Byzantine period (324-638) - Images of Jerusalem appeared as decorative elements on buildings, in frescos and wall-mosaics in churches, such as the mosaics in the churches of Sta. Maria Maggiore, St. Prudenciana and St. Giovanni in Rome, and Umm al-Rasas in northern Jordan, Although these mosaics do not reflect an accurate description of the city, they bear witness to the importance assigned to Jerusalem in Byzantine Christianity.

The most detailed depiction of Jerusalem from the Byzantine period is the mosaic map discovered in the Jordanian village of Madaba in the late 19th century. The map depicts the area from the Nile delta and the Mediterranean coast to the desert east of the Jordan and includes the city of Jerusalem Distinct from other maps that survived from the Byzantine period, it is considered a realistic depiction of the city of those times, and because it is reasonably detailed, conveys a clear sense of the urban layout of Jerusalem in the Byzantine era.

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