Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;es;Mon01;5;ar
Library Location
Mérida (Mérida of Arabic Texts), Badajos (Badajos), Spain
Notes
The city of Mérida (Mérida in Arabic texts), founded during the reign of Augustus in 25 BC, was one of the main urban centers of Roman Spain. During the Gothic period, the city became the second most important metropolis after Toledo. After the Islamic conquest, Mérida remained the densest center in western Andalusia; However, due to the continuous revolts against the central authority of the Umayyads, the city deteriorated clearly. After successive revolts and sieges in order to secure the site, Abd al-Rahman, in the year 220 / 835, built a castle intended to be used as a shelter for the soldiers loyal to Cordoba, and to ensure the subjugation of this area, which was very prone to uprisings. The Alcazaba rises above the edge of the Guadiana River, near the Qantara, and its walls are supported by a water barrier dating back to the Roman period. The walls are arranged in the form of a square plan, and surround an area of about 130 square meters, with a perimeter length of 550 metres. The 2.70-meter-thick walls were built of flint stones obtained from earlier buildings, both Roman and Gothic. The wall was strengthened with a series of huge towers with a square base, used as wall supports. The main entrance to the enclosure is a horseshoe-shaped arch, located on the north side and flanked by two massive towers. This space was protected by a rectangular courtyard that included two other doors - opening respectively onto the city and onto the arch - and the courtyard and the two doors played the role of a front fortification or a first space for defence. Inside the fence of the wall, in the western sector, we preserved a rectangular ground water tank (the well), also built of carved flint stones, which we can date to the same period. The building leading to the water reservoir is decorated with reused Gothic wall supports and includes two stairs descending to the reservoir. The latter was permanently supplied with river water through ground seeps; In case of siege, it supplied water to the inhabitants of the castle. After the Christian reconquest, the Kasbah was given to the Priory of Saint Jacques, who added towers and other intermediate buildings in order to rehabilitate the site as a monastery and residence; For this reason, the building is also known under the name “Monastery Residence of Mérida”.
Sample Text
Margarita Sánchez Llorente “Alcazaba (Castle, Fortress)” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;es;Mon01;5;ar
