Michele Piccirillo (1944–2008) was a Franciscan priest and expert in Byzantine archaeology. He is credited with advancing the study of early Byzantine archaeology, and especially the study of mosaics, in Jordan, Palestine and Syria.

Taybat al-Imam is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located 18 kilometers northwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Halfaya and Mhardeh to the west, Lataminah to the northwest, Mork to the north, Suran to the east, Maar Shahhur to the southeast, Qamhana to the south and Khitab to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Taybat al-Imam had a population of 24,105 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.