Medina Azahara
Encyclopedia
Medina Azahara is the ruins of a vast, fortified Arab Muslim medieval palace-city built by Abd-ar-Rahman III al-Nasir
, (912–961) Ummayad Caliph of Córdoba, and located on the western outskirts of Córdoba, Spain
. It was an Arab Muslim medieval town and the de-facto capital of al-Andalus
, or Muslim Spain, as the heart of the administration and government was within its walls. Built beginning in 936-940, the city included ceremonial reception halls, mosques, administrative and government offices, gardens, a mint, workshops, barracks, residences, and baths. Water was supplied through aqueducts.
The main reason for its construction was politico-ideological: the dignity of the Caliph required the establishment of a new city, a symbol of his power, imitating other Eastern Caliphate
s. Above all, it demonstrated his superiority over his great rivals, the Fatimids of Ifriqiya
in Northern Africa. Legend also says it was built as a tribute to the favourite of the Caliph: Azahara.
The complex was extended during the reign of Abd al-Rahman III's son Al-Hakam II
(r. 961-976), but after his death soon ceased to be the main residence of the Caliphs. In 1010 it was sacked in a civil war, and thereafter abandoned, with many elements re-used elsewhere. Its ruins were excavated starting from the 1910s. Only about 10 percent of the 112 hectares have been excavated and restored, but this area includes the central area, with "two caliphal residences, with associated bath complexes, two aristocratic residences, and service quarters ... spaces associated with the palace guard; some large administrative buildings ... the extraordinary court complex presided over by the reception hall ... the great garden spaces, and just outside this area, the congregational mosque".
A new museum on the edge of the site has been built low, with much of the space underground, to minimize disruption to the views of the landscape from the ruins, which are also beginning to be affected by modern housing.
in the foothills of the Sierra Morena
, oriented north-to-south on the slopes of Jabal al-Arus, and facing the valley of the Guadalquivir
river, is Madinat al-Zahra, billed as the Versailles
of the Middle Ages
. 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 fortress
. There was also a quarry of limestone
, used for the primary construction, though other stones from an area 50km 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 al-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 1500 m per side from east to west and about 750 m 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
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
.
running from the Sierra Morena
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.
The initial construction of the palace was very rapid: begun in 936 or 940, the mosque was completed in 941 and by 945 the caliph was in residence, moving the mint in by 947. However construction continued for decades, with many changes of plan and examples building-over previous buildings. The reception hall of Abd-al-Rahman, or "Salon Rico", can be dated by inscriptions to between 953 and 957. The large "House of Ja'far" is built over three earlier houses, and the building known as the "Court of the Pillars" replaced two earlier ones in the mid-950s. The other large hall remaining, the so-called "upper basilical hall" or "Dar al-Jund" ("House of the Army", a name mentioned in literary sources) was also probably built in the 950s.
The two lower terraces supported huge, formal Islamic Persian gardens
. The westernmost of these was the lowest terrace of the city. The easternmost of these two lower gardens, the middle terrace, led to the reception hall known as the Salon Rico. This eastern garden had a pavilion, surrounded by four rectangular pools, at its center. The four quadrants of this garden were sunken, and supplied with water from channels along the connecting walkways.
The city, which flourished for approximately 80 years, was built by caliph Abd ar-Rahman III of Córdoba starting between 936
and 940
. After he had proclaimed himself caliph
in 928, he decided to show his subjects and the world his power by building a palace-city 5 km from Córdoba. The largest known city built from scratch in Western Europe, it would be described by travelers from northern Europe and from the East as a dazzling series of palaces full of treasures never seen before. Around 1010, Madinat al-Zahra was sacked during the civil war
that led to the dissolution of the Caliphate of Cordoba. The raid effectively wiped the city off the map for a millennium.
Popular legend holds that the Caliph named al-Zahra, or Azahara, after his favorite concubine, and that a statue of a woman stood over the entrance. Others, imagining his demanding lover, say that he built this new city just to please her. The truth, however, has probably more to do with politics than love. Abd ar-Rahman III ordered the construction of this city at a time when he had just finished consolidating his political power in the Iberian Peninsula and was entering into conflict with the Fatimid
dynasty for the control of North Africa. Zahara means 'shining, radiant or blossoming' in Arabic: the name communicates aspirations of power and status, not romantic love. Al-Zahra is the most common title for the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad Fatimah
al-Zahra. As such, the Fatimid
dynasty of North Africa adorned many buildings and even towns with her name. A female scholar in her own right, her title al-Zahra (the brilliant) was given to the oldest functioning university in the world, the al-Az'har/al-Azhar university in Cairo in AD 968, built by the Fatimids. The Umayyads' ambitions in North Africa could well explain the usage of the name for the new city to rival the Fatimids' influence there through Islamic/ religious iconography.
In 929 Abd al-Rahman III declared himself utterly independent, the true Caliph (Prince of Believers) and descendant of the Umayyad dynasty, which had nearly been completely exterminated by the Abbasids in the 9th century. He brought about a series of political, economic and ideological measures to impress his legitimacy upon the world. A new capital city, fitting of his status, was one of those measures. He decided to build the city in 936
and construction took about forty years. The Mosque on the site was consecrated in 941
and in 947
the government was transferred from Córdoba
.
In 2005 it was described by the American newspaper The New York Times
as follows:
What is visible of the ruins of Madinat al-Zahra today is only 10% of its extent. The 112 hectare-urb was no mere pleasure palace for weekend excursions, but the effective capital of al-Andalus
, the territory controlled by the Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula from the beginning of the 8th century to the middle of the 11th. The magnificent white city, built in steps into the hillside at the base of the Sierra Morena
with the Caliph's palace at the highest point, was designed to be seen by his subjects and foreign ambassadors for kilometers. Abd ar-Rahman III moved his entire court to Medina Azahara in 947-48.
With time the entire city was buried, not to be unearthed until 1911. Excavation and restoration continues, depending upon funding by the Spanish government. The unexcavated portion, however, is threatened by the illegal construction of housing. According to the New York Times, "The local government in Córdoba, he said, has failed to enforce a law passed 10 years ago that expanded protections for the site against development... Construction companies are putting up houses on the site of the city, 90 percent of which remains unexcavated."
Artistically, the Medina Azahara played a great role in formulating a distinct Andalusian Islamic architecture
. Many of its features, such as basilical royal reception halls (as contrasted with domed ones in the eastern part of the Islamic world) are here conceived for the first time. Other features, such as the arranging of the suites of rooms around a central courtyard or garden, are echoed throughout western Islamic architecture, for example as late as in the Alhambra
. The Mosque of Medina Azahara bears close resemblance to the Great Mosque of Córdoba; it has been called its "little sister"
Before coming to power, Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir
(called Almanzor in the west) lived in the suburbs of Cordova. On becoming the Hajib
(Chamberlain to the Caliph) he decided to build a palace city for himself, which, if not more, was as beautiful as Medina Azahara built by Abd-ar-Rahman III
. The palace was to be located just opposite to Al-Zahra, which was situated in the west of Cordova. The foundations of Al-Zahira were laid in 978-979 A.D near river Guadalquivir. Mansur called his palace Madinah Al-Zahira as well.
Mansur's purpose behind building this palace was to inspire awe and to have his name written in the pages of history along with the name of the greatest king of Al-Andalus
, Abd-ar-Rahman III.
It was a beautiful palace with extensive gardens around it. It housed the High officials and barracks for the guards of Al-Mansur.
However, on the death of Al-Mansur in 1002 A.D, his eldest son Abd al Malik Al-Muzafer succeeded to the throne, and on his death Abdar Rehaman Al-Sanjul or Sanchelo or little Sancho (his mother Abda, was a daughter of Sancho the count of Casile), another son of Al-Mansur, followed his brother. People rose in revolt in Cardova, while Sanhchelo was busy in his expedition against Alfonso V in December 1009. Since Sanchelo was absent and there was nothing else in sight toward which to vent their anger, the people looted the palace built by Al-Mansur for four days. when they were through with the looting and plundering the palace, they put it to flames, and in no time the beautiful Al-Zahira was reduced to ashes.
Abd-ar-Rahman III
Abd-ar-Rahman III was the Emir and Caliph of Córdoba of the Ummayad dynasty in al-Andalus. Called al-Nasir li-Din Allah , he ascended the throne in his early 20s, and reigned for half a century as the most powerful prince of Iberia...
, (912–961) Ummayad Caliph of Córdoba, and located on the western outskirts of Córdoba, Spain
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
. It was an Arab Muslim medieval town and the de-facto capital of al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
, or Muslim Spain, as the heart of the administration and government was within its walls. Built beginning in 936-940, the city included ceremonial reception halls, mosques, administrative and government offices, gardens, a mint, workshops, barracks, residences, and baths. Water was supplied through aqueducts.
The main reason for its construction was politico-ideological: the dignity of the Caliph required the establishment of a new city, a symbol of his power, imitating other Eastern Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
s. Above all, it demonstrated his superiority over his great rivals, the Fatimids of Ifriqiya
Ifriqiya
In medieval history, Ifriqiya or Ifriqiyah was the area comprising the coastal regions of what are today western Libya, Tunisia, and eastern Algeria. This area included what had been the Roman province of Africa, whose name it inherited....
in Northern Africa. Legend also says it was built as a tribute to the favourite of the Caliph: Azahara.
The complex was extended during the reign of Abd al-Rahman III's son Al-Hakam II
Al-Hakam II
Al-Hakam II was the second Caliph of Cordoba, in Al-Andalus , and son of Abd-ar-rahman III . He ruled from 961 to 976....
(r. 961-976), but after his death soon ceased to be the main residence of the Caliphs. In 1010 it was sacked in a civil war, and thereafter abandoned, with many elements re-used elsewhere. Its ruins were excavated starting from the 1910s. Only about 10 percent of the 112 hectares have been excavated and restored, but this area includes the central area, with "two caliphal residences, with associated bath complexes, two aristocratic residences, and service quarters ... spaces associated with the palace guard; some large administrative buildings ... the extraordinary court complex presided over by the reception hall ... the great garden spaces, and just outside this area, the congregational mosque".
A new museum on the edge of the site has been built low, with much of the space underground, to minimize disruption to the views of the landscape from the ruins, which are also beginning to be affected by modern housing.
Setting of Madinat al-Zahra
Located 8 miles west of CórdobaCórdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
in the foothills of the Sierra Morena
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain.It stretches for 400 kilometres East-West across southern Spain, forming the southern border of the Meseta Central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, and providing the watershed between the valleys of the Guadiana to the...
, oriented north-to-south on the slopes of Jabal al-Arus, and facing the valley of the Guadalquivir
Guadalquivir
The Guadalquivir is the fifth longest river in the Iberian peninsula and the second longest river to be its whole length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is 657 kilometers long and drains an area of about 58,000 square kilometers...
river, is Madinat al-Zahra, billed as the Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. 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 fortress
Alcázar
An alcázar , alcácer or alcàsser is a type of castle in Spain and Portugal. The term derives from the Arabic word القصر meaning "fort, castle or palace"; and the Arabic word is derived from the Latin word, 'castrum', meaning an army camp or fort...
. There was also a quarry of limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, used for the primary construction, though other stones from an area 50km 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 al-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 1500 m per side from east to west and about 750 m 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
Villa
A villa 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 small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
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
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
.
Palace area
The palace was built where the 1st century Roman aqueductAqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
running from the Sierra Morena
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain.It stretches for 400 kilometres East-West across southern Spain, forming the southern border of the Meseta Central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, and providing the watershed between the valleys of the Guadiana to the...
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
Sewer
Sewer may refer to:* Part of sewerage, the infrastructure that conveys sewage*Effluent sewer, a collection system that transports only the liquid portion of wastewater through small-diameter pipes laid at contour...
for a highly complex system of small channels carrying away rain and waste water. Many food and ceramic remains have been found here.
The initial construction of the palace was very rapid: begun in 936 or 940, the mosque was completed in 941 and by 945 the caliph was in residence, moving the mint in by 947. However construction continued for decades, with many changes of plan and examples building-over previous buildings. The reception hall of Abd-al-Rahman, or "Salon Rico", can be dated by inscriptions to between 953 and 957. The large "House of Ja'far" is built over three earlier houses, and the building known as the "Court of the Pillars" replaced two earlier ones in the mid-950s. The other large hall remaining, the so-called "upper basilical hall" or "Dar al-Jund" ("House of the Army", a name mentioned in literary sources) was also probably built in the 950s.
Gardens of Madinat al-Zahra
There were at least three gardens in the city. A small garden, referred to as The Prince's Garden, was located on the upper terrace. This garden was for the use of the nobility, the wealthy, and the powerful; those who frequented the palace itself.The two lower terraces supported huge, formal Islamic Persian gardens
Persian Gardens
The tradition and style in the garden design of Persian gardens has influenced the design of gardens from Andalusia to India and beyond. The gardens of the Alhambra show the influence of Persian Garden philosophy and style in a Moorish Palace scale from the era of Al-Andalus in Spain...
. The westernmost of these was the lowest terrace of the city. The easternmost of these two lower gardens, the middle terrace, led to the reception hall known as the Salon Rico. This eastern garden had a pavilion, surrounded by four rectangular pools, at its center. The four quadrants of this garden were sunken, and supplied with water from channels along the connecting walkways.
History of Madinat al-Zahra
936
Year 936 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* King Taejo of Goryeo defeats Hubaekje....
and 940
940
Year 940 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Saadia Gaon compiles his siddur in Iraq.* Narita-san Temple is founded in Chiba, Japan....
. After he had proclaimed himself caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
in 928, he decided to show his subjects and the world his power by building a palace-city 5 km from Córdoba. The largest known city built from scratch in Western Europe, it would be described by travelers from northern Europe and from the East as a dazzling series of palaces full of treasures never seen before. Around 1010, Madinat al-Zahra was sacked during the civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
that led to the dissolution of the Caliphate of Cordoba. The raid effectively wiped the city off the map for a millennium.
Popular legend holds that the Caliph named al-Zahra, or Azahara, after his favorite concubine, and that a statue of a woman stood over the entrance. Others, imagining his demanding lover, say that he built this new city just to please her. The truth, however, has probably more to do with politics than love. Abd ar-Rahman III ordered the construction of this city at a time when he had just finished consolidating his political power in the Iberian Peninsula and was entering into conflict with the Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
dynasty for the control of North Africa. Zahara means 'shining, radiant or blossoming' in Arabic: the name communicates aspirations of power and status, not romantic love. Al-Zahra is the most common title for the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad Fatimah
Fatimah
Fatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
al-Zahra. As such, the Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
dynasty of North Africa adorned many buildings and even towns with her name. A female scholar in her own right, her title al-Zahra (the brilliant) was given to the oldest functioning university in the world, the al-Az'har/al-Azhar university in Cairo in AD 968, built by the Fatimids. The Umayyads' ambitions in North Africa could well explain the usage of the name for the new city to rival the Fatimids' influence there through Islamic/ religious iconography.
In 929 Abd al-Rahman III declared himself utterly independent, the true Caliph (Prince of Believers) and descendant of the Umayyad dynasty, which had nearly been completely exterminated by the Abbasids in the 9th century. He brought about a series of political, economic and ideological measures to impress his legitimacy upon the world. A new capital city, fitting of his status, was one of those measures. He decided to build the city in 936
936
Year 936 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* King Taejo of Goryeo defeats Hubaekje....
and construction took about forty years. The Mosque on the site was consecrated in 941
941
Year 941 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Births :* Charles d'Outremer, son of Louis IV of France* Brian Bórumha mac Cennétig, High-King of Ireland...
and in 947
947
Year 947 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* The Later Jin Dynasty falls to the Later Han Dynasty in China....
the government was transferred from Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
.
In 2005 it was described by the American newspaper The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as follows:
What is visible of the ruins of Madinat al-Zahra today is only 10% of its extent. The 112 hectare-urb was no mere pleasure palace for weekend excursions, but the effective capital of al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
, the territory controlled by the Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula from the beginning of the 8th century to the middle of the 11th. The magnificent white city, built in steps into the hillside at the base of the Sierra Morena
Sierra Morena
The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain.It stretches for 400 kilometres East-West across southern Spain, forming the southern border of the Meseta Central plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, and providing the watershed between the valleys of the Guadiana to the...
with the Caliph's palace at the highest point, was designed to be seen by his subjects and foreign ambassadors for kilometers. Abd ar-Rahman III moved his entire court to Medina Azahara in 947-48.
With time the entire city was buried, not to be unearthed until 1911. Excavation and restoration continues, depending upon funding by the Spanish government. The unexcavated portion, however, is threatened by the illegal construction of housing. According to the New York Times, "The local government in Córdoba, he said, has failed to enforce a law passed 10 years ago that expanded protections for the site against development... Construction companies are putting up houses on the site of the city, 90 percent of which remains unexcavated."
Artistically, the Medina Azahara played a great role in formulating a distinct Andalusian Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
. Many of its features, such as basilical royal reception halls (as contrasted with domed ones in the eastern part of the Islamic world) are here conceived for the first time. Other features, such as the arranging of the suites of rooms around a central courtyard or garden, are echoed throughout western Islamic architecture, for example as late as in the Alhambra
Alhambra
The Alhambra , the complete form of which was Calat Alhambra , is a palace and fortress complex located in the Granada, Andalusia, Spain...
. The Mosque of Medina Azahara bears close resemblance to the Great Mosque of Córdoba; it has been called its "little sister"
Before coming to power, Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir
Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir
Abu Aamir Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abi Aamir, Al-Hajib Al-Mansur , better known as Almanzor, was the de facto ruler of Muslim Al-Andalus in the late 10th to early 11th centuries. His rule marked the peak of power for Moorish Iberia.-Origins:He was born Muhammad Ibn Abi Aamir, into a noble Arab...
(called Almanzor in the west) lived in the suburbs of Cordova. On becoming the Hajib
Hajib
The term "hajib" is not to be confused with the word "hijab", which is a headscarf for Muslim women.A hajib was a government official in Al-Andalus and Egypt. They began as treasurers or Chamberlains but by 756, the position had evolved to be equivalent to a vizier or higher....
(Chamberlain to the Caliph) he decided to build a palace city for himself, which, if not more, was as beautiful as Medina Azahara built by Abd-ar-Rahman III
Abd-ar-Rahman III
Abd-ar-Rahman III was the Emir and Caliph of Córdoba of the Ummayad dynasty in al-Andalus. Called al-Nasir li-Din Allah , he ascended the throne in his early 20s, and reigned for half a century as the most powerful prince of Iberia...
. The palace was to be located just opposite to Al-Zahra, which was situated in the west of Cordova. The foundations of Al-Zahira were laid in 978-979 A.D near river Guadalquivir. Mansur called his palace Madinah Al-Zahira as well.
Mansur's purpose behind building this palace was to inspire awe and to have his name written in the pages of history along with the name of the greatest king of Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
, Abd-ar-Rahman III.
It was a beautiful palace with extensive gardens around it. It housed the High officials and barracks for the guards of Al-Mansur.
However, on the death of Al-Mansur in 1002 A.D, his eldest son Abd al Malik Al-Muzafer succeeded to the throne, and on his death Abdar Rehaman Al-Sanjul or Sanchelo or little Sancho (his mother Abda, was a daughter of Sancho the count of Casile), another son of Al-Mansur, followed his brother. People rose in revolt in Cardova, while Sanhchelo was busy in his expedition against Alfonso V in December 1009. Since Sanchelo was absent and there was nothing else in sight toward which to vent their anger, the people looted the palace built by Al-Mansur for four days. when they were through with the looting and plundering the palace, they put it to flames, and in no time the beautiful Al-Zahira was reduced to ashes.