Publication Date
Late first century / first half of the eighth century
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;15;ar
Library Location
The building is located north of Jericho city center, 2 km away, Jericho, Palestine
Date
Late first century / first half of the eighth century
Notes
Hisham's Palace is considered one of the most beautiful and greatest Umayyad palaces, due to its fresco decorations and floor mosaics. It was revealed by archaeological excavations carried out by Hamilton and Dimitri Baramki in the third and fourth decades of the twentieth century. The building consists of a spacious palace, a public mosque, a private mosque, a minaret, a water pool, and a large luxurious bathroom. Excavations revealed a building located to the north of the palace complex that included a group of rooms, which were likely residences for those who served in the palace or a commercial office. The palace has a main entrance located in the southeast corner. The entrance leads to an open courtyard in which some archaeological pieces and remains left by the earthquake that struck the palace are displayed. To the north of this square is a water pool whose floor is paved with mosaic designs. Slightly to the west of the pond and the open courtyard is the entrance to the inner palace, which leads to a spacious courtyard surrounded by rooms and halls, which was on two levels on the southern and western sides. There is a small mosque for the Caliph in the middle of the square's southern portico, next to the base of a minaret. As for the General Mosque, it is located to the north of the eastern portico, and the mihrab apse appears in the southern wall of the mosque, which indicates the direction of Mecca. Most parts of this mosque were exposed, except for the area near the mihrab, which was preceded by an arched portico supported by a group of columns. A corridor towards the north connects the palace building with the luxurious bathroom. The palace bathroom consists of a square hall with a side length of 30 metres, its floor decorated with mosaic decorations with geometric formations, and roofed with a dome supported on sixteen pillars. This bathroom is preceded by a pool of water. To the north of the bathroom, there is a group of rooms that includes a reception hall with a mosaic floor depicting a lion attacking a deer. This painting is considered one of the most beautiful mosaics discovered in the country. Next to the reception room is the bathroom's heating room, stove, and bathroom. There is an open canal starting from the spring of Ain al-Duyuk and Ain al-Naimat, 8 km from the hammam, which supplied the hammam and the palace with water.
Sample Text
Yusuf al-Natsheh “Khirbat al-Mafjar” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;15;ar
