Jerash, a well preserved Roman city, is one of Jordan´s top draws. Known in Roman times as Gerasa, it had a population of about 15,000. During the time of Alexander the Great (333 B.C.) Jerash rose to prominence and reached its peak around 300 A.D. when it was granted the rank of Colony by the Romans. With the Sassanid invasion from Persia, the Muslim conquest, and finally a disastrous earthquake in 747, the city slipped into the pages of history.