The Umayyad Palace complex on the Citadel hill dates from the early 8th century, when Amman (then called Philadelphia) was the capital of the Umayyad province of Balqa. The central colonnaded courtyard leads to the audience hall — the qasr — where the Umayyad governor received visitors, with a stone-carved dome above the entrance passage and carved stucco panels along the walls.
The scale of the complex is impressive; this was a serious administrative and residential centre, not a minor garrison post. The cisterns cut into the bedrock beneath the palace were large enough to supply the entire hilltop community through a dry season. The palace sits directly over Byzantine and Roman layers, all of which are visible in the cuts and exposed foundations around the site.