COLLECTION NAME:
Archivision Base to Module 9
Record
Preferred Title:
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
Alternate Title:
Basilica of the Nativity
Image View:
Original 6th century ledge and corbel above Door of Humility
Creator:
Justinian I, Emperor of Byzantium (Byzantine patron, ca. 482-565); unknown (Byzantine and Roman)
Location:
site: Bethlehem, West Bank (occupied territory), Israel
Location Note:
Bayt Lahm (Arabic); 9 km south of Jerusalem, West Bank
GPS:
+31.704306+35.207639
Date:
rebuilt 565 CE (creation)
Cultural Context:
Byzantine
Style Period:
Byzantine; Early Christian
Work Type 1:
church
Work Type 2:
basilica
Classification:
architecture
Material:
ashlar; wood; pink limestone
Technique:
carving (processes); construction (assembling)
Measurements:
12,000 m2 (area, entire complex)
Description:
One of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. The first basilica on this site (destroyed 529) was begun by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine I. The current 5-aisled basilica was rebuilt in its present form in 565 by the Emperor Justinian I. Muslim veneration for Jesus?s birthplace probably explains why the church escaped destruction during the reign of Caliph al-??kim in 1009. It is the only pre-Muslim church in Palestine to have survived intact and in continuous use to the present day. The basilica and surrounding buildings were expanded during the 12th century, under joint patronage of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus and King Amalric, ruler of the Latin Kingdom. (Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/)
Collection:
Archivision Addition Module Eight
Identifier:
1A2-IS-J-CN-A07
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
