Caliphs in Cordoba

In the tenth century Cordoba/s wealthy multicultural society was at its zenith. It was the largest city in Europe (~100,000) with a reputed library of 400,000 books. Abd al- Rahman III had proclaimed himself Caliph and therefore responsible for both political and religious leadership to counteract the new Shia Fatimid Caliphate of Cairo. Al Rahman extended the wonderful pillared mosque of Cordoba and, to project his political power, built a new royal city nearby. Al-Zahra, the city of Brilliance, used a Roman aqueduct to supply water to three terraces above Cordoba to capture cooling breezes. Visiting dignitaries could not fail to be impressed by the public rooms and gardens and the vast parade ground. Around the vizier’s and the prince’s quarters, the bureaucrats ran the government, with al-Rahman at another level higher up. However, al-Zahra barely outlived its creator and its treasures ended up in palaces from Seville to Cairo. Within a generation, his centralized government had broken down because
of a palace coup and fragmentation of his subject kingdoms. In turn,
this weakened the Muslim grip on power and allowed Christian
supremacy to progressively replace the Muslims Despite the almost

deliberate official neglect of things Muslim since the reconquista,
the Muslims knew how to manage the hot dry climate. We stayed in
a boutique hotel built around a courtyard and cool despite the 36deg
temperatures. Kerry overdosed on courtyards and we now need some
shade sails over ours at Woodend. We relaxed in the hammam and
gawped at the magnificent mosque near the roman bridge. The
Christians have built a cathedral crammed with baroquerie in the
middle of the mosque, but can’t destroy the magic of the wonderful  
mihrab. Nearby, where Maimonides was a child, we visited the
medieval synagogue and watched flamenco.