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Umayyad Palace: details of its decoration which is regarded as a bridge between Byzantine and Islamic art

The palace they built in the Citadel of Amman is an indication that the town was still important during their rule. The Umayyads had a tolerant policy towards the Christian population and assigned important positions to members of the Byzantine elite. The civil war ended with the establishment of the Umayyad Caliphate having its capital at Damascus. In twenty years (632-651) the Arabs conquered a very large territory stretching from Egypt to Persia, but in 656 they split into three factions. Umayyad Palace (the dome is modern) see a detail of it in the introductory page In that statue the hand of Hercules is very similar to the fragment found at Amman.Ī church having the shape of a basilica with three naves was built in the VIth century very near the Temple to Hercules, most likely using some of its columns. a gilded statue from Teatro di Pompeo in Rome. Hercules was usually portrayed while being involved in some of his labours, especially in sarcophagi, but some statues show him in a more composed attitude, e.g.

The temple is believed to have housed a gigantic statue of Hercules of which two fragments have been found: a knee and a hand. Temple to Hercules: (left-above) Corinthian capitals supporting a dedicatory inscription to Emperor Marcus Aurelius (left-below) a " cipollino" column at the side of the temple (right-above) fragment of a colossal statue believed to portray Hercules (right-below) relief portraying a hand holding thunderbolts, usually a symbol of Zeus/Jupiter Some columns have been re-erected to give a better idea of the size of the temple. Near this building are the traces of a large temple (n) several of its broken columns are lying on the ground they are the largest I saw at Amman, some of them being three feet and a half in diameter their capitals are of the Corinthian order. Temple to Hercules (large temple - n in the plan) The tower on the west side of the Citadel was built with ancient materials most likely in the XIIth century, at the same time as Ajlun Castle, as a measure of defence against attacks by the Crusaders. Similar to other towns of Jordan, Amman was abandoned at the end of the VIIIth century.

Burckhardt - Travels in Syria and the Holy Land - 1822Īyubbid Tower - m in the plan: (left) seen from the Citadel (right) seen from the lower townĪt (m) is a square building, in complete preservation, constructed in the same manner as the castle wall it is without ornaments, and the only opening into it is a low door, over which was an inscription now defaced. The castle walls are thick, and denote a remote antiquity: large blocks of stone are piled up without cement, and still hold together as well as if they had been recently placed the greater part of the wall is entire, it is placed a little below the crest of the hill, and appears not to have risen much above the level of its summit. On the top of the highest of the northern hills stands the castle of Amman, a very extensive building it was an oblong square, filled with buildings, of which, about as much remains as there does of the private dwellings in the lower town. (above) Overall view of the Citadel (below) a section of its walls If you came to this page directly, you might wish to read a page with an introduction to this section or page one first. Burckhardt in Arab attire in a XIXth century engraving right: the Treasury of Petra)