Al Husn
Al Husn | |
|---|---|
| A farm in Al Husn A farm in Al Husn | |
| Country |  Jordan |
Al Husn (Arabic: الحصن, also Romanized as Al Husn, Al Husun, Hisn and Husn)is a town in northern Jordan, located 65 km north of Amman, and about 7 km south of Irbid. It has a population of 33,000. The region has fertile soil which along with the moderate climate allows the growing of high quality crops. Al Husn was known for its wine; now its main products are wheat and olive oil. Al Husn is registered in Jordanian government documents under the name Al Husun, and it is the administrative center of the Bani Obaid district.
History
Al Husn is one of the possible sites of Dion, a city dating from when the Romans occupied northern Jordan. The Decapolis cities (a ten-city Greco-Roman federation, or league, created under Pompey the Great about 64-63 BCE), according to Pliny the Elder (CE 23-79) were: Scythopolis (Bet She'an), Hippos (Susieh), Gadara (Umm Qais), Pella (Tabaqat Fahl), Philadelphia (Amman), Gerasa (Jerash), Dion, Kanatha (Kanawat), Damascus, and Raphana (Abila).
Al Husn has one of the oldest Orthodox churches in Jordan, Built in the second century, but destroyed in 1680 AD by the Ottoman Army, and then rebuilt in 1886 by the local Christians..Al Hisn along with fuhais still have a high percentage of Christians...
Sights
Al Husn is famous for its Roman-era artificial hill, situated in the northern part of the town, referred to by locals as "Al-Taal". Local legend says there are "castle ruins" underneath which gave the town its name ("Husn" means "castle" in Arabic). The hill is approximately 200 meters high and 800 meters in diameter.
Other sights include the Roman Pool, churches from the Byzantine and Roman eras, and Latin and Greek tombstones.
 | This Jordanian location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |