THE CIVIC BASILICA IN THE DECAPOLIS AND JUDAEA-PALAESTINA
In the current paper, an attempt is made to gather the data on the limited corpus of Roman (second half of the 1st century BC - 4th century AD) basilicas, known in the cities of Decapolis and Judaea-Palaestina. The comparative description is given; wherever available - together with information on relationship with the urban context. The basilicas of Kanata, Hippos-Susita, Nysa-Scythopolis (2 structures), Beth She'arim, Sebaste and Ascalon are described in detail; the preference of the “ambulatory” type is apparent. The 2nd-3rd centuries reconstructions with monumentalization of features, conventionally called “tribunals”, were likely related to the imperial visits to the region and to the growing importance of the imperial cult. The basilica of the Jewish town of Beth She'arim differs from the rest with its nave and double-aisled plan and was possibly influenced by the Royal portico of the Jerusalem temple. The tendency not to reconstruct basilicas damaged by the 363 earthquake and the general tendency of obsolescence of this architectural form towards the Byzantine period is noted.