Medina azahara
Medina Azahara, hispanicization of the name in Arabic, مدينة الزهراء Madīnat al-Zahrā ("the shining city"), was a palatine or aulic city that was ordered to be built in the X century by the first caliph of Córdoba, Abderramán III, about 8 km outside of Córdoba in a northwesterly direction, at the foot of the Sierra Morena.
The main reasons for its construction are of a political-ideological nature: the dignity of caliph requires the foundation of a new city, symbol of his power, in imitation of other eastern caliphates and above all, to show his superiority over his great enemies, the newly established Fatimid Caliphate of Ifriqiya, the northern part of the African continent. In addition to being political opponents, they were also religious opponents, since the Fatimids, Shiites, were enemies of the Umayyads, mainly from the Sunni Islamic branch. Construction began in the years 936-940 and continued through various phases during the reign of him and his eldest son, al-Hakam II (r. 961-976). The new city included a new reception hall (Salón Rico), an aljama mosque, administrative and government offices, aristocratic residences, gardens, a mint, workshops, militarized zones, and Arab baths. The water supply was carried out through aqueducts. However, after the death of al-Hakam II, the new dictator Almanzor (939-1002) moved the administrative center to his own city, Medina Alzahira, and during the al-Andalus civil war, Medina Azahara was destroyed between the years 1010 and 1013, their materials being reused elsewhere.
The ruins of the city began to be excavated professionally in 1911, being declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the Monument category since 1923. Only 10 of the 112 hectares of the city have been excavated, although this area includes the great palaces. The Medina Azahara Museum was inaugurated in October 2009 in the presence of Queen Sofía. On July 1, 2018, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2019, it received more than 285,672 visitors, making it one of the most visited cultural spaces in Andalusia, while in 2020, due to mobility restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, visits were reduced to 87,315 people.
Etymology
Popular legend, documented by historians such as al-Maqqari, held that the etymology of the city, az-Zahra' (or Azahara in Spanish), it came from the favorite concubine of Abderramán III and that there was a sculpture of him at the entrance. Despite the fact that statuary was common in the city, Marianne Barrucand argues that the existence of such a statue would be highly unlikely. On the other hand, Felix Arnold argues for a simpler explanation: that it also meant "the shining city" or "radiant », emulating other Caliphate cities founded by the Abbasids, such as Madinat as-Salam, "the peaceful city", present-day Baghdad; and the Fatimids Madinat al-Qahira, "the victorious city", present-day Cairo. Jonathan Bloom also points to a response to Abder-Rahman's rivals, the Fatimids, because this dynasty declared that they were descended from Muhammad's daughter, Fatima az-Zahra, "the radiant one".
History
Historical context
In 750 the Umayyad dynasty, which had ruled the Islamic world, was overthrown from the Caliphate of Damascus by the Abbasids. Abderramán I the Emigrated, being a surviving member of the Umayyads, fled to Al-Andalus proclaiming the Emirate of Córdoba in 756 independent of the new Abbasid capital, Baghdad. However, Abderramán I never proclaimed himself caliph, an act that one of his successors did carry out, the eighth emir, Abderramán III, in the year 929, after ending the political instability of the emirate (mainly the revolt of Omar ben Hafsún). which entailed the greatest political, social and economic splendor of Muslim Spain, making the city of Córdoba the most advanced in Europe and the astonishment of the world. The creation of the Caliphate of Córdoba meant rising to the status of the Caliphate of Baghdad with all that this entailed, both religious and political. In addition, the proclamation of him as caliph is also explained due to the recent creation of the Fatimid Caliphate in North Africa a few years before (909), who presented a threat to the interests of Córdoba.
Before the creation of Medina Azahara, the residence and center of political power of the Umayyad emirs was located in the Andalusian Alcázar, in the heart of Córdoba, opposite the Great Aljama Mosque. Many scholars highlight the motivation for the new Caliphate city as a reflection of Abderramán III's new status and greatness around his caliphate. The creation of these palatial cities also has precedents among the Abbasid and Fatimid caliphs who built this type of city for themselves. After the failed attempt to build al-Madina, in the year 936 he ordered the construction of the lavish Medina Azahara along to the capital, Córdoba. Arising from nowhere, the royal city concentrates all the political power of the caliphate.
Foundation of the city
Although the origin of the city is not without legendary elements, it is known that construction began at the end of the year 936 and continued for the next forty, reaching the times of his son and successor in the caliphate, al-Hakam II. The 16th century historian al-Maqqari names Maslama ibn 'Abdallah as the city alarife, although he does not it is clear how relevant his role was or what percentage of plans he designed. The larger buildings did not begin construction until 940, and the evidence suggests that it was done in phases, with the whole overall project being modified while the work was being carried out. The aljama mosque was consecrated in 941, while in 945 the court was moved to the city and a year later the road between the new city and Córdoba was paved. Finally, in 947 the state apparatus was transferred from Córdoba, including the mint or mint (dar al-sikka). However, the construction of the city continued throughout the reign of Abderramán III, until 961, and even part of the reign of his son Al-Hakam II (961-76). Likewise, some high-ranking officials also participated in the construction projects.
The city was completely surrounded by a wall lined with towers. However, there is evidence that only the palaces were protected by a wall at the beginning and that the perimeter wall of the city was added after the arrival of inhabitants outside from the aulic area. Abderramán III also ordered to obtain or import ancient marble columns from other places, to be used as carrying material. Likewise, al-Hakam II moved ancient statues and sarcophagi to decorate the rooms.
Some structures that have been excavated and identified from the archaeological site were built on top of earlier ones that appear to belong to a phase after the initial construction of the city. The areas currently known as Casa de Yafar and Casa de los Pilares are built on two or three small structures that occupied the same spaces. In addition to being larger in size, they present very different characteristics, such as a semi-basilical plan in the Casa de Yafar and a patio surrounded by a porticoed gallery in the Casa de los Pilares. Antonio Vallejo Triano, who has directed archaeological work in the area between 1985 and 2013, has dated the Casa de los Pilares from the 950s. Similarly, it is believed that the Upper Basilica Hall, also known as dar al -yund ("army house"), belongs to this chronology. The construction of the Rico Hall or Abderramán III reception hall has been dated between the years 953 and 957 thanks to the inscriptions found in its decoration. The supervision of this hall was entrusted to Abdallah ibn Badr, the vizier and high-ranking official of the caliph at that time. The decoration was executed under the control of the eunuch of the caliph Shunaif, although it is unknown if he was involved in the design of the Rich Hall.
Based on the evidence of these constructions, Vallejo Triano notes that a significant remodeling of the palace complex took place in the 1950s. This change produced larger, more monumental buildings that made use of porticos, arcades, and other basilica designs. These structures were often built on previous and more modest ones, so they were designed to increase the caliph's ostentation through the architecture of his city. Vallejo Triano argues that this period would also coincide with a state reorganization by Abderramán III in 955, evidenced by historical sources such as Ibn Idhari. Abderramán would also be finding out about the rich palaces and elaborate ceremonies at the court of the new Fatimid capital, Mahdia., and the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. For example, some of Abderramán's emissaries to the Byzantine emperor brought gilded bronze sculptures, marble fountains decorated with animal figures, and other architectural decorative elements. This growing concern for other imperial courts and Abder-Rahman's desire to be equal to them explains this increase in the complexity of the ceremonies and protocols of the caliph's court at this time, to which historical sources attribute great importance, together with a increase in the architecture of new buildings.
Vallejo Triano also clarifies that the construction of the Casa de Yafar took place later than the 950s because its decoration seems to be more advanced. This hypothesis reinforces a previous one by the architect Félix Hernández Giménez who indicated that this residence was built for Jafar al-Siqlabi, hayib of al-Hakam II between 961 and 971, to whom it is named. Likewise, this would be the only large structure in Medina Azahara built during the reign of al-Hakam II.
Life and Government in the Palace City
The palaces housed those close to the caliph, including a large number of concubines. Residents had at their disposal a large group of slaves, including eunuchs, most of European origin. The city also contained an audience hall (the Rich Hall), government buildings, craft workshops producing luxury goods, the housing for high-ranking officials and, in the lower levels of the city, markets and residential districts for workers. The city had a manager, a judge, and a chief of the guard. Hakam II, there was a library which, according to some sources, led to housing hundreds of thousands of volumes written in Arabic, Greek and Latin. The aljama mosque and other neighborhood mosques provided a religious service.
The palaces were furnished with silks, tapestries and other objects considered luxury. Many of these artifacts were made in official workshops and delivered as gifts and have ended up in museum collections and Christian cathedrals. Some historians describe these palaces in their chronicles, such as al-Maqqari, who writes of a vaulted room in the palace which contained a pool of liquid mercury that reflected light and produced a sensation of movement due to solar waves, although this location has not been evidenced by archaeologists.
The new caliphate also developed a growing culture around court etiquette and the figure of the caliph. Lavish festivities and receptions were held to impress the foreign ambassadors. In fact, the organization of the city seems to include a specific path for these foreign dignitaries to follow to the caliph's audience hall, which was preceded by gardens and fountains with views towards the rest of the city and the valley below. The Caliph himself was shown sitting at the back of the audience chamber, surrounded by courtiers and officials, with architecture designed to emphasize his position. Despite the fact that the The caliph was increasingly distant in this type of act, these protocols did not evolve to the point of not showing themselves in public, as the Fatimids did in Africa, whose caliphs remained hidden behind a veil.
Various members of the caliph's family, or even the enriched elite, built their own villas and palaces in rural areas around Córdoba during this period of prosperity in the 20th century X. This tradition existed from the first moments of the emirate and possibly had its origin in the ancient Roman villas. In fact, the caliph sometimes ordered certain family members to occupy these villas in order to distance them from the central power of Medina Azahara, guaranteeing them a generous salary so that they would not cause any trouble.
The Medina Alzahira de Almanzor
When al-Hakam II died in 976, he was succeeded by his son Hisham II, who was a minority and had no political experience. Consequently, political power was assumed de facto by Ibn Abi Amir, who managed to appropriate the offices of hayib and vizier, and adopted the royal title of Almanzor, "the victorious". In 978 or 979, having secured state control, he ordered the construction of a new palace whose remains have never been found. In fact, it is speculated that it could be found to the east of Córdoba and that it would rival Medina Azahara, acquiring a very similar name: Medina Alzahira, which was built in just two years. Almanzor moved the seat of power away from the old Umayyad palaces and confined the young Caliph Hisham II to the old Andalusian Alcázar in Córdoba.
Destruction and abandonment
After Almanzor's death in 1002, his eldest son Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar succeeded him in power. When al-Muzaffar died in 1008, his brother Abderramán, also known as Sanchuelo, came to power. Sanchuelo did not have the political prowess of his father and his brother, and attempted to wrest the title of caliph from Hisham II, an event that aroused strong opposition. In an attempt to avoid this controversy, he at once marched on a military campaign against the Christian kingdoms to the north; when he crossed the border of the Christian kingdoms in February 1009, his opponents entered the old fortress and forced Hisham II to abdicate in favor of another member of the Umayyad dynasty, Muhammad. At the same time, in Medina Alzahira, the palace built by Almanzor, whose archaeological remains have not been located to this day, as a seat of power, was looted and destroyed.
The following years were chaotic and resulted in major violent confrontations and regime changes between different factions, known as the Fitna of al-Andalus. Some eighty years after the founding of the city, this entire monumental and lavish complex was reduced to an immense field of ruins, as it was destroyed and looted by the Berbers between 1010 and 1013 as a result of the civil war (or fitna) that put end to the Caliphate of Córdoba. After the fall of the Caliphate that brought its destruction, the looting and dismantling of the palatine city continued in successive centuries, as it was used as an artificial quarry for the construction of other later buildings in the city of Córdoba, progressively falling into oblivion until disappeared, at an imprecise date, from the collective ideology. The archaeological remains were not identified again until the XIX century and the excavations began in 1911.
Born in Medina Azahara
Despite its short period of existence, Medina Azahara saw the birth of some illustrious characters of the time:
- Abulcasis, known for being considered the father of modern surgery.
- Lubna de Córdoba, poetess and Andalusian intellectual.
Rediscovery and excavations
Before the rediscovery of Madínat al-Zahra, the hillside where the site is located was known as Córdoba la Vieja, since during the Middle Ages it was thought that the first Roman Córdoba rose on this point, erected quickly and semi-provisionally by the praetor Claudio Marcelo and that, later, and for health reasons, would move to the banks of the Guadalquivir. The reason for this original belief about a founding Córdoba was due to the large number of architectural pieces scattered around the hillside, remains that multiplied without ceasing just by lifting a foot of earth.
It would be from the XVI century, in full renaissance, when humanists began to discuss the true origin of the known as Córdoba la Vieja, although it was not until the XVII century when Pedro Díaz de Rivas intuited that on current Córdoba were too many Roman remains when they proceeded to maneuver on some terrain, which evidenced their Latin origin, and that therefore, what was really under the ground of what they called Córdoba la Vieja was not a Roman city, but the Muslim castle of Abderramán III. Despite this intelligent evidence, the debate was not over. In recent years, the Medina Azahara site has been subjected to intense restoration work that is intended, despite the large losses of materials by medieval looters (the so-called Medina Azahara Arch currently preserved in the Diocesan Museum of Tarragona), to restore the lost splendor with which it astonished all those who visited it during the Middle Ages, when Medina Azahara was the seat of one of the most important government centers in the world.
20th century
It would not be until the early years of the XX century, specifically in 1911, during the reign of Alfonso XIII, when the The first excavations officially began, clearing up any doubts about what lay under the ground, if there was still any. From this moment on, and until the long break produced by the Civil War, the excavations were carried out regularly. Work began at the points where the ruins were most evident, which was understood as the central axis of the Caliphate complex. From this moment until the death in 1923 of Ricardo Velázquez Bosco, the architect responsible for the excavation, excavations were made consisting of parallel trenches from north to south to delimit the perimeter of the city, an ambitious goal that was not achieved. In February 1939, already at the end of the war, the Republican aviation detected the use of a part of Córdoba la Vieja (known as Suerte Chica) as a Francoist concentration camp; It operated until the end of November 1939 and came to congregate some 4,000 prisoners, since then the area has been renamed by the locals as Suerte de los Prisioneros. As of 1944, after the end of the war, the archaeological campaigns are resumed after a few years of hiatus, highlighting those carried out by the architect Félix Hernández who excavated the central part of the fortress with an area of about 10.5 hectares, defining the basic lines of the palace's urban planning and tackling, also, important restorations such as those carried out in the Rico Hall of Abderramán III. In 1985, after the creation of the autonomies a few years earlier, the management of the site passed into the hands of the Junta de Andalucía, an organization that from then on would be in charge of continuing with the excavation and recovery work.
21st century
Currently, only 10% of the total intramural surface of the city has been excavated, corresponding to the central nucleus of the fortress, although the latest excavation work carried out at the site in recent years is focusing for the first time on areas not corresponding to the palace complex. Specifically, the new archaeological campaigns that began in April 2007 have been followed by new discoveries that have made us reconsider the dimensions of the complex, focusing especially on the southern sector of the city walls, a point where they are appearing the most important discoveries of the last decades. Thus, campaign after campaign, the new morphology and conception of the city gradually changed. In November 2007 an exceptional find appeared, a mosque located more than a kilometer from the noble area of the city, later an impressive Islamic road was located, the only one of its kind in Spain, as well as the plants of what is they intuit as neighborhoods of houses destined for the popular class, next to which innumerable fragments of ceramic remains of daily use were found. They are also trying to find out, as rigorously as possible, the true extension of the city, an extension that is intuited but that specialists want to close, through these investigations, definitively.
Restoration campaigns (2001-2004)
Among the most outstanding interventions in the complex, those carried out on the so-called area of the fortress stand out. Jafar's house, where the caliph's prime minister is believed to have lived, was one of the most successful comprehensive restorations that have been carried out at the site. The delimitation of the house was carried out after doing an exhaustive investigation on the marble, where more than 200 paving slabs, wall paintings, a font and above all, the monumental doorway were recovered. Intervention was also made on the so-called Casa de la Alberca, where it is believed that the crown prince's rooms could have been, and where the bathroom has been studied with great precision with a view to future restoration.
Restoration of the Rico Hall (since 2009)
_1.JPG)
The planned interventions in Salón Rico consist of three phases. The first phase was awarded by the Junta de Andalucía to the company Estudio Métodos de la Restauración S.L. with a budget of 1,099,400 euros. This first phase began in February 2009, the date on which the entrance to the public was closed. The objective of it was to solve the building's humidity problem, which had already been tried to be solved in 2001 with the glazing of the access archway. Also included in this phase was the replacement of the cement floor with one of marble, from the quarry of Estremoz (Portugal) as it was originally. This phase was suspended due to irregularities in the awarding of the works.
In December 2009, the recovery of the pool located in front of the hall began, which, once its restoration was completed six months later, the so characteristic Andalusian sheet of water was added, thus recovering the first hydraulic complex of the palatine city.
In March 2014, the second phase began, without having carried out the first, with the aim of cataloging, cleaning and consolidating the more than 5,000 atauriques for their subsequent replacement on the walls in their original positions. The World Monuments Fund was going to contribute 600,000 euros to undertake these works. However, this phase was paralyzed until December 30, 2020, when the Ministry of Culture and Historical Heritage of the Junta de Andalucía announced the start of the works of the main façade of the Salón Rico, once the agreement with the World Monuments Fund, whose financing amounts to a value of 125,000 euros has been "unblocked" by this private organization. It is believed that this restoration will conclude at the end of 2022.
Geography
It is located about 8 kilometers west of Córdoba, in the last foothills of the Sierra Morena, on the slopes of the Yabal al-Arus, facing the Guadalquivir valley and oriented from north to south, on a spur of the mountains, between two ravines, which goes into the countryside that is Medina Azahara or Madínat al-Zahra. It has been described as the Versailles of the Middle Ages. It was chosen for the extraordinary values of the landscape, allowing the development of a program of hierarchical constructions, in such a way that the city and the extended plain at its feet were physically and visually dominated by the buildings of the fortress. Its implantation in the territory generated a road network and hydraulic and supply infrastructures for its construction, partly preserved until today in the form of remains of roads, quarries, aqueducts, almunias and bridges.
Perfectly taking advantage of the unevenness of the terrain, the palatial city of Medina Azahara was distributed in three terraces; the city enclosure adopts a rectangular layout, as opposed to the labyrinthine and chaotic idea characteristic of Muslim urbanism. With a side of 1,500 m in an east-west direction and about 750 m from north to south, it is only deformed on the north side due to the need to adapt to the difficult topography of the terrain. The topography played a determining role in the configuration of the city. Its location on the slopes of Sierra Morena made it possible to design an urban program, in which the location and the physical relationship between the different constructions were expressive of the role of each one of them in the complex of which they are a part: The palace is located in the highest part, staggering its buildings along the mountainside, in a situation of clear pre-eminence over the urban hamlet and the aljama mosque, spread across the plain.
Following the arrangement in terraces, we find that the first corresponds to the residential area of the caliph, followed by the official area (Casa del Ejército, guardhouse, Salón Rico, administrative offices, gardens...) to finally house the the city itself (homes, artisans...) and the aljama mosque, separated from the two previous terraces by another specific wall to isolate the palatine complex. The investigation has revealed an urban morphology characterized by the existence of large unbuilt areas, voids that correspond to the entire southern front of the fortress, thus guaranteeing its isolation and maintaining its visual opening on the countryside, creating an idyllic landscape. and landscaped with flowerbeds, as described by the Cordovan poet Ibn Zaydun. In fact, the only spaces built on this lower level are two wide extreme strips: the western one, with an orthogonal urban layout, and the eastern one, with a less rigid urban planning.
Architecture
Due to the topography of the ground, which is sloping, the city was built on three superimposed terraces, which corresponded to three parts of the city separated by walls. The caliphal residence dominated the entire area from the upper terrace located to the north. The middle esplanade housed the administration and the homes of the most important officials of the court. The lower one was intended for the common people and the soldiers, there were the mosque, the markets, the baths and also the public gardens.
_(cropped).jpg)
There is also a notable separation between public and private spaces, even though both sectors offer a similar scheme: an open space, porticoed, acts as a monumental front for a small-sized door where a street or corridor begins broken that is reaching the different classrooms. The most dazzling spaces are those integrated into the official area, intended for political activity and the reception of foreign personalities, especially the Ambassadors' Rooms, which are two: the Western Room and the Eastern Room, both associated with their corresponding gardens.
Great Portico
The Great Portico was the eastern entrance to the fortress enclosure, located in front of the parade ground. Originally it consisted of fifteen arches, the central arch being a horseshoe arch and the other fourteen arches inset. Later it was remodeled, removing several of the northernmost arches of the portico. The portico had approximate dimensions of 111.27 meters long, 2.92 meters wide and 9.46 meters high.
Central arch in horseshoe.
Scarce side arch.
General view of the portico.
.JPG)
.JPG)
_5.JPG)
Upper Garden and Lower Garden
The fortress of Medina Azahara has two landscaped enclosures with an axial planimetry and adjacent to each other, called the Upper Garden and the Lower Garden. The easternmost one, the Jardín Alto, is located just in front of and at the same height as the Salón Rico. In its center is a building known as the Central Pavilion, which is surrounded by four pools for both decorative and functional use for watering the gardens. This garden is surrounded by walls on its eastern, southern and western sides. Adjacent to said western wall but at a height several meters lower is the Lower Garden, which has not yet been fully excavated.
High Garden.
North pool of the Alto Garden.
.jpg)
North Gate
The North gate opens in the center of the northern wall, it is the arrival point of the so-called Camino de los Nogales, the communication route with the city of Córdoba in the Caliphate era. The door has an angled arrangement to facilitate its defense, to which was added the cabin of the guardhouse from where access was controlled. The north gate, as well as the rest of the wall, is made up of well-formed stone ashlars placed by rope and brand.
Upper basilica building
The function of this building is unclear, which is why it is called by many names: military or army house (Dar al-Jund), house of the viziers (Dar al- Wuzara) or, more generically, upper basilica building. This building, located in the eastern part of the fortress, has a basilica plan made up of five naves, plus a sixth nave perpendicular to the previous ones on its south side.
The floor of the enclosure, which is still preserved, was made of brick. The walls were painted white and the plinth in red, both colors being also used in the decoration of the arches. The columns alternate colored shafts red and gray, with the blue ones crowned by wasp's nest capitals and the red ones with composite capitals.
Hall of Abd al-Rahman III or Rico Hall
.jpg)
The so-called Hall of Abd al-Rahman III, Oriental Hall or simply Rico Hall constitutes the most valuable part of the entire archaeological complex, both for its artistic quality and for its historical importance, being considered without any discussion the authentic symbol and emblem of the entire caliph ensemble of Madīnat al-Zahra.
Nowadays, no one doubts that this hall was the central axis of the palatial enclosure, considered unanimously among specialists as the hall of the great palatine ceremonies, parties, ceremonies, reception of foreign ambassadors and throne room, for Therefore, the sumptuousness and richness of its decoration should not surprise us, from which it has derived the name of rich room. Abd al-Rahman III, a lover of court pageantry, liked to impress his visitors, whom he generally received here, which is why the luxury and virtuosity of Caliphate art reach their culminating point in these rooms.
The construction of the hall lasted only three years, as researchers have been able to find out from the epigraphic inscriptions that appeared on the bases and pilasters inside, which give us a chronology that goes from the year 953 to the year 957. For On the other hand, the chronological brevity and the ephemeral life of Madīnat al-Zahra assure us, however, that we are in the presence of a very unitary decorative and architectural ensemble, which allows us to admire in this room, without later additions, the Caliphate art Umayyad of the reign of Abd al-Rahman III in all its splendor.
The rich room is not exactly a single open-plan space, as its name might lead us to believe, but in reality it is a set of compartmentalized spaces and rooms, all of which together form the morphology of a single hall divided by arcades. Structurally, the room has a basilica floor plan with three longitudinal naves with another transversal one at its entrance that serves as a portico, with external measurements of 38 × 28 meters. The heads of these three longitudinal naves appear topped by blind horseshoe arches, in one of which, the central one, it is assumed that the throne would be located from where the caliph directed the palatal ceremonial. The central axis of the complex is the longitudinal central nave, separated from the remaining lateral naves by a set of six horseshoe arches on both sides, while from the transversal one, it is separated by three horseshoe arches. Next to these three central naves and in parallel, flanking both sides, are two outer naves divided into three chambers of unequal size.
If the Salón Rico stands out for something, as we have already said, it is because of its lavish decoration. In the first place, it is necessary to highlight the constant use of the Caliphate horseshoe arch with bicolor polychrome and with the so characteristic alternation of voussoirs in reddish and flesh tones from the original sandy stone used for construction, very similar to those existing in the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba. The arches are in turn supported by top-quality marble columns that alternate pink tones with light blue, thus producing a curious play of colors. The shafts of the columns appear topped by the characteristic wasp nest capitals.
The rest of the wall surface was completely covered with fine decorative panels carved in marble. The theme chosen for the panels had a high level of cosmological symbolism, something very much in keeping with the wooden roof that covered the room, where the stars were represented in a clear allusion to the firmament. The motif carved on the panels represented the tree of life, a motif exported from the Old East. The boards were executed symmetrically on an axis. On the other hand, the vertically cut relief gave the decoration an abstract graphic quality, while the internal decoration, also hard cut, was made up of facets and leaf buds, as well as flower calyxes, which are very typical motifs. of Emiral and Caliphate art.
Aljama Mosque
The aljama mosque is located outside the walled enclosure, located to the east of the Jardín Alto. According to different sources, its construction was carried out between the years 941 and 945.
The building is rectangular in plan, approximately 25 meters long and 18 meters wide. The temple, unlike the Mosque of Córdoba, was built facing Mecca. Its plant is divided into two main parts, the prayer room and the ablutions patio. The prayer hall consists of five longitudinal naves, separated by arches each formed by eight horseshoe arches perpendicular to the qibla wall. The ablutions courtyard is porticoed on three sides. The minaret has a square floor plan seen from the outside and an octagonal floor plan inside, located next to the north door that gives access to the patio.
Pool House
.jpg)
The pool house is located west of Ya'far's house and south of the Patio de los Pilares. The core of the building is a central courtyard with a pool, which gives the building its name. Two of the arches that overlooked the courtyard have survived, each made up of three horseshoe arches that were profusely decorated with atauriques. The gardens they were decorated with low plants such as lavender, oleander, myrtle, basil and celery.
The house would have been built during the first years of Medina Azahara, although some areas were later modified, such as the red-orange-painted mortar floor that was replaced by white marble. Antonio Vallejo Triano has proposed this house as the residence of al-Hakam II before his appointment as caliph in the year 961. The house was excavated by Félix Hernández Jiménez and Rafael Manzano Martos between 1975 and 1982 and continues to be the subject of research.
Its access was through a door in the north that led directly to the patio. Behind the eastern rooms was a private bath or hammam, about 80 square meters, which housed three rooms that decreased in size, heated thanks to a hypocaust under its marble pavement. Jafar al-Siqlabi, whose dwelling adjoins the hammam, added marble decoration to the bath in 961-62.
Rahman's House
Rahman's great house was in the west of Córdoba. The structure of the house consists of a closed patio surrounded by corridors and huge rooms for different events. In the central courtyard, large parties were held and people from the area came. It was built in 972. This is the house we have the least information about because it is the one with the fewest remains of all the houses in Medina Azahara.
Jafar's House
The enormous Casa de Jafar was built on top of three previous houses. It is located between the Patio de los Pilares to the northwest and the Salón Rico to the southeast. Its most evolved decoration dates from its construction after the year 961, during the reign of al-Hakam II, which has led several researchers to support the thesis of Félix Hernández Giménez that the house was owned by Yafar al- Siqlabi, also known as Ya'far ibn Abd al-Rahmán, appointed háyib (prime minister) between 961 and 971. Excavation began by Félix Hernández between 1970 and 1975, while the portal began to be reconstructed since 1996 with their respective atauriques, although the house was not opened to the public until 2004, this restoration winning the Europa Nostra prize after the placement of 120 marble slabs and 50 purple limestone.
Its structure is articulated around three spatial areas, organized around their corresponding patios, all of them of different character: one public, one intimate and another for service. The official space is constituted by a building with a plant similar to the basilica, which has three longitudinal naves that communicate with each other through doors topped by horseshoe arches, as well as a transversal nave open to the patio, where the existing correspondence between the longitudinal naves and the façade is interrupted, in order to adapt the latter to the space created by the construction of an adjoining bathroom. The façade is organized by means of a triple horseshoe arch supported by columns. As for the decoration of the building, it was paved with thick white marble slabs, except in the patio, where purple limestone stones were used; In addition, the ataurique decoration of the façade with a vegetal and geometric theme stands out, which is also present in the communication opening of the transversal and central nave, which has two panels on the fronts and the jambs of the opening. It probably had a second floor, as evidenced by some preserved stairs. The private space is occupied by a private house, with a large rectangular patio, surrounded by rooms, which belong to the service space of the servants and slaves. Antonio Vallejo Triano declares that the distribution of the house indicates that it was not a family home, but a building for a person of high rank.
Royal House
.jpg)
The Royal House or Dar al-Mulk, is located on the highest terrace of the fortress, receiving this name since it was the residence of Caliph Abderramán III, founder of the city. It housed a private bath or hammam for the caliph, which was destroyed after the year 961, when historical sources indicate that its use changed as a teaching area for Prince Hisham, the future successor of al-Hakam II. It was the first complex in to be excavated in 1911.
The building is mainly made up of three parallel bays and a front part in its southern part, not currently preserved, which had a staircase located at each end to allow people to go down to the lower terrace of the fortress. Despite the looting suffered, the abundant stone decoration with atauriques on its walls is still preserved, as well as the terracotta flooring. The caliph would have enjoyed privileged views from the viewpoint of his residence, just as it is believed that it also existed in the Umayyad Alcázar of Córdoba and in the almunia de al-Rusafa on the outskirts of the city.
Road network
After the foundation of Madínat al-Zahra and as a consequence of it, a series of achievements were carried out that will provide the new city with its own and independent road network. They are centered in the western territory of Córdoba, and are:
- Camino de las Almunias: A direct road between Cordoba and Madinat al-Zahra that, in turn, also communicates the palatial city with the road of Seville along the north bank of Guadalquivir (Cañada Real Soriana and Camino Viejo de Almodóvar), and with the routes that from the bridge door leave to the south, east and west.
- Middle Ladera Road: A direct and independent link of Medina Azahara with the path Córdoba-Badajoz (Yadda). A stretch of about 1 km is preserved, with a road width of between 4 and 7 meters.
- Camino de los Nogales-Carril de los Toros: A link of Madinat al-Zahra with the main routes to the east (Mérida, Toledo and Zaragoza) without passing through Córdoba.
- West Way: A secondary road that unites Madinat al-Zahra with the main alms of the west, such as the Alamiriya commune.
Mobile art
Madinat al-Zahra is not just architecture, but also housed, in its moments of greatest splendor, an exquisite collection of furniture art in the form of small-format pieces. Currently, most of the pieces are scattered around collections and museums around the world, since their beauty and exoticism make them highly coveted by collectors. Some of the most famous and representative examples of decorative arts from the Caliphate city are exhibited here below.
Madinat al-Zahra fawns
As described by the chronicler Ambrosio de Morales, in the XVI century, the monks of the nearby monastery of San Jerónimo de Valparaíso found the Cervatillo de Medina Azahara and its female twin inside a marble basin, two bronze sculptures that functioned as water fountains. While the Cervatillo remained in the monastery, it did not leave Córdoba and finally ended up in the Archaeological Museum of Córdoba, where it is currently exhibited; her female counterpart ended up in the monastery of Guadalupe, where she was looted during the French invasion of Spain and disappeared for almost two centuries until she reappeared at auction in 1997 at Sotheby's, being acquired by an anonymous person for 3.3 million of sterling pounds. Shortly after, she was transferred to the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, in Qatar, where she is currently.
Similarly, in 1940 the Cierva de Medina Azahara appeared, although near the Almodóvar gate in Córdoba. Although it appeared in a very different context, during sewerage works for a house, it is almost certain that they were carried out in the same workshop or in the same geographical area. This Cierva ended up being acquired by the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid, where it is exhibited today.
Madinat al-Zahra zoomorphic ceramics
This curious piece, which according to the researchers formed part of the gala tableware of one of the palatial ensembles in the city of Medina Azahara, was acquired by the Spanish State on behalf of the Junta de Andalucía in April 2003 after the disbursement of an amount of 220,000 euros to a London auction house. Due to its morphological features, experts have intuited that this piece of small proportions could perhaps be a giraffe. Regarding its specific use, it is thought that it could be used to pour some type of liquid. The decoration is made of white glaze, as well as small fragments of green and manganese. Regarding its chronology, almost all experts date it to the central years of the X century.
The Louvre Ewer
It is a zoomorphic piece that must have left Spain after the French looting during the War of Independence, and is currently in the windows of the Louvre museum in Paris, where it is one of the stars of the Islamic antiquities rooms. It is an ewer in which the figure of a peacock can be distinguished without any doubt. About the use of this piece, as its name indicates, it was a container for storing water for the subsequent washing of hands. It presents the curiosity of containing on its surface a bilingual inscription (in Arabic and Latin) that indicates the name of the artist and the date of its execution, so we can date the piece without any problems in the year 972.
Another important object found was the inscribed ivory box called the Al-Mughira pyx, which is also kept in the Louvre Museum.
Museum
On October 9, 2009, Queen Sofía of Greece inaugurated the Medina Azahara Museum, with which it is intended to provide the site with services commensurate with its historical-artistic importance. This modern infrastructure, dependent on the Council of Culture and Sport of the Junta de Andalucía, is located in the vicinity of the site and consists of a three-story building, two of which are underground.
The center has more than 7,700 square meters of parking and a garden area; inside there is room for uses as diverse as the reception of visitors, the restoration of archaeological pieces, an auditorium, adequate spaces for the storage of archaeological remains of the complex itself, historical-artistic research offices, a library for scholars, a cafeteria, a book store related to the site and Muslim art, and an exhibition area where the most spectacular pieces from the site are exhibited, after many of them, such as the famous fawn from Medina Azahara, have been transferred from the Archaeological Museum of Cordova. In 2010, this Madinat al-Zahra Museum was awarded the Aga Khan Architecture Award, a prestigious international award given to the main architectural, urban or landscape projects in the Muslim world, or related to it. This museum was designed by the architects Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano.
In May 2012, it was awarded the "European Museum of the Year" by the European Forum of Museums. This award recognizes every year the new museums that have made advances and innovations in the field of museums. The award-winning museum houses Henry Moore's statue 'The Egg' for one year, symbolizing the award.
Contenido relacionado
Mudejar art
Horus Scorpion II
Paradores of Tourism of Spain