Madinat al-Zahra or Medina Azahara ( ar, مدينة الزهراء, translit=Madīnat az-Zahrā, lit=the radiant city) was a fortified palace-city on the western outskirts of
Córdoba in present-day
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. Its remains are a major
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
site today. The city was built in the 10th century by
Abd-ar-Rahman III (912–961), a member of the
Umayyad dynasty
Umayyad dynasty ( ar, بَنُو أُمَيَّةَ, Banū Umayya, Sons of Umayya) or Umayyads ( ar, الأمويون, al-Umawiyyūn) were the ruling family of the Caliphate between 661 and 750 and later of Al-Andalus between 756 and 1031. In the ...
and the first
caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
of
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
. It served as the capital of the
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and parts o ...
and its center of government.
The main reason for its construction was politico-ideological: Abd ar-Rahman III had declared himself "caliph" in 929 and the dignity of this new title required the establishment of a new city, a symbol of his power, imitating other eastern Caliphates. It sought to demonstrate his superiority over his great rivals, the
Fatimid Caliphs of
Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...
in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and the
Abbasid Caliphs
The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib.
The family came to ...
in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
. The city was built near Córdoba, the existing capital of al-Andalus under Umayyad rule. Construction began in 936–940 and continued in multiple phases throughout his reign and the reign of his son,
Al-Hakam II
Al-Hakam II, also known as Abū al-ʿĀṣ al-Mustanṣir bi-Llāh al-Hakam b. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (; January 13, 915 – October 16, 976), was the Caliph of Córdoba. He was the second ''Umayyad'' Caliph of Córdoba in Al-Andalus, and son of Ab ...
(r. 961–976). The new city included ceremonial reception halls, a
congregational mosque, administrative and government offices, aristocratic residences, gardens, a
mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
, workshops, barracks, service quarters, and
baths. Water was supplied through aqueducts. After al-Hakam II's death, however, the city ceased to act as the center of government under the rule of
Ibn Abi Amir al-Mansur (Almanzor). Between 1010 and 1013 it was sacked during a
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and thereafter abandoned, with many of its materials re-used elsewhere.
The ruins of the city were excavated starting in 1911. Only about 10 hectares of the 112 hectares (0.43 sq mi) of the city have been excavated and partially restored, but this area includes the main palaces. A dedicated archeological museum, located on the edge of the site, was opened in 2009.
On July 1, 2018, the site was listed as a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
with the inscription name "Caliphate City of Medina Azahara".
Name
Popular legend, recorded by historical writers such as
al-Maqqari
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Maqqarī al-Tilmisānī (or al-Maḳḳarī) (), (1577-1632) was an Algerian scholar, biographer and historian who is best known for his , a compendium of the history of Al-Andalus which provided a basis for the scholar ...
, holds that the city's name, ''az-Zahra (or ''Azahara'' in Spanish), came from Abd ar-Rahman III's favorite
concubine
Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive.
Concubi ...
and that a statue of her stood over the entrance. (Although statuary was present in the city, scholar Marianne Barrucand argues that the existence of this particular statue was unlikely.) Scholar Felix Arnold argues that a simpler explanation is that the city's name, which also means the "Flowering City" or "Radiant City", emulated the style of other caliphal cities founded by the Abbasids (e.g. ''Madinat as-Salam'', "City of Peace", now Baghdad) and the Fatimids (e.g. ''Madinat al-Qahira'' "Victorious City", now
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
).
Jonathan Bloom
Jonathan Max Bloom (born April 7, 1950) is an American art historian and educator. Bloom has served as the dual Norma Jean Calderwood University Professor of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College, along with his wife, Sheila Blair.
Career
Bl ...
also notes that the name may have been chosen as a riposte to Abd ar-Rahman's main rivals, the Fatimids, because the Fatimids claimed descent from Muhammad's daughter
Fatimah
Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, th ...
, who was also known as ''az-Zahra'' ("the Radiant").
History
Background
Abd ar-Rahman III
ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥakam al-Rabdī ibn Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Dākhil () or ʿAbd al-Rahmān III (890 - 961), was the Umayyad Emir of Córdoba from 912 to 92 ...
was a member of the
Umayyad dynasty
Umayyad dynasty ( ar, بَنُو أُمَيَّةَ, Banū Umayya, Sons of Umayya) or Umayyads ( ar, الأمويون, al-Umawiyyūn) were the ruling family of the Caliphate between 661 and 750 and later of Al-Andalus between 756 and 1031. In the ...
, which had formerly ruled the
Islamic world as head of the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
. The title "
caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
" signified the political and spiritual leader of the whole Muslim world. In 750 the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasids, who took on the title of caliphs and established a new capital at Baghdad. In 756 Abd ar Rahman III's ancestor,
Abd ar-Rahman I, managed to re-establish the dynasty's power in the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
in the far western part of the Muslim world, known as
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
. Although independent from the Abbasids, the new Umayyad rulers in Al-Andalus, based in
Cordoba, did not reclaim the title of "caliph" at this time. Instead, they ruled as "
emirs
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
", a lower title designating local Muslim rulers, as heads of the
Emirate of Cordoba
An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...
. While
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and Islamic culture thrived in Al-Andalus during this period, it was still a relatively decentralized realm and the emir in Cordoba often struggled to keep different factions under control.
When Abd ar-Rahman III came to power as emir in 912, he began to systematically re-establish Umayyad authority over rebel regions within his realm and reinforce his own authority across Al-Andalus through military and diplomatic means. In 929, after years of constant campaigning, Abd ar-Rahman III felt confident enough to declare himself "caliph", a title equal to the Abbasid rulers in Baghdad (whose own power had significantly weakened by this time). This move may also have been in response to the rise of the
Fatimid Caliphate
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Isma'ilism, Ismaili Shia Islam, Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the ea ...
in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
around the same time, which challenged the
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
caliphs of Baghdad and also presented a threat to the interests of the Umayyad state in Al-Andalus.
Before the creation of Madinat al-Zahra, the residence and centre of government for the Umayyad emirs had been the
Alcázar in the heart of Cordoba, across from which stood the
Great Mosque of Cordoba
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
. Many scholars argue that the motives for the construction of a new palace-city must have included a desire to create a capital and residence that would reflect the dignity and grandeur which Abd ar-Rahman III wanted to project around his new caliphate. The creation of such palace-cities also had precedents because both the Abbasids caliphs and the Fatimid caliphs had previously built such cities for themselves.
Construction and development
![Dirham abd al rahman iii 17494](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Dirham_abd_al_rahman_iii_17494.jpg)
According to historical sources the new palace-city was founded in 936. It was located about 5 km west of Cordoba. Abd ar-Rahman III's son, al-Hakam, the crown prince and his future successor, was entrusted to oversee the construction. The 16th-century writer Al-Maqqari cites a man named Maslama ibn 'Abdallah as the architect of the city, but it is unclear how large his role was or how much of the city he actually designed. Major construction might not have actually started until 940, and evidence suggests that it occurred in stages, with the overall plan changing as further work was executed. The mosque on the site was consecrated in 941. By 945 the caliph was already living in the city. The road between the new city and Cordoba was paved in 946. Finally, in 947 the apparatus of state, including the
mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
(''dar al-sikka''), was transferred here from Cordoba. Construction in the city nonetheless continued throughout the remaining years of Abd ar-Rahman III's reign (up to 961) and throughout Al-Hakam II's reign (961–976). High-ranking officials under both caliphs were often involved in the construction as well.
The whole city was surrounded by a fortified wall with towers. However, there is evidence that only the palaces were protected by a wall at first and that the outer city wall was added after residential areas had already begun to develop outside the palace. Abd ar-Rahman III also arranged for thousands of
antique marble columns to be procured or imported from other sites, mostly from
Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...
(despite it being under Fatimid control at the time), to be reused for construction here. Al-Hakam II also reportedly procured many Roman statues and carved
sarcophagi
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
, which were used to decorate the grounds.
Several of the major structures that have been excavated and identified on the site were built over earlier structures and thus appear to belong to a different construction phase after the initial construction of the city. The structures known today as the House of Ja'far and the Court of the Pillars were both built over two or three smaller structures which occupied the same spaces. In addition to being larger than their predecessors, they also feature very different layouts, such as a semi-
basilical plan (in the House of Ja'far) and a courtyard surrounded by a
porticoed
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...
gallery (the Court of the Pillars). Antonio Vallejo Triano, who led archeological work at the site between 1985 and 2013, has argued that the Court of the Pillars likely dates from the 950s. Likewise, the large Upper Basilical Hall, also known as the ''Dar al-Jund'' ("House of the Army"), is believed to date from this time. The construction of the ''Salón Rico'', or Reception Hall of Abd ar-Rahman III, has been dated to between 953 and 957 thanks to several inscriptions featured in its decoration. The supervisor of the hall's construction was Abdallah ibn Badr, the
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...
and highest-ranking official under the caliph at that time. The decoration was executed under the supervision of the caliph's eunuch servant Shunaif, although it's unclear if he was also involved in the design of the hall.
Based on the evidence of these constructions, Vallejo Triano has argued that a fairly significant remodelling of the palace complex took place in the 950s. It followed a trend of larger and more monumental buildings which made use of porticos,
arcades, and different basilical layouts. These new structures were often built over older, relatively more modest structures, and were thus designed to increase the impression of the caliph's magnificence through the architecture of his city. Vallejo Triano notes that this period would also coincide with a major reorganization of the state by Abd ar-Rahman III in 955, which is reported by historical sources such as
Ibn Idhari
Abū al-ʽAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʽIḏārī al-Marrākushī ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد ابن عذاري المراكشي) was a Moroccan historian of the late-13th/early-14th century, and author of the famous ''Al-Bayan al-M ...
. Additionally, Abd ar-Rahman III was likely becoming better-informed about the rich palaces and elaborate court ceremony in the new Fatimid capital,
Mahdia
Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.
Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as w ...
, and in the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
capital of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. For example, some of Abd ar-Rahman III's emissaries to the Byzantine emperor brought back with them gilded bronze sculptures, marble fountain basins decorated with animal figures, and other decorative architectural elements. This growing awareness of other imperial courts and Abd ar-Rahman's desire to match them may explain an increase in the complexity of the ceremonies and court protocols surrounding the caliph around this time, to which historical sources of the time attached great importance, along with an increase in the architectural scale of the new buildings.
Vallejo Triano has also argued that the construction of the House of Ja'far took place slightly later than the other structures of the 950s because its decoration appears to be more evolved. This tentatively supports an earlier hypothesis by Félix Hernández Giménez that this large residence was built for Ja'far, a ''
hajib
A ''hajib'' or ''hadjib'' ( ar, الحاجب, al-ḥājib, to block, the prevent someone from entering somewhere; It is a word "hajb" meaning to cover, to hide. It means "the person who prevents a person from entering a place, the doorman". The ...
'' (chamberlain) of Al-Hakam II between 961 and 971, and for whom the structure is currently named. This also makes it the only major structure in Madinat al-Zahra that has been identified as belonging to the reign of Al-Hakam II.
Life and government within the palace-city
![Pyxid Al Mughira OA 4068](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Pyxid_Al_Mughira_OA_4068.jpg)
The palaces housed the caliph's household, including a large number of concubines. The residents were served by a large body of slaves, including eunuchs, of mostly European origin. The city also contained a throne hall or audience chamber (the Salón Rico), government offices, workshops that produced luxury objects, the residences of high officials, and – on the lower levels of the city – markets and residential districts for the common workers. The city had a manager, a judge, and a police chief. Under the cultured caliph Al-Hakam II in particular, there was also a library which by some accounts contained hundreds of thousands of volumes in Arabic,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. The main mosque (also known as the Aljama Mosque), and one or more small neighbourhood mosques, provided religious services.
The palaces were furnished with silks, tapestries, and various luxury objects. Many objects produced in the caliph's official workshops were given as gifts and have made their way into the collections of museums and Christian cathedrals. Among the wonders reported by historical chronicles about the palaces, Al-Maqqari described a domed hall in the palace which contained a pool of liquid
mercury which reflected light and could be stirred to create dazzling ripples of light, although the location of this hall has not been found by modern archeologists.
The new caliphate also developed an increasingly elaborate culture of court protocols around the figure of the caliph. Lavish festivals and receptions were hosted to impress foreign ambassadors. The organisation of the city seems to have included a specific path to be followed by foreign guests and dignitaries on their way to the caliph's audience chamber, which was fronted by gardens and pools with vistas over the rest of the city and the valley below. The caliph himself would appear seated at the back and center of his audience chamber, surrounded by courtiers and officials, with the architecture designed to focus on his position. While the caliph increasingly took on an air of aloofness during this period, the protocols did not evolve to the point of hiding him completely from view – by contrast with the Fatimid caliphs in Africa, who were kept hidden behind a veil.
Various members of the caliph's family, or other wealthy elites, also built their own villas and palaces in the countryside around Cordoba during this period of prosperity in the 10th century. This was a tradition which had existed since the early days of the Emirate and possibly derived from the Roman villa tradition. The caliph even kept some family members in such villas in order to distance them from the center of power in Madinat al-Zahra, providing them with a generous stipend so they wouldn't cause trouble.
Construction of ''Madinat az-Zahira'' by Almanzor
When Al-Hakam II died in 976 he was succeeded by his son
Hisham II
Hisham II or Abu'l-Walid Hisham II al-Mu'ayyad bi-llah (, Abū'l-Walīd Hishām al-Muʾayyad bi-ʾllāh) (son of Al-Hakam II and Subh of Cordoba) was the third Umayyad Caliph of Spain, in Al-Andalus from 976 to 1009, and 1010–13.
Reign
In 9 ...
, who was 14 or 15 years old at the time and had little political experience. Consequently, ''de facto'' political power was assumed by
Ibn Abi Amir, a strongman who appropriated for himself both the post of ''hajib'' (chamberlain) and ''wazir'' (vizier) and who adopted the regnal title "al-Mansur" (or Almanzor in European sources). In 978 or 979 (368 AH), after he had secured the monopoly of power, he ordered the construction of a new palace city for himself which rivaled Madinat al-Zahra in beauty. Al-Mansur called his palace with a very similar name: ''Madinat Az-Zahira'' ("the Shining City"). The location of the palace, which has never been excavated, is still debated: it may have been between Cordoba and Madinat az-Zahra to the west, but the most common hypothesis is that it was built a short distance east of Cordoba, near the banks of the
Guadalquivir River
The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gul ...
, in order to draw the focus of power away from the earlier Umayyad palaces. The new palace took only two years to build. When it was ready Al-Mansur moved the center of government there, leaving the old Madinat al-Zahra in disuse and confining the young caliph Hisham to the old Alcázar in Cordoba instead.
Decline and destruction
On the death of Al-Mansur in 1002, his eldest son
Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar succeeded to power. When al-Muzaffar in turn died in 1008, his brother
Abd ar-Rahman, also known as Sanchuelo ("Little Sancho", as his mother Abda was a daughter of
Sancho
The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...
, the king of
Navarre
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
) came to power. Less politically able than his father and brother, he tried to appropriate for himself the inheritance of the caliphate from Hisham, which aroused serious opposition. In an attempt to avoid these problems, he set out for a military campaign to the Christian north almost right away. When he crossed the border into Christian territory in February 1009, his opponents broke into the old Alcázar and forced Hisham II to abdicate to another member of the Umayyad family,
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
. At the same time, Madinat al-Zahira, the palace built by Al-Mansur and the center of government, was pillaged and destroyed.
The next few years were chaotic and resulted in multiple violent confrontations and regime changes between different factions, known as the
''Fitna'' (civil war). Between 1010 and 1013 Cordoba was besieged by Berber factions, and by the end of this period Madinat al-Zahra, the city of Abd ar-Rahman III, had been pillaged and left in ruins. For many years afterwards the city continued to be looted by people for its building materials, which nearly erased it from existence. Over time its remains were buried and its location was not identified again until the 19th century, with excavations beginning in 1911.
Geography
![Medina Azahara 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Medina_Azahara_2020.jpg)
Located west of
Córdoba in the foothills of the
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It stretches for 450 kilometres from east to west across the south of the Iberian Peninsula, forming the southern border of the ''Meseta Central'' plateau and providi ...
, oriented north-to-south on the slopes of ''Jabal al-Arus'' (meaning Bride Hill), and facing the valley of the Guadalquivir river, is Madinat az-Zahra, billed as the
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
of the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. It was chosen for its outstanding landscape values, allowing a hierarchical construction program so the city and the plains beyond its feet were physically and visually dominated by the buildings of the ''
Alcázar'' (citadel).
There was also a quarry of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, used for the primary construction, though other stones from an area 50 km around were also used. The city's construction led to a road, water and supply infrastructure partly preserved until today in the form of remains of roads, quarries, aqueducts and bridges.
The topography played a decisive role in shaping the city. Taking full advantage of the uneven terrain, the palace city of Madinat az-Zahra was distributed in three terraces. Unlike the labyrinthine and chaotic character typical of Muslim urbanism, the site of the city adopted a rectangular shape comprising an area of 112 hectares. It extended per side from east to west and about from north to south, just warped on the north side by the need to adapt to the difficult topography of the terrain.
Its location in the foothills of Sierra Morena made it possible to design an urban program in which the location and physical relationships between the various constructions were expressive of the role of each in the setting. The palace was located at a higher level, and staggered its buildings along the side of the mountain in an expression of clear preeminence over the urban hamlets and the Aljama Mosque spread across the plains below. Following the terraces, the first corresponds to the residential area of the caliph, next comes the official area including the houses of the viziers, the guard-room, administrative offices and gardens. Next is the city proper, with housing, crafts, and the great mosque of the two lower terraces separated by another wall in order to isolate the upper palace complex. Archaeological research has revealed an urban morphology characterized by the existence of large areas of undeveloped land, which serves to empty the entire southern front of the fortress, ensuring privacy and maintaining an open, idyllic country landscape. The only spaces built on the lowest level are two broad bands: the western, with an urban management orthogon, and the eastern, with less rigid planning.
There were two complexes outside but close by the city, one a large
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
at the centre of a large agricultural estate, later given to the state treasurer. The other, Turruñuelos, was a huge rectangular building, perhaps a
barracks.
Architecture and layout
Overview
The city covered an almost rectangular area measuring 1.5 km long (roughly from east to west) and 750 wide (roughly from north to south). Its perimeter was protected by a thick stone wall with square bastions. Today only about 10 of the 112 hectares (0.43 sq mi) of the city have been excavated and restored, although this area includes the main palaces. The highest point of the city was at the centre of its northern wall (near the palaces), which is 215 meters above sea level, while the lowest point, to the south and nearer to the river, is 70 meters lower. Most of the site slopes gradually down towards the river except in the central northern zone where there were three distinctive levels or terraces built into the hillside, with height differences of 10 meters or more between them. The two upper levels were known as the "Alcázar" (''al-Qasr'' in Arabic). Most of the modern excavations have focused on the Alcázar and its palaces, and these are the areas visitors can access today.
According to historical Arabic sources, the three levels of the city had distinct functions: the uppermost level housed the private palaces of the caliph and his closest associates, the middle terrace housed the buildings of the state administration and the residences of high officials, and the much larger lower level was for the common people and the army. This design expressed the social and political hierarchy of the caliphate through the topography of the city itself. In practice, however, the division between levels was not so clear-cut as there were also many differences in elevation within each level. There also appears to be a division between the eastern and western sectors of the Alcázar, separated by a north-south axis that was aligned with the northern gate of the city. The eastern zone comprised the "official" sector, occupied by administrative and reception buildings, and the western zone served as the "private" sector, occupied by private residences of the caliph and his court.
The lower level
The city's lower level was much larger than the Alcázar area and occupied most of the space within the perimeter wall. It was further divided into three zones. The western zone, about 200 meters wide from east to west, housed the army and its barracks. The central zone, about 600 meters wide and located to the south of the palaces above, was occupied by gardens and orchards. The eastern zone, about 700 meters wide, was an urbanized area that housed the general population and including the main congregational mosque and the markets. Recent excavations have also uncovered the remains of a smaller neighborhood mosque in the southeastern part of the city. Aside from the North Gate which led to the palaces, at least two other gates in the city's outer wall are known: the Bab al-Qubba ("Gate of the Dome") in the middle of the southern wall and the Bab al-Shams ("Gate of the Sun") in the eastern wall.
The Aljama Mosque
![Cordoba_-_Medina_Azahara_08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Cordoba_-_Medina_Azahara_08.jpg)
The city's main
congregational mosque, also known today as the Aljama Mosque, was located on the lower level just east of the Upper Garden and Salón Rico complex. It could be reached from the palaces via a covered ramp passage in the eastern wall of the Upper Garden's terrace. Other roads led to the mosque from the rest of the city around it. Like the Great Mosque of Cordoba, a private passage allowed for the caliph to enter the mosque directly into the ''
maqsura'', the privileged area near the ''
mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
''. The mosque had a rectangular floor plan aligned northwest to southeast, in accordance with the ''
qibla
The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the s ...
'' (direction of prayer). This orientation is notably different from the southern ''qibla'' orientation of the much older Great Mosque of Cordoba, which reflects that conceptions of the ''qibla'' changed over time in this part of the Islamic world.
Outside the mosque, on its northwest side and near the entrance, is a set of facilities which provided for the ritual of
ablutions.
![Mezquita_Alhama_(Medina_Azahara)_2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Mezquita_Alhama_%28Medina_Azahara%29_2.JPG)
The mosque building was divided between an open courtyard (''
sahn
A ''sahn'' ( ar, صَحْن, '), is a courtyard in Islamic architecture, especially the formal courtyard of a mosque. Most traditional mosques have a large central ''sahn'', which is surrounded by a '' riwaq'' or arcade on all sides. In traditi ...
'') to the northwest and an interior prayer hall to the southeast. The mosque was entered via three gates that led into the courtyard and were located on the courtyard's central axes: two lateral gates (to the northeast and southwest) and one on the main central axis of the mosque itself (to the northwest). The latter gate was flanked on one side by a
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
with a square base. This is the earliest evidence of such a minaret being used in the architecture of al-Andalus, as it is older even than the minaret Abd ar-Rahman III later built for the Great Mosque in Cordoba. The base of the minaret measures 5 meters per side, and according to historical sources (Al-Maqqari in particular) it originally stood approximately 20 meters high. The mosque's prayer hall was divided by rows of arches into five parallel "
naves
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type b ...
". Archeological evidence has shown that the arches were double-tiered, emulating the same design feature seen in the Great Mosque of Cordoba. The middle nave, in front of what would have been the ''mihrab'' (wall niche symbolizing the direction of prayer), was wider than the other four naves of the mosque.
The upper levels (palace areas)
Gates and entrances
= North Gate
=
![MA_Puerta_norte_2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/MA_Puerta_norte_2.jpg)
The northern gate of the city, Bab al-Jibal ("Gate of the Mountains"), was located at the highest point of the city and granted access directly into the middle of the Alcázar or palace area of the city. It is also known as the North Gate (''Puerta Norte'' in Spanish). It had a
bent entrance
A bent or indirect entrance is a defensive feature in medieval fortification.Adrian Boas, On a Necessary Vulnerability, https://www.adrianjboas.com/post/on-a-necessary-vulnerability In a castle with a bent entrance, the gate passage is narrow and ...
layout and was defended by a tower.
Today it acts as the main entrance to the site for visitors and tourists. To the west of the gate was the caliph's private palace (the Dar al-Mulk) and to the east was the administrative district and the Upper Basilical Hall (the Dar al-Jund).
= Bab al-Sudda (eastern portico)
=
The official and ceremonial entrance to the palace areas, however, was located further east and was known as Bab al-Sudda ("Forbidden Gate" or "Gate of the Threshold"). This gate formed one end of the long road which led between the palaces and the city of Cordoba to the east, and it is believed to be the entrance where ambassadors or guests were received. The gate consisted of a monumental
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
: a long row of huge
horseshoe arches running roughly north-to-south. It was fronted by a large open esplanade, known today as the ''Plaza de Armas'' (a later Spanish term) but referred to in sources as a ''ḫaṣṣa'' (open area), probably originally serving a similar function as a ''
mechouar
Mechouar or meshwar (; ; ) is a type of location, typically a courtyard within a palace or a public square at the entrance of a palace, in the Maghreb (western North Africa) or in historic al-Andalus (Muslim Spain and Portugal). It can serve vari ...
'' (a term later used in the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
) or a ''maydan''. It would have hosted public ceremonies, military parades, and executions. On top of the gate's portico structure was a viewing platform where the caliph could sit and observe events on the plaza below. Inside the gate, a
ramped street then led up to the terrace of the Upper Basilical Hall.
Upper Basilical Hall (Dar al-Jund)
![Dar_al_Jund_plan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Dar_al_Jund_plan.png)
The structure known today as the "Upper Basilical Hall" has been identified, tentatively, as the ''Dar al-Jund'' ("House of the Army" in Arabic), a name mentioned in literary sources. It was probably built in the 950s during a new program of construction and state reform.
The exact function of this large structure is uncertain, but scholars and archeologists have traditionally assumed that it had an administrative or official (semi-public) function, such as a reception chamber for ceremonies and for ambassadors on their way to see the caliph. The ''Dar al-Jund'' is mentioned in historical sources as an assembly hall for the officers of the caliph's army. Felix Arnold, an archeologist and scholar on the topic of Islamic palace architecture in the region, suggests that the building's size means that it must have been the main audience hall of Madinat al-Zahra, which might identify it instead with either the ''Majlis ash-Sharqi'' ("Eastern Hall") or ''Majlis al-Gharbi'' ("Western Hall") mentioned in historical sources.
The building is located near the northeastern corner of the excavated area today, on a terrace west of the Bab al-Sudda entrance. It consists of a large
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
-type structure to the north adjoined to a large open courtyard to the south. Visitors to the city reached this area by walking up a ramped street that started on the central axis of the Bab al-Sudda gate and climbed its way to the terrace above, bending 180 degrees several times along the way. The ramp was wide enough and its slope gentle enough to allow visitors to remain on horseback, and was even lined with benches where they could sit and wait their turn to enter. It ended at a small porticoed court, where the visitors were possibly assigned to new guides, and from which they then entered into the courtyard of the Dar al-Jund along its middle axis. Felix Arnold suggests that this overall layout had a precedent in the older
Alcázar of Cordoba, where visitors coming from the main public entrance to the west arrived into a courtyard or garden in front of the ''Majlis al-Kamil'' ("Perfect Hall"), the main audience chamber of the palace.
![Gardens_in_Medina_Azahara_1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Gardens_in_Medina_Azahara_1.JPG)
The courtyard of the Dar al-Jund measures 54.5 meters wide and 51 meters deep. Its northern side is occupied by the broad entrance façade of the main hall, its western and eastern sides were occupied by narrow porticos, and its southern side was closed by a simple wall. The main hall stood 1.2 meters above the level of the courtyard. Stairs and ramps leading to its platform were located at the northern corners of the courtyard – the stairs were for those on foot, the ramps for horses. The remains of the courtyard were converted into a garden in the 1960s.
![Madinat_al-Zahra_Dar_al_Jund_or_Upper_Hall_DSCF6655](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Madinat_al-Zahra_Dar_al_Jund_or_Upper_Hall_DSCF6655.jpg)
The main hall itself is the largest interior space ever documented in the historic palace architecture of the western Islamic world, being large enough to accommodate up to 3000 people. The hall is composed of five parallel rectangular chambers, placed side-by-side and open to each other through various archways. Each chamber is about 20 meters long (from north to south) and 6.8 meters wide, with the exception of the central chamber which is about 7.5 meters wide. Each hall opens onto a sixth chamber to the south, perpendicular to the others, which is about 30 meters long (from east to west) and 6.9 meters wide, with a smaller square chamber located at either end. This south hall opens onto the courtyard to the south through five broad archways. Other auxiliary rooms are present nearby. The decoration of the building was plain in comparison with other royal edifices in the city. The walls were made of stone and plastered, with little ornamentation other than a red
dado near the base, while the floors were paved in brick instead of stone. Only the capitals of the columns were ornately carved. However, the walls may have originally been covered with ornamental furnishings such as tapestries and curtains may have been draped across the arches.
The precise intentions of the hall's design are ambiguous, as the chambers are all connected to each other but in slightly different ways. The central chamber is wider than the others and its entrance from the south is marked by a triple archway instead of a double archway like the other four parallel chambers, which actually made the openings between the columns narrower for the central chamber than for the others. The three middle chambers are also each connected to each other though a wide central door flanked by triple archways with columns, while the two outermost chambers at the sides are connected to the inner chambers through three simple doors. During official receptions, the caliph likely sat in the middle of the back wall of the central chamber. Antonio Vallejo Triano argues that the overall design of the building suggests that the two outermost chambers, along with the southern chamber at the front, formed a "U"-shaped space around the three central chambers and that the latter formed a privileged space for the caliph's audience. He also adds that there is archeological evidence that the spaces of the two outermost chambers were actually divided into two stories. Felix Arnold, in a slightly different interpretation, suggests that visitors entered the building from the sides and then entered the central chamber by moving from the outermost chambers to the central one, with each wall of doors and archways acting as a "screen" through which they passed closer to the caliph.
Dar al-Mulk
![MA_Dar_al-Muk_(Casa_Real)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/MA_Dar_al-Muk_%28Casa_Real%29.jpg)
The Dar al-Mulk or "Royal House" is a palace described in historical sources. Archeologists have identified it, tentatively, with the structure located on the highest terrace of the city, in the northwest extremity of the excavated area today. It is believed to have been one of the earliest structures built on the site and it was one of the first to be excavated in 1911. Historical sources also record that the Dar al-Mulk was repurposed in 972 to serve as a venue where prince Hisham, the future successor of al-Hakam II, was educated.
![Madinat_al-Zahra_Dar_al-Mulk_portico_DSCF6601](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Madinat_al-Zahra_Dar_al-Mulk_portico_DSCF6601.jpg)
The main structure consisted of three parallel rectangular halls oriented east-west. The halls were entered from the south: the southern walls of the first two halls each had three openings or doorways of equal size aligned in a row. The third hall, at the back, was much smaller and had only one door, which was aligned with the middle doors of the other two halls. Each hall was also flanked on both sides by small square (or nearly square) chambers. The first main hall may have served as an entrance hall, the second one may have been a reception room, and the third hall may have been a private sitting area whose side rooms served as bedrooms. The second and third halls have been partly reconstructed today, but the first (southernmost) hall has been lost. It stood at the very edge of the terrace, 15 meters above the ground of the next level below. In front of the eastern corner of this hall, however, are the remains of a staircase that led down to the terrace below. On the east side of the main structure is another apartment consisting of a courtyard, a portico of arches, and a hall, which was built over a former
bathhouse
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
The building was richly decorated. The doorways, some rectangular and some arched, were framed with geometric and vegetal (
arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
) decoration, and the floors were paved with
geometric patterns
A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...
. The exterior façade of the building, which faced south over the edge of the terrace wall, had three decorated doorways as well as a
blind arcade
A blind arcade or blank arcade is an arcade (a series of arches) that has no actual openings and that is applied to the surface of a wall as a decorative element: i.e., the arches are not windows or openings but are part of the masonry face. It is ...
of false windows above. Felix Arnold notes that because the doorways of the three halls were aligned with each other and faced outwards from the edge of the palace terrace, they would have offered views of the distant horizon across the valley, but not onto a private garden or courtyard as was typical in many Islamic palaces in the history of the region. He notes, however, that such elevated halls with distant views had precedents in the old Alcázar of Cordoba as well as at ''ar-Rusafa'', an older Umayyad palatial estate in the countryside of Cordoba.
Court of the Pillars and nearby buildings
Located on a lower level southeast of the Dar al-Mulk, the Court of the Pillars is a structure centered around a large square courtyard which is ringed with a portico on all sides. On three sides of the courtyard, behind the portico, are wide rectangular halls. A staircase in the northwest corner led to a second story with a similar layout. Various Roman sculptures, including
sarcophagi
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
, were also discovered in this building. Among the notable finds are the fragments of a sarcophagus known as the Sarcophagus of
Meleager
In Greek mythology, Meleager (, grc-gre, Μελέαγρος, Meléagros) was a hero venerated in his ''temenos'' at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the epic tradition that was reworked by Ho ...
, which has been reconstructed and kept at the site today.
The building itself was built over what were initially two smaller houses. Its construction may date to the 950s, either at the same time as or after the construction of the Salón Rico.
To the north of this building is another residential complex, and east of that (close to the north gate) are two other courtyard houses separated by a ramp between them.
The function of all these courtyard buildings, which were not typical of other structures in Madinat al-Zahra, is uncertain. They may have been the residences of state officials or they may have been used as guesthouses for important visitors. Art historian Susan Calvo Capilla has also suggested that the presence of Roman sculptures in the Court of the Pillars, which included representations of the
Muses
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...
and philosophers, may indicate that the space was used for education and intellectual activities, with the sculptures placed here as a deliberate reference to ancient sciences.
The Court of the Clocks, located to southeast near the Salón Rico, was similarly decorated with Roman sculptures.
House of the Water Basin
![Madinat_al-Zahra_House_of_the_Water_Basin_DSCF6771](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Madinat_al-Zahra_House_of_the_Water_Basin_DSCF6771.jpg)
The House of the Water Basin (''Vivienda de la Alberca'' in Spanish) is a structure located south of the Court of the Pillars. It was part of a complex of residences which stood between the Dar al-Mulk and the Salon Rico. The house is believed to date from the first years of construction at Madinat al-Zahra, although parts of the floor plan were likely modified afterwards. Antonio Vallejo Triano has proposed that this house was a residence of al-Hakam II before he became caliph in 961. The site was excavated by Félix Hernández Jiménez and Rafael Manzano Martos between 1975 and 1982 and, as of 2018, was still being examined by archeologists.
The building is laid out along an east-west axis and is centered around a square courtyard. Its original entrance was on the north side and led directly into the courtyard. On both the west and east sides were two rectangular chambers, one behind the other, whose entrances were aligned with the central axis of the courtyard. Smaller chambers were also located along the sides of the building. Behind the eastern chambers was a private bathhouse or
hammam
A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the Islamic culture, culture of the Muslim world and ...
which consisted of three chambers of decreasing size, heated using the traditional Roman
hypocaust
A hypocaust ( la, hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm th ...
system under its marble floors. Marble decoration was added to the bath by Ja'far in 961-62.
The courtyard of the house was occupied by two symmetrical sunken gardens and by a water basin at the middle of the courtyard's western side, after which the house is named. The gardens were surrounded by raised walkways that ran around the edge of the courtyard and were split by another walkway down the middle between them. Water channels also ran along the edges of the courtyard and brought water to the basin. The gardens were planted with low-growing plants like
lavender
''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...
,
oleander
''Nerium oleander'' ( ), most commonly known as oleander or nerium, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the ge ...
,
myrtle,
basil
Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also k ...
, and
celery
Celery (''Apium graveolens'') is a marshland plant in the family Apiaceae that has been cultivated as a vegetable since antiquity. Celery has a long fibrous stalk tapering into leaves. Depending on location and cultivar, either its stalks, lea ...
. The main halls on either side were accessed through an
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
with three horseshoe arches resting on columns, partly reconstructed today. The arches are framed by an ''
alfiz The alfiz (, from Andalusi Arabic ''alḥíz'', from Standard Arabic ''alḥáyyiz'', meaning 'the container';Al ...
'' filled with carved vegetal ornamentation. D. Fairchild Ruggles, a scholar of historic Islamic gardens, indicates that the garden of this house is also known as the "Prince's Garden" and may have been enjoyed by elite residents of the palaces.
House of Ja'far
![MA_Portada_de_la_vivienda_de_Ya'far](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/MA_Portada_de_la_vivienda_de_Ya%27far.jpg)
The large "House of Ja'far" was built over what were originally three smaller houses. It is located between the Court of the Pillars to the northwest and the Salón Rico to the southeast. Because of its more evolved decoration its construction has been dated to after 961, during the reign of al-Hakam II, which may support a hypothesis by Félix Hernández Giménez that this large residence was built for the eponymous Ja'far, a ''
hajib
A ''hajib'' or ''hadjib'' ( ar, الحاجب, al-ḥājib, to block, the prevent someone from entering somewhere; It is a word "hajb" meaning to cover, to hide. It means "the person who prevents a person from entering a place, the doorman". The ...
'' (chamberlain) of Caliph al-Hakam II between 961 and 971. It was excavated in 1970 by Hernandez Giménez. The decorated portico of the main courtyard has been reconstructed since 1996 under the direction of Antonio Vallejo Triano.
The building consists of three areas which each had their own internal courtyard. The first, the larger southern portion, is believed to have been dedicated to official business and receptions. It was entered from the west and was centered around a square courtyard paved in violet limestone. A second story may have also existed here, as suggested by the presence of a staircase. On the east side of the courtyard is an elaborately decorated portico, reconstructed since 1996, which led to three rectangular receptions rooms on the other side. Behind these rooms were smaller square rooms. One of those rooms included a
latrine
A latrine is a toilet or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a sanitation system. For example, it can be a communal trench in the earth in a camp to be used as emergency sanitation, a hole in the ground (pit latrine), or m ...
, while another gave access to the other parts of the house. These other areas were accessed by passing through a smaller square courtyard in the northeast part of the house which had a circular water basin at its center. On the north side of this courtyard was a private apartment, occupying the northeast corner of the house. On the west side of the courtyard was a larger rectangular courtyard, surrounded by rooms, which served as a service area used by servants and staff. Antonio Vallejo Triano has argued that the plan of the house indicates that it was not a family dwelling but rather designed for a single high-ranking occupant.
The service area
To the north of the House of Ja'far is a complex of rooms and houses which have been classified as a service area, although little is known of how the palace servants were organized. There appear to be two main buildings that make up the complex. The presence of kitchens is indicated by the discovery of stone ovens in some of the rooms. Private latrines have also been discovered in the eastern building, which suggest that it belonged to a higher-status residence within the complex.
Salón Rico (Reception Hall of Abd ar-Rahman III)
![Hall_of_Abd_al-Rahman_III_-_Madinat_al-Zahra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Hall_of_Abd_al-Rahman_III_-_Madinat_al-Zahra.JPG)
The Reception Hall of Abd ar-Rahman III, known by its Spanish name as the ''Salón Rico'' ("Rich Hall"), is the most richly decorated structure discovered at Madinat al-Zahra. It was part of a larger palace complex which was built to the south of the Upper Basilical Hall. Its construction has been dated to between 953 and 957, thanks to several inscriptions found in its decoration. The supervisor of the hall's construction was Abdallah ibn Badr, the
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...
and highest-ranking official under the caliph at that time. The decoration was executed under the supervision of the caliph's eunuch servant Shunaif, although it's unclear if he was also involved in the design of the hall. It was excavated by Rafael Castejón and Félix Hernandez Giménez in 1946 and has since been reconstructed. The hall was fronted by the Upper Garden and by a large water basin, with which it formed a unified design.
The Salón Rico faced south across the gardens and stood on a platform that was elevated above the adjoining walkways. It was accessed via ramps on either side. The building's front façade features an arcade of five arches which was aligned with the water basin in front. The building's interior has a basilical form with some general similarities to the Upper Basilical Hall. Behind the front arcade is a transversal entrance hall, which in turn leads to the central hall. The central hall is 17.5 meters long and 20.4 meters wide and is divided into three naves by two arcades of six horseshoe arches resting on slender columns. The two side naves are 5.9 meters wide while the central nave is slightly wider at 6.5 meters. Each nave can be accessed from the entrance hall at the front through arcades of two or three arches. The back wall is marked with three decorative
blind arches. This central hall is flanked on either side by a square chamber and a rectangular chamber, which were separated from the central hall by solid walls pierced by a single door. Two other doors on either side were later blocked up and turned into decorative niches. The entrance hall to the south is also flanked by square chambers on either side. The building today is covered by sloped wooden roofs built by Félix Hernandez Giménez, but it is not known exactly what kind of roofing or ceiling it originally had.
During audiences the caliph sat at the middle of the back wall, in front of the central blind arch. He would have sat on a
divan
A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan'').
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...
while his brothers and highest officials stood or sat on either side. Other court officials would have been lined up along the arcades on either side of the central hall. The dimensions of the central hall conform to that of an equilateral triangle whose summit is placed at the center of the back wall and whose base corresponds to the total width of the hall. Felix Arnold notes that these proportions are frequently used in Islamic architecture and are also found in the audience hall of one of the Fatimid palaces in
Mahdia
Mahdia ( ar, المهدية ') is a Tunisian coastal city with 62,189 inhabitants, south of Monastir and southeast of Sousse.
Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as w ...
. These proportions had the practical benefit of allowing the caliph sitting at the back of the hall to be able to see the entire width of the hall within his field of vision without having to turn his head.
The central hall is notable for its outstanding ornamentation, which is carved onto stone panels or slabs attached to the surfaces of walls. As a result of this technique, the stone used for the decoration does not correspond to the stone used for the structure of the building itself, which Antonio Vallejo Triano notes is an innovation that treats the carved stone panels like a "skin" for the hall. The carved panels are mostly made of limestone, while the columns are marble and the floor is paved in marble. The ornamentation is generally divided into three zones: the lower parts of the walls are covered with large panels; the middle zone is occupied primarily by the arches of the arcades, which have
voussoirs
A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault.
Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The ...
of alternating colours and motifs, framed by a decorated ''alfiz''; and the upper areas of the walls are covered by horizontal
friezes
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
that run just below the ceiling. In general, the motifs are predominantly vegetal arabesques. The larger lower panels frequently feature elaborate representations of the
tree of life
The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...
, which may draw on models from Abbasid art in the east while adapting them to local Andalusi styles.
On either side of the Salón Rico was a long line of various buildings that ran along the northern edge of the Upper and Lower Gardens. Beneath the buildings on the west side was an underground passage, known today as the Camino de Ronda, which may have served as the substructure for the buildings above and which linked the Salón Rico with the Lower Garden. The structures to the east of the Salón Rico included a large bath complex.
The Upper Garden and the Central Pavilion
![Medinat_al-Zahra_(8176545207)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Medinat_al-Zahra_%288176545207%29.jpg)
The Upper Garden (''Jardín Alto'' in Spanish) stretches out in front of the Salón Rico and occupies an elevated terrace that is 10 meters higher than the surrounding areas on the east, south, and west. The terrace is artificial, though the builders probably used an existing spur of the hills to start. Its walls are reinforced with rectangular buttresses at regular intervals. On its east side was the Lower Garden and on its west side was the Aljama Mosque. The latter was reached via a covered path along the terrace wall, and to the south is another large unexcavated garden. The eastern wall of the terrace is aligned with the portico of Bab al-Sudda while its north and south borders are aligned with those of the older Lower Garden to the east. Although it may have been initially intended to have a perfectly square layout, which would have measured 133 by 133 meters, the western side of the garden was extended on top of the Lower Garden, giving it a final width of 153.5 meters instead. The final width corresponds to the base of an equilateral triangle whose summit could be placed at the center of the Salón Rico's façade, similar to the proportions found inside the caliph's reception hall. Felix Arnold suggests that these dimensions are therefore a deliberate part of the design.
The garden itself was for purely aesthetic purposes. Along with the Lower Garden, it is among the earliest examples of the traditional four-part
Islamic garden
An Islamic garden is generally an expressive estate of land that includes themes of water and shade. Their most identifiable architectural design reflects the ''charbagh'' (or ''chahār bāgh'') quadrilateral layout with four smaller gardens di ...
, also known as ''
chahar bagh'' in the Persian tradition. Around its edge ran a walkway 4 meters wide. Two other walkways split the garden into four quadrants of slightly unequal size (the northern ones being larger). This evidence suggests that the original garden was divided into perfectly equal quadrants but that the east-west path was moved south to its current position in order to accommodate the creation of the Central Pavilion. This change would also explain why the east-west path of the garden is not aligned with the east-west path of the Lower Garden to the east or with the location of a possible pavilion on that side of the garden. The gardens were sunken about 50 to 70 centimeters below the level of the walkways so that the low-growing plants did not impede views. The area has been replanted in modern times, which has impeded
archaeobotanical studies, but there is evidence that herbs and shrubs were originally planted, including: myrtle, lavender,
hackberry, oleander, basil,
alexanders,
jujube
Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae.
Description
It is a smal ...
, and
heather.
At the middle of the garden's northern side is a large water basin measuring 19 by 19 meters and 2 meters deep. The gardens slope gently from north to south so that this water basin could be used to irrigate them. Water channels ran along the walkways to distribute water. To the south of this basin, near the middle of the gardens, was the large "Central Pavilion" whose construction has been dated to 956 or 957. Very little of its remains have been preserved in comparison to other structures like the Salón Rico and as a result it is still being investigated (as of 2018). It consisted of a rectangular building divided into three naves or parallel halls, aligned roughly north-to-south, with its main entrance facing the Salón Rico. The building stood on a platform one meter higher than the surrounding walkways, and on all four sides was a small water basin which rose to the same height as the platform. The water basins may have been designed and placed so that any observer looking out from inside the pavilion would have seen the reflection of the sky in the water, while an observer from outside would have seen the pavilion reflected in the water. Likewise, the placement of the pavilion in relation to the Salón Rico meant that both buildings would have been reflected in the larger northern water basin. These pools of water would have also reflected light into both buildings through their front archways. They might also have given the impression to observers inside them, when looking out, that the buildings were "floating" on water, since every main entrance was fronted by water.
The Lower Garden
![Madinat_al-Zahra_lower_garden_DSCF6763](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Madinat_al-Zahra_lower_garden_DSCF6763.jpg)
The Lower Garden (''Jardin Bajo'' in Spanish) stood on a lower level on the east side of the Upper Garden and south of the Dar al-Mulk. It has not been completely excavated but it is known to have had an equal four-part division much like the Upper Garden's initial design. It was one of the largest in the city and was probably created during the first phase of construction at Madinat al-Zahra, shortly after its foundation. The garden was originally 125 meters long from north to south and 180 meters wide from east to west, but when the Upper Garden was built to the east its width was reduced by 22 meters. It was surrounded by a walkway 4 meters wide, and two more walkways intersected in the middle of the gardens. The gardens in between the walkways were sunken, as with other examples in the city. It is not clear what they were planted with, but limited evidence suggests once again that they were planted with herbs and shrubs similar to those of the Upper Garden, as well as
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
.
At the middle of the garden's eastern edge, along the wall of the Upper Garden, was a rectangular buttress that is much larger than the other buttresses along the Upper Garden wall. At the base of this buttress was a water basin into which water from the Upper Garden probably cascaded from above. A pavilion may have also existed on top of it, with views over the Lower Garden from above, but not enough remains have been preserved to prove this.
Water infrastructure
The palace was built where the 1st century
Roman aqueduct
The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported mining o ...
running from the
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It stretches for 450 kilometres from east to west across the south of the Iberian Peninsula, forming the southern border of the ''Meseta Central'' plateau and providi ...
to Cordoba ran, but this was several metres below the palace, so a new spur was constructed further back to bring permanent running water to the higher levels. In turn, the section of the old Roman aqueduct now diverted was used as a main
sewer for a highly complex system of small channels carrying away rain and waste water. Many food and ceramic remains have been found here. In addition to the aqueducts, several new bridges were built (of which two survive today) in order to serve the new roads between the new palace-city and Cordoba.
Architectural influence and legacy
Artistically, Medina Azahara played a great role in formulating a distinct Andalusian
Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ar ...
(also referred to as
"Moorish" architecture), as well as establishing a more particular "caliphal" style of the 10th century.
The congregational mosque (or Aljama Mosque) of Madinat al-Zahra bears close resemblance to the Great Mosque of Córdoba (at least prior to the latter's expansion by Al-Hakam II), and replicated its rows of double-tiered arches. The
horseshoe arch
The horseshoe arch (; Spanish: "arco de herradura"), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is an emblematic arch of Islamic architecture, especially Moorish architecture. Horseshoe arches can take rounded, pointed or lobed form.
Hi ...
, which had also appeared in the Great Mosque of Cordoba already, became further ubiquitous in Madinat al-Zahra and consolidated its distinctive form: the arch consisted of about three quarters of a circle and was usually contained within a rectangular frame known as an ''
alfiz The alfiz (, from Andalusi Arabic ''alḥíz'', from Standard Arabic ''alḥáyyiz'', meaning 'the container';Al ...
''. The extensive
arabesque
The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...
decoration, carved in
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
across many wall surfaces, demonstrate historic influences from
Sassanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
and Abbasid
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, but also notable differences in its details. The
basilical royal reception hall, as seen in the Salon Rico, is another distinctive creation here which became a distinctive feature of palace architecture in this region, as it contrasted with the
domed and
vaulted
In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...
halls found in the eastern part of the
Islamic world.
The Lower Garden and Upper Garden of Madinat al-Zahra are the earliest archeologically-attested examples of a symmetrically-divided garden in the western Islamic world, and among the earliest examples in the Islamic world more generally. They are also the earliest example in the region to combine such gardens with a system of terraces. This type of garden probably drew its origins from
Persian gardens
The tradition and style of garden design represented by Persian gardens or Iranian gardens ( fa, باغ ایرانی), an example of the paradise garden, has influenced the design of gardens from Andalusia to India and beyond. The gardens of the ...
(''chahar bagh'') that existed far to the east and were imported to the west by Umayyad patrons. Among other things, this eastern Umayyad origin is evidenced by the existence of similar gardens discovered at the palace-villa in Syria known as ''
ar-Rusafa'', which belonged to the reign of
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (early 8th century). Another villa known as ''al-Qasr ar-Rusafa'', built by Abd ar-Rahman I near Cordoba in 777, has not been fully studied but probably also featured gardens and pavilions with elevated views. This suggests that there were precedents for this tradition among the Umayyad emirs of Al-Andalus. Courtyards with symmetrically-divided gardens, later known as
''riyad''s (or ''riad''s), would go on to become a typical feature of later Andalusi palaces, including the
Alhambra, as well as in
Moroccan architecture
Moroccan architecture refers to the architecture characteristic of Morocco throughout its history and up to modern times. The country's diverse geography and long history, marked by successive waves of settlers through both migration and military ...
and beyond.
Archaeology and conservation
Archeological excavations on the site began in 1911 under the direction of Spanish architect
Ricardo Velázquez Bosco
Ricardo Velázquez Bosco (1843–1923) was a Spanish architect, archaeologist and scholar.
Velázquez's most notable architecture was erected in Madrid, buildings such as the Palacio de Cristal and the Palacio de Velázquez (both in the Parqu ...
. Work continued under Félix Hernández Giménez between 1923 and 1936 and between 1943 and 1975, then under Rafael Manzano Martos between 1975 and 1982, under Antonio Vallejo Triano between 1985 and 2013, and under José Escudero Aranda since 2013. The Salon Rico, the most richly decorated building, was excavated by Rafael Castejón and Félix Hernandez Giménez in 1946. Thanks to the partially preserved walls and many preserved fragments of decoration, it was reconstructed under the supervision of Félix Hernandez Giménez. Restoration of the hall's ornamentation continues today.
Excavation and restoration continues, depending upon funding by the Spanish government. In 2020, archaeologists discovered a gateway that marked the eastern entrance to the 10th-century palace and which had been missing for more than a thousand years.
The unexcavated portions of the site, which comprise around 90 percent of its total area, are threatened by the illegal construction of housing. According to a report from the ''New York Times'' in 2005, the local government in Córdoba was not enforcing a law passed in 1995 that expanded protections for the site against development. As a result, construction companies are putting up houses on these unexcavated areas.
Museum
![Madinat Al-Zahra Museum 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Madinat_Al-Zahra_Museum_1.jpg)
A new archeological museum dedicated to Medina Azahara was opened in 2009, located on the edge of the site.
The museum building was built low, with much of the space underground, to minimize disruption to the views of the landscape from the ruins. The museum, which was designed by the firm
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos is an architecture firm, founded in 1984 by Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano with offices in Madrid and, since 2007, in Berlin.
Partners
Fuensanta Nieto (Madrid, Spain, 1957) has worked as an architect since gradu ...
, won the
Aga Khan Award for Architecture
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the field ...
in 2010.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Conjunto Arqueológico de Madinat al-Zahra(virtual tour hosted through Google Arts & Culture)
Al-Andalus: the art of Islamic Spain an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Medina Azahara (see index)
The Art of medieval Spain, A.D. 500-1200 an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Medina Azahara (see index)
Restoration project in the Salón Rico by the World Monuments Fundby Prof. Dodds
{{Authority control
Archaeological sites in Andalusia
Moorish architecture in Spain
Ruins in Spain
Former populated places in Spain
Populated places established in the 10th century
Buildings and structures in the Province of Córdoba (Spain)
Persian gardens in Spain
Tourist attractions in Andalusia
Museums in Andalusia
Archaeological museums in Spain
Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Córdoba (Spain)
Islamic art of Spain
World Heritage Sites in Spain
Architecture of the Caliphate of Córdoba