Al-Husn is one of the possible sites of
Dion, a city dating from when the
Romans occupied northern Jordan and the region. The
Decapolis cities (a ten-city Greco-Roman federation, or league, created under
Pompey about 64-63 BCE). According to
Pliny the Elder, (CE 23–79) the cities included: 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. It was originally built in the second century (CE), but destroyed in 1680 by the
Ottoman army. A church was later rebuilt in 1886 by the local Christians. Traditionally, al-Husn has been home to a relatively large Christian community, including
Melkites; al-Husn, along with Fuhais, still includes a high percentage of Christians. In 1596 it appeared in the
Ottoman tax registers named as part of the
nahiya (subdistrict) of Bani Atiyya, part of the
Sanjak of Hawran. It had 24 households and 15 bachelors; all
Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products; including wheat, barley, summer crops/fruit trees, goats and bee-hives; in addition to occasional revenues. The total tax was 17,153
akçe. 1/4 of the revenue went to a
waqf. In 1806, the German traveler named
Seetzen arrived in al-Husn and became a guest of Al Sheikh Abdalla Ghanma. He narrates in his book, which describes his travels in the east, that when he got to al-Husn Pond and asked about the town's sheikh, he was directed to Abdalla's residence, where he stayed with him for two weeks. In 1812, the Swiss tourist and discoverer of
Petra,
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, arrived in al-Husn. He also became a guest of Sheikh Abdalla Ghanma for ten days. Both these early travelers wrote about their stay in al-Husn and about their host; the description is full of compliments, appreciation and respect. In 1838 al-Husn's inhabitants were predominantly
Sunni Muslims and
Greek Christians. In 1961 the population of al-Husn was 3,728 inhabitants, of whom 2,030 were Christians. ==Sights==