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St. Stephen's Church
(كنيسة القديس اسطفان)

Title	St. Stephen's Church
Title Original	كنيسة القديس اسطفان
Author	Starkios bin Zada, mosaicist from Hisban.
Author Original	ستاركيوس بن زادا، الفسيفسائي من حسبان
Publication Date:	99 – 138 / 718 – 756
Type	Other
Language	Undetermined
Digital	Yes
Manuscript	No
Library:	Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID	monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;32;ar
Library Location	It is located in Umm al-Rasas, about 30 km southeast of Madaba, Umm al-Rasas (Mayfa'a), Jordan.
Date	99 – 138 / 718 – 756
Notes	The remains of Umm al-Rasas include a rectangular fort measuring 158 m The most important of these churches is the Church of Saint Stephen, which forms part of a religious complex (monastery) for monks, which was excavated in 1986. In its layout, the church follows the basilica shape - that is, it consists of a nave and two wings. Entrance to the church was through three entrances: one in the western wall and two in the southern wall. The importance of this church stems from the many Greek inscriptions found on its mosaic floor, in addition to the diversity of its decorative themes. One of these inscriptions preceding the temple refers to the construction of the church in the year 99 / 718 AD, and at the same time provides us with the name of the ancient site, “Mepha.” There is another inscription in the apse of the altar, dated to the year 138 / 756 AD (i.e. the beginning of the Abbasid era), and it indicates that the mosaic floor in this spot, which consists of overlapping oval shapes, was paved in that year. The many Greek inscriptions on the mosaic floor are important for more than one reason. On the one hand, these writings indicate to us the existence of a Christian group whose affairs were regulated by a deacon and a bishop in this late period - that is, more than seventy years after the Arab-Islamic conquest. On the other hand, it provides us with the name of the artist who supervised the paving of the mosaic floor and his hometown, “Starkios bin Zada” from Hisban - that is, he was from the Madaba region. The nave of the church is decorated with themes inspired by rural life - such as hunting, agriculture, and farming - in addition to images representing donors to the church. Unfortunately, the human images and animal figures on this floor are distorted, as their features were removed during the Iconoclasm movement. Surrounding the dish is a band or a double frame. In the outer frame, cities from Jordan and Palestine are depicted that can be identified from the Greek inscriptions accompanying it, while in the inner frame are depicted cities from the Nile Delta, in addition to some plants and water birds.
Sample Text	Ghazi Bisheh “St. Stephen’s Church” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;32;ar

View in source Museum With No Frontiers Museum With No Frontiers - Ottoman library catalog search

Museum With No Frontiers

St. Stephen's Church

(كنيسة القديس اسطفان)

Author Starkios bin Zada, mosaicist from Hisban.

Author Original ستاركيوس بن زادا، الفسيفسائي من حسبان

Publication Date 99 – 138 / 718 – 756

Type Other

Language Undetermined

Digital Yes

Manuscript No

Library Museum With No Frontiers

Record ID monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;32;ar

Library Location It is located in Umm al-Rasas, about 30 km southeast of Madaba, Umm al-Rasas (Mayfa'a), Jordan.

Date 99 – 138 / 718 – 756

Notes The remains of Umm al-Rasas include a rectangular fort measuring 158 m The most important of these churches is the Church of Saint Stephen, which forms part of a religious complex (monastery) for monks, which was excavated in 1986. In its layout, the church follows the basilica shape - that is, it consists of a nave and two wings. Entrance to the church was through three entrances: one in the western wall and two in the southern wall. The importance of this church stems from the many Greek inscriptions found on its mosaic floor, in addition to the diversity of its decorative themes. One of these inscriptions preceding the temple refers to the construction of the church in the year 99 / 718 AD, and at the same time provides us with the name of the ancient site, “Mepha.” There is another inscription in the apse of the altar, dated to the year 138 / 756 AD (i.e. the beginning of the Abbasid era), and it indicates that the mosaic floor in this spot, which consists of overlapping oval shapes, was paved in that year. The many Greek inscriptions on the mosaic floor are important for more than one reason. On the one hand, these writings indicate to us the existence of a Christian group whose affairs were regulated by a deacon and a bishop in this late period - that is, more than seventy years after the Arab-Islamic conquest. On the other hand, it provides us with the name of the artist who supervised the paving of the mosaic floor and his hometown, “Starkios bin Zada” from Hisban - that is, he was from the Madaba region. The nave of the church is decorated with themes inspired by rural life - such as hunting, agriculture, and farming - in addition to images representing donors to the church. Unfortunately, the human images and animal figures on this floor are distorted, as their features were removed during the Iconoclasm movement. Surrounding the dish is a band or a double frame. In the outer frame, cities from Jordan and Palestine are depicted that can be identified from the Greek inscriptions accompanying it, while in the inner frame are depicted cities from the Nile Delta, in addition to some plants and water birds.

Sample Text Ghazi Bisheh “St. Stephen’s Church” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;32;ar