A passage in the Christian Gospels tells a story worthy of a horror movie. In “the region of the Gadarenes,” there was once a man possessed not by a demon, but by a legion of them, who lived near the cemetery. Despite numerous attempts to bind him, the man would always break free, spending his days screaming and hurting himself.
As Jesus approaches the man, the demons within recognize Him as the “Son of the Most High God” and plead for mercy. Begging not to be cast out, they ask to be thrown into a nearby herd of swine instead. Jesus agrees, and as the demons enter the pigs, the entire herd (about two thousand, according to the text) rushes into the sea and perishes.
Two things are striking about this passage. On the one hand, we find Jesus performing a miracle in a pagan area, contrary to his custom – one of the cities of the Jordanian Decapolis. On the other, Jesus asks the man who was once possessed to tell his countrymen what had happened. Thus, this Gerasene (and not Paul of Tarsus) would have been the first apostle to the Gentiles.
But where did this episode take place? Scholars still try to figure it out, as the Gospels are not particularly rich in detail. Still, tradition has considered the ancient Jordanian cities of Umm Qais (Gadara) and Jerash (Gerasa) as possible locations for this miracle. Indeed, the Christian heritage of each one of these two cities goes far beyond this biblical passage and contributed significantly to the early spread of Christianity in the region.
(Umm Qais (Gadara))
Umm Qais (Gadara) is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew. This Gospel claims the miracle took place in the “region of the Gadarenes”. The city’s proximity to the Sea of Galilee, where the herd of demon-possessed swine drowned, reinforces its candidacy as the site of the exorcism.
Historically, Gadara was an important center of the Decapolis (the famed confederation of ten influential, free cities in the Hellenistic world). Between 90 and 210 CE, Gadara, along with neighboring cities such as Adraa and Abila, undertook one of the most ambitious hydraulic engineering projects in the ancient world: a 170-kilometer water supply system connecting these cities to springs in southern Syria. This project, which included 2,900 access shafts and a 106-kilometer aqueduct tunnel, is a testament to the city’s importance.
Between the 3rd and 4th centuries, Gadara expanded rapidly. Many of the city’s monumental structures date from this period, showing its growing importance. After the Christianization of the Eastern Roman Empire, Gadara maintained its regional importance and became the seat of a Christian bishopric, cementing its role in early Christian history.
(Ruins of the Jerash Cathedral)
But Jerash (Gerasa, named also the "Jordan Pompeii" because of the richness of its Roman remains), mentioned in the Gospels of Mark and Luke as the site of the exorcism, was even larger and more influential than Gadara. Being one of the major cities of the Decapolis, Jerash was a bustling commercial and cultural center that later became a Christian powerhouse in the region.
The city’s Christian community flourished at least before the 4th century, as evidenced by Jerash’s participation in the Council of Seleucia in 359 CE. By the 5th century, Jerash saw the construction of several prominent churches, including its famed “Cathedral,” believed to have been built near a spring deemed miraculous. This church became the center of a large Christian complex.
Jerash continued to grow as a Christian city, with more than 11 ancient churches found by British and American archaeologists in the 20th century. These churches, built mostly between the 5th and 7th centuries, testify to the deep roots of Christianity in Jerash. The survival of these religious structures into the early Umayyad period also shows the continued presence of Christianity in the city long after the Muslim expansion.
Both cities are proof of the historical and religious significance of Jerash in the ancient world –regardless of the actual location of the biblical exorcism.