The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites
Richard Stillwell, William L. MacDonald, Marian Holland McAllister, Stillwell, Richard, MacDonald, William L., McAlister, Marian Holland, Ed.

CAPITOLIAS (Beit Ras) Jordan.

A city of the Decapolis in Ajlun in N Jordan. According to the Peutinger Table it was between Adraa and Gadara, 16 miles from each. It was an autonomous city and minted coins from the time of Nerva or Trajan to that of Macrinus. The Arabic name preserves a Hebrew-Aramaic form of Beit Reisha, mentioned in Jewish sources. Roman inscriptions found here indicate that local citizens served in the Roman army. In the late Roman-Byzantine period it was part of Palestina Secunda and its bishops participated in church councils between 525 and 536. The city wall, enclosing an area of 125 ha, can be traced on the surface, as well as remains of a colonnaded street, a Roman military cemetery, and a church.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

M. Avi-Yonah, The Holy Land (1966) 113, 175.

A. NEGEV