Cordoba: the Caliph builds Madinat al-Zahra

Dec. 22, 2018

An index to blog posts from our Spain trip can be found on the first entry.

We were excited about visiting the Madinat al-Zahra ever since seeing Bettany Hughes‘ video about the rise of the Caliphate of Cordoba. First, though, we needed to find our bus to the site! Our lodgings were quite close to the Mezquita, the centerpiece of the tourist district. We wandered west along the river and enjoyed the sights from the Roman Bridge in the warm morning sun. From there, we hiked into the Juderia neighborhood, trying to find one of the archways that led through the medieval wall to Avenida Victoria. We came out near a statue of Averroes, a noted philosopher of medieval Cordoba. The hospital, our landmark for the Madinat bus stop, was easy to find from there.

Averroes keeps watch as he gazes at the modern city.

From the bus we were happy to see a mausoleum from Roman times; it once stood near an ancient bridge. For a quarter hour, we continued to the west, passing through modern neighborhoods that looked little like the meandering, narrow streets of the old city. Natasha said that a series of apartment blocs would be perfectly at home in Seoul, Korea, where she taught for some years.

The Madinat interpretation center offered a clearer view of the Caliph in competition. Three different centers of power emerged during the Islamic Golden Age (8th – 13th centuries); the Umayyad, the Abbasid, and the Fatimid dynasties all held levers of power, based in Cordoba, Baghdad, and Cairo respectively. These cities were cresting at roughly the same time as did Cahokia in the “New World,” but their populations were orders of magnitude larger, with Cordoba reaching almost half a million inhabitants. The exhibits at the interpretation center helped illustrate how rich the city of Madinat al-Zahra became under Caliph Abd al-Rahman III during its brief 70 years of life. The palace workshops created a beautiful inscribed chest in gold and silver for al-Hakam II to give his son, Hisam II.

It’s a replica, but it’s still lovely.

As we boarded buses for the ride from the interpretation center to the ruins themselves (perched above us on the ridge overlooking the flood plain), Natasha gasped at a series of three olive trees on the grounds. As I wandered closer, I learned that these three trees had been planted in the thirteenth century, and they still bear fruit today! These would have been planted after Cordoba had been taken by the Christian kingdoms.

Eight centuries of olives

The shuttle to the ruins wound its way uphill, and in very little time we were dropped at the small parking lot above the ruins. A tuck shop was operating there; I have no doubt they make a tidy profit from people waiting for the bus back down!

A tiny history of “The Shining City”

The Caliphal city of Abd al-Rahman III began construction in 936 AD, a few years after the Caliph elevated himself to that title. The construction of the city is surrounded by fantastic tales, whether tying its origin to a beloved concubine or relating the army of 10,000 workers who created this bastion. Because it is built high on the slope of a substantial ridge in the Sierra Morena, the Caliph’s palace loomed above the official sector, which in turn was positioned up-slope of the more residential and service areas (around 60m between highest and lowest points). The city’s size was roughly a kilometer and a half on the long dimension and three quarters of a kilometer on the short. Only 10% of the complete city has been unearthed to date.

Because a sizable fraction of the caliphate budget was invested every year in expanding the Madinat al-Zahra, the city drew a fair amount of resentment. The Caliph was very invested in the idea that his palace would be more opulent than any other building on Earth. When Abd al-Rahman III died in 961, he was succeeded by lesser leaders (Al-Hakam II and then Hisham II). By 978, a noble known as Almanzor was ruler of the Caliphate in all but name. This dictator threw construction effort to his own palace to the East of Cordoba and invested in significant campaigns against the Christians in the North. After his death in 1002, unrest developed, and a full-scale civil war began in 1010. The Berber mercenaries from North Africa turned on the remaining members of the Umayyad dynasty, and they sacked the “Shining City” to “pay themselves” for their services.

The city in the distance is Cordoba.

…and now back to our tour

As we descended into the ruins, we wandered into the residential side before we came to the ceremonial areas. Natasha’s archaeology skills came to the fore, and she was soon delightedly pointing to ancient latrines, lintel post holes, door post holes, and kitchens. The site is not a raw “dig.” Instead, most of the wall footings have been capped in cement, and concrete ramps and walkways guide tourists through the defined routes.

The upper basilica walls and arches are stately and massive.

For me the “big three” of our visit all came from the ceremonial side. I loved the upper basilica, used for religious government offices). The eastern parade ground still retains much of its majesty, even with just a fraction of its arches in place.

Can you imagine being a medieval ambassador received at this massive gate?

The vizier’s house and business suite was also very powerful. We were very sad not to have the opportunity to visit the “Salon Rico,” but it has been closed to the public since 2009. I am glad one can still see that site from online videos.

Of course, most people would never get to see the Caliph. They would do business with the Vizier at this court.

Our bus from the city had left at 10:15 AM, so our return to Cordoba was scheduled for 1:30 PM. I would have gladly stayed an hour longer. We caught the shuttle back to the interpretation center and transferred to the city bus. In no time, we stepped down at Avenida Victoria, where we took a moment at the Roman mausoleum. We wandered in the modern city to the east for a bit, and then we plunged southward into the old city. We found ourselves at a plaza celebrating the Gran Capitan, Gonzalo Fernandez, the military leader from Cordoba who had made Ferdinand and Isabella’s reconquest possible. I was glad to learn that this warrior was equally respected for his skills as a diplomat, learning the Arabic language and negotiating the surrender of Granada rather than adding any more carnage to the Reconquista.

After a solid nap at our lodgings, Natasha and I decided to go shopping at Plaza Corredera, which was apparently just a hop, a skip, and a jump away from our riverside apartment. Sadly, we were soon completely turned around. We found ourselves facing massive Roman columns, soaring into the sky. We had arrived at the massive temple that was initiated under Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD). Its ruins were only discovered in the 1950s, but now its wall footings and cellars are under restoration.

The Imperial Cult produced some massive structures!

I tried descending toward the river to Plaza Corredera, but I chose the wrong road again, and we found ourselves wandering through the Jardines Huerto de Orive instead. I discovered a cat watching me suspiciously from a tree branch. At last, Natasha took charge of navigation, and we were soon in Plaza Corredera. The area seemed very reminiscent of Plaza Mayor at Madrid, but the crowd was mostly seated in the restaurant tables along the north edge. A busker with a guitar and a PA system filled the air with his strumming. The shops lining the road leading out to the Northwest soon drew us in with the sights of cured meats and cheeses. Natasha and I opted for a run to the Carrefour Express supermarket, and we were back to our rooms in no time flat!

If you need some open space after crawling the narrow streets of the old city, Plaza Corredera will help!