Córdoba, Spain. Madīnat al-Zahrāʼ. Building Research on the Upper Hall and its Adjacent Buildings. The Work of the Years 2020 to 2023

Abstract

A few kilometres from Córdoba, Abd al-Rahman III, the first caliph of Córdoba, founded his new residential city of Madīnat al-Zahrāʼ around 940/941 CE, where the palace, with its representative buildings, courtyards and gardens, provided the architectural setting for receptions of foreign embassies, religious festivals and celebrations of the caliphate‘s victories. Since 2020, a DFG project has been underway to study the Upper Hall, one of the two reception halls and its adjoining buildings. The results presented here show how construction technology and site logistics were geared towards the efficiency and speed of the large construction site, and the observed phases of remodelling and augmenting the Upper Hall point to a change in the Caliphate‘s self-staging.