Umm ar-Rasas mosaics
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The Umm ar-Rasas mosaics are a number of Byzantine mosaics discovered by Michele Piccirillo in the ruins of the Church of St. Stephen in Umm ar-Rasas, Jordan, in 1986.[1][2]
Of particular note is a mosaic floor dated to 785, the largest one in Jordan, with a series of panels depicting the most important cities of the region.
Outer frame, left (northern) side
A series of eight cities in Palestine are shown in the frame:
- Jerusalem (Hagia-polis [Holy City])
- Nablus (Neapolis)
- Sebastia (Sebastis)
- Caesarea
- Lydda (Diospolis)
- Bayt Jibrin (Eleutheropolis)
- Ascalon (Askalon)
- Gaza
Jerusalem
Nablus
Sebastia
Caesarea
Lydda
Eleutheropolis (Bayt Jibrin)
Ashkelon
Gaza
,_Um_er-Rasas,_Jordan.jpg)
,_Um_er-Rasas,_Jordan.jpg)
Outer frame, right (southern) side
Seven cities in Transjordan are shown in the frame:
- Kastron Mefaa (Umm er-Rasas)
- Philadelphia (Amman)
- Madaba
- Esbounta (Heshbon)
- Belemounta (Ma'in)
- Areopolis (Rabba)
- Charachmoba (Al-Karak)
Two additional cities are shown at the head of each aisle:
- Limbon
- Diblaton
,_Um_er-Rasas,_Jordan.jpg)
,_Um_er-Rasas,_Jordan.jpg)
Inner frame
The inner frame includes illustrations of ten cities in the Nile Delta:
- Alexandria
- Kasin (Ras Kouroun)
- Thenesos
- Tamiathis
- Panau
- Pelusium
- Anticiaou(?)
- Eraklion (either Heracleopolis Parva / Sethroë or Heracleion)
- Cynopolis
- Pseudostomon.
Alexandria
Kasin (Ras Kouroun)
Thenesos
Tamiathis
Panau
Anticiaou(?)
Eraklion
Pseudostomon
See also
- Early Byzantine mosaics in the Middle East; although dating to the Abbasid period, the mosaics there are part of the Byzantine tradition