Khirbat al-Minya
Umayyad ruler | |
Founded | 8th century |
---|---|
Abandoned | 8th century, later reused |
Site notes | |
Public access | Yes |
Khirbat al-Minya (
History
Umayyad construction
Khirbat al-Minya, also spelled Khirbet el-Minya, was likely built during the reign of the Umayyad
Khirbat al-Minya served a number of purposes, including as local administrative center for a subregion of the
There is evidence that the palace was in use until at least the end of the Umayyad period in 750 CE. A strong earthquake hit the region, probably in 749. This damaged the building, causing a rift to run through the eastern wing, going straight through the mosque's mihrab. The damage in the niche were never repaired. It thus remains uncertain whether the palace was ever finished: Fallen debris from the earthquake was discovered in the 20th century in situ on the floor tiles of the main entry. The unused raw materials of a mosaic builder were found in the antechamber of the mosque.[3]: 17
Khirbat al-Minya was abandoned at an uncertain date.[1]
Mamluk reuse, khan
Khirbat al-Minya was later temporarily resettled.[1]
Based on the stratification established in the western part of the site and the discovery of
Ottoman period village
In 1596 a village by the name of Mina (Minya) appeared in the
Parts of the ruin were used as a water reservoir (likely for a mill) and later a large brick oven was built in the south wing and used to process sugar cane from nearby plantations. In the 19th century locals built huts on the rubble heaps.[3]: 17
Rediscovery and excavations
In the second half of the 19th century,
Pre-WW II excavations
After the true Capernaum synagogue was discovered in 1904,
This was corrected by further work by
Post-1948 excavations
During July–August 1959, the western section of the palace was excavated by
With the rapprochement between Israel and Germany in the 1960s, the Verein was reinstated as owner, but it handed over its rights to the palace itself to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, which awarded the area protected status as a listed monument and has since been responsible for the palace's upkeep.[3]: 15
UNESCO application and decay
In 2000, it was proposed that Khirbat al-Minya should become a World Heritage Site.[12]
In 2001, a study by the Getty Conservation Institute found severe structural damage to the ruin, caused by the climate and by vegetation. A lack of funds has since prevented countermeasures as well as investment in making the area more accessible to visitors.[3]: 15–16
Architecture
Enclosure walls and gate
The palace of Khirbat al-Minya is contained within an irregular rectangular enclosure (66 by 73 meters) oriented north–south,
Throne room, mosque, bath, living quarters
The centre of the structure is occupied by a colonnaded courtyard with twin staircases giving access to an upper floor level.[4] The rooms which surrounded the courtyard differ in size and arrangement and included a mosque, numerous rooms with mosaics, and a throne room.[1][2]
The mosque is located in the southeastern corner and is divided into twelve bays supported on piers. Next to the mosque is a triple-aisled basilica hall.[
Masonry and decoration
The building is constructed of finely dressed limestone blocks laid in regular courses with a lower course of black basalt stones.[4] The mosque had a simple decoration, but the domed gateway chamber and the southern rooms were richly decorated.[1] The top of the walls were decorated with large stepped merlons and the interior was decorated with a variety of glass and stone mosaics.[4] Marble panels covered the dadoes of the walls and stone mosaics combined with glass cubes were set in geometric carpet-like patterns on the floors of the five southern rooms. A well-preserved floor mosaic has been discovered in the western part of the palace.[1] Based on the foundations of the gate house, parts of the palace were at least 15 metres high.[3]: 16
Today
The Israel Nature and Park Authority has erected a sign at the site which states that the protected monument was an early Islamic palace built by
See also
- Barid, Muslim postal network renewed during Mamluk period (roads, bridges, khans)
- Al-Sinnabra, the other Umayyad qasr on the Sea of Galilee, Israel
- Desert castles
- History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes
- Jerusalem, Temple Mount area: several possibly Umayyad palatial structures south (at the Ophel) and southwest of the Mount
References
- ^ ISBN 9788126104031.
- ^ ISBN 9789004106338. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kuhnen, Hans-Peter (February 2016). "Denkmal der Glaubensgeschichte im Heiligen Land". Archäologie in Deutschland (in German). WBG. pp. 14–19.
- ^ ISBN 9780203203873.
- ^ Khalidi, 1992, p. 542
- ^ a b Petersen, 2001, pp. 220–222
- ISBN 9781410217875.
- ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 176
- ^ Note that Rhode, 1979, p. 6 Archived 2016-10-10 at the Wayback Machine writes that the register that Hütteroth and Abdulfattah studied was not from 1595/6, but from 1548/9
- ^ Puttrich-Reignard, O. (1938), Puttrich-Reignard, O. (1939). Cited in Petersen, 2001, p. 220
- ^ Grabar et al. (1960). Cited in Petersen, 2001, p. 220
- ^ Horvat Minnim, Suggestion to have Khirbat al-Minya recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site, in 2000.
- ISBN 9789004109018.
Bibliography
- Bloch, Franziska (2006). Hirbat al-Minya. Die unglasierte Keramik. In: Franziska Bloch, Verena Daiber, Peter Knötzele: Studien zur spätantiken und islamischen Keramik. Hirbat al-Minya – Baalbek – Resafa. Rahden / Westfalen. pp. 1–110
- Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 1. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. (p.369, p.394, p.403-p.404)
- Enderlein, Volkmar (2000). M. Hattstein and P.Delius (ed.). Building decoration: Islam: Art and Architecture. Cologne: Konemann..
- Grabar, O.; Perrot, J.; Ravani, B.; Rosen, M. (2005). "Sondages à Khirbet el-Minyeh In Early Islamic Art, 650-1100, volume I, Constructing the Study of Islamic Art" (in French). Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 2011-06-04.
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(help) Originally published by Israel Exploration Journal, 10 (1960), pp. 226–43. - Guérin, V. (1880). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 3: Galilee, pt. 1. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
- Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
- ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
- Kuhnen, Hans Peter; Bloch, Franziska (2014). Kalifenzeit am See Genezareth - der Palast von Khirbat al-Minya (German/English). Nünnerich-Asmus Verlag & Media GmbH. ISBN 978-3943904758.
- Oliphant, L. (1887). Haifa, or Life in Modern Palestine. Edinburgh: Blackwood.
- Petersen, Andrew (2001). A Gazetteer of Buildings in Muslim Palestine (British Academy Monographs in Archaeology). Vol. 1. ISBN 978-0-19-727011-0.
- Puttrich-Reignard, O. (1938). "Die Ergebnisse der dritten und vierten Ausgrabungskampagne auf Chirbet el Mije bei Tabgha". Berlin Museen: Amtlishe Berichte aus den Preussishen Kunstammlungen, 59: 80–84.
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(help) Cited in Petersen (2001). - Puttrich-Reignard, O. (1939). "Die Palastanlage von Chirbet al-Minje". Palestinahefte des Deutschens Vereins vom Heilige Lande, 17-29: 9–29.
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(help) Cited in Petersen (2001). - Ritter, M. (1994). Die Baudekoration des umayyadischen Palastes Ḫirbat al-Minya am See Genezareth. MA thesis University of Bamberg.
- Ritter, M. (2012). Umayyadisches Ornament und christliche Motive: Marmorrelieffriese (Champlevé) im Palast von Ḫirbat al-Minya. In: Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie, Bd. 3, eds L. Korn and A. Heidenreich, Wiesbaden: Reichert, pp. 113–137.
- Ritter, M. (2016). Umayyad Foundation Inscriptions and the Inscription of Khirbat al-Minya: Text, Usage, Visual Form. In: H.-P. Kuhnen (ed.): Khirbat al-Minya: der Umayyadenpalast am See Genezareth. Rahden / Westfalen. pp. 59–84.
- ISBN 978-3-89500-679-1.
- Rhode, H. (1979). Administration and Population of the Sancak of Safed in the Sixteenth Century (PhD). Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2016-10-10. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
- Schneider, Alfons Maria; Puttrich-Reignard, Oswin (1937). Ein frühislamischer Bau am See Genesareth. Zwei Berichte über Grabungen auf Chirbet el-Minje (German). Köln Bachem.
- Wilson, C.W. (c. 1881). Picturesque Palestine, Sinai and Egypt. Vol. 2. New York: D. Appleton.(p.73, p.75, p.76, p.82, p.83, p.84 )
External links
- Khirbet Al-Minya Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh.
- Survey of Western Palestine, map 6: IAA, Wikimedia commons
- Khirbet Minya Archnet Digital Library.