Hisham’s Palace/ Khirbet al- Mafjar is one of the most significant early Islamic sites in Palestine. It was built between 724 and 743 AD during the Umayyad period, the first Islamic dynasty. The property is located on the northern bank of Wadi Nueima, approximately 4km north of Jericho city (Ariha) in the Jordan Valley. On the basis of epigraphic materials, archaeologists have concluded that the site was most likely built by Caliph Hisham bin Abd el-Malik (r. 724 to 743 AD), and later decorated by his heir, el-Walid II, between 743 and 744 AD. The site was not the official residence of the caliph, but was instead used as a winter resort. It was destroyed during a severe earthquake in 749 AD. The Northern Area of the site, known as day’a, served as an agricultural estate from the Umayyad to Abbasid periods, approximately 730 to 950 AD.
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