Talk:Early Byzantine mosaics in the Middle East

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Roman mosaics don't belong here
I removed 2 images for this reason:

File:Shahba_Mosaics.jpg|Mosaic from Shahba depicting Aphrodite and Ares.

File:Diana discovered by Actaeon.jpg|Diana discovered at bath by Actaeon; mosaic in As-Suwayda.

The first is 3rd c., clear case. The 2nd is also pagan, unlikely from Byz. period. Both deserve to be shown, but under "Roman mosaics", not here.

The mentioned Hercules mosaic from Homs, kept at Ma'arat el-Numan museum: I thought it's probably also Roman, but Alamy has a caption dating it to the 5th c. An apparently better source dates it to the 3rd, which makes good sense.

This reopens the discussion about Diana & Actaeon, although nudity in Christian times... I tried, but couldn't find a date anywhere. Anyone? Arminden (talk) 16:11, 22 November 2021 (UTC)

Definition: Middle East is too wide; major topics, areas missing even for S Levant
The topic is truly beautiful, so a great THANKS to those who have started the article. Too bad it's not linked in any of the many articles I've read or worked on; this must be done as a priority. It will help with fixing what needs to be fixed here, too. One or a few new categories must also be created on this topic, and this article can help as a starting point.

The definition needs urgent fixing. The section of the Middle East held by the Byzantine Empire also includes today's Turkey and Cyprus. Asia Minor is huge and extremely rich in Byzantine remains. Cyprus is also important. Neither is even mentioned in the article. Egypt is huge and actually left out (Sinai with St Catherine is distinct from Egypt proper; it was often visited by ancient pilgrims as an extention of their Holy Land circuit, St Catherine has an Orthodox, rather than Coptic tradition, different continent etc.). There are a few Christian sites which have been recently excavated on the Arabian Peninsula, but I don't know if any mosaics have been recovered there (there is certainty from sources about them having once been laid in Yemenite churches at least).

I guess the intended scope has always been the Southern Levant. The article has been put together from a Jordanian perspective (although omitting the hugely important Ghassanids), with a small section on Syria added by someone else, and very little from Israel and Palestine (only what the Franciscan Madaba Map centennial website offered and some other outdated bits and pieces).

For that reason, I see it as a very good start on the Jordanian area, but much less so on all others. The area needs to be trimmed down massively, i.e. "Middle East" replaced with "Southern Levant", and Israel brought in on a much, much larger scale. From Palestine the lacunas are also massive, see missing Hisham's Palace (foremost Muslim Umayyad site). There is nothing at all about synagogue mosaics from Israel-Palestine, of which there are a great number of remarkable ones. There are more in Syria. Lots of work, lots of joy ahead. Arminden (talk) 20:27, 22 November 2021 (UTC)

For when a category is created: a list of sites
This is a beginning, must be expanded. The category, or categories, would be very useful (see above my arguments), more elegant than connecting each site via link to this page.

I am trying to use here geographical terms from Antiquity and regions rather than larger units, in order to both reflect the realities of the time (for instance Samaria was largely populated by the Samaritans, with a complex culture of their own), and also to avoid conflicts.

Syria

 * Antioch
 * Apamea: "Great Hunting Mosaic" from the governor's residence
 * Azm Palace (Hama): "Mosaic of the Musicians" from Maryamin
 * Taybat al-Imam: Church of the Holy Martyrs
 * Roman-era precursors
 * Shahba: 3rd-century mosaics from the time of Roman Emperor Philip the Arab
 * today's Lebanon (mainly Phoenice Province)
 * Beiteddine Palace, museum; mainly mosaics from Jiyyeh (Porphyrion)
 * Byblos, Church of St John the Baptist

Palaestina I, II, and III

 * Galilee
 * Hamat Gader synagogue (5th century)
 * Hammat Tiberias synagogue (4th century)
 * Hanita church
 * Huqoq; the related mosaic from nearby Khirbet Wadi Hamam seems to be Late Roman (late 3rd or early 4th century)
 * Kafr Kanna synagogue with inscription (under Catholic Wedding Church)
 * Kursi, Sea of Galilee (eastern shore): church
 * Tzippori Synagogue
 * Northern valleys
 * Beit She'an: churches and synagogues
 * Beth Alpha synagogue
 * Mosaic of Rehob (late 3rd–6th century) with Talmudic inscription from Rehob synagogue
 * Samaria
 * Shilo (Seilun), three basilicas, see Church of the Ark
 * Jerusalem with ancient outskirts and Mount of Olives
 * Abu Dis, church floor with images of animals
 * Bethany (al-Eizariya): in remains of the Lazarium
 * Birds Mosaic (Jerusalem), aka Armenian Mosaic (chapel floor)
 * Church of the Agony
 * Dominus Flevit Church
 * Umayyad period


 * Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque
 * Judaean hill country
 * Abu Ghosh, at Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant Church
 * Beit Jimal church
 * Beit Sahour: Grotto of the Shepherds in the Greek Orthodox monastery
 * Church of Saint John the Baptist, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem
 * Church of the Seat of Mary or Old Kathisma
 * Khirbet Yattir church
 * Monastery of the Cross: 5th-century mosaic
 * Susiya synagogue
 * Shephelah
 * Beit Jibrin church
 * Emmaus Nicopolis
 * Coastal Plain
 * Gaza synagogue
 * Shavei Tzion Khirbet Ittaim, both near Nahariya: churches
 * Judaean desert with Jordan desert
 * Archelais church
 * Ein Gedi synagogue
 * Jericho synagogue
 * Monastery of Martyrius
 * Naaran synagogue
 * Umayyad period


 * Hisham's Palace, Umayyad "desert castle" near Jericho with a well-preserved elaborate mosaic, one of the largest in the world
 * Monastery of Euthymius
 * Negev
 * Mampsis: western St Nilus Church and eastern Church of the Martyrs
 * Maon Synagogue
 * Shellal Mosaic: Eshkol National Park
 * Shivta: northern church; see also Transfiguration mural in southern church.
 * Transjordan (provinces Palaestina II and Arabia)
 * Amman (Philadelphia): Swayfiyya church
 * Bethany Beyond the Jordan (Al-Maghtas baptism site): Monastery of Rhetorios inscription
 * Jerash (Gerasa): two churches
 * Madaba: Hippolytus Hall, etc.
 * Madaba Map
 * Mount Nebo: Syagha, Khirbet al-Mukhayyat, etc.
 * Petra: Byzantine Church (Petra)
 * Tell Hesban (Esbus): two churches
 * Tell Mar Elias
 * Umayyad period


 * Madaba, Church of the Virgin Mary (767)
 * Umm ar-Rasas: Church of St Stephen
 * Sinai (in Palaestina III, Salutaris)
 * Saint Catherine's Monastery: 6th-century (pre-iconoclastic) apse mosaic of the Transfiguration Arminden (talk) 01:40, 25 November 2021 (UTC)