Archelain ( Greek: Άρχελα араб , Arabic: Khirbet al-Beyudat ) - the remains of an ancient city in the Jordan Valley , 12 km north of Jericho , on the 311st kilometer of the 90th highway . On the mosaic map of Madaba it is presented in the form of a gate surrounded by two towers [1] .
| Ancient city | |
| Archelaide | |
|---|---|
| Άρχελαίς | |
 Remains of a Byzantine church in Archelaide | |
| Founded | 6 year |
| Founder | Herod Archelaus |
History
The city was founded by ethnarch Herod Archelaus , the son of Herod I the Great and was named in his honor. Josephus in his writings mentions Archelaide as a place "where there were huge plantations of palm trees with the best fruits" [2] . Pliny the Elder calls Archelaide along with Phasaelis and Liviada, other cities in the Jordan Valley [3] .
Archelaide continued to flourish under the Romans and in the Byzantine era . The city became the center of the bishopric, whose representatives took part in the synods of Constantinople in 448, 449. and in Chalcedon Cathedral 451 .
After the Arab conquest of Palestine, the city fell into decay and was abandoned by its inhabitants.
Archeology
In 1986, during archaeological excavations at Khirbet al-Beyudat, the remains of a Byzantine church (23.6 x 15.5 m), built in the form of a basilica and divided into three parts by two rows of columns, were investigated. The walls of the church are made of limestone blocks processed from the outside (with the exception of the south wall). The floors are lined with colored mosaics: the pattern was mainly geometric patterns, and only in the apse was a floral ornament: vines with clusters growing from amphorae.
Five mosaic inscriptions were found, most of which are dedications, and only one of them, located in the apse, makes it possible to determine the time of construction of the church:
| During the sensitive rule of our master Flavius Justin, this was written on November 12 of the fourth year of the indication, and the mosaic was made thanks to Avusov, a priest who loves God, and Elisha, the son of Seur, the son of Salman, and Stephen, and George. |
This means that the construction of the church can be dated 570-571, during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Justin II , nephew and successor of Justinian I. In the immediate vicinity of the church, coins were found that date back to the 1st – 2nd centuries AD. [four]
Notes
- ↑ Archelaide on a map from Madaba.
- ↑ Josephus , Jewish Antiquities , Book XVII, 13.1 ; book XVIII, 2.2
- ↑ Pliny the Elder. Natural History, XIII 9.4.
- ↑ H. Hizmi. The Byzantine Church at Khirbet el-Beiyudat in Christian Archeology in the Holy Land. New Discoveries. Jerusalem, 1990.