Army House in Medina Azahara, Cordoba (Spain)

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• Presentation
• Return to the plan
• Introduction
• North Gate
• Army House
• Oriental Porch
• Mosque Alhama
• Rich Lounge
• Upper Housing
• Trapezoidal space
• Service husing
• Yafar House
• Pool house
• Pillars court
• Royal House

        This building would be the place where people could be received by the Caliph, in which, two important offices were situated: Ziyah ibn Affah main knight and that of the General Galib. For this reason, the Army House or Dar al Yund was built in 955-960. With basilica plan, it has five longitudinal naves, three central, that are the nucleus and two more external, oriented North-South and one transversal that occupies all the width of the previous, ending each extremity with a little parlour. The axle nave has three horseshoe archs and the rest with a double, these archs constitute the entrance façade from the transversal nave. The archs are on limestone capitals where the simple ones are alterned, with red marble columns, coming from Cabra (province of Córdoba); these last are alterned vespiary capitals and blue marble columns, coming from the cordovan woodland.
        The unique doors are situated in the empty spaces that communicate the further naves from the nucleus and the separation from this towards the external naves. The decoration is very simple, the boards are covered with sand and lime; there are no stones and they are painted in white and red, like the alternance of the voussoirs in the Mosque Alhama.
        The Basilical Lounge is not situated by the walls, there is a row, which separates the north door with an important house situated northeast of the complex. This was used as residence or reception for high generals. Of this part, only three rooms, perpendicularly disposed towards the walls, are conserved. These rooms are opened to a large court with stone bricks on the floor, with galleries in the northern western side.
        At the bottom of the building there is a wide square whose original floor is not conserved but the original stone bricks are conserved in the middle of the northern side, where the horses used to eat. The square is surrounded, in the western and eastern side, by galleries with pillars. This place underwent a sweeping transformation in 960, and it is now a large garden. Three sides of the square were with galleries and one was linked to the main façade of the building.
        In the occidental side of the square the horses were kept. This place was divided by columns into two spaces: the oriental part for the horses, twenty-five horses could be kept; and the others was used to keep the hay. The occidental place, is situated in a lower part, is an open air place for cleaning tasks.
        Finally, in the southern place, building rests are conserved around a large central court with stone bricks and surrounded with a gallery of pillars, at least in two sides, but it only kept on one side.
        Due to the sacking, there are only few rests of the rooms and the pillars. Only there are three sun watches. this room is popularly known as Court of Watches.

Text: Jesús Pijuán.

Traslated by Sara Moretti