https://picturingjordan.com/tags/byzantine/ Recent content in Byzantine on Picturing Jordan Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a <a rel='license' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/'>Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license</a>. Mon, 20 Apr 2020 15:55:20 +0300 https://picturingjordan.com/2020/04/gadaras-octagonal-martyrium/ Mon, 20 Apr 2020 15:55:20 +0300 https://picturingjordan.com/2020/04/gadaras-octagonal-martyrium/ <figure> <img src="https://picturingjordan.com/2020/02/gadara-martyrium.jpg"/> <figcaption> <h4>Ruins of the octagonal sixth-century Byzantine martyrium</h4> </figcaption> </figure> <p>Nestled on a plateau in the northwestern corner of Jordan lay the ruins of the ancient city of <em>Gadara</em>. From this vantage point, just beyond the sleepy town of Umm Qays, you have a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_of_the_Golan_Heights">Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights</a>. Like many other places in the region, Gadara appeared on the historical record after Alexander the Great&rsquo;s conquest of the Near East in 333 BCE.<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup> The city seems to have been mostly destroyed and subsequently abandoned after an earthquake in the eighth century.</p>