Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;pt;Mon01;6;ar
Library Location
Elvas, Porto Alegre, Portugal
Notes
Although large parts of the upper fortified wall at Yelbesh - the Arabic name for Elvas during the Islamic period - remain standing, a significant portion of it now exists, either within the courtyards of private houses or deeply modified at the level of the seventeenth-century walls. The entrance, known as the "Bab Alcachova" (Qasaba Gate) or the "Oqd al-Marqab", consists of a front door flanked by two massive, unobtrusive square towers. A large granite stone from Al-Dabash was used to build it, perhaps taken from a Roman building or from a defensive building dating back to that era or the late Roman period. There is no evidence to prove that this entrance belongs to the crooked entrances, which allows us to assume that it was built during the period of the caliphate or emirate. But it remains known that the region surrounding Guadiana, like Mérida and Badajos, was occupied and ruled by a Mauldin family descended from Ibn Marwan al-Jaliqi; A member of this family wanted to fortify the city of Albacharnal in the ninth century, and it is likely that this city is located on the opposite bank of the place where the city of Badajos will be built. All the data then lead us to believe that “Basharnal” or “Bash” or/and “Yelbesh” is one name for the same city, which would later become Elvas. Later, the expansion of the ancient city towards the south, adjacent to this entrance, restricted any desire to fortify it, and it remained unchanged without any major changes throughout the centuries that followed the period of Islamic control. Although the entrance arch seems in our days to be a somewhat incomplete circle, the door allows us to observe the arch of the entrance The horseshoe shape was not modified until 1887, and the change that took place was represented by cutting the protrusions of the horseshoe which, according to historical writings, hindered the entry of goods. Fortunately, we received a photograph of this entrance taken by a Polish citizen who was passing through the area. The necklace shown in the 19th-century photo is not framed by Alvis, which confirms its antiquity. This type of entrances may correspond historically and to the period of the emirate and the caliphate (3rd-4th century AH / 9th-10th century AD). Doubts still loom over the date of construction of the arch: whether it was built during the rule of the Al-Julaiqi family or during the period of the caliphate.
Sample Text
Fernando Branco Correia “Alcachova Gate (Alcazaba) or Al-Marqab Arch” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;pt;Mon01;6;ar
