What is "decapolis"

n. A group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in Jordan, Syria, and Palestine.

The Decapolis ( Greek: Δεκάπολις, Ten Cities) was a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in the southeastern Levant. The cities were grouped together because of their language, culture, location, and political status, with each functioning as an autonomous city-state. Though sometimes described as a "league" of cities, it is now believed that they were never formally organized as a political unit. The Decapolis was a center of Greek and Roman culture in a region that was otherwise ancient Semitic-speaking peoples ( Nabataeans, Arameans, and Judeans). In the time of the Emperor Trajan, the cities were placed into the provinces of Syria and Arabia Petraea; after a later reorganization several cities were placed in Syria Palaestina and later Palaestina Secunda. Most of the Decapolis region is located in modern-day Jordan, but Damascus is in Syria and Hippos and Scythopolis are in Israel.

Decapolis or Dekapolis refers to a group or confederation of ten cities. It may refer to:

• Decapolis, group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in Syria and Judea
• Isaurian Decapolis in Cilicia
• Décapole, alliance of ten towns of the Holy Roman Empire in Alsace, 1354-1679

• Decapolis, Virginia, a community in Madison County