Khirbat al-Mafjar is an Umayyad palace now in the West Bank near Jericho. It was built in the 8th century by the caliph Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik. Many of the photos here come from this article if you’d like to read more; it argues that the Umayyads created a hybrid culture, merging Byzantine and Sasanian imagery.
8th-century Statues
This is the famous statue from Khirbat al-Mafjar, showing the standing caliph like we see on early reform coinage. It shows Sasanian images of power, such as the lions upholding his throne. To see other Umayyad iterations of the standing caliph, see the reformed coinage of ‘Abd al-Malik.
Made from stucco, these statues draw on both Byzantine and Sasanian art.
8th-century Mosaics
The most famous mosaic at Khirbat al-Mafjar is the Tree of Life.
These mosaics line the floor of the bathhouse:
Medieval Islamic History 