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Madaba مادبا | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Clockwise: Madaba's skyline and King Hussein Mosque, Apostles Church, Shrine of theBeheading of Saint John the Baptist, St. George Church, Madaba Archaeological Park, Souvenir shops, and theMadaba Map mosaic. | |
 Flag  Seal | |
  Madaba Location in Jordan | |
| Coordinates:31°43′N35°48′E / 31.717°N 35.800°E /31.717; 35.800 | |
| Country | Jordan |
| Governorate | Madaba Governorate |
| Municipality established | 1921 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Mayor | Mustafa Al-Ma'ay'ya |
| Area | |
• City | 39.440 km2 (15.228 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 100 km2 (39 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 763 m (2,503 ft) |
| Population (December 2011) | |
• City | 84,600 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (UTC+3) |
| Area code | +(962) 5 |
| Website | www.madabacity.gov.jo/ |
Madaba (Arabic:مادبا;Biblical Hebrew:מֵידְבָאMēḏəḇāʾ;Ancient Greek:Μήδαβα[2][3][4]) is the capital city ofMadaba Governorate in centralJordan, with a population of about 60,000. It is best known for itsByzantine andUmayyadmosaics, especially a large Byzantine-era mosaic map of the Holy Land. Madaba is located 30 kilometres (19 miles) south-west of the capitalAmman.
Madaba dates from the MiddleBronze Age.
The town of Madaba was once aMoabite border city, mentioned in theBible inNumbers 21:30 andJoshua 13:9.[5] Control over the city changed back and forth betweenIsrael andMoab, as mentioned in theMesha Stele.
During its rule by theRoman andByzantine empires from the 2nd to the 7th centuries, the city formed part of the province ofArabia Petraea set up by the Roman EmperorTrajan to replace theNabataean kingdom ofPetra.
The first evidence for aChristian community in the city, with its ownbishop, is found in the Acts of theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451, where Constantine, Metropolitan Archbishop ofBostra (the provincial capital) signed on behalf of Gaiano, "Bishop of the Medabeni." It was conquered by theRashidun Caliphate in 629 after theBattle of Mut'ah.
During the rule of theIslamicUmayyad Caliphate, it was part of the southern district ofJund Filastin within theBilad al-Sham province.
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In 1880, 90Arab Christian families fromAl Karak resettled the ruins of Madaba, led by twoItalian priests from the Latin Patriarchate ofJerusalem.[6] The Christian families had petitioned the Turkish government to be allowed to resettle Madaba, by then just largetell after tensions arose with Muslim families in Al Karak.[7] The government also gave the permission for the rebuilding of churches on the sites of ancient churches from antiquity.[7] In 1884, it was the clearance of debris from one such site that led to the uncovering of the 6th-centuryMadaba Map mosaic.[7]
TheCatholic Church's list oftitular sees uses the spelling "Medaba", in reference to the ancient bishopric located in this city, while referring to the modern city as "Madaba".[8]
Today, the city is the seat of Madaba Governorate and is the 9th-biggest city in Jordan, with a population of 122,008 as of 2021.
The first mosaics were discovered during the building of new houses usingbricks fromolder buildings. The new inhabitants of Madaba, made conscious of the importance of the mosaics by their priests, made sure that they took care of and preserved all the mosaics that came to light.
The northern part of the city turned out to be the area containing the greatest concentration of mosaics. During the Byzantine-Umayyad period, this northern area, crossed by a colonnadedRoman road, saw the building of the Church of the Map, the Hippolytus Mansion, the Church of the Virgin Mary, the Church of Prophet Elijah with its crypt, the Church of the Holy Martyrs (Al-Khadir), the Burnt Palace, the Church of the Sunna' family, and the church of the salaita family.
TheMadaba Map mosaic was discovered in 1884 during the construction of the church of St. George, but was only properly investigated more than a decade later in 1896 after it was witnessed by Father Kleopas Koikyides, the librarian of thePatriarchate of Jerusalem.[7] In 1897, he published a reliable sketch and his findings on the relic in a commentary in Greek entitled:The Geographical Madaba Mosaic Map on Syria, Palestine and Egypt.[7]
The Madaba Map dates from the 6th century and is preserved in the floor of the modernGreek OrthodoxBasilica ofSaint George, sometimes also called the "Church of the Map". With two million pieces of coloured stone, the map depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns in Palestine and the Nile Delta. The mosaic contains the earliest extant representation of ByzantineJerusalem, labeled the "Holy City." The map provides important details about its 6th-century landmarks, with thecardo, or central colonnaded street, and the church of theHoly Sepulchre clearly visible. This map is one key in developing scholarly knowledge about the physical layout of Jerusalem after its destruction and rebuilding in 70 AD.
Other mosaic masterpieces found in the Church of the Virgin and the Apostles and the Archaeological Museum, depict a profusion of flowers and plants, birds and fish, animals and exotic beasts, as well as scenes from mythology and everyday pursuits of hunting, fishing and farming. Hundreds of other mosaics from the 5th through the 7th centuries are scattered throughout Madaba.
TheUniversity of Toronto has been excavating in Madaba from 1996 until the present. Their efforts have focused primarily on the west acropolis where an open field has allowed access to uncover the entire sequence of occupation at Madaba from the modern period down to the Early Bronze Age levels. The most visible feature of this area is a 7.5-meter-wide (25 ft) fortification wall built sometime in the 9th century BC, with subsequent rebuilds throughout its history. There is also the remains of a well-preserved Byzantine-era house at the base of the fortification wall.[9]
In 2010, a 3,000-year-old Iron Age temple containing several figurines of ancient deities and circular clay vessels used inMoabite religious rituals was discovered at Khirbat 'Ataroz near Mabada.[10]
Khirbat Ataruz, also known asAtaroth, is mentioned prominently in theMesha stele and its ruins are located in Madaba Governorate, outside of Madaba city. It was conquered by Israelite KingOmri, as discussed in theMesha stele, Book of Numbers 32, and 2ndBooks of Kings 3:4–27. The oldest inscription in theMoabite language script, dated to the late 9th or early 8th century BC, was found at Khirbat Ataruz.[11]
The Institute of Mosaic Art and Restoration was founded in 1992 as the Madaba Mosaic School, and funded by the Italian government. It was a high school which offered the Tawjihi, the Jordanian equivalent of a high school diploma. In 2007, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, under the Department of Antiquities, partnered with USAID'sSiyaha tourism development project, and the Italian government to launch the institute as a two-year, post-secondary educational program. The institute offers diplomas in Mosaic Art Production and Restoration. The institute is located between the Madaba Visitors Center and the Madaba Archaeological Park.[12]
Madaba has ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classificationCsa). Most rain falls in the winter. The average annual temperature in Madaba is 16.4 °C (61.5 °F). About 346 mm (13.62 in) of precipitation falls annually.
| Climate data for Madaba | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16.9 (62.4) | 22.2 (72.0) | 26.5 (79.7) | 29.2 (84.6) | 30.2 (86.4) | 30.3 (86.5) | 29.3 (84.7) | 26.5 (79.7) | 20.1 (68.2) | 13.7 (56.7) | 22.6 (72.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.3 (37.9) | 4.1 (39.4) | 5.8 (42.4) | 9.0 (48.2) | 12.1 (53.8) | 14.8 (58.6) | 16.4 (61.5) | 16.7 (62.1) | 15.1 (59.2) | 12.5 (54.5) | 8.8 (47.8) | 4.6 (40.3) | 10.3 (50.5) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 81 (3.2) | 75 (3.0) | 63 (2.5) | 16 (0.6) | 5 (0.2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 4 (0.2) | 36 (1.4) | 66 (2.6) | 346 (13.6) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org, Climate data | |||||||||||||
Madaba istwinned with:
31°43′N35°48′E / 31.717°N 35.800°E /31.717; 35.800
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