Umm ar-Rasas mosaics

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.

Mosaic at the Church of St. Stephen, Umm ar-Rasas

Mosaic at the Church of St. Stephen, Umm ar-Rasas

Of particular note is a mosaic floor dated to 785, the largest one in Jordan, with a series of panels illustrating the most important cities of the region.

Town mosaic

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)
• Eleutheropolis (Bayt Jibrin)
• Ascalon (Askalon)
• Gaza

• 
  Jerusalem
• 
  Nablus
• 
  Sebastia
• 
  Caesarea
• 
  Lydda
• 
  Eleutheropolis (Bayt Jibrin)
• 
  Ashkelon
• 
  Gaza

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

• 
  Kastron Mefaa (Umm er-Rasas)
• 
  Philadelphia (Amman)
• 
  Madaba
• 
  Esbounta (Heshbon)
• 
  Belemounta (Ma'in)

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
• 
  Pelusium
• 
  Anticiaou(?)
• 
  Eraklion
• 
  Cynopolis
• 
  Pseudostomon

See also

• Early Byzantine mosaics in the Middle East

Bibliography

• Piccirillo, Michele; Attiyat, Taysir (1986). "The Complex of Saint Stephen at Umm er-Rasas-Kastron Mefaa. First Campaign, August 1986". Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. 30. Department of Antiquities, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.: 341–352. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
• Piccirillo, Michele (1988). "The Mosaics at Um er-Rasas in Jordan". The Biblical Archaeologist. 51 (4). The American Schools of Oriental Research: 208–231. doi:10.2307/3210072. ISSN 0006-0895. JSTOR 3210072. S2CID 192366752. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
• Balty, Janine (1998). "Les mosaïques d'Umm al-Rasas et la date de 718 - MICHELE PICCIRILLO, EUGENIO ALLIATA, et al., UMM AL-RASAS, MAYFA'AH I: GLI SCAVI DEL COMPLESSO DI SANTO STEFANO (Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Collectio Maior 28; Jerusalem, 1994). Pp. 376, figg. 319, 35 pl. coul., 62 figg. coul., 3 plans dépliants". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 11. Cambridge University Press (CUP): 700–702. doi:10.1017/s104775940001789x. ISSN 1047-7594. S2CID 250349440.
• Eckersley, Tracey (2016). Putting Christians on the map : topographic mosaics from late antique Jordan as representations of authority and status (Thesis). University of Louisville. doi:10.18297/etd/2484.

External links

• Ghazi Bisheh "Church of St Stephen" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2023. 2023.