 The local people were no longer allowed to govern themselves, but had to submit to harsh foreign rule.Due to its location on the fringe of the Empire, Umm el-Jimal became a military outpost complete with a garrison and a new Tetrarchic-era fort.As Roman imperial power began to diminish, this earlier castellum lost its military function, and Umm el-Jimal gradually transformed from a military station to a civilian town.