In the thirteenth century BC, the city was founded by the Moabites as part of their kingdom extending east of the Jordan River. It was also followed by many civilizations that ruled the region, and played a prominent role after it was controlled by the Byzantines, as it included a number of historical churches, which indicates that it was one of the most important centers of Christian life in Transjordan. In the vicinity of Madaba are many archaeological sites and holy places represented by Christian pilgrimage sites, such as al-Maghtas, Mount Nebo, Mukawir and Umm al-Rasas, which made it a destination for pilgrims.
History does not clearly mention how Christianity spread in Jordanian cities, but if we read between the lines in the works of the Apostles, we find that at the event of Pentecost there were some Arabs among the converts. History also mentions the migration of Christians to the city of Bella (Tabqat Fahl) in eastern Jordan. If Christianity had reached in the era of the apostles Antioch, Asia Minor and Rome, so definitely it had reached the nearby cities of Jordan, and the evidence for this is that the oldest trace of Christianity found in Palestine and Jordan is in the town of Adir near Kerak and dates back to the end of the first century.
In the year 395, Palestine was divided by Emperor Theodosius into three provinces: the first Palestine, the second Palestine, and the third Palestine, also called the Arab province, which includes the Negev, part of Sinai, and the Arabah. The most important cities of the province included Mukawir, Madaba, Hisban, Amman, Jerash and Bosra. Then the eastern section of the empire was called the Byzantine in 330, and it became the new capital at that time. As for Madaba, it remained under the Arab province until the days of the Arab conquest, and these divisions remained for the tenth century AD.
The Arab bishops, including the bishop of Madaba, attended the first ecumenical council in Nicaea in the year 325. The Christian history mentioned the name of Madaba explicitly in the Fourth Ecumenical Council in the year 451 in Chalcedon, where the name of its bishop was mentioned “Cayanus, Bishop of Madaba, the city of the Nabateans from the works of the Arabs.” This is in addition to twenty Arab bishops who attended the council. It appears that Christianity has spread to Jordan since the time of the apostles, and there were Christian groups that began to be mentioned in the middle of the third century.
Since the pagan era, there was a school in Madaba to teach the art of mosaic, and it continued its prosperity in the Christian era, where it produced a lot of mosaic art in Madaba, Nebo, Al-Makhait, Ma'in, Qweismeh and others. Although art men usually do not mention their names, but some paintings immortalized the names of some, such as Naoum, Kyriakos and Thomas in the paintings of St. Grace Church in Al-Makhiat, the monk Julianos in the Church of Priest John in Al-Makhiat, the monk Elijah in the monastery of the Lady Mary in Beisan, and Suliman in a church of The Messengers, to whom the Madaba mosaic map is attributed, which immortalized Madaba's name in the art world.
Christian mosaics that embody daily life in the Byzantine era were found in Madaba in no less than ten churches, the most important of which is the famous map panel found in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George. We also find in the Church of the Apostles, at the southern end of the city of Madaba, wonderful paintings representing scenes containing symbols that reflect Christian beliefs and ideas, such as the tree of life and the vine that represents the cross of Christ, and the mystery of the Eucharist.
This art flourished in Madaba and its suburbs for several centuries, until an earthquake in 746 killed thousands of people and destroyed churches and monasteries. The final blow was the earthquake of 1016, which destroyed it permanently. However, despite this, what remains of this art shows that the people of Madaba were comparable to the artists of the golden mosaic eras, and its value was no less than what was immortalized by mosaic art in the rest of the Roman and Byzantine world.
Madaba in the Holy Bible
Madaba was mentioned in the Bible, the first mention of which was when the Hebrews left Egypt and stayed 40 years in Sinai. They then went to southern Jordan. They intended to go through Moab land. But King Sihon Al-Amuri refused to do so and went out to fight them. But Israel hit him with the sword, so the Bible mentions "We showered arrows on them from Hashboon to Dibon and swept them to Nova near Madaba" (No. 21: 21-22). The word Madaba is a surreal word for "quiet water" or "fruit water".
The book of Joshua states that Madaba and its neighbors have become a share of the Reuben Tribe, stating: "Their land starts from Aroeer on the side of the Arnon Valley ( Al Mojeb) and the city that located in the center of the valley and all the Najd to Madaba... The inheritance of Reuben, according to their tribes from towns and villages "(Joshua 12: 16-23). Madaba and its lush plains remained the scene of a constant struggle between residents and invaders. The victory was once for the inhabitants and once for the invaders. Also, the Book mentioned the victories of Misha, the king of Moab, over Israel and his restoration of Madaba, in the ninth century before Christ.
The people of Madaba were Moabi, despite the control of some neighboring countries over it and over its quarters, for a period of time. It remained Moabi and a sacred place for Kumush, the National God of the Moab, according to what was mentioned in the prophecy of Isaiah in the eighth century before Christ, after the destruction that happened to it from the Assyrian raid in the second half of the eighth century (Isaiah 15: 2-5). The Moabi tried to take protection from the King of Judah and find refuge in him. They sent the lambs to him, a sign of their submission to him (Isaiah 16: 1-4). The prophet Jeremiah mentioned the Nakba that had been inflicted on Moab, so he lamented Moab and cried on its past glory (Jeremiah 48: 31-32).