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    Posted: 05 December 2005 at 2:33am
Bi ismillahir rahmanir raheem

Madinat al-Zahra'
Tenth-century palace city (now in ruins) 6 km west of Cordoba in southern Spain.
Definition
The complex was begun by Abd al-Rahman II and completed by his son al-Hakim II. The complex was named after Abd al-Rahman's favourite wife Zahra' and located near springs at the foot of the Sierra Morena. The complex was founded as a palatial residence and administrative centre away from the crowded capital at Cordoba and had a staff of 20,000 people including guards, officials and families. It was finally destroyed by fire in 1010 by the caliph's vizier al-Mansur who resented the caliph's personal residence. Material from the palace was re-used by Pedro the Cruel to build his palace in Seville.

The complex was built on three terraces surrounded by gardens with pools and water channels. On the lowest terrace is a garden pavilion built for Abd al-Rahman as a formal reception and ceremonial centre. This consisted of four pools and the pavilion itself known as the Salon Rico which has intricate decoration carved in stone to match the stucco work of the maqsura at the Great Mosque in Cordoba. This pavilion is associated with a hammam in an arrangement common to the desert palaces of Syria.

Across a bridge from the Salon Rico is the main mosque of the complex with an arcaded courtyard leading on to the sanctuary five aisles deep. Next to the mosque is the Dar al-Yund (army headquarters) which consists of a cruciform basilical hall with triple-arched arcades and a ramp leading out on to the parade ground. The upper part is occupied by the caliph's personal residence known as the Dar al-Mulk. This consisted of several apartments based around courtyards which in turn enclosed a central hall. It is likely that these apartments were at least four storeys high although they are now much damaged.

The complex is a useful example of how the Spanish Umayyads tried to copy the architecture and protocol of their more powerful ancestors. In particular the complex is thought to recall the country residence of Abd al-Rahman, the first Spanish Umayyad, at Rusafa in Syria.

Site Palatine City of Madinat al-Zahra
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Central arcade, fa�ade of Dar...
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Dar al-Jund reception hall. Front...
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Residential courtyard west of Dar...
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View down to residential quarters...
Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness.
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Points: 2549 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rami Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 December 2005 at 2:07am
Bi ismillahir rahmanir raheem

Assalamu alaikum

LATEST PROGRAMME
Thursday 21 November 2002
The order=
MUSLIM SPAIN

In 711 a small army of North African Berbers invaded Spain and established an Iberian Islamic culture that would last for over 700 years.

Despite periods of infighting and persecution, Muslim Spain was a land where Muslims, Jews and Christians co-existed in relative peace and harmony.

Its capital, Cordoba, although not unique amongst Spanish cities, became the centre and focus for generations of revered and respected philosophers, physicians and scholars. By the 10th century Cordoba was one of the largest cities in the world.

But what some historians refer to as Cordoba�s Golden Age came to an end in the 11th century, when the society was destabilised by new threats from Africa to the South and Christendom to the North.

However, it was not until 1492, when Granada fell to the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, that Islamic Spain was well and truly over.

In that same year the Jews were expelled from its shores and Christopher Columbus set sail to lead Spanish Christian expansionism into the new world.

But how did Muslims, Jews and Christians interact in practice?

Was this period of apparent tolerance underpinned by a respect for each other�s sacred texts? What led to the eventual collapse of Cordoba and Islamic Spain? And are we guilty of over-romanticising this so-called golden age of co-existence?

Guests

Tim Winter
a convert to Islam and lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University.

Martin Palmer
an Anglican lay preacher and theologian and author of The Sacred History of Britain.

Mehri Niknam
Executive Director of the Maimonides Foundation, a joint Jewish-Muslim Interfaith Foundation in London.

Dr. Tim Winter on In Our Time BBC Radio 4 discussing Muslim Spain with Melvyn Bragg.
Website here.

Dr Tim Winter's Islamic name and title is Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad.
Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness.
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