X Century in Al-Andalus, Madinat al-Zahra, Cordoba (Spain)
Córdoba in the Xth Century
Between 711 and 716 the muslims occupied the most of the Peninsule, except the North (Pyrenees) and Cantabric Zone, and their presence lasted eight centuries. Very
quickly Córdoba turned into the Al-Andalus capital name given for indicating the occupied territory by the muslim and it depended from Ifriquiya (Northern Africa). Between 711 and 756 the Emir of Córdoba was under the Caliphate Umayyad of Damascus (period of the Depending Emirate) though in 750 the umayyads were pulled down by the Abbasids, that were considered as the “heir, of Muhammad, and they killed of the members of Umayyad Family. The only alive was Abd al-Rahman I (the Migrated) who ran away and arrived in 756 in the south of Spain, founding the new Umayyad Emirate Independent from the Abbasids (whose capital was Bagdad), the situation changed when in 929 Abd al–Rahman III, emir since 912, proclamed the Independent Caliphate. His proclamation looked for his independence from, the Abbasids and from the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt. The caliphate (929-1031) is supposed to be the main period of the capital, Córdoba, in the politics, economy, demographic and cultural.
Politically, Abd al-Rahman III and his son al-Hakam II confirmed not only the independence from Damascus, but also the independence from the Christian Kingdoms
in the North of the Iberian Peninsule, keeping the main part of the territory under his power, despite the conquerests of the christians. In 956, politically, Abd al–Rahman III and his son al-Hakam II did not got the independence from the Oriental Caliphates, but also from the Christian Kingdoms in the north, keeping the most part of the territories under their power. All this, despite of threatening invasion of the Christians. Once died al-Hakam II, in 976 his son, Hisham II took the power. Because of his age, this one was dominated by al-Mansur and his sons. He could keep the christians back. The stability of the Caliphate lasted till 1010, after that, a civil war bagan, a fitna. This one began because
there were internal struggles among the legal heirs of the throne and the illegal ones. The caliphate existed till 1031. Since the e big caliphate began detaching into several states, Taifas Kingdoms.
The Caliphate had a powerful economy, based on trade, with its currency and agriculture. It represented the first powerful economy after the Roman Empire. Specially Córdoba, the pearl of occident, turned into the most important city of the world since the Roman Empire. It had 250.000 inhabitants in 935 and 450000 in the year 1000, though some historians speak about 1.000.000 inhabitants.
The cultural, financial and artistic development was impressive, above all during al-Hakam II's Period. It is said that Córdoba could have a library with 400.000 books. For this reason there were many intellectual people, such as: Maimonides, Aben Tofan, and Averroes. And others related to medicine and science, philosophy and astronomy.
Text: Jesús Pijuán.
Traslated by Sara Moretti
Art, Culture and Tourism in Cordoba