The Decapolis (which means ten cities
) was south and southeast of Galilee, with ten culturally Greek cities (including Gadara, Gasara, Pella, and Damascus) founded by the Greeks, with some political independence from the Jewish regions around it, and a mostly Gentile population.
The Decapolis (literally ten cities
) was located in the area to the south and southeast of Galilee. At the time there were only ten cities in the area (including Gadara, Gasara, and Pella) which had been founded by the Greeks and which were culturally Hellenistic.1
The Decapolis was largely inhabited by Gentiles, and the region maintained a degree of independence, so much so that it practically constituted a country on its own, independent of the land of the Jews. While it is uncertain which ten cities made up the region at the time, Damascus was definitely one of them.2
25 Une grande foule le suivit, de la Galilée, de la Décapole, de Jérusalem, de la Judée, et d'au-delà du Jourdain.