Oriens in Spania. La Mezquita de Cordoba Y El Oriente Cristiano

von Jesus Daniel Alonso

448 Seiten, Hardcover

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

The ancient Aljama Mosque in Córdoba is one of the most studied monuments of medieval art, yet the roots of its architecture and decoration remain largely unexplained. This book delves into a different perspective: that of Eastern Christian architecture and its relationship with Andalusian Islam. This research examines Abd al-Rahman I's founding mosque, I and, especially, the expansion carried out by al-Hakam II, placing its architectural solutions in dialogue with early Christian basilicas, Byzantine liturgical models, and Macedonian Renaissance buildings. The mosaics of the maqsura, the ribbed vaults, the basilical plan, and other elements reveal a complex cultural dialogue between two worlds that, beyond their religious differences, shared the same Hellenistic foundation. Two Empires, One Common Language Jesús Daniel Alonso Porras analyzes the relations between Umayyad Córdoba and Constantinople, when both powers shared common enemies and maintained active diplomatic and cultural exchanges. Embassies, imperial gifts, and the presence of Byzantine books and artisans in al-Andalus paint a picture of contacts more intense than historiography has acknowledged. This work reveals how the Mosque of Córdoba fits into the great architectural tradition of the Mediterranean. Heir to Rome and the Greco-Roman world, the ancient Colonia Patricia preserved and transformed a classical legacy that, through Byzantium and Islam, never ceased to be alive on the shores of the Mediterranean.