Early Byzantine mosaics in the Middle East
Early Byzantine mosaics in the Middle East are a group of
The Holy Land (Palestine)
Jerusalem, Judaean hill country and Shephelah
Jerusalem with its many holy places probably had the highest concentration of mosaic-covered churches but very few of them survived the subsequent waves of destructions. The present remains do not do justice to the original richness of the city. The most important is the Birds Mosaic, popularly known as the "Armenian Mosaic", which was discovered in 1894 near the Damascus Gate. It depicts a vine with many branches and grape clusters, which springs from a vase. Populating the vine's branches are peacocks, ducks, storks, pigeons, an eagle, a partridge, and a parrot in a cage. The inscription reads: "For the memory and salvation of all those Armenians whose name the Lord knows." The symbolism of the mosaic indicates that the room was used to remember the dead as a mortuary chapel.
On 2017, during a salvage excavation ahead of telephone cable infrastructure placement, archaeologists uncovered a rare
In the Dominus Flevit Church on the Mount of Olives, a 7th-century Byzantine chapel was unearthed in 1955. The floor is richly decorated with intersecting circles and pictures of fruit, leaves, flowers, and fish. A Greek inscription mentions Simon, who "decorated this place of prayer in honor of Jesus".
In the nearby
Fragments of a similar geometric mosaic floor were preserved in the Basilica of St. Stephen (outside the Damascus Gate) which was built by Empress Aelia Eudocia in the first half of the 5th century.
On the outskirts of modern Jerusalem, in the Monastery of the Cross, a section of the elaborate 5th century mosaic floor survived, incorporating pictures of peacocks, plants and geometric patterns.
Early Byzantine mosaics were preserved in the Church of John the Baptist in
An exceptionally well preserved, carpet-like mosaic floor was uncovered in 1949 in
In 2003, during the construction works of the Israeli West Bank barrier in Abu Dis, workers damaged the remains of a Byzantine monastery, which was subsequently excavated. The monastery church had an elaborate mosaic floor decorated with images of animals including a deer and an octopus.[4]
Ruins of three Byzantine churches were discovered in the village of
In nearby
In 1995-99 two large Byzantine churches were discovered in Khirbet Yattir (ancient Iethira) in the southern part of the Judean hills, close to the northern Negev. They belonged to monastic communities and were paved with beautiful mosaics in the 6-7th centuries. Two phases can be distinguished in the mosaic floor of Church C. The earlier was decorated with four birds and medallions of vines while the later one was divided into 23 strips which contain magical symbols and holy names. The dedicatory inscription dates this mosaic to the year 631/32.
Judean Desert
The
The Monastery of Martyrius was founded in the end of the 5th century and it was re-discovered in 1982-85. The most important work of art here is the intact geometric mosaic floor of the refectory although the severely damaged church floor was similarly rich.[7]
The mosaics in the church of the nearby Monastery of Euthymius are of later date (discovered in 1930). They were laid down in the Umayyad era, after a devastating earthquake in 659. Two six pointed stars and a red chalice are the most important surviving features. The church floor was later replaced with rough opus sectile (probably by the Crusaders).
At
Transjordan with Madaba
Madaba
The single most important piece of Byzantine Christian mosaic art in the East is the Madaba Map, made between 542 and 570 as the floor of the church of Saint George at Madaba, Jordan. It was rediscovered in 1894. The Madaba Map is the oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the Holy Land. It depicts an area from Lebanon in the north to the Nile Delta in the south, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Eastern Desert. The largest and most detailed element of the topographic depiction is Jerusalem, at the center of the map. The map is enriched with many naturalistic features, like animals, fishing boats, bridges and palm trees.
The town of Madaba remained an important center of mosaic making during the 5-8th centuries. In the Church of the Apostles even the name of the master mosaicist, Salomios was also recorded (from 568). In the middle of the main panel Thalassa, goddess of the sea, can be seen surrounded by fishes and other sea creatures. Native Middle Eastern birds, mammals, plants and fruits were also added. The Church of Prophet Elijah was built in 607. Its carpet-like central panel in the nave framed by a row of medaillons depicting native animals. Mosaic was used as a decoration not only for churches but for rich private residences like the Hippolytos Hall and the Burnt Palace (both from the early 6th century). They follow the classical Greco-Roman tradition with mythological and allegorical scenes like the Four Seasons, Phaedra and Hippolytos, Venus and Adonis, the Three Graces and the city goddesses of Madaba, Rome and Gregoria (in the Hippolytos Hall); hunting scenes, fight of a bull and a lion (in the Burnt Palace).[8]
Mount Nebo
One of the earliest examples of Byzantine mosaic art in the region can be found on
The Church of Sts. Lot and Procopius was founded in 567 in Nebo village under Mount Nebo (now Khirbet al-Mukhayyat). Its floor mosaic depicts everyday activities like grape harvest. Another two spectacular mosaics were discovered in the ruined Church of Preacher John nearby. One of the mosaics was placed above the other one which was completely covered and unknown until the modern restoration. The figures on the older mosaic have thus escaped the iconoclasts.[10]
Tell Mar Elias
The early 7th-century church complex of
Baptism site
Another holy place,
Lot's Cave
The monastic complex above
Esbus
Another important mosaic site around Madaba is ancient Esbus, present-day
Ma'in and Massuh
Christian mosaics were also discovered in other settlements in the surroundings of Madaba like Ma'in and Massuh, testifying the widespread popularity of the craft in Byzantine times and the importance of the Madaba area as an artistic center. The church at Massuh has two layers of floor mosaics. The lower one, from the 6th century, has no iconoclastic damage, while the upper layer, from the 7th century, was systematically altered by iconoclasts. Figures were carefully replaced by crosses, or floral and architectural motifs.[17]
Samaria
The most important Byzantine mosaics in
Galilee wider region
Two mosaic sites were discovered in the vicinity of modern-day Nahariya in Western Galilee. One that now belongs to moshav Shavei Tzion was a 5-6th-century church that stood immediately on the seashore. The main motifs of its carpet-like, decorative floor are red swastikas on white background. The other church is located on a hill called Khirbet Ittaim. The tri-apsidal basilica was built in 555 by the bishop of Tyre and was destroyed in 614 by the Persians. The remarkable mosaic floor has figurative scenes like a hunter attacking a tiger in the south apse, a man with a horse, a sitting man playing a flute and two beautiful peacocks drinking from the fountain of life.
In 1940 a 6th-century Byzantine church was discovered in present-day Hanita. Among the mainly decorative motifs of its mosaic floor there are two animal scenes: a boar grazing on a field and a hare eating grapes (the latter is very uncommon). Both are considered a symbol of redemption.[19]
The mosaic decoration of the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, which was one of the great Constantinian basilicas of the Holy Land, was totally destroyed during the centuries together with much of the basilica. Archeological evidences prove that prior to the mid-4th century another small church stood on the site. A mosaic inscription referring to Deacon Conon survived of this building.[20] The existence of a large Byzantine church on the site of the present-day Sisters of Nazareth convent was proven in 2006-2007. This church was architecturally complex and elaborately decorated, it was floored with polychrome mosaic (of which only very scant remains survived) and also had polychrome wall mosaics. Further mosaic-floored Byzantine buildings were located to the south of the church. This evidence indicates that Byzantine Nazareth contained two large churches dominating its centre, with other mosaic-floored and colonnaded masonry structures around them. As such the town had to be an important Byzantine pilgrimage centre.[21]
On the top of nearby
The Monastery of Lady Mary near
There is a 5th-century church located at Kursi on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The site is connected with the biblical Gergesa as the location where Jesus cast a legion of demons from a possessed person. The mosaics visible today include geometric patterns, birds, cucumbers, gourds, melons, and grape clusters.
Mediterranean coast
Several mosaics were discovered around
In the Barnea district of the port of
Negev desert
Mosaic covered churches prove that the towns along the Nabatean spice road in the
Petra
Mosaic art also flourished in Christian Petra where three Byzantine churches were discovered. The most important one was uncovered in 1990. It is known that the walls were also covered with golden glass mosaics but only the floor panels survived as usual. The mosaic of the seasons in the southern aisle is from this first building period from the middle of the 5th century. In the first half of the 6th century the mosaics of the northern aisle and the eastern end of the southern aisle were installed. They depict native as well as exotic or mythological animals, and personifications of the Seasons, Ocean, Earth and Wisdom.[22][23]
Sinai
Important Justinian era mosaics decorated the Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai. Generally wall mosaics have not survived in the region because of the destruction of buildings but the St. Catherine's Monastery is exceptional. On the upper wall Moses is shown in two panels on a landscape background. In the apse we can see the Transfiguration of Jesus on a golden background. The apse is surrounded with bands containing medallions of apostles and prophets, and two contemporary figure, "Abbot Longinos" and "John the Deacon". The mosaic was probably created in 565/6.
Lebanon
As part of the ancient
A big geometric mosaic floor was unearthed in the Church of St John the Baptist in Byblos.
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Fifth-century mosaic of a leopard at Beiteddine Palace.
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Fifth-century mosaic of a bull and a lion at Beiteddine Palace.
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Fifth-century mosaic of two doves and a swastika at Beiteddine Palace.
Syria
Syria had a high status during the Byzantine period, when many of its cities had schools of mosaic art and wonderful
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Great Hunting Mosaic from the Governor's residence, 414–420, found in Apamea.
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Mosaic of Taybat al-Imam.
Umayyad and early Abbasid periods
Modern Jordan
The Arab conquest of the
Ma'in
The mosaic floors of the Acropolis Church at Ma’in (ancient Belemounta), dated by an inscription to 719–20 include depictions of 11 buildings representing cities in the Holy Land, as identified by Greek toponyms. All figures were damaged by iconoclasts and carefully replaced with various motifs.
Madaba
The last great mosaics in Madaba were made in 767 in the Church of the Virgin Mary (discovered in 1887). It is a masterpiece of the geometric style with a Greek inscription in the central medallion.
Umm ar-Rasas
The mosaics of the Church of St Stephen in ancient Kastron Mefaa (now Umm ar-Rasas) were made in 785 (discovered after 1986). The perfectly preserved mosaic floor is the largest one in Jordan. On the central panel hunting and fishing scenes are depicted while another panel illustrates the most important cities of the region (including Kastron Mefaa, Philadelphia, Madaba, Esbounta, Belemounta, Areopolis, Charac Moaba, Jerusalem, Nablus, Caesarea and Gaza). The frame of the mosaic is especially decorative. Six mosaic masters signed the work: Staurachios from Esbus, Euremios, Elias, Constantinus, Germanus and Abdela. It overlays another, damaged, mosaic floor of the earlier (587) "Church of Bishop Sergius." Another four churches were excavated nearby with traces of mosaic decoration.
Decline and demise
With the fall of the Umayyad dynasty in 750, the Middle East went through deep cultural changes. No great mosaics were made after the end of the 8th century and the majority of churches gradually fell into disrepair and were eventually destroyed. The tradition of mosaic making died out among the Christians and also in the Islamic community.
See also
- General topics
- People
- Michele Piccirillo (1944–2008), expert in early Byzantine mosaics in Jordan, Palestine and Syria
References
- ^ Outside Jerusalem's Old City, a once-in-a-lifetime find of ancient Greek inscription
- ^ Important ancient inscription unearthed near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem
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- ^ "Security vs. archaeology in Israel". 21 October 2003. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
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- ^ emmaus.nicopolis - Byzantine period (324-637 A.D.)[permanent dead link]
- ^ The Monastery of Martyrius
- ^ "The mosaics of Jordan". Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ B.O.C., Business Optimization Consultants. "Jordan - Touristic Sites - South of Amman". Retrieved 24 December 2016.
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- ^ ASOR Outreach Features: Tell Mar Elias excavation Archived 2008-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Baptism Site of Jesus Christ - History and Archaeology - 10,000 films". Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ "The Baptism Site of Jesus Christ - Archaeology". Archived from the original on 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
- ^ "Rough Guides -". Retrieved 24 December 2016.
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- ^ luca, eugenio alliata - stefano de. "Article: The River Nile and Egypt in the Mosaics of the Middle East (by Basema Hamarneh)". Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ MWNF - Museum With No Frontiers
- ^ "Shiloh". 17 July 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ Orlinsky, Harry M. (1 January 1981). "Israel Exploration Journal Reader". KTAV Publishing House, Inc. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ ja. "Nazareth: Archaeological Excavations". Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ BYZANTIUM - Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies Online Archived 2008-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Petra Church – Mosaic Floors – Petra, Jordan". 21 January 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ B.O.C., Business Optimization Consultants. "Jordan - Touristic Sites - South of Amman". Retrieved 24 December 2016.
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- ^ Lecut, Frederic (2020). Personifications of KTISIS in early Byzantine mosaics. Accessed 22 November 2021.