Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SPIRIT OF THE AGE (AD 324-1516)
For 1500 years after the birth of Jesus, the history of Jordan was characterised by the ex-
pression of organised faith in one form or another. Under the influence of Rome, Christian-
ity replaced the local gods of the Nabataeans, and several hundred years later Islam took its
place - but not before a struggle that left a long-term legacy and a string of Crusader forts.
Conversion to Christianity
Think of the history of the Christian religion
and most people understandably focus on the
'Holy Land' to the west of the River Jordan.
And yet, if recent evidence is to be believed, the
Christian church may never have evolved (at
least not in the way we know it today) if it
hadn't been for the shelter afforded to the early
proponents of the faith on the
east
bank of the
The discovery in 2008 of the world's oldest church
was described by senior Orthodox clerics as an 'im-
portant milestone for Christians all around the
world'. Jordanian authorities are now hoping to de-
velop the site as a tourist attraction.
Jordan.
In 2008, 40km northeast of Amman, archaeologists uncovered what they believe to be
the first church in the world. Dating from AD 33 to AD 70, the church, which was buried
under St Georgeous Church in Rihab, appears to have sheltered the 70 disciples of Jesus
Christ. Described in the mosaic inscriptions on the floor of the old church as the '70 be-
loved by God and Divine', these first Christians fled persecution in Jerusalem and lived in
secrecy, practising their rituals in the underground church. Pottery dating from the 3rd to
the 7th century shows that these disciples and their families lived in the area until late Ro-
man rule.
The conversion by Emperor Constantine to Christianity in AD 324 eventually legitim-
ised the practice of Christianity across the region. East of the Jordan River, churches were
constructed (often from the building blocks of former Greek and Roman temples) and em-
bellished with the elaborate mosaics that are still visible today at Madaba, Umm ar-Rasas
and Petra. Christian pilgrims began to search for relics of the Holy Land, building churches
en route at biblical sites such as Bethany, Mt Nebo and Lot's Cave. It was the archaeologic-
al rediscovery of these churches 1400 years later that confirmed the lost location of these
biblical sites to a forgetful modern world (
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)
.
