Abila (Decapolis)

Abila in the Decapolis

Abila Dekapoleos
A view into Wadi Qweilibeh from the flank of Tell Umm al-Amad. The forested strip in the foreground is the course of a stream[1] The structures beyond the stream are a cemetery, with rock-cut tombs up on the far slope.
Abila Jordan
Alternative name	Seleukeia (Greek), Seleucia (Latin), Raphana (Latin), Quwaylibah (Arabic)
Location	Irbid Governorate
Region	Northern Region (geographic only)
Coordinates	32°40′52″N 35°52′11″E / 32.68111°N 35.86972°E / 32.68111; 35.86972
Altitude	440[2] m (1,444 ft)
Type	Settlement
Part of	Dekapolis
Length	1,500 m (0.93 mi)[2]
Width	600 m (0.37 mi)[2]
History
Material	Mainly limestone blocks quarried locally
Founded	1950 BC, start of Middle Bronze Age

Abila, distinguished as Abila in the Decapolis (Ancient Greek: Ἄβιλα Δεκαπόλεως, Abila Dekapoleos),^[3] and also known for a time as Seleucia (Ancient Greek: Σελεύκεια, Seleúkeia),^[3] and Abila Viniferos ( by Eusebios, by Hieronymus Abela Vini fertilis), was a city in the Decapolis; the site, now referred to as Qweilbeh (Arabic: قويلبة; also Quwaylibah, Qualibah), occupies two tells, Tell al-Abila and Khirbet Tell Umm al-Amad.^[4]

The site was submitted to the list of tentative World Heritage sites under criteria I, III and IV on June 18, 2001, by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.