Abstract
Based on an archaeological analysis of part of the buildings that make up the “private” sector of the Qaṣr of Madinat al-Zahra, we offer you an overview of the people who lived and worked there on a daily basis. We conclude that it is possible to identify four types of resident: the caliph and the heir, the high functionaries of the state, the functionaries who supervised the domestic maintenance tasks and, finally, the servants who carried them out.
Highlights
The founding of Madınat al-Zahrā’ in 936 or 940 is associated with the self-proclamation of c Abd al-Rah.mān III as the first caliph of al-Andalus in the year 929
The two buildings we can identify as the residences of the caliph and the heir occupy a privileged position in the Qas.r, especially the caliphal dwelling, which was built on the highest part of the urban site
The initial phase of the caliphal residence, when it had a bath at its end that was lower than the current level, the two edifices may have been connected by their western corridor
Summary
The founding of Madınat al-Zahrā’ in 936 or 940 is associated with the self-proclamation of c Abd al-Rah.mān III as the first caliph of al-Andalus in the year 929. As in other dynastic capitals of the time, including Bagdad, S.abra al-Mans.ūriyya, and Cairo, it combined three main functions: the residence of the caliph and the heir, the seats of the principal institutions of the Umayyad state administration and the ceremonial and political representation centre All these functions were shared at one time or another with the city of Córdoba To designate each of the architectural complexes we are going to analyse, in this paper we will use the numbering that is repeatedly used in the publications of Vallejo (especially 2010) and corresponds to that used in the Madinat al-Zahra Archaeological Complex itself. Not included in this consideration are the spaces destined exclusively for women, such as the harem, which has not yet been excavated.
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