Jordan: Art and History

This beautiful book about Jordan is published by the Italian publisher Bonechi which specialises in picture books about famous places around the world. Sometimes the focus is on a single city. In this case the focus is on a whole country.

Books from Bonechi are available in many languages. I have used an English edition published in 2010.

The general introduction (pp. 5-8) as well as the brief introduction to the section about Jerash (pp. 35-36) are written by Rami G. Khouri, who is the author of several books about ancient monuments in Jordan. The main text is written by Francesca Casule.

The text is clear and concise. In general it is accurate, but there are a few mistakes and unfortunate statements, as I will explain below. The illustrations are numerous, and the quality of the illustrations is high.

This book presents all the famous and important places in Jordan (except the ancient mountain fortress near Mukawir, also known as Machaerus). In some cases the presentation is rather brief, but I cannot complain about this. It has to be this way, since all major sites of the country are covered in one book. Here are some examples of the places presented in the book:

The capital Amman
One section covers the citadel with monuments from the Roman and the early Islamic period; a second section covers the lower city with the Roman theatre.

The Dead Sea and the surrounding area
One section covers Mount Nebo; a second covers Madaba; a third covers the Dead Sea itself.

The desert castles in the eastern part of the country
Qasr al-Hallabat; Qasr al-Azraq; Qasr al-Amra; and Qasr al-Kharana.

Gerasa – present-day Jerash – in the northern part of the country
There are 16 pages about this place, including a map of the ancient city.

Petra in the southern part of the country
There are 27 pages about this place, including a map of the ancient city.

Aqaba in the far south of the country
This town has an ancient fort, a museum, several modern hotels, and Jordan’s only port.

In general the text is accurate, but I have to mention a few things which bother me.

(1) On page 8 we are told that Jerash is “half an hour by car north of Amman.” The distance between the two places is 50 km. In theory, you can drive 50 km in half an hour, if you can maintain an average speed of 100 km/hour. In the real world, with traffic jams and traffic lights, this is impossible.

(2) On the same page we hear about “the formal proclamation of the Byzantine Empire in 324 AD…” There was no formal proclamation of the Byzantine Empire in AD 324 - or any time, for that matter. Emperor Constantine – known today as Constantine the Great – announced in 324 that he was going to move the capital of the Roman Empire to a new location further east. The location chosen was Byzantium, which had been founded by Greek colonizers ca. 600 BC. The new capital was dedicated six years later, in AD 330, and its name was changed to Constantinople.

In 395, following the death of Theodosius, the empire was divided into two. The western empire lasted until 476. The eastern empire lasted until 1453, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, who changed the name of the capital city to Istanbul. Today the eastern Roman Empire is known as the Byzantine Empire, but this is a modern name.

(3) On page 35 we hear about one of the ancient monuments in Gerasa. It is called the “South Tetrakionia.” This term is quite unusual. The map on page 34 calls it the South Tetrapylon, which is the term commonly used.

(4) A bit further down, on the same page, we hear about another ancient monument: “the once domed North Tetrapyla.” Again, this term is quite unusual. The map on page 34 calls it the North Tetrapylon, which is the commonly used term.

Today the monument has a dome. It was rebuilt in 2000. It seems the text was written before that time, and it was not updated for this edition of the book which was published in 2010.

(5) On page 38 we are told that the hippodrome of Gerasa was “once capable of containing as many as 5,000 spectators.” The ancient hippodrome was relatively small, but it could hold around 15,000 spectators.

(6) On page 89 we hear about the Siq in Petra: “… the narrow passageway cut through by the waters of the Wadi Musa.” The Siq was not cut by water; it was created by a crack in the rock. This fact is actually mentioned on page 93: “The result of a natural calamity which split the mountain, the Siq is about 2 km long.” By the way, the Siq is 1.2 km long.

(7) The caption on page 102 refers to a picture on the following page: “Below, the triclinium.” The monument shown in the picture is known as the Garden Temple or the Garden Tomb.” It is # 37 on the map on page 88 where it is called the Garden Temple Complex.

(8) On page 124 we hear about Aqaba: “… the small archaeological museum housed inside the castle.” But the museum is located in a building next to the castle.

If I consider only the illustrations, this book deserves a rating of five stars, because the pictures are great. But I am afraid I have to consider the whole book, including the text. If I do this, I think a rating of four stars is correct.

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Jordan: Art and History,
Bonechi, 2010, 128 pages

 

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For more information about Jordan see my blogs:
 

Petra: Splendors of the Nabataean Civilization

David Roberts in Petra (1839)

Petra: Art and History

 

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