Amathus is a fortress located near the Jordan River, north of the Yabuq River and about 30 km south of Bila, in 98 BC.It was controlled by Theodorus and then taken over by Alexander Janius, but he was unable to keep it for long, and years later he demolished it.

Amathus became the capital of one of the five provinces (Jerusalem, Gadara, Amathus, Jericho, and Sepphoris) into which the Roman governor (consul) Gabinius (Aulus Gabinius) divided Palestine in 57 BC and Judaism transformed from a monarchy to an aristocracy.

According to the disciple, Amathus is the same as Amathus and may simply be a phonetic modification of the name “Zaphon,” and Amathus is called by another name, the son of Canaan.