II. Jordan and the Ancient Bible World: Understanding Geography through Religion

The Ancient Maps are religious in nature and caricature the landscape to fit a religious and spiritual ideology. Through the history below you will see Jordan portrayed as a land of prophets, with cartoons of religious figures scattered throughout maps that are not scientifically nor geographically accurate. Rather, these maps depict the imagination of their drafter. I will examine most closely the famous Madaba Map that is celebrated in Jordan.

The earliest map of the Jordan area is thought to be Ptolemy’s Asia Map drafted in 150AD. Ptolemy’s works in antiquity were thought to have been atlases with attached maps. However, no manuscript of his Geography, a graphical atlas of the second century Roman Empire, survived earlier than the 13th century. It is such that the earliest version we see is actually a copy from Ptolemy’s books, of a map which was then assembled by Maximus Planudes, who was a Byzantine scholar in the year 1300. The map was considered the first attempt at delineating the region. There are large letters in the center of the map which are written in Greek and are translated to Palastinis now known as Palestine.

The most significant feature in this map of the Levant region in the Middle East, is the Jordan River, which is clearly highlighted in blue. The Jordan is not a dividing force in this map, rather a feature of the landscape around which identical settlements are portrayed.

Figure 1: Map of Ptolemy

Source: Ptolemy, 150AD

It was 250 years later that the Notitia Dignitatum map, a document from the period of the Roman Empire, which accurately represents the Western part of the Empire, and the Byzantine Empire during the years 390-420AD was produced. The map has no author and is one of the few surviving documents of the period. The Fl Jordanis or the Jordan River is drawn near the center of the map with castles on either side (see Figure 2 below). The map seems to reflect a cohesive terrain, settled by friendly and similar rulers, with the Jordan River more of a small stream that can be crossed, rather than a major natural barrier, separating two separate entities. There are exaggerated animals, and comical sized castles, compared to the size of the Jordan, reflecting the understanding of the cartographer of “rulers” alone defining the landscape.

Figure 2: Map of Notitia Dignitatum

Source: Notitia Dignitatum, 400AD

Then comes the Madaba Map which I am going to zoom in on, as the major cartographical feature of this age. Its discovery is important to record, as it prompted the beginning of massive interest and exploration in Jordan.

In 1901, Meletios Metaxakis of Crete entered Madaba. His journals would reflect much of his experiences there. The earliest Madaba or “Medaba” as it was written is in the Bible, Numbers 21:30, during the conquest of several other Moabite cities by the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon. A feisty little settlement, Madaba continued to play a role in the Hellenistic period conflicts. In AD 106, following the Nabateans’ defeat in Petra by Trajan, the entire region was incorporated into the Roman Province of Arabia. During the late Roman period, Christianity took root in Madaba, and the village saw a Bishop as early as the mid-5^th century.

During the 38-year reign of Emperor Justinian starting in AD 527, Madaba flourished. North of the Church of St George is an inscription crediting him with renovating the structure. It was indeed during the 6^th to 8^th centuries that the church with the mosaic Holy Land map was built, along with the Burnt Palace and the Hippolytus Hall. Madaba continued to flourish after the Umayyad caliphate was established in Damascus, following the Islamic conquest. The late Byzantine and early Islamic periods were rich, and Madaba was saved from the gradual decline of other cities from about the mid-6^th century until the Western Europeans began to arrive in the 19^th century Middle East.

The first European to visit Madaba was the German explorer Ulrich Seetzen in 1806. The Swiss man, Johann Burckhardt who was initially thought to have introduced Petra to the western world, followed him a few years later, and noted the water collection and storage system.

The 1868 discovery of the Moabite Stone in Dhiban caused enough excitement for an entire generation of aspiring archaeologists to become fascinated by Jordan. The Stone, which is also known as the Stele of King Mesha, is one of the most important direct accounts in the history of the world about the Bible. It is etched in a variant of the Phoenician alphabet, paying tribute to the sovereign, celebrating his great works during the reign of Ahab, son of Omri.

This discovery in Transjordan and the constant expeditions that followed saw one led by Henry Baker Tristram in 1872. Tristram was especially attracted to Madaba as a treasure of ancient ruins. When Claude Conder, the 23-year-old English Lieutenant, visited Madaba in 1881 he noted the presence of a group of Christians who had come in from Karak and were living in caves. As these families moved closer to the center, they built directly upon the foundations of ancient structures, and revealed mosaics as a result. Some of these mosaics became the floors of their new homes. In 1884, the Holy Land map from the Byzantine period was discovered and caused a stir.

The early Christians in Karak, from the crusader South of Jordan, received refugees from Madaba, Maeen and Petra, after their villages were attacked. By the 1880s, ninety Christian families from Karak returned to Madaba.  They were encouraged by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem who sent two Italian priests to guide them. They intended to build churches in their home settlement. The rule was any new church had to be built upon the remains of an old church.

At the request of the Christian families, the Holy Synod of Jerusalem in May 1892 approved the construction of a church in Madaba. Certain modifications were requested. By 18^th September 1892, sufficient reconciliation had taken place and the plans were fit onto the foundation plan of the ancient church. The plans were ultimately sent to Damascus to be forwarded to Constantinople for final approval. Two years later the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Gerasimos, granted the Holy Synod permission to begin construction upon receiving approval from Constantinople in 1894. Almost a month later the architect Atanasio Andreakis, in the company of Deacon Germanos, representing the Patriarchate to Madaba, was welcomed by the villagers. On the 23^rd of October 1894, the excavations began to uncover the foundations of the old church. By 20^th of August 1896, the construction of the church and its roof had been completed; and the architect was ready to proceed to the next steps to plaster the interior walls and pave the floor. Later that year, while sifting through the debris, workers came upon a mosaic pavement.

Having found the mosaic, Andreakis left for Jerusalem to request their help in providing him with a mosaic expert. And so it was that the young scholar Cleopas Koikylides was ordered by Photios, the deputy to the Patriarch, to return with Andreakis on a tour of Christian Orthodox communities in Transjordan and examine the mosaic map in Madaba once he arrived there.

The mosaics in Madaba form a map and it is considered the most historic surviving illustration of the Holy Land, and specifically Jerusalem. It covers a region that stretches from Lebanon to the Nile Delta, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Eastern Desert. The Madaba Map shows two fish swimming in the Jordan, two fishing boats on the Dead Sea, and bridges connecting both sides of the Jordan River. All locations are marked with names and descriptions in Greek. The Jordan River is the most important location on this map connecting two biblical areas of importance. One of the two fish portrays a miserable look as it swims away from the Dead Sea. The other shows no emotions as it is possibly unaware of the Dead Sea that lies ahead of it. The Madaba Map is of massive importance as it is referenced by scholars for matters relating to biblical sites. In addition, the Madaba Map possibly shows all biblical sites found in the Levant region.

The Madaba Map’s purpose has yet to be determined. Scholars have speculated that it may have served as a pilgrimage guide for early Christians, although its permanent location in a church seems to preclude this idea as pilgrims typically required quick, practical assistance. Irfan Shahid, reviving an older theory, claims that the map depicts Moses’ final vision of the Promised Land from atop the Transjordanian peak of Nebo. Shahid goes on to say that the 6^th century was a pivotal period in Moses’ Christianization and the crystallization of the Christian Holy Land. These maps appear to have been used to construct, in addition to reflecting, Christian history.

Figure 3: The “Madaba Map”

Source: Madaba Map

Finally, there was the Beatus Map which was one of the most important maps in the early period of the Middle Ages. It was drafted by Beatus, a Spanish monk, and was based on the maps mentioned earlier and the Bible, and Ptolemy’s narrative and Isidore of Seville, a Spanish scholar and cleric. This map was the first “Christin World Map” and is not an exact world map. The map appears at the start of Beatus’ 2^nd work, Commentary on the Apocalypse. The Beatus Map divided Palestine into a few distinct areas: the Sea of Tiberiades, where many of the apostles worked as fishermen, Galilee, where they crucified Jesus Christ, and Monte Tabor, the location of the Transfiguration. The work assumes that the earth is a flat plane, and though attempts to be scientific, the exaggeration of certain geographical features, celebrating the Jordan River, reflects a very myopic understanding of the world at that time. In addition, the map is oriented eastwards rather than the standard north.

Figure 4: Beatus Map

Source: Beatus Map

From 639-775 during the early Islamic period, the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, the Jordan of today was known “Jund al-Urdunn” or the Jordan Legion, a province stretching over the north of the Palestine and the Jordan River. Tiberias – Tabariyya was its capital city and its boundaries extended perpendicular to the Mediterranean, accompanied by two other Paletnian Legions.

In the 12^th century, the Crusaders occupied the Bilad al-Sham (Levant), and the ancient world’s geography came to an abrupt halt. The system of “Niyabat” was introduced, and these can be thought of as provinces or kingdoms. The largest was Damascus, and it included the north of the Jordan River, Lebanon and Palestine. The remainder of Jordan was assigned to the Kingdom of al-Kerak and remained so for the Ayyubid and Mamluk eras. To administer the Niyabat, they were further divided into subdivisions called “Amal” (these included Amal Ma’an for instance). There were five Crusader castles built across Jordan. They were mostly built during the 12th century and served as important parts of the Crusades.

The oldest surviving European sheet map, during the crusader age, in the 1100s, was the Ashburnham Libri map.

Figure 5: Ashburnham Libri Map

Source: Ashburnham Libri, 1100

The Tournai Map of the twelfth century is a copy of the map of Asia, of a 4-5^th century work of Jerome (or Saint Jerome), who was a priest, historian, and theologian. The map shows the Mediterranean Sea on the bottom right, the Black Sea and Caspian Sea on the left, and the Indian Ocean on top. There is much exaggerated importance given to the Jordan River and Holy Land. Divisions are drawn undermining nature and celebrating man-made territories. This period also saw a 1250 Oxford Outremer map by Matthew Paris, an English Benedictine monk, who quotes on his map the text “This river, which is small, divides Syria from Palestine, that is, the Holy Land, which is to the south, and Palestine, which is to the North.” The year 1300 marked Buchard of Mount Sion, a German priest, Dominican friar, pilgrim and author who traveled to the Jordan region and documented his journey in the Holy Lands, producing his first map.

Figure 6: Tournai Map of Asia

Source: Tourani, 12th Century

There was also the Sanudo-Vesconte map in 1320 drafted by the Genoese geographer Pietro Vesconte, a cartographer who pioneered mapmaking in the 1300s to 1400s and is credited with the creation of the portolan nautical chart and influenced mapmaking throughout the 14^th and 15^thcenturies. This map, seen in Figure 7 below, is the first non-Ptolemaic map, and rekindled the spirit of the crusades in a modern map effort.  The Jordan River is enormous, and almost looks like an ocean along the bottom of the page. There appears to be nothing beyond it, the world is interpreted through the eyes of the early Crusaders, leading to the next section.

Figure 7: Sanudo-Vesconte Map

Source: Marino Sanudo, 1320

The ancient maps of the Jordan region usually reflected Jordan’s importance as a Christian historical location, however, they did not give attention to the accurate size of the region scientifically and were rather cartoon-like. Celebrating the Jordan River, these maps did not move much beyond a mapping of biblical sites to reflect the geography of the area.