Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Jordan

In Roman times Ravenna was a lagoon city surrounded by water, with at times up to 50.000 inhabitants. The second largest naval base of the Roman Empire was located here. In the late 5th century, Roman authority in the West dissolved, and Romulus Augustulus was deposed by the general Odoacer in 476. Odoacer ruled as king of Italy for 13 years, but in 489 the eastern emperor Zeno sent the Ostrogoth king Theoderic to reconquer Italy. After losing the Battle of Verona, Odoacer retreated to Ravenna, where he withstood a three-year siege. In 493, Theoderic finally took Ravenna and supposedly killed Odoacer with his own hands. Ravenna became the capital of the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy. Theodoric died in 526 and various Ostrogothic military leaders took the Kingdom of Italy, but none was really successful. Meanwhile, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I opposed both Ostrogoth rule. In 535 his general Belisarius invaded Italy and in 540 conquered Ravenna. After the conquest of Italy was completed in 554, Ravenna became the seat of the Byzantine government in Italy. Under Byzantine rule, the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Ravenna held second place in Italy after the pope and played an important role during this period. In 751 Lombard king, Aistulf conquered Ravenna, thus ending Byzantine rule in northern Italy. King Pepin of the Franks attacked the Lombards and Ravenna gradually came under the direct authority of the Popes. Pope Adrian I authorized Charlemagne to take away anything from Ravenna that he liked, and Roman columns, mosaics, statues, and other portable items were taken north to enrich his capital of Aachen. In 1198 Ravenna led a league of Romagna cities against the Emperor. After the war of 1218, the Traversari family was able to impose its rule in the city, but after a short period, Ravenna was returned to the Papal States in 1248 and again to the Traversari until 1275. One of the most illustrious residents of Ravenna at this time was the exiled Florentine poet Dante. In 1441 the city was annexed to the Venetian territories. The "Baptistery of Neon" is the most ancient monument remaining in the city, it was partly erected on the site of a Roman bath. The baptistery dates back to the 4th or 5th century when Bishop Orso began the construction of the Cathedral of Ravenna. It is an octagonal brick building. The baptistery was finished by Bishop Neon at the end of the 5th century, at which time the mosaics were added. The ceiling mosaic depicts John the Baptist baptizing Jesus standing in the Jordan River. A personification of the Jordan, is also present. A procession of the twelve apostles proceeds around the center mosaic. Some parts (including the heads of Christ and John; the pouring of the baptismal water from the bowl) were in part heavily altered during restorations in the mid-19th century: Originally Christ was beardless, and baptism was performed by placing the hand on Christ's head. Find more photos from Ravenna in this album www.ipernity.com/doc/323415/album/1330038

Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island, has a long history, that starts around 8000 BC, but later there were Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman periods. After the Roman Empire had fallen apart the Vandals tried to take over the island but failed. Finally, the Ostrogoths took possession. Mid of the 6th century Sicily was conquered by troops of the Byzantine Empire. After the advent of Islam, Sicily got attacked by the Arab forces. Raids seeking loot continued until the mid-8th century. A Muslim army was sent to the island in 827 but met with much resistance. So it took a century to conquer it and even later revolts constantly occurred In 1038 the Byzantines invaded the island supported by Norman mercenaries, led by Roger. In 1072, after the siege of Palermo, most of Sicily was under Norman control. Roger´s son Roger II raised the status +of the island to a kingdom in 1130. During this period, the Kingdom of Sicily was prosperous and powerful, The court of Roger II became melting out of culture from Europe and the Middle East. This attracted scholars, scientists, artists, and artisans. Muslims, Jews, Greeks, Lombards, and Normans cooperated and created some extraordinary buildings. In 1186 the last descendant of Roger, Constance of Sicily married Emperor Henry VI, the second son of Barbarossa. So the crown of Sicily was passed on to the Hohenstaufen Dynasty. Frederick II, the only son of Constance, was crowned King of Sicily at the age of four in 1198. He became "Stupor Mundi", one of the greatest and most cultured men of the Middle Ages. - William II of Sicily built from 1172 here a fort-like complex of buildings, which included a cathedral, an archiepiscopal palace, a royal palace and a Benedictine monastery. In 1183 the monastery became the seat of the archdiocese of Monreale. The town then developed around this complex. According to a legend, William fell asleep while hunting. The Holy Virgin appeared to him in a dream, suggesting him to build a church here. After removing a tree, a treasure was found, whose coins were used to finance the construction. Well, it is much more likely that Monreale was founded in competition with the bishop of Palermo, who had commissioned the large Cathedral of Palermo. This would explain the vast dimensions and the splendour of the "Duomo di Monreale" (= "Cattedrale di Santa Maria Nuova"), that with the cloister, is the only building that survived the times. The interior is breathtaking, but as the cathedral is about 100 m long, there are distances here, not like inside the "Capella Palatina", where all the mosaics are so "near" - plus the visitors can sit down here - and gaze. It is overwhelming. Here are more than 6000m² of byzantine mosaics. The sides of the nave show many very strong parallels to the Cappella Palatina. Here and there probably the same workshop. Probably a large, maybe even a generation-spanning studio of Byzantine artists. Matthew 3.13-17 The Baptism of Jesus "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Parma, part of the Holy Roman Empire since Charlemagne´s times, was locally ruled by its bishops. During the long Investiture Controversy, Parma was (mostly) member of the Imperial party ("Ghibellini"). Two of Parma´s bishops even became antipopes: Càdalo as Honorius II and Guibert as Clement III. An almost independent commune was created around 1140. After the Peace of Constance confirmed the Italian communes' rights of self-governance in 1183, quarrels with the neighbouring communes (eg Piacenza and Cremona) developed over the trading lines along the Po river. When in 1248 Papist families ("Guelphs") gained control over the city, Emperor Frederick II (aka "Stupor Mundi") besieged Parma with no success. This were the circumstances, when in 1196 the City Council of Parma commissioned the building of the Battistero di San Giovanni to Benedetto Antelami. In 1216 the second tier was completed. The work stopped under a temporary roof. It continued in 1249 and the octagon, located next to the cathedral, was finally completed in 1270. The Baptistery has three (!) portals. Here is the tympanum of one of them. Seated under the semicircular Tree of Jesse is Virgin Mary, young Jesus on her knees. To the left the Magi approach (names written above them) adoring, to the right Joseph gets a message from an angel. On the lintel below Jesus is getting baptised by John the Baptist. John later gets beheaded during an evening meal of the Herodes family.

In the 11th century a church was erected here on the ruins of a Roman temple. It had a single nave and three apses. As the church was next to the Via Francigena a hospital existed here for the pilgrims on their way to Rome. In the early 13th century the church was modified, as by then it had three aisles. Six side chapels were added in the 16th century. Two centuries later San Prospero got a new facade. When the restoration started in 1912 the side chapels got demolished, to bring back / recreate the original church from the 13th century. This relief is placed on the wall just behind the large baptismal font. It reminds me on the wonderful mosaics in Ravenna ("Battistero degli Ariani" and " Battistero Neoniano"). It may be a byzantine work, there are Greek letters above the scene spelling "Baptism". Sergio Stocchi ("Italia romanica"), following another scholar, attributes it to the workshop of Benedetto Antelami from near Parma and dates it 1210-1220.

"Saint-Germain" once belonged to the Grestain Abbey ("Abbaye de Grestain"). It was built in the mid-twelfth century in the center of Barneville-sur-Mer, now part of Barneville-Carteret. During the Hundred Years' War it got fortified, what did not avoid damage. The nave, with its arches and many carvings, is still Romanesque. Here is the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan. Jesus (cross-nimbus) is very tall compared to John the Baptist. Angels, holding towels, flank the scene.