Archaeological Park 1
Eastern section: Exhibition of mosaics, Hippolytus Hall, Virgin Mary Church, Crypt of St. Elianus, Roman Street, the Madaba Institute for Mosaic Art and Restoration.
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The church and its first mosaic pavement can be dated to between the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th centuries. The well-preserved later mosaic was constructed during the Umayyad period when the church was restored.
The church has an internal vestibule, a round nave and an elongated, apsed presbyterium which is supported by two underground rooms with barrel vaults. The facade opens into a narthex and from there, two pairs of columns flank the entrance to the nave of the church which is a circle measuring 9.7 m in diameter.
(From: Michele Piccirillo, page 65)
© Photo: Haupt & Binder
Eastern section: Exhibition of mosaics, Hippolytus Hall, Virgin Mary Church, Crypt of St. Elianus, Roman Street, the Madaba Institute for Mosaic Art and Restoration.
The second of the four major caliphates established after the death of prophet Muhammad (632 AD). Ruled by the Umayyads, the first dynasty of caliphs, 661–750, with their capital in Damascus 661–744. Their empire stretched from Central Asia to Morocco and Spain and was the largest in the world at that time.
In 750 the Umayyads were defeated by the Abbasids. Some survivors of the dynasty escaped and established the Emirate and then Caliphate al-Andalus in present-day Spain, with Córdoba as their capital, where they ruled until 1031.
More about in AD Jordan:
- Desert Castles
- Amman Citadel
By Michele Piccirillo
A large format, cloth-bound volume with 383 pages, 874 illustrations, including aerial views of many of the sites and plans of most of the structures which have mosaics.
American Center of Oriental Research, Amman, Jordan. First edition in 1993.
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