on an L-shaped hill towering over Downtown Amman, in the central part of the capital of Jordan.
The Amman Citadel is considered to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited places. Evidence of inhabitance since the Neolithic period has been found and the hill was fortified during the Bronze Age (1800 BCE). The hill became the capital of the Kingdom of Ammon, sometime after 1200 BCE. It later came under the sway of major powers such as the Assyrian, Babylonian, Ptolemaic, Seleucid, Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad empires. During classical antiquity the city expanded far beyond Citadel Hill, which was given the role of an acropolis. After the Umayyads came a period of decline and for much of the following millennium, the former city became an abandoned pile of ruins only sporadically used by Bedouins and seasonal farmers; this hiatus came to an end in 1878, when the Ottoman Empire resettled there displaced Circassian refugees.
Most of the structures still visible at the site are from the Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad periods. The major remains at the site are the Temple of Hercules, a Byzantine church, and the Umayyad Palace. The Jordan Archaeological Museum was built on the hill in 1951. While archaeological discoveries have been made at many sites within modern Amman, Citadel Hill still holds particularly high potential. Archaeologists have been working at the site since the 1920s, including Western and Jordanian-led projects, but a great part of the Citadel remains unexcavated.
Excavations undertaken since the 1920s by Italian, British, French, Spanish, and Jordanian archaeologists have uncovered signs of human occupation from as far back as the Middle Bronze Age (1650–1550 BCE) in the form of a tomb that held pottery and scarab seals.
During the Iron Age, the Citadel was home to the Ammonite Kingdom. Several artifacts were discovered confirming its historicity. The Amman Citadel Inscription comes from this period, and is considered to be the oldest known inscription in the Ammonite language, written in the Phoenician alphabet.
From the Hellenistic period, there were not many architectural changes, but pottery provides evidence of occupation. The site became Roman around 30 BCE, and eventually came under Muslim rule in 661 CE. The Citadel declined in importance under Ayyubid rule in the 13th century, but a watchtower was added to the site during this period.
The Great Temple, better but inaccurately known as the Temple of Hercules, is thought to be the most significant Roman structure within the Amman Citadel. According to an inscription, the temple was built when Geminius Marcianus was governor of the Province of Arabia (AD 161–166), in the same period as the Roman Theatre (still standing below Citadel Hill).
The temple stood on a podium 43 by 27 m (141 by 88 ft). The temple measured about 30 by 24 m (98 by 79 ft), with an additional outer sanctum of 121 by 72 m (397 by 236 ft).[citation needed] The portico at the front of the temple had six columns c. 13.5 m (45 ft) tall, but there were no columns standing along the sides of the temple, as was the case with some other Roman temples. Some archaeologists[who?] interpret the lack of remains of any additional columns as an indication that the temple was probably not finished, and believe the leftover marble was used to build the Byzantine church nearby.[citation needed] The remains of the building and of the statue found near it offer reason to believe that the Amman temple was comparable in size with many of those in ancient Rome.
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