Spain · 8th century
The Alcázar of the Caliphs or Caliphal Alcázar, also known as the Umayyad Alcázar and the Andalusian Alcazar of Cordoba, was a fortress-palace (alcázar) located in Córdoba, in present-day Spain. It was the seat of the government of Al-Andalus and the residence of the emirs and caliphs of Córdoba from the 8th century until the 11th century and the residence of local Muslim governors from the 11th century until the Christian conquest in 1236. The site was composed of heterogeneous constructions ranging from the private residences of the rulers and their households to the government offices and administrative areas.
Today, only minor remains of the palace have survived, including the Caliphal Baths which have been converted into a museum. The rest of the site is occupied by later structures including the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, the Episcopal Palace, the Seminary of San Pelagio, and the Campo Santos de los Mártires public square.
Text adapted from “Alcázar of the Caliphs (Córdoba)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Alcázar of the Caliphs (Córdoba) ranks #3,122 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #116 of the 607 mapped in Spain. Founded c. 750, it is older than 95% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 48 atlas entries founded in the 8th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,694 times in the last 60 days, more than 65% of the atlas. 6 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Jaén, 88 km away. It is one of the 124 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Andalusia. It is stop 28 of 30 on the Andalusian frontier castles, Cádiz to Córdoba. See how Spain compares in the castle statistics.
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