Publication Date
First half of the 1 / 8th century
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;15;ar
Library Location
Al-Hamimah is located about 300 km south of Amman, and about 100 km north of the city of Aqaba, Al-Hamimah, Jordan
Date
First half of the 1 / 8th century
Notes
Al-Hamimah - Huwwara as it was known in the past - is one of the main settlements in the Hosna area located in southern Jordan. Inhabitation in Al-Humaima has continued without interruption since 90 BC. AD until the end of the Umayyad era. The average annual rainfall is 80 mm, and it is thus a good example of how to adapt to and live in a dry desert environment. The archaeological excavations and surveys that took place in Al-Hamimah revealed a group of buildings and facilities dating back to the Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad eras. These facilities include residential units, a large Roman fort measuring 206 There is also a 26.5 km long canal that used to bring water from three natural springs in Ras al-Naqab to a pool at the northern edge of the Hamima site. Historical accounts attribute the establishment of the settlement to the Nabataean king Aretas III (78-52 BC). Due to its location on the road extending from Petra to Aylat Aqaba, Al-Hamimah flourished due to the passage of commercial caravans through it. After the completion of Trajan's New Road (111-114 AD), which extended from Bosra in the southern Levant to Aqaba, Hamima gained more importance as a trading station. Arab historical sources also mention Al-Hamimah as a place where some members of the Abbasid family resided. Around the year 80 / 700, Ali bin Abdullah bin Al-Abbas left Hijaz heading to Syria. He stayed in Adharh, which is near Petra. Then he bought Al-Hamimah and built a palace and a garden there. From this strategic location, through which caravans of pilgrims and merchants passed, the Abbasids began sending their preachers to neighboring countries and preparing to overthrow the Umayyad regime until they succeeded in doing so in the year 132 / 749. It should be noted that both the caliphs, Abu Abbas al-Saffah (ruled in the period 132-136 / 749-754) and Abu Jaafar al-Mansur (ruled in the period 136-158 / 754 - 775) They were born and raised in Al-Humaima before moving to Iraq. Archaeological excavations revealed the palace in which the Abbasid family lived, and a mosque adjacent to it. The palace, which is located at the eastern end of Al-Humaima, takes a nearly rectangular shape, measuring 61 x 50 metres. The main entrance to the palace is located in the eastern wall, in a 21-metre-long section set back from the zenith of the surrounding wall. The entrance leads to a corridor whose far end overlooks an irregular open space, surrounded by three rows of rooms indicating expansion and additions. It is noted that the palace is devoid of the semicircular towers that usually support the surrounding walls, and that the distribution of rooms is not adhered to according to the “house” system: independent units, each of which consists of an intermediate hall surrounded and connected to it on two sides by a pair of rooms. In this way, it does not resemble the Umayyad desert palaces such as Al-Mashta, Al-Kharana, and Al-Qastal, but its construction may have been influenced by the architecture of the Hijaz. Opposite the entrance, on the western side, there is a room whose walls are decorated with fresco paintings consisting of floral shapes and geometric patterns. In this room, flakes of ivory were found engraved with various decorations, including the image of a warrior with his helmet and military uniform. At a distance of 10 m to the south-east of the palace, there is a mosque measuring 5.75 x 5.60 m. The interior of the mosque is divided into two equal parts by a transverse arch, and a mihrab protrudes from its southern wall.
Sample Text
Ghazi Bisheh “Intimacy” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;jo;Mon01;15;ar
