Madaba became known as the "City of Mosaics" in Jordan, being the capital of the Madaba Government located in central Jordan, 30 kilometers southwest of the capital of Amman, known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics. Madaba dates from the Middle Bronze Age.

The nearby site of Umm ar-Rasas, southeast of Madaba, on the edge of the semi-arid steppe, started as a Roman military camp and became a city since the 5th century. It also has very large and well preserved mosaics.
At the southern entrance of Madaba, near the King's Highway, is the Church of the Apostles. The ruins of this Byzantine church date from the year 578 CE, and are currently restored. It includes a mosaic known as the "Personification of the Sea", which depicts a woman emerging from the sea, surrounded by mythical aquatic creatures and a hut of rams, bulls, parrots and exotic vegetation. The mosaic was signed by a mosaicist named Salamanios.