The Reasons for the Construction of the Madinat-al-Zahra
The city of Madinat-al-Zahra was founded by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al
Rahkman III, and later completed in 936 during the time of his son
Hakam II, after nearly 40 years of construction. Situated 5 km from
Cordoba, it was an extravagant and grand city, built by over 10,000
workers at a time when art, philosophy and culture were flourishing in
Islamic culture. It is easy to understand why it was later to become
know as the Radiant City[1] , as it contained beautiful gardens ,
rich treasures and extravagant decorations. The cost of building such
a grand city was of course high, estimated in some quarters to be
almost a third of Cordoba’s total revenue. It was however, until its
eventual destruction, unmatched in beauty and splendour[2].
It was created as a new capital, as a seat of government and state
functions, but it had a short albeit glorious life. The decline of
Madinat-al-Zahra essentially began during the reign of the young
caliph Hisham II. At that time, the prime minister al-Mansor, (who was
known for his dictatorial style of governing, and his continued
successful attacks on the Christian North[3],) moved the
administrative government to a new urban area that he constructed in
east Cordoba [4]. After the government was moved to Madinat-al-Zahira,
Madinat-al-Zahra was effectively abandoned. It had lasted only seventy
years before it was burnt, sacked and pillaged in 1010 and
progressively looted in the civil war after caliphal succession was
unclear. Little of the riches or architecture that made it so splendid
remained. The ruins of the city were eventually buried b...
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...History of the city of Córdoba). 4th ed. (Everest: 1971)
[4]http://perso.wanadoo.es/neil/Caliph.htm#The%20Splendour%20of%20the%20Cordovan%20Umayyad%20Caliphate
[5] Antonio Triano Vallejo - Madinat al-Zahra’, capital y sede del
Califato omeya andalusí. (The splendour of the Cordovan Omeyas - the
Muslim civilisation of Western Europe) (2001)
[6] Reinhart P Dozey – (History of the Muslims in Spain Vol III, The
Caliphate) (Madrid: 1984)
[7]
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197605/the.city.of.al-zahra.htm
[8] Manuel Perez – The Cordovan Omeya Dynasty (1993)
[9] http://www.idir.net/~suede/architecture.html
[10] http://www.interamericaninstitute.org/work_in_progress.htm
[11] Hayyan - History of Andalusia. Vol I, From Tartessos to Islam
(Planeta: 1982)
[12] http://perso.wanadoo.es/neil/Caliph.htm
Muslim cities, both capitols and non-capitols, have a very important role in the Post-Classical Muslim society which include the spread of the Islamic faith throughout the eastern world, and Trade amongst Muslim and Non-Muslim cities. This allows them to flourish and be so much more technically advanced then other places at the time.
the Accuracy of the Chronicle of Al-Jabarti." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. No. 2 (1970): 283-294. http://www.jstor.org/stable/613005 (accessed November 30, 2013).
Cobb, Paul. "Introduction." Ibn Munqidh, Usama. Book of Contemplation Islam and the Crusades. New York: Penguin Books, 2008. xv-xlii.
The Muslim empire expanded vastly from 622 CE to 750 CE. This empire could be compared to the Holy Roman Empire, one of the greatest in the world. There are three main reasons to explain how the Muslim empire reached its height; battling for land, signing peace treaties, and granting stipends. Every Muslim who were in the military fought against other civilizations for land. After that, they made an agreement, or a peace treaty, to the people of the land they conquered. The Muslims would also give gifts called stipends to conquered people who helped the Islam’s. The next paragraph will be explaining how Muslims fought for land and how that was important.
Print. Doak, Robin. Empire of the Islamic World. Rev. ed.
When Emperor Constantine found the city of Constantinople, it was soon to become the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. But the Christin city needed a great church to represent it’s great value, so the Hagia Sophia was built (Krystek, Lee). The Hagia Sophia was built by the Byzantine Empire in 537 C.E., which was an Empire influenced greatly by the greek and roman styles (Krystek, Lee). It has a square base with a large dome on the top. Round arcs surrounded the large dome, adding mystical beauty to the Hagia Sophia (Krystek, Lee). Also, multiple colors of bricks were used to create patterns on the outside of the Hagia Sophia. On the inside, the walls are made of marble with glass panes which bring beautiful sunlight into the large museum (Krystek, Lee). The Hagia Sophia is very significant because it was rebuilt many times. The first church was built and then burnt down in 404 C.E. (Krystek, Lee). It was then rebuilt and burned down by riots in 502 C.E. (Krystek, Lee). Then the 3rd church was built by Justinian. After long periods of time, Sultan Mehmed conquered Constantinople and changed it to an islamic city, converting the church to a mosque (Krystek, Lee). In 1934, President Ataturk changed the mosque to a museum for the people and tourists, instead of a sacred place of worship (Krystek, Lee).
The story “ The Grand Mosque of Paris” explains how the Muslims helped in giving the Jewish refuge,in their Mosque in Paris. The Nazis conquered France in 1940, therefore causing Jewish people who occupied Paris to try and survive and stay away from Hitler’s army, The Nazi’s. They seeked shelter and were helped by kind people of the Islamic religion and given hiding in their Grand Mosque. The Muslims took the Jewish children and gave them false papers, raised funds for them, and gave the temporary shelter, because of this many Muslims who did this got themselves arrested or deported. One of the reasons the Mosque worked so well was because its location, above the sewer system of Paris, and reached the Seine. In conclusion, the kind-hearted
Throughout the ages civilization was always eager to learn more about space. They had a lot of questions. For instance if the earth was round or flat or if earth is the center of the universe. Astronomy is needed for many things, but to learn more about space you needed observatories. Observatories in the Islamic Golden Age were not how they are today - they were research institutions.
Religious Islamic architecture is intricately related to Muslim prayer which is an obligation to do every day. The Dome of the Rock was said to be the first great Islamic building. The Muslims had taken the city of Jerusalem in 638 created the shrine of worship to commemorate the event and the triumph of Islam. The Dome of the rock, similar to the Acropolis, was built atop holy ground. Called the Noble Enclosure, the site was where the Hebrews built the Temple of Solomon. As time went on, the site grew additional importance, as it was said to be the location of Adam’s Grave and the spot in which Isaac was supposed to be sacrificed by his father Abraham. The rock that gives the structure its name, which is at the center of the rotunda, was soon to be identified as the place where Muhammad began his...
Hilāl, ʻAlī Al-Dīn. Islamic Resurgence in the Arab World. New York, NY: Praeger, 1982. Print.
...mpire weak and to be invaded by the crusaders and the Mongols in the 11th and 12th centuries. The invasion led to the destruction of all libraries and educational institutions and with that came the fall of the Abbasid Dynasty.
The Suleymaniye mosque was truly a masterpiece during the time it was built in the mid 1500s. Today, it still never fails to captivate its audience through the complexity of its design and the intellectual analysis of its significance. The mosque was actually said to be as magnificent as the Seven Wonders of the World according to two European travelers, Freynes Moryson and John Sanderson, soon after its completion (Nelipogulu 221). The mosque is definitely symbolic in the city of Istanbul, sitting a top the highest hill, in that it represents central power and strength of the Turkish Empire (see Image 1) (Yayinlari 30). As we take a closer look at the Suleymaniye we see many aspects of religion through its sensual and visual experience. We also find a great deal of complexity, from the contradictory aspects Sinan applied to the mosque, throughout a more in depth intellectual analysis.
The book essentially begins with the year 711, when then thousand Moorish soldiers swiftly conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula, establishing Muslim rule over five million inhabitants and instituting a government that extended more or less equal
Tariq Ali uniquely puts into perspective the horrific tragedies behind the Spanish reconquest in his work, Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree, by capturing the history in the perspective of a Muslim family who lived in a village just outside of recently conquered Granada. He does this in order to expose the cruelty and intolerance of the Archbishop Xemenes de Cineros. Ali also uncovers the faults in not only Christianity, but also in Islamic ideology by having many character’s from the family Banu Hudayl debating and questioning Islamic beliefs which may parallel with the author’s own beliefs, or lack thereof. (Tariq) One of Ali’s strongest focuses however, was to expose the lack of urgency many Muslims felt after the fall of Granada. Many Muslim’s
For many years we have seen many different architectural structures come and go. From the pyramids to the Colosseum to the Eiffel Tower to The Twin Towers. Every architectural structure derived from another in some way shape or form. Whether it's from the use of columns or arches or blocks or bricks. The Great Pyramid of Giza is in fact one of the most influential architectural structures known to date. In this paper I will show how The Great Pyramid of Giza has influenced some of the most famous architectural structures known to date. Now let's get to know a little bit about the Great Pyramid of Giza.