Tell Mar Elias
Encyclopedia
Tell Mar Elias is a hill (Tell
Tell
A tell or tel, is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides.-Archaeology:A tell is a hill created by different civilizations living and...
) in the Ajlun region of North Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. The site, northwest of Ajlun, has long been identified with Tishbe
Tishbe
Tishbe was, according to tradition, the town of Listib, located 8 miles north of the Jabbok River. It is the birthplace of Elijah the Prophet. However, it is now thought more likely that Tishbe was located in Naphtali, , because Listib is known to have been uninhabited during the time of the...
, mentioned in the Bible as the hometown or region of the Prophet Elijah (Elias
Elias
Elias is the Latin transliteration of the Greek name , which in turn is the Hellenized form of the , meaning "Yahweh is my God". Another form of Eliyahu in English is Elijah.The name belonged most notably to Elijah , the Hebrew prophet...
, in Arabic).
The remains of one of the largest known Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
churches in Jordan can also be found at the site. Artifacts from this site including marble carvings and small metal religious objects are on display at the Ajloun Castle Museum.