Neno la Kiarabu la michoro ya mosaiki ni *fusayfisaa*. Neno hili la Kiarabu ni tafsiri ya neno la Kigiriki cha Byzantium, Ψηφιδωτό, na sanaa ya mosaiki ilistawi kwa kasi kubwa wakati wa Dola ya Byzantium. Michoro ya mosaiki ya mtindo wa Byzantium ilipamba makanisa, masinagogi na mahekalu ya Provincia Palaestina (Prima, Secunda na Tertia) ambayo, kuanzia karne ya 4 na kuendelea, yalipambwa kwa umaridadi kwa mosaiki za kuta, dari na sakafu. Kanisa Jipya (Νέα Ἐκκλησία) katika Aelia Capitolina (Yerusalemu), lililojengwa na Justinian I (527–565),3 pamoja na Kanisa la Kuzaliwa huko Bethlehemu, lililojengwa kama basilika kubwa la Constantine, vyote vilipambwa kwa mosaiki. Sakafu ya awali ya mosaiki ya Kanisa la Kuzaliwa, yenye michoro ya kijiometri ya kawaida ya Kirumi, imehifadhiwa kwa sehemu hadi leo. Kama tulivyokwisha onyesha, jina lenyewe la nchi Palaestina, kwa Kigiriki (Παλαιστινη), lilipatikana kwenye Ramani maarufu ya Mosaiki ya Madaba, iliyoanzia mwaka 560–565 BK, katika mji ambao wakati huo ulikuwa sehemu ya mkoa wa Byzantium wa Palaestina Prima. Michoro kama hiyo ya mosaiki ya mtindo wa Byzantium ya Kiarabu ilipatikana katika Jumba la Hisham la Ummayad (Qaṣr Hisham) huko Khirbat al-Mafjar, eneo muhimu la kiakiolojia la mwanzo wa Uislamu lililo kilomita 5 kaskazini mwa mji wa Jericho. Vitu vingi vilivyopatikana kutokana na uchimbuzi katika eneo hilo sasa vinahifadhiwa katika Jumba la Makumbusho la Rockefeller (zamani Jumba la Makumbusho la Akiolojia la Palestina) katika Yerusalemu Mashariki iliyokaliwa.

The Arabic term for mosaics is fusayfisaa. The Arab term is a transliteration of the Byzantine Greek term Ψηφιδωτό and mosaic art spectacularly flourished during the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine-style mosaics decorated the churches, synagogues and temples of Provincia Palaestina (Prima, Secunda and Tertia) which, from the 4th century onwards, were exquisitely embellished with wall, ceiling and flour mosaics. Both the Nea Church (Νέα Ἐκκλησία) in Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), erected by Justinian I (527–565),3 and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, built as a great Constantinian basilica, were decorated with mosaics. The original mosaic floor of the Church of the Nativity, with its typical Roman geometric motifs, is partially preserved today. As we have already shown, the very name of the country Palaestina, in Greek (Παλαιστινη), was found on the famous Madaba Mosaic Map, dated 560‒565 AD, in a town which at the time was part of the Byzantine province of Palaestina Prima. Similar Arab Byzantine-style mosaics were found at the Umayyad Hisham’s Palace (Qaṣr Hisham) at Khirbat al-Mafjar, an important early Islamic archaeological site located 5 kilometres north of the town of Jericho. Many of the finds from the excavations at the site are now held in the Rockefeller Museum (formerly Palestine Archaeological Museum) in occupied East Jerusalem.

Tasnia ya michoro ya mosaiki ya Palestina (ukuta, dari na sakafu) pia ilistawi na kukua zaidi chini ya athari za miradi ya ujenzi ya Ayyubid na Mamluk huko Jerusalem. Kuelekezwa upya na kuwekwa katikati kwa Palestina katika zama za baada ya Vita vya Msalaba na Ayyubid na Mamluk kuelekea ndani ya nchi, pamoja na kuinuka tena kwa miji ya milimani (al-Khalil, al-Quds, Nablus, Safad) kama matokeo yake, vinaakisiwa katika kazi ya Mujir al-Din al-ʿUlaymi, *The Glorious History of al-Quds and al-Khalil*. Mujir al-Din si tu anarejelea mara kwa mara neno Filastin, bali pia anaonyesha mabadiliko ya utambulisho wa kijamii na kitamaduni wa kikanda huko Palestina, hasa sanaa na utambulisho wa kikanda wa Kipalestina unaohusishwa na miji ya al-Khalil (na eneo la Jabal al-Khalil) na al-Quds (eneo la Jabal al-Quds). Viungo hivi vya karibu vya kijamii, kiuchumi, kitamaduni na kisanii baina ya miji miwili, ambavyo viliundwa na kustawi wakati wa vipindi vya Ayyubid, Mamluk na Ottoman, vimedumu kwa karne nyingi na kuendelea hadi kipindi cha kisasa; na vinaonyesha jinsi vipengele vya ndani vya Kipalestina vilivyochangia kuundwa kwa utambulisho imara wa kikanda ndani ya Palestina, utambulisho ambao, kama kazi za waandishi Waislamu wa Kipalestina na makadhi – Mujir al-Din katika karne ya 15 na Khair al-Din al-Ramli na al-Tumurtashi katika karne ya 17 – ulivyochangia pakubwa dhana ya Palestina kwa kuweka hai historia na kumbukumbu za Filastin.

The Palestine mosaic (wall, ceiling and floor) industry also flourished and grew further under the impact of the Ayyubid and Mamluk building programmes in Jerusalem. The reorientation and re-centring of Palestine in the post-Crusader era by the Ayyubids and Mamluks towards the interior of the country and the rise again of the cities of the mountain (al-Khalil, al-Quds, Nablus, Safad) as a consequence are reflected in work of Mujir al-Din al-ʿUlaymi, The Glorious History of al-Quds and al-Khalil. Mujir al-Din not only repeatedly refers to the term Filastin but also points to the evolution of regional social and cultural identities in Palestine and in particular Palestinian regional arts and identity linked to the cities of al-Khalil (and the area of Jabal al-Khalil) and al-Quds (the area of Jabal al-Quds). These close social, economic, cultural and artistic links between the two cities, which were formed and flourished during the Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman periods, have endured for centuries and survived into the modern period; and they point to the way internal Palestinian factors contributed to the formation of strong regional identities within Palestine, identities which, like the works of Palestinian Muslim writers and qadis – Mujir al-Din in the 15th century and Khair al-Din al-Ramli and al-Tumurtashi in the 17th century – contributed greatly to the concept of Palestine by keeping the history and memories of Filastin alive.

Wakati wa enzi za Ayyubid na Mamluk, Palestina ilipokea athari za kijamii, kitamaduni na kiusanifu kutoka Cairo na Damascus. Lakini pia miji mikuu ya Palestina kama Nablus, al-Quds na al-Khalil ilisafirisha bidhaa nyingi zilizotengenezwa kienyeji kwenda Damascus na Cairo (ona, kwa mfano, Ibn Battuta 2005: 57). Kwa bahati mbaya, hata hivyo, uwezo wa ndani wa Wapalestina na uwezo wao wa uzalishaji na ubunifu mara nyingi hupuuzwa au kufunikwa na wanahistoria ambao mara nyingi huhangaikia mfuatano wa tarehe za himaya na hupendelea kutoa maoni kuhusu athari za nje nyuma ya sanaa na usanifu wa Kiislamu wa Yerusalemu ya Ayyubid na Mamluk, wakishindwa kuona historia ya Palestina kutoka ndani au uhuru wa kutenda wa Wapalestina. Kwa mfano, wanahistoria mara nyingi hutaja mtindo wa Madrasa ya Tankiziyyah huko Yerusalemu, ambao unafanana na Madrasa ya Tankiziyah huko Damascus (ona, kwa mfano, Rosen-Ayalon 2006: 119, 155), lakini wanashindwa kuona shule huru za sanaa za Kipalestina zilizoibuka ndani ya Palestina. Hakika, mila tofauti za ufundi wa Kipalestina na shule za sanaa zilistawi wakati wa enzi ya Mamluk, na hizi zinaonekana katika tasnia ya kioo ya al-Khalil na Shule ya Mosaiki ya Kipalestina. Mila hizi zimedumu hadi kipindi cha kisasa. Katika karne ya 13, wakati wa enzi ya Mamluk, al-Khalil ilistawisha tasnia ya kioo iliyostawi na yenye heshima kubwa, ikijumuisha vito vya kioo vinavyojulikana kwa Kiarabu kama zujaj al-khalili; Mji Mkongwe wa al-Khalil bado una wilaya inayoitwa 'Mtaa wa Wafua Kioo', na kioo cha Hebron kinaendelea hadi leo kuwa kivutio cha watalii kwa mji huo. Kijadi, kioo kiliyeyushwa kwa kutumia malighafi za kienyeji, zikiwemo sodium carbonate kutoka Bahari ya Chumvi. Madirisha ya vioo vya rangi na kazi kubwa za sanaa za kioo zilizotengenezwa al-Khalil pia zinapamba Dome of the Rock katika Mji Mkongwe wa Yerusalemu (al-Ju'beh 2008). Taa za kioo na mapambo ya kioo ya al-Khalil yalisafirishwa kwenda Misri, Syria, Arabia na Afrika. Jiji hilo lilijulikana sana kwa utengenezaji wake wa vioo kote katika ulimwengu wa Kiarabu na kwa wasafiri wa Magharibi waliokwenda Palestina katika kipindi cha kisasa. Pia lilionyeshwa kwa mapambo ya vioo katika Maonyesho ya Dunia ya mwaka 1873 huko Vienna.4

During the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods Palestine came under social, cultural and architectural influences from Cairo and Damascus. But also the key Palestinian cities such as Nablus, al-Quds and al-Khalil exported much of their locally manufactured goods to Damascus and Cairo (see, for instance, Ibn Battuta 2005: 57). Unfortunately, however, the internal Palestinian agency and the productive and creative capacities of Palestine are often ignored or glossed over by historians who are frequently preoccupied with imperial chronologies and prefer to comment on the external influences behind the Islamic art and architecture of Ayyubid and Mamluk Jerusalem, failing to see Palestinian history from within or the autonomous agency of the Palestinians. For instance, historians often point to the aesthetics of the Tankiziyyah Madrasah in Jerusalem, whose style resembles the Tankiziyah Madrasah in Damascus (see e.g. Rosen-Ayalon 2006: 119, 155), but fail to see independent Palestinian schools of arts emerging within Palestine. Indeed, distinct Palestinian craft traditions and schools of arts developed during the Mamluk period and these are found in the glass industry of al-Khalil and the Palestinian School of Mosaics. These traditions have survived into the modern period. In the 13th century during the Mamluk period al-Khalil developed a flourishing and highly respected glass industry, including glass jewellery known in Arabic as zujaj al-khalili; the Old City of al-Khalil still includes a district named the ‘Glass-Blower Quarter’ and Hebron glass continues to the present time to serve as a tourist attraction for the city. Traditionally, the glass was melted using local raw materials, including sodium carbonate from the Dead Sea. Stained glass windows and great works of art in glass produced in al-Khalil also adorn the Dome of the Rock in the Old City of Jerusalem (al-Ju’beh 2008). Al-Khalil’s glass lamps and glass ornaments were exported to Egypt, Syria, Arabia and Africa. The city became well known for its glass production throughout the Arab world and to Western travellers to Palestine in the modern period. It was also represented with glass ornaments at the World Exposition of 1873 in Vienna.4

Kama katika tasnia ya utengenezaji wa vioo ya al-Khalil, mwendelezo mwingine wa Palestina ya kihistoria unaweza kuonyeshwa kupitia sanaa ya mosaiki, ambayo ina historia ndefu huko Palestina na Mashariki ya Kati, ikianzia na majumba na majengo ya mahekalu huko Mesopotamia katika milenia ya 3 KK. Sanaa ya kale ya mosaiki ya Mashariki ya Kati ilihusisha mifumo na picha zilizotengenezwa kwa kuunganisha vipande vidogo vya vioo vyenye rangi, mawe (mosaiki za kokoto) au vifaa vingine, vilivyotumika katika sanaa ya mapambo au kama mapambo ya ndani. Mosaiki zenye mifumo na picha zilienea sana katika nyakati za kale za kitamaduni.

As in the glasswork industry of al-Khalil, other continuities of historic Palestine can be illustrated by the mosaic art which has a long history in Palestine and the Middle East, starting with palaces and temple buildings in Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC. The ancient mosaic art of the Middle East consisted of patterns and images made from the assembly of small pieces of coloured glass, stone (pebble mosaics) or other materials, used in decorative arts or as interior decoration. Mosaics with patterns and pictures became widespread in classical times.

Palestina ya Kiislamu na al-Sham kwa ujumla zilirithi urithi wa kimaada na sanaa ya mosaiki ya Byzantium ya Kipindi cha Mwisho wa Zamani, na urithi huo wa kimaada na kitamaduni ulitumiwa kwa wingi katika ujenzi wa majengo makubwa ya kidini na majumba katika Filastin na al-Sham za Kiumayyad. Majengo hayo yalijumuisha majengo ya kwanza makubwa ya kidini ya Kiislamu huko Jerusalem, Kuba ya Mwamba, iliyokamilika mwaka 691 BK, na Msikiti wa Umayyad huko Damascus, uliokamilika mwaka 715. Kuba ya Mwamba na Kuba ya Mnyororo iliyo jirani nayo pia zilibeba baadhi ya urithi wa Kiislamu wa kuvutia zaidi wa Palestina, urithi ambao uliendelea kuwatia moyo vizazi vya mafundi na wasanii kwa karne nyingi chini ya Ayyubids, Mamluks na Ottomans. Katharina Galor na Hanswulf Bloedhorn wanatoa maoni juu ya kuibuka kwa shule huru ya Kipalestina ya mosaiki na kazi ya vioo wakati wa kipindi cha Mamluk:

Islamic Palestine and al-Sham as a whole inherited the material heritage and Byzantine mosaic art of Late Antiquity and this material and cultural heritage was deployed widely in the construction of monumental religious buildings and palaces in Umayyad Filastin and al-Sham. These buildings included the first great Islamic religious buildings in Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock, completed in 691 AD, and the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, completed in 715. The Dome of the Rock and the neighbouring Dome of the Chain also embodied some of the most spectacular Islamic heritage of Palestine, a heritage which continued to inspire generations of craftsmen and artists for centuries under the Ayyubids, Mamluks and Ottomans. Katharina Galor and Hanswulf Bloedhorn comment on the emergence of an independent Palestinian school of mosaics and glasswork during the Mamluk period:

Mosaiki za vioo vya rangi na vya kupambwa kwa dhahabu, unga wa rangi, faience ya rangi ya samawati-kijani, na kaa la lulu, pamoja na mawe ya rangi na marumaru, zilipamba baadhi ya majengo ya Mamluk. Mosaiki ya ukutani yenye kuvutia zaidi iko katika al-Madrasa al-Tankiziyya. Mihrab yake imefunikwa na vipande vyembamba vya marumaru za rangi nyingi, vikiwa vimezungukwa na nguzo za Crusader zilizotumiwa tena, zenye vichwa vyake, zikifanana wazi na baadhi ya sifa za mosaiki za ukutani za enzi ya Umayyad katika Dome of the Rock, hasa na mapambo yake ya kaa la lulu... Inaonekana kwamba sanaa hii iliyofufuka baadaye ilichota msukumo wake kutoka kwa mosaiki za karne ya saba katika Dome of the Rock. Vyanzo vya kihistoria vinaonyesha kwamba marejesho ya mosaiki za ukutani yalifanyika wakati wa kipindi cha Mamluk katika Dome of the Rock na Dome of the Chain. Ingawa Syria na Misri zina aina zinazofanana za mosaiki za ukutani, Jerusalem inaonekana kuwa ndiyo iliyokuwa makao ya shule halisi ya Kipalestina iliyodumu kwa karne nyingi. (Galor and Bloedhorn 2013: 230)

Mosaics of colored and gilded glass, colored paste, turquoise faience, and mother-of-pearl, as well as colored stone and marble, embellished some of the ... Mamluk buildings. The most impressive wall mosaic is located in al-Madrasa al-Tankiziyya. It mihrab is covered with narrow strips of polychrome marble, flanked by reused Crusader columns with capitals, clearly analogous to certain features of Umayyad wall mosaics in the Dome of the Rock, in particular with its mother-of-pearl inlay ... It appears that this late re-emerging art draw its inspiration from seventh-century mosaics in the Dome of the Rock. Historical sources indicate that restorations of wall mosaics were carried out during the Mamluk period in both the Dome of the Rock and the Dome of Chain. Although Syria and Egypt have similar types of wall mosaics, Jerusalem appears to have been the home of a genuine Palestinian school that lasted for centuries. (Galor and Bloedhorn 2013: 230)

Ubora wa kazi za vioo, michoro ya mawe madogo (mosaiki) na ufundi wa mikono wa Palestina ulidhibitiwa kwa ukali, na urithi huu wa mfumo wa udhibiti wa Mamluk umebaki hai katika maneno ya kienyeji ya kisasa ya Palestina kama Hisbe, na katika majina ya familia za Kipalestina kama Muhtasib, familia mashuhuri ya Waislamu katika mji wa al-Khalil (Hebron). Ubora wa kazi za vioo, michoro ya mawe madogo (mosaiki) na ufundi wa mikono wa Palestina ulidhibitiwa kwa ukali, na urithi huu wa mfumo wa udhibiti wa kiuchumi wa Mamluk umebaki hai katika maneno ya kienyeji ya kisasa ya Palestina kama Hisbe, na katika majina ya familia za Kipalestina kama Muhtasib, familia mashuhuri ya Waislamu katika mji wa al-Khalil (Hebron). Mfumo wa muhtasib katika Palestina ya Kiislamu ulikuwa sehemu ya "uchumi wa maadili" wa kabla ya ubepari (kwa kukopa usemi wa mwanahistoria wa Kiingereza E. P. Thompson), ukiathiriwa na kanuni za sharia za haki ya kijamii na maslahi ya umma, na ulienea sana katika Mashariki ya Karibu. Muhtasib alikuwa afisa muhimu aliyeteuliwa na sultani wa Mamluk, ambaye majukumu yake yalijumuisha kudhibiti bei na kusimamia na kukagua masoko ya bidhaa na biashara katika Palestina, Misri na al-Sham. Majukumu haya mbalimbali pia yalijumuisha kuhakikisha kwamba shughuli za umma zinaendeshwa kulingana na mahitaji ya kimaadili ya sharia (sheria ya Kiislamu). Milipuko ya magonjwa ya mara kwa mara ilikuwa jambo la kawaida katika miji mikuu ya Enzi za Kati, na hali za usafi pamoja na usambazaji endelevu wa maji safi, kwa ajili ya mabafu ya umma na chemchemi za kunywea za umma katika miji, zilikuwa mafanikio makubwa ya uhandisi wa kiraia wa Kiislamu katika Palestina katika ulimwengu wote wa Kiislamu. Kwa kutegemea miongozo rasmi iliyoandikwa, muhtasib alisimamia udhibiti wa hali za usafi katika masoko, vipimo na uzito, fedha, bei za mazao na bidhaa zilizotengenezwa, usalama wa maeneo ya umma na chakula kinachouzwa hadharani. Pia walihakikisha kwamba mafundi na wajenzi wanazingatia viwango vilivyowekwa kwa ufundi wao na kwa ujenzi wao (Ibn al-Ukhuwah 1976; Broadbridge 1999; Hill, D. 1984).

The quality of Palestinian glasswork, mosaics and crafts was tightly regulated and this legacy of the Mamluk system of regulation has survived in modern Palestinian vernacular terms such as Hisbe and in Palestinian family names such as the Muhtasib, a leading Muslim family in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron). The quality of Palestinian glasswork, mosaics and crafts was tightly regulated and this legacy of the Mamluk system of economic regulation has survived in modern Palestinian vernacular terms such as Hisbe and in Palestinian family names such as the Muhtasib, a leading Muslim family in the city of al-Khalil (Hebron). The muhtasib system in Islamic Palestine was part of the pre-capitalist ‘moral economy’ (to borrow an expression by English historian E. P. Thompson), influenced by sharia principles of social justice and the public good and widely promoted in the Near East. The muhtasib was an important official appointed by the Mamluk sultan whose duties included the regulation of prices and supervision and inspection of bazaars and trade in Palestine, Egypt and al-Sham. These varied duties also included ensuring that public business was conducted in accordance with the ethical requirements of the sharia (Islamic law). Recurrent epidemics were a regular phenomenon in the urban centres of the Middle Ages and hygienic conditions and the continuous supply of clean water, for public baths and public drinking fountains in the cities, were major achievements of Islamic civil engineering in Palestine throughout the Muslim world. Relying on written official manuals, the muhtasib supervised the regulation of hygienic conditions in the bazaars, weights and measures, money, prices of produce and manufactured goods, safety of public places and food sold publicly. They also ensured that craftsmen and builders adhered to the specification set for their craft and construction standards (Ibn al-Ukhuwah 1976; Broadbridge 1999; Hill, D. 1984).