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- The Ruins of Madinat al-Zahra are located about 5 kilometers from Córdoba, Spain. The ruins were discovered about ninety years ago. Only about 10 percent of the 112 sites have been excavated and restored. The city flourished for approximately 80 years. It had been built by Abd ar-Rahman III the Caliph of Córdoba starting between 936 and 940. After Abd ar-Rahman III proclaimed himself Caliph in 929, establishing the independent Umayyad Caliphate in the west, he decided to show his subjects and the world his power by building a palace-city 5 miles from Cordoba. The largest known city built from scratch in Western Europe, Madinat al-Zahra was the forgotten Versailles of the Middle Ages. It would be described by travelers from northern Europe and from the East as a dazzling series of palaces full of treasures never seen before. Around 1010, Madinat al-Zahra was sacked during the civil war that led to the dissolution of the Caliphate of Cordoba. The raid effectively wiped the city off the map for a millennium. Popular legend holds that the Caliph named al-Zahra, or Azahara, after his favorite concubine, and that a statue of a woman stood over the entrance. Others, imagining his demanding lover, say that he built this new city just to please her. The truth, however, has probably more to do with politics than love. Abd al-Rahman III ordered the construction of this city at a time when he had just finished consolidating his political power in the Iberian Peninsula and was entering into conflict with the Fatimid dynasty for the control of North Africa. Zahara means 'shining, radiant or blossoming' in Arabic: the name communicates aspirations of power and status, not romantic love. Al-Zahra is the most common title for the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad's, Fatimah al-Zahra. Fatima is the female progenitor of all Shia Imams after the first, Ali, to whom she was married. As such, the Fatimid Shia dynasty of North Africa, adorned many buildings and even towns with her name. A female scholar in her own right, her title al-Zahra (the brilliant) was given to the oldest functioning university in the world, the al-Az'har/al-Azhar university in Cairo in AD 968, built by the Fatimids. The Umayyads' ambitions in North Africa could well explain the usage of the name for the new city to rival the Fatimids' influence there through Islamic/Shia religious iconography. It was this moment when he declared himself utterly independent, the true Caliph (Prince of Believers) and descendant of the Umayyad dynasty, which had nearly been completely exterminated by the Abassids in the 9th century. He brought about a series of political, economic and ideological measures to impress upon the world his legitimacy. A new capital city, fitting of his status, was one of those measures. He decided to build the city in 936 and the construction time was about forty years. The Mosque at the site was consecrated in 941 and in 947 the government was transferred from Córdoba. "Teeming with treasures that dazzled the most jaded traveler or world—weary aristocrat... Pools of mercury could be shaken to spray beams of reflected sunlight across marble walls and ceilings of gold... Doors carved of ivory and ebony led to sprawling gardens full of exotic animals and sculptures made of amber and pearls... " What is visible of the ruins of Madinat al-Zahra today is only 10% of its extension, forgotten for 900 years. The 112 hectare-urb was no mere pleasure palace for weekend excursions, but the effective capital of al-Andalus, the territory controlled by the Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula from the beginning of the 8th century to the middle of the 11th. The magnificent white city, built in steppes into the hillside at the base of the Sierra Morena with the Caliph's palace at the highest point, was designed to be seen by his subjects and foreign ambassadors for miles. Abd al-Rahman III moved his entire court to Medina Azahara in 947-48. We may imagine that his beloved al-Zahra was already comfortably installed in the new Medinat. With time the entire city was buried, not to be unearthed until 1911. The restoration of that portion of the city that has been excavated is very impressive. Excavation and restoration continues, depending upon funding by the Spanish government. The unexcavated portion, however, is unfortunately threatened by the illegal construction of housing. According to the New York Times, "The local government in Córdoba, he said, has failed to enforce a law passed 10 years ago that expanded protections for the site against development... Construction companies are putting up houses on the site of the city, 90 percent of which remains unexcavated. " Artistically, the Medina Azahara played a great role in formulating a distinct Andalusian Islamic architecture. Many of its features, such as basilical royal reception halls (as contrasted with domed ones in the eastern part of the Islamic world) are here conceived for the first time. Other features, such as the arranging of the suites of rooms around a central courtyard or garden, are echoed throughout western Islamic architecture, for example as late as in the Alhambra. The Mosque of Medina Azahara bears close resemblance to the Mezquita or Mosque in Córdoba; it has been called its "little sister"
- Madinat al-Zahra oder Medina Azahara مدينة الزهراء / madīnatu ʾz-zahrāʾ /„die Stadt der Zahra'“, von Abd ar-Rahman III. (al-Nasir) aus der Dynastie der umayyadischen Kalifen von Córdoba 936 in Auftrag gegeben und ursprünglich einer seiner Konkubinen namens az-Zahra' gewidmet, ist eine ehemalige Palaststadt im südlichen Spanien. Sie liegt ungefähr 8km westlich von Córdoba an einer Hanglage, mit einem wunderschönen Blick auf das Tal und Córdoba selbst. Die Anlage ist als Ruine erhalten, mit einigen prominenten Gebäuderesten. Die Erbauung der Palaststadt beginnt im Jahre 936, unter der Aufsicht des Meisterarchitekten Maslama ibn Abdallah. Im Jahr 945 vollzieht sich der Umzug des Hofes von Córdoba in diese Stadt, die zu diesem Zeitpunkt bereits über die Aljama-Moschee (941) verfügt. Die Münzprägestätte wird ca. 947-948 hierhin verlegt. Dennoch dauert die endgültige Fertigstellung bis zur Herrschaft von Al-Hakam II. Dies erklärt auch die stilistischen Unterschiede zwischen dieser Stadt und der Erweiterung der Moschee von Córdoba, die von diesem Sohn und Nachfolger Al-Nasirs in Auftrag gegeben wurden. Die Palastanlage befindet sich auf einem Ausläufer der Sierra Morena, am Fuße des Berges Yebel al-Arus (dt. ‚Berg der Neuvermählten‘, span. Monte de la Desposada) und vis-à-vis des Guadalquivir-Tales. Die Anlage ist deshalb in Terrassen gegliedert, wobei die oberste die des Kalifen war, die darunter liegende die der Verwaltungsbeamten (Haus des Wesirs, Leibgarde, Salón Rico, Verwaltungsabteilungen, Gärten etc.). Wiederum eine Ebene tiefer liegt die eigentliche Stadt mit Wohnhäusern, Werkstätten und der Moschee Aljama, die durch eine Mauer von den beiden zuvor genannten Palastbereichen getrennt war. Weist der islamische Städtebaustil ansonsten eher eine labyrinthische oder gar chaotische Anlage auf, so ist Medina Azahara im Gegensatz dazu rechtwinklig angelegt, auf einer Fläche von ungefähr 1500 m mal 750 m, mit einem wohl geplanten Frisch-und Abwassernetz. Diese Anlage wird als die größte städtische Ansiedlung im Mittelmeergebiet betrachtet, die auf einen Schlag geplant und angelegt wurde. Bislang wurden nur 10% der Grundfläche ausgegraben, wobei der Salón Rico herausragt. Er diente dem Empfang von wichtigen Gesandten und verfügt über drei mit roten und bläulichen Marmorbögen getrennte Längsschiffe, die am Kopfende von einem Querschiff abgeschlossen werden. Die untere Hälfte der Wände des Salóns waren mit marmornen Pflanzenmotiven verziert, worauf unterschiedliche Motive folgten. Das Ganze wurde darüber schließlich abgeschlossen durch die typischen maurischen Holzschnitzereien. Die Säulenstümpfe bestehen aus abwechselnd blauem und rosafarbenen Marmor. Trotz der qualitativ hochwertigen und dauerhaften Materialien bestand Medina Azahara nicht einmal ein Jahrhundert lang, da sie schon 1010 erobert und zerstört wurde, als Folge des Bürgerkrieges, der dem Kalifat von Córdoba den Untergang brachte. In den darauffolgenden Jahrhunderten setzte sich die Plünderung und Ausräumung fort. So wurde die Anlage als künstlicher Steinbruch für andere Bauten und spätere Gebäude verwendet.
- Medina Azahara castellanización del nombre árabe مدينة الزهراء Madīnat al-Zahrā' (‘la ciudad de Zahra’) es una ciudad palatina o áulica mandada edificar por Abderramán III (Abd al-Rahman III, al-Nasir) a unos 5 km en las afueras de Córdoba en dirección oeste. Los principales motivos de su construcción son de índole político-ideológica: la dignidad de califa exige la fundación de una nueva ciudad, símbolo de su poder, a imitación de otros califatos orientales y sobre todo, para mostrar su superioridad sobre sus grandes enemigos, los fatimíes de Ifriqiya, la zona norte del continente africano. Además de oponentes políticos, lo eran también en lo religioso, ya que los fatimíes, chiíes, eran enemigos de los omeyas, mayoritariamente de la rama islámica suní.
- Madinat al-Zahra ou medina Azahara était une cité califale construite à partir de 936 par les Omeyyades d'Espagne sous le règne de Abd al-Rahman III en honneur à sa favorite prénommée Zahra (fleur). Des trois terrasses s’étendant au pied de la sierra Morena, des fontaines de mercure et des marbres sertis de rubis et de perles, il ne reste aujourd’hui qu’un vaste espace de ruines. Entièrement détruite et pillée lors d'une invasion de Berbères en 1010 due à une fitna, cette ancienne ville-palais est aujourd'hui un site archéologique en cours de restauration.
- Madīnat al-Zahrāʾ, è stata una residenza califfale omayyade tra il X e l'XI secolo. Il sito archeologico è situato ai piedi della Sierra Morena, a circa 5 km a ovest di Cordova, in Spagna. Chiamata anche Madinat Azahara, oppure Madinat az-Zahraʾ - dal nome della presunta concubina preferita del califfo ʿAbd al-Rahmān III, al-Nāsir li-dīn Allāh, che ne avrebbe patrocinato la costruzione - è stata dichiarata dall'UNESCO patrimonio dell'umanità e ha ricevuto finanziamenti della Comunità Europea perché si possano proseguire gli scavi intrapresi per la prima volta nel 1911.
- Medina Azahara (arab. مدينة الزهراء, Madinat al-Zahra) - ruiny X-wiecznego arabskiego kompleksu pałacowego położone w hiszpańskiej Andaluzji, około 7 km na północny zachód od Kordowy.
- Madinat al-Zahr, ou em português Medina Al-Azhara (nome árabe مدينة الزهراء ', que significa "a cidade de Zahra"), era uma cidade palatina ou áulica localizada a cerca de 5 km de Córdoba, em direção oeste, junto do Monte da Desposada. A sua construção começou no ano de 936 d.C. a mando de Abderramão III, primeiro califa do Al-Andalus, e os principais motivos da sua construção foram de índole político-ideológica: a dignidade do califa exige a fundação de uma nova cidade, símbolo do seu poder, a imitação de outros califados orientais, sobretudo para mostrar a sua superioridade sobre os grandes inimigos, os fatímidas de Ifriqiya, a zona norte do continente africano. Além de oponentes políticos, eram também no plano religioso, já que os fatímidas, xiitas, eram inimigos dos omíadas, majoritariamente do ramo islâmico sunita. Outro motivo apontado foi a construção da medina em honra da mulher de Abderramão III, Al Zahra. Viria a ser destruída e saqueada em 1010 por ocasião da fitna que levaria ao colapso do Califado. Este ataque riscaria a cidade do mapa durante quase um milénio. Actualmente prosseguem os trabalhos de escavação e recuperação da cidadela, iniciados em 1911 e actualmente subsidiados pelo governo espanhol, encontrando-se ainda apenas menos de 10% a descoberto.
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