Qasr Mshatta

Mshatta or Mshatta Qasr (Arabic قصر المشتى, Winter Palace ') is a umayyadisches or early Abbasid -indian desert castle in Jordan and one of the most secular monuments of early Islamic art. It is located 30 km south of the present Jordanian capital Amman on the airport grounds at Queen Alia International Airport. Since 2001, it is proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History

The dating of the desert castle is uncertain, based on a passage in the chronicle of Sawirus ibn al - Muqaffa ' is frequently assumed that the work on the palace during the reign of the Caliph al - Walid II ( 743-744 ) were started. This, according to tradition, the caliph wanted to establish an independent city. During the construction, however, many forced laborers had died, whereupon they revolted against him and killed him. His successor, Caliph Yazid III. Had, must swear to pursue no other desert castles. The short reign of al - Walid's could also explain why the castle was left unfinished. The widespread assumption that this description refers to Mshatta, however, is hypothetical and has already been challenged early by Jean Sauvaget. Oleg Grabar suggested alternatively a date in the early Abbasid period before.

The building is believed to have been severely damaged by an earthquake and then abandoned by its inhabitants. The name Mshatta translated, " Winter Palace ", comes from the Bedouins of the surrounding area. The originally planned for the lock name is not known.

Method of construction

The enclosure had a square plan with 144 meters length and inner side was reinforced by 25 towers. In the main building of the palace there was the lobby and the throne room. To these were grouped some living spaces. Also, a mosque was part of the palace. The building remained unfinished: Originally two more components should be completed.

The central location of the administrative premises and the marginalized residential complexes, the representative character of the castle is in the foreground, while the other Umayyad desert castles the caliphs were predominantly or exclusively as a residence in the area.

Facade

The facade of the main gate, the Mshatta facade, is now in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

Reconstruction

Since 2009, the Technical University of Berlin working with the Jordanian Department of Antiquities and the National Museums in Berlin at the fuse and partial reconstruction of the palace. The three arches of the entrance portal were built again, with large part original stones were used. In the western perimeter runners were mostly lost, so they had to be replaced by stone robbery. The reconstruction work is expected to be completed in 2012 with the erection of the input arc to the audience hall. The project is financed by the German Research Foundation and the Foreign Office.