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Notes on Ummayad

architecture in Crdoba

J B C D

PRASA Museum, Torrecampo

After conquering much of the Iberian Peninsula in 711,a conglomerate formed mainly by Arabs and Berberserected a new political edifice and a new culture inwhat had formerly been Hispania. In doing so, theydrew on two fundamental supports: the traditionthey had brought with them from Damascus, and theHispanic-Roman-Gothic substrate they had foundon arrival. It was this fortunate twofold influence thatshaped the political and administrative system, theuse of economic resources, social relationships andAndalus culture.

ese twin pillars the Islamic culture of the East andthe Hispanic cultural substrate also underpinnedthe architecture of al-Andalus. e traditionalprayer hall in Crdoba, modeled on the prayer-roomused by the Prophet in Medina, was erected usingdesigns and even materials from earlier Roman andVisigothic buildings. Similarly, the builders of housesand palaces in al-Andalus embellished their Eastern,Islamic designs with novelties found in the domusy villaeof the old Roman province of Baetica. Two

major architectural complexes the Great Mosqueand the palatine city of Madinat al-Zahra and awhole series of architectural elements scatteredaround present-day Crdoba provide us with valuable

information not only on urban planning, art andarchitecture, but also on al-Andalus as a key Islamicstate in the West.e Great Mosque of Crdoba was erected in theeight century, under Abd al-Rahman I, on the siteof the former Christian basilica of St Vincent. It wasextended three times during the ninth and tenthcenturies, and the resulting edifice offers us a superbopportunity to chart the development of Ummayadarchitecture in Crdoba.Having declared al-Andalus an Independent Emiratein 756, Abd al-Rahman I needed to undertake alarge-scale building program that would give publicexpression to the political change. To this end, in785-786 work began on the Great Mosque, whichwas to be erected by extending the earlier ChristianBasilica of St Vincent. Since al-Andalus had not yetdeveloped its own clearly-defined architectural

style, the first requirement was to build a roofedprayer-room preceded by a courtyard which wouldhouse the minaret, i.e. the tower from which themuezzin calls the faithful to prayer. ese threeelements intended to emulate the prayer-roomin Muhammads home at Medina had becomecompulsory features of all mosques. Making use ofbuilding materials and architectural solutions fromthe citys Roman and Visigothic past, a complexarcade system was erected comprising horseshoearches supported by columns; above these arches, a

second tier of pillars supported a row of semicirculararches. e double-arch system ensured that theceiling would be high enough to suit the proportions

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of the ground-plan. e arcades divide the internalspace into nine naves running perpendicular to theqiblawall.By the time Abd al-Rahman II came to powerfifty years later, the state of al-Andalushad beenweakened by regional tensions and an internalpolitical and administrative crisis. e new Emirembarked on an ambitious program aimed at trans-forming the State. Again, the public face of thisradical overhaul was to be in the form of buildingwork: the enlargement of the Aljama Mosque.Between 833 and 848, the qiblawall was demolishedand the prayer-hall was extended southwards.e next major political change in al-Andalus, theproclamation of Abd al-Rahman III as Emir of theBelievers (heralding the creation of the Caliphate in929), was also to be given material form throughmajor public works. is time, however, the Emir

focused not primarily on the Mosque but on theconstruction of a whole new palatine city: Madinatal-Zahra. Even so, the courtyard of the GreatMosque was enlarged, and a new minaret was built;it has survived to this day, though within a laterRenaissance tower designed by Hernn Ruiz II. Itwas left to Abd al-Rahmans successor al-HakamII to undertake a new expansion of the Mosque (in964); theqiblawall was again demolished, allowingthe prayer-hall to be extended almost to the banksof the River Guadalquivir. Later, in a bid to increase

his popular support, Almanzor the prime ministerof the third Caliph Hisham II commissioned thefinal extension of the Mosque, adding new naves to

the East because he could not extend further in thedirection of the river.e Mosque as we know it today is the result of thislong building process. is exceptional architecturalspace was also to serve as the model for a numberof Andalus buildings: for example, a ninth-centurymosque that was later turned into the Church ofSantiago, although the old minaret survives insidethe building; a minaret built in the late ninth or earlytenth century that subsequently became the tower ofthe Church of San Juan de los Caballeros; and finally,a minaret erected in the reign of Almanzor whichstill forms part of the Convent of Santa Clara. Writtensources also refer to numerous district mosques builtduring the Caliphate, of which remains have beenexcavated, for example at the El Fontanar SportsComplex and the new bus station. Finally, the samemodel was used for the construction of the Great

Mosque at Madinat al-Zahra.All these buildings contain architectural anddecorative features clearly influenced by the greatMosque of Crdoba. Perhaps the most significanthallmark feature is the horseshoe arch echoingthe Visigothic style with its alternating stoneand brick voussoirs. On interior facades anddecorative screens, the horseshoe arch is usuallyenclosed by a rectangular molding known as alfiz.e most widespread decorative features tend tobe geometrical or plant motifs, and inscriptions;

figurative decoration, however, was reserved for theprivate apartments of a palace. All these elements,together with the Syrian merlons crowning the

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exterior facades, and the scroll modillions themoldings used to bridge the difference in widthbetween the lower tier arches and the pillarssupporting the higher tier arches were to haveimmense influence on later buildings.Opposite the Great Mosque stood the Alczar, orfortress, the official residence of the Emirs of Crdobaever since the old Visigothic building was first restoredby Abd al-Rahman I in around 785. Very little is knownof its early architectural form, since it was laterextensively rebuilt when it became the Bishops Palace.e baths are the best-known part of the wholecomplex. Two building periods can be clearly distin-guished: the early construction dating back to thereign of al-Hakam II and later post-Caliphate additions.While little information is available regarding theUmmayad Alczar, extensive excavation work hasrevealed a great deal about Andalus houses and

palaces. As with the Mosque, the architecture ofhomes in al-Andalus blends the Eastern or Arabiclegacy of the conquerors with the influence of oldbuildings erected in Roman Baetica. e focus ofthe house was a central courtyard, from whichthe various rooms opened off. A similar model wasalso used for the large almunias, country estateslocated on the outskirts of the city, which served asresidences, venues for official functions, and farms.But the most valuable information on civil architec-ture in Ummayad Crdoba is provided by the palatine

city of Madinat al-Zahra, even though only a tinypart has yet been excavated. Like the building andsubsequent extensions of the Great Mosque, the

founding of Madinat al-Zahra was intended as thepublic expression of a radical overhaul of the Statemodel, in this case the proclamation of the Caliphateby Abd al-Rahman III in 929. Drawing on Easternbuilding projects, work began in around 936-940 onthe construction of a palace complex, which wouldform the core of a whole new city close to Crdoba.Plans included the installation of infrastructure,for example a water-supply system, as well as theconstruction of a road network linking the new city toCrdoba itself.Its hillside location enabled the complex to bearranged in a series of terraces. e highest terrace,overlooking the whole complex, housed the Alczarthe private quarters of the Caliph himself and hissenior staff, together with the main State admi-nistration offices. Within the Alczar, a system ofinternal terraces separated the Caliphs residence

and the main offices on the uppermost level frommore accessible areas on the lower terraces.Beyond the Alczar, the rest of the walled cityremains virtually unexcavated, except for the GreatMosque, whose layout as indicated earlier wasclearly influenced by that of the AljamaMosque inCrdoba.e Ummayad architecture of Crdoba, particularlyas embodied by the Great Mosque and the palatinecity of Madinat al-Zahra, had an enormous influenceon later Islamic and Christian art. at influence

persisted into the Middle Ages through the Nasrid artproduced in the Kingdom of Granada and through theMudjar art of Christian Spain.