The Great Mosque of Cordoba extended and revised architectural review

When the Umayyad were supplanted by the Abbasids in 750 and the centre of Islam relocated from Damascus, Syria to Baghdad, Iraq, a Umayyad prince named Abed Al-Rahman I moved to Spain where Muslims were already established & founded a dynasty with Cordoba as its capital. The kingdom flourished, lasting for nearly 300 years (756-1031). In 929 a restored Umayyad caliphate was set up in Cordoba, in rivalry with the Abbasids in Baghdad: by any standard, Cordoba was the richest, most sophisticated city in Europe.

The Great Mosque of Cordoba's original construction under Abed Al-Rahman I - Part 1
The Great Mosque of Cordoba's original construction under Abed Al-Rahman I - Part 2
The first mosque extension under Abed Al-Rahman II
Building work on the Great Mosque of Cordoba by Abed AI-Rahman III
The extension under al-Hakam II
The last extension under Al-Mansor
The Great Mosque Of Cordoba's Pictures

The extension under Al-Hakam II

Immediately after being enthroned (in 961), al-Hakam II, Abed aI-Rahman Ill's son and successor, started work on the Great Mosque of Cordoba. His exten­sion (962-966) also reflects the caliphate of Cordoba's artistic apogee. In keep­ing with earlier buildings, the mosque was extended southwards by 12 more bays, until it totaled 114.6 meters (376 feet) in length, though the mosque stayed the same breadth - 79.29 meters (260 feet). When the building work was finished, the prayer hall had an area of79.29 x 114.60 meters (260 x 376 feet) - in other words, it was far larger than the courtyard. Extending the mosque necessitated demolishing the original building's Qibla wall and mihrab. As a mark of respect to the emirate's heritage, the original Mihrab’s capitals and columns were relocated to the new mihrab in the caliphate extension (dating from 962-966). At the start of the center aisle architects created a complex two-story structure of interlacing multifold arches, crowned by a massive ribbed dome. In Christian times this section of the mosque was named the "Capilla de Villaviciosa."

The center aisle of al-Hakam II's extension of the Great Mosque is accen­tuated by the use of uniform red marble columns. In the side aisles we see alter­nating red and black columns, which are diagonally connected and lead toward the mihrab. As is typical, capitals crown the columns. While in previous ver­sions of the mosque building different forms of capital could be admired, we now see uniform boss capitals everywhere. Only in the center aisle, on the upper arcade, do we find elaborate stucco relief's on the smooth pillars. These are crowned by Islamic-style composite stucco capitals and serve to highlight the central aisle.

The mihrab facade makes a striking impact, and its effect is made even more overwhelming by the brilliant golden mosaics and the transverse arcade with its interlacing multifold arches. In front of the mihrab lay the maqsura area, the place reserved for the caliph's private prayer alone. We can assume that the two last southern bays of the five center aisles formed part of the maqsura. The maqsura area is accentuated by a transverse arcade running parallel to the Qibla wall, to distinguish the caliph's from the people's sphere. The arches of the trans­verse arcade replace the traditional railing which originally separated the ruler from his people; the arches were also sufficiently decorated to further accentu­ate the importance of the maqsura area and the Mihrab. The transverse arcade, which extended laterally across the central maqsura area, was later demolished to make room for Christian chapels and tombs in this area.

The mihrab itself reveals a familiar pattern: a base area with a central horse­shoe arch, an arch field with a rectangular frame (the alfiz) and topped by an arcade of blind arches. The horseshoe arch opens into an octagonal prayer recess, which, for acoustic reasons, is surmounted by a large shell. The shell's curve magnified the prayer leader (imam)'s voice so effectively that it could be heard all over the mosque. As mentioned, the Mihrab's horseshoe arch is flanked by the two marble columns and capitals of the preceding emirate period building. On either side of the Mihrab’s base area are affixed large marble plaques, adorned with plant motifs. They are among the most beautiful and magnificent decora­tive relief’s created during the Cordoba caliphate. The spandrels of the Mihrab’s arch area are decorated by large gold stucco creepers. The arches are then enclosed by a rectangular alfiz frame, bearing a Koran inscription of gold mosaic on a blue ground. Above the inscription an arcade of blind arches extends, their fields decorated with Trees of Life, executed in mosaics. Above these are the sup­port structures of the large ribbed dome, which rises above the enclosure before the mihrab, and, like the mihrab proper, is adorned with small golden mosaic stones. Some texts report that al-Hakam II asked the Byzantine emperor to send him a craftsman able to reproduce the gold mosaics of the Great Mosque of Damascus. The master who supervised the mosaicists in Cordoba had learned Byzantine traditions; however the gold mosaics also retain formal links with Spanish-Islamic art, which show influences from local workshops.

In the maqsura area the central ribbed dome is flanked by two ribbed domes, similar in form to the dome of the Capilla de Villaviciosa. Precursors of these domes presumably come from the Middle East. As yet, however, they have been inadequately examined and, for lack of convincing models, we must regard the Cordoba ribbed domes as an original idea. Their existence is intimately linked to the arch structures in the mosque's maqsura area, reserved solely for the caliph, and not present in this form in any other mosque any­where. Thus, the uniqueness of the Great Mosque of Cordoba partly derives from the caliph's unique position - for his presence first inspired these architectural solutions in the maqsura area. On either side of the mihrab there are five square rooms, not accessible to mosque visitors. The caliph used the western rooms as a secret, secure passageway (the sahn), leading from the adja­cent palace direct to the mosque's maqsura area, while the eastern rooms were apparently for storing treasure. Above these ten rooms, was an upper story of 11 chambers, whose central room was placed directly over the mihrab today, its function, is still uncertain. Perhaps the mosque's innumerable man­uscripts were kept there.