If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to wander the streets of an ancient Roman city, Gerasa, known today as Jerash, is the place for you. Located in Jordan, Jerash is home to the remarkably preserved ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also known as Antioch on the Golden River.

Historical records, including ancient Greek inscriptions and literary sources from Iamblichus and the Etymologicum Magnum, suggest that the city was founded by Alexander the Great or his general Perdiccas, who settled aged Macedonian soldiers there. At its peak, Gerasa expanded to cover approximately 800,000 square meters within its walls.

The city’s decline began with the Persian invasion in AD 614, followed by a major earthquake in AD 749 that destroyed much of Jerash and its surroundings. For centuries, the ruins lay buried until they were uncovered by German Orientalist Ulrich Jasper Seetzen in 1806.

The modern city of Jerash owes much of its development to the resettlement of Circassian Muslims by the Ottoman authorities. These Circassians, displaced from the Caucasus following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, played a significant role in rebuilding and populating the area