Medina Azahara - History of Madinat Al-Zahra

History of Madinat Al-Zahra

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 az-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 az-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. Az-Zahra is the most common title for the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad Fatimah az-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 az-Zahra (the brilliant) was given to the oldest functioning university in the world, the al-Az'har/al-Azhar university in Cairo in 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 ar-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, befitting 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:

Teeming with treasures that dazzled the most jaded traveler or world—weary aristocrat...Pools of mercury could be shaken to spray beams of reflected sunlight across marble walls and ceilings of gold... Doors carved of ivory and ebony led to sprawling gardens full of exotic animals and sculptures made of amber and pearls..."

What is visible of the ruins of Madinat az-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 Córdoba. 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 Córdoba. The foundations of Al-Zahira were laid in 978-979 near river Guadalquivir. Mansur called his palace Madinah Az-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, his eldest son Abd al Malik Al-Muzafer succeeded to the throne, and on his death Abdar Rehaman As-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 Córdoba, while Sanchelo 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 Az-Zahira was reduced to ashes.