Image: Amra5

Description: Drawing of six kings. Reproduced from Alois Musil. Kusejr 'Amra und Schlösser östlich von Moab. Vol. 2, pl. XXVI. Vienna, 1907. The original is a fresco, 705–15. West wall, hall, Qusayr ‘Amra, Jordan. Reproduced from Alois Musil. Kusejr ‘Amra und Schlösser östlich von Moab. Vol. 2, pl. XXVI. Vienna, 1907 A particularly dramatic scene depicts six kings in elaborate headgear, four of which feature bilingual inscriptions in Arabic and Greek listing: "Kaisar," or Byzantine emperor (caesar), the Sasanian shah "Kisra" (Khusro), "Negus" or King of Ethiopia, and "Roderick," the Visigothic king. It has been posited that the two kings that are not identified in the inscription were the ruler of China and a Turkic leader. All six figures gesture in supplication toward the spot in the hall where the caliph would presumably have been seated. The intricate arrangement of this and other scenes hint at narrative, suggesting now-lost associations drawn from epic poetry or song.
Title: Amra5
Credit: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/byzantium-and-islam/blog/where-in-the-world/posts/qusayr-amra
Author: Unknown Umayyad artist from 8th century.
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No