Publication Date
648 - 922 / 1250- 1517
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;17;ar
Library Location
It is located 10 km north of the city of Madaba, and 20 km southwest of Amman, Hasban, Jordan.
Date
648 - 922 / 1250- 1517
Notes
The ancient Hisban, which was mentioned in the Torah and was known in the Roman era as Isbos, whose history extends from the Iron Age to the Ottoman period, is located on a hill overlooking large areas of the plains of Madaba and the northeastern part of the Dead Sea. The site was extensively and densely settled in the Byzantine era, when Hisban became the center of a bishopric, and its bishops attended the church councils in Nicaea (in 325 AD), Ephesus (in 341 AD), and Chalcedon (in 451 AD). It is also known that in the year 29 / 650 (the beginning of the Islamic era) there was a bishop known as Theodore in mind. The city of Hesban appears on the mosaic floors of the Ma'in Church (dated 719-720 AD) and the Church of St. Stephen in Umm al-Rasas (dated 718 AD), indicating its continued importance throughout the Umayyad era (41-132 / 661-750 AD). Arab historical sources mention that at the beginning of the 3rd / 9th century, Saeed bin Khalid Al-Fadini - who descended from the Umayyad dynasty - revolted against Abbasid rule, then he fled and took refuge in Hisban when Abbasid forces were sent to put down his revolt, which indicates that Hisban was fortified at that time. Archaeological excavations that took place at the site since 1968 indicate that after centuries of atrophy and deterioration that began at the end of the 3rd / 9th century, the site was settled again in the era. Mamluk (648-922 / 1250-1517). Hisban particularly flourished in the 8th / 14th century. The administration of Jordan in the Mamluk era was divided between the southern parts of the Kingdom of Damascus in the north and the Kingdom of Karak in the south. The northern half was divided into five provinces, one of which was Balqa, whose borders at that time extended from the Zarqa River to Wadi Mujib. The capital of Balqa during this period moved between Amman, Salt, and Hasban, and the latter, famous for the fertility of its soil, was a stop on the postal road between Damascus and Karak. Archaeological excavations revealed a group of buildings and facilities that were erected in the Mamluk era, when the top of the hill was transformed into an easy-to-defend fortress. One of these buildings has been identified as the Obitalwale Municipal Centre. The plan of this building follows the system of four perpendicular iwans, and it includes a group of four rooms overlooking a central courtyard paved with stone tiles, a small bathroom consisting of three rooms roofed with barrel vaults, the remains of a kitchen, and a group of rooms covered with barrel vaults. One of the long rooms appears to have served as a storeroom, as it was filled with pottery such as lamps and jars, as well as hand-made pottery with geometric patterns painted on it, and single- and two-coloured or incised glazed pieces, some of which bore Arabic inscriptions.
Sample Text
Ghazi Bisheh “Tel Hisban” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;17;ar
