Madinat al-Zahra

Madinat al-Zahra or Medina Azahara (Arabic: مدينة الزهراء, romanized: Madīnat az-Zahrāʾ, lit. 'the radiant city') was a fortified palace-city on the western outskirts of Córdoba in present-day Spain. Its remains are a major archaeological site today. The city was built in the 10th century by Abd ar-Rahman III (912–961), a member of the Umayyad dynasty and the first caliph of Al-Andalus. It served as the capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba and its center of government.

The main reason for its construction was politico-ideological: Abd ar-Rahman III had declared himself "caliph" in 929 and the dignity of this new title required the establishment of a new city, a symbol of his power, imitating eastern caliphates. It sought to demonstrate his superiority over his great rivals, the Fatimid Caliphs of Ifriqiya in North Africa and the Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad. The city was built near Córdoba, the existing capital of al-Andalus under Umayyad rule. Construction began in 936–940 and continued in multiple phases throughout his reign and the reign of his son, Al-Hakam II (r. 961–976). The new city included ceremonial reception halls, a congregational mosque, administrative and government offices, aristocratic residences, gardens, a mint, workshops, barracks, service quarters, and baths.

Water was supplied through aqueducts. After al-Hakam II's death, however, the city ceased to act as the center of government under the rule of Ibn Abi Amir al-Mansur (Almanzor). In 978–9, al-Mansur began construction of his own palace-city, the similarly-named Madinat al-Zahira, to replace it in this role. Between 1010 and 1013, Madinat al-Zahra was sacked during a civil war and thereafter abandoned, with many of its materials re-used elsewhere.

Text adapted from “Madinat al-Zahra” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Madinat al-Zahra ranks #167 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #8 of the 603 mapped in Spain. Founded c. 1000, it is older than 92% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 138 atlas entries founded in the 10th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 19,436 times in the last 60 days, more than 97% of the atlas. 8 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Jaén, 96 km away. It is one of the 126 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Andalusia. It is stop 30 of 30 on the Andalusian frontier castles, Cádiz to Córdoba. See how Spain compares in the castle statistics.

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