angel of death was seated by the bedside of the khalif; and soon after,
the body of Abd-er-Rahman, the wise, the virtuous, and the victorious,
lay in one of the chambers of his alcazar, wrapped in the white
garments, distinctive of his great lineage. The sad event was announced
to the people by Abd-er-Rahman Ibn Tarif, the superior of the Aljama of
Cordova, from the very pulpit from which the dead monarch was to have
addressed his subjects, and the crowds departed from the mosque
exclaiming: “May the Amir rest in the sleep of peace, Allah will smile
upon him on the day of reckoning.”
The great glory of completing the mosque was reserved for Hisham, the
favourite son of Abd-er-Rahman, to whom all the walies had sworn fealty
as the rightful successor. This prince was at Merida when his father
died, but he at once left that city for Cordova, where he made the
mosque the object of his special solicitude.
Soon after his accession, Hisham consulted a famous astrologer as to his
future. The learned man, who was called Abh-dhobi, at first refused to
gratify the sultan’s curiosity, but upon being pressed he said: “Thy
reign, O Amir, will be glorious and happy, and marked by great
victories; but, unless my calculations are wrong, it will only last some
eight years.” Hisham remained some time in silence upon hearing these
words, but presently his face cleared, and he spoke thus to the
astrologer: “Thy prediction, O Abh-dhobi, does not discourage me, for if
the days given me still to live by the Almighty are passed in adoring
Him, I shall say when my hour comes, ‘Thy will be done.’”
This monarch’s brief reign was rich in notable deeds. He repressed the
rebellion of his two brothers Suleyman and Abdullah, carried the holy
war as far as Sardinia, entered and sacked the town of Narbonne, and
compelled the unhappy Christians to carry the clay of the demolished
walls of their city upon their shoulders as far as Cordova, in order to
build a mosque in his alcazar. Hisham made himself feared by the Franks,
and he did much to establish the empire of Islam in Andalus, enlarging
its capital, repairing
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE MOSQUE.
PORTAL ON THE NORTH SIDE, MOORISH STYLE, BUILT UNDER HAKAM III.,
988-1001.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
EXTERIOR VIEW OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
EXTERIOR ANGLE OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE EXTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: PLATE V
CORDOVA.
Curvelinear triangles resulting from the intersection of the arches
sustaining the dome.
Setting of the arches sustaining the dome.
Setting of the arches sustaining the dome.]
[Illustration: PLATE VI.
CORDOVA.
Ornament running below the Cupola.
Ornament running below the Cupola.
Setting of one of the lower arches which gives light to the dome.]
[Illustration: PLATE VII.
CORDOVA.
Curvelinear triangles resulting from the intersection of the arches
sustaining the dome.
Architrave of one of the Arches sustaining the Dome.]
[Illustration: PLATE VIII.
CORDOVA.
Details de las Portados de la Maksurah.
Keystone of the arch of the Mihrab.
Keystone of the arch of the right hand side gateway.]
[Illustration: PLATE IX.
CORDOVA.
Arches of the Portal of the Mihrab.]
[Illustration: PLATE X.
CORDOVA.
Detail of the Framing of the Side Gate.
Detail of the Window placed over the Side Door.
Detail of the Framing of the Arch of the Mihrab.]
[Illustration: PLATE XI.
Windows in an Alcove.]
[Illustration: PLATE XII.
ft. in.
Height of Vase 4 6
ft. in.
Diameter 2 11
Arab Vase of Metallic Lustre.]
[Illustration: PLATE XIII.
Details of the Arches.]
[Illustration: PLATE XIV.
Centre Painting on a Ceiling.]
[Illustration: PLATE XV.
Divan.]
[Illustration: PLATE XVI.
Detail of an Arch.]
its magnificent bridge, creating useful public institutions, and finally
completing the grand mosque, which his father had commenced, founding
and endowing in connection with it schools and colleges. Moreover, he
did all this with the resources of the treasury, and with his lawful
part of the spoils of conquest, without levying any extraordinary taxes.
Tradition relates that there formerly was a bridge over the
Guadelquivir, erected on the site of the present structure, about 200
years before the arrival of the Moors in Spain: but, this edifice being
greatly decayed, it was rebuilt by the Arabs during the Viceroyship of
Assamh, A.D. 720 or 721. This noble structure is four hundred paces, or
one thousand feet, in length, and its breadth is twenty-two feet eight
inches within the parapets. The passage over the bridge is a straight
line from one end to the other; the arches are sixteen in number, and
the buttresses of the piers are much stronger and better adapted for
similar purposes than the modern tri-lateral cut-waters. Nearly eleven
centuries have these buttresses withstood the rapid floods of the
Guadelquivir, without sustaining any material injury. Although Hisham
practically rebuilt the bridge, the labour did not contribute to his
personal convenience. His great love of hunting caused the malcontents
among his subjects to whisper that he had repaired the bridge to
facilitate the outgoings and incomings of his hunting parties. The
rumour reached the king, who vowed that he would never cross the bridge
again--a vow he faithfully observed.
The great Aljama was completed in the year A.D. 793. The Emir Hisham
took as great a personal interest in its progress as did his father, the
walies of the provinces contributed to its decoration with the spoils
from ancient monuments, the artificers with their genius, victors with
their booty, the city with its workmen, the mountains of Cordova and
Cabra by yielding the treasures of their quarries, Africa with the
trunks of its imperishable larch-pines, and Asia by inoculating the
growing Arabic-Spanish art with its genius of ornament, its aspirations
and its poetry.
The superb mosque was finished, the workmen rested from their labours,
and Hisham was confident that he had secured a place in the garden of
everlasting joys. Let us look at this new house of prayer, majestically
situated at the southern boundary of the great city, close to the green
banks of the wide river of Andalus, occupying an area of 460 feet from
north to south, and 280 from east to west, surrounded by high, thick
battlemented walls, flanked by stout buttresses of watch towers, and
surmounted by a lofty minaret. It is entered by the faithful by nine
rich and spacious outer gates, and by eleven interior doors, four in the
east and west sides, and a principal one to the north; the eleven in the
inner façade communicating with an equal number of naves in the temple.
The interior arrangement of this wonderful monument is most beautiful.
There is a great courtyard, or atrium, with wide gates in the north,
west, and east sides, having fountains for the ablutions and the
purifications, and orange and palm groves. Then comes the immense body
of the house of prayer, divided into eleven principal naves, running
from north to south, and crossed at right angles by twenty-one smaller
naves, which run from east to west. The elegant combination of the
arcades, in which the pilasters are superposed on the columns, and the
arches on other arches, leaving a passage for the light between the
upper and lower columniation, is quite ideal. Finally, the mysterious
hidden sanctuary, within which the Koran is kept, in whose precincts
Oriental art has exhausted all the riches of its fascinating resources.
The eleven great doors leading from the courtyard to the
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE BRIDGE.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
VIEW OF THE MOSQUE AND THE BRIDGE.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
SECTION OF THE MOSQUE OF CORDOVA ON THE LINE OF THE PLAN L. M.
SECTION OF THE MOSQUE OF CORDOVA ON THE LINE OF THE PLAN N. O.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE GATES OF PARDON.]
mosque are superb double arches all in a row, sustained by beautiful
marble columns, which, four by four, encircle the stout supporting
pillars of stone in which they are consolidated. From the courtyard the
interior of the mosque is seen through these eleven doors glittering
with golden fires, and from the temple the courtyard, seen through these
same doors, appears to be a glimpse of the longed-for Garden of
Delights. The Mohammedan poet, Mohammed Ibn Mohammed Al-baluni, sings as
follows of the holy House of Prayer, which surpasses in richness of
colour, beauty of design, and boldness of ornamentation the most famous
mosques of Arabia, Syria, and Africa:
“Abd-er-Rahman, for the love of God, and in honour of his religion,
spent eighty thousand dinars of silver and gold.”
“He laid them out in constructing a temple for the use of his pious
nation, and for the better observance of the religion of Mahomet.”
“Here the gold lavished on the panelled ceilings shines with the
same brilliancy as the lightning, which pierces the clouds.”
The design, as completed by the Sultan Hisham I. in the years 794-95,
received considerable improvements at the hands of his successors.
Indeed, it can be safely said that none of the sultans of the
illustrious family of Omeyyad who reigned in Cordova failed to make some
estimable addition, or contributed in some way to the decoration of the
sumptuous building. Hakam’s son, Abd-er-Rahman II., A.D. 822-852,
ordered much “Gilt-work”--_Zak-hrafah_--to be made, but died before the
work was completed. Mohammed, his son and successor--A.D.
852-886--continued the work undertaken by his father, and brought it to
a close. Mohammed’s son, Abdallah--A.D. 886-888--is also recorded as
having made improvements in the building.
In the time of the Great Khalif, Abd-er-Rahman III., called An-nasir in
order to distinguish him from the other monarchs of that name, the old
minaret was pulled down by the advice of a wise architect, and a new one
built on its site, whose vastness surpassed all other minarets in the
world. Forty-three days were spent in sinking its foundations, which
penetrated into the ground till water was struck, and three months
sufficed for its construction. The superb tower is built of freestone
and mortar in such a curious manner that, though it contains two
staircases in its interior, each flight containing 107 steps, people can
ascend to the top and go down again without seeing one another. This
elaborate tower measures fifty-four cubits from its foundations to the
upper part of the open dome, to which the priest, who calls to prayers,
turns his back, as he perambulates the projecting balcony, whose elegant
balustrade surrounds the four walls like a graceful ring. From this
balcony up to the top the tower rises eighty-three cubits more, being
crowned with three beautiful apples, two of gold and one of silver, each
three palms and a half in diameter, from which spring two lilies of six
petals, supporting a pomegranate of purest gold. It has fourteen windows
in its four faces. In two of these faces there are three intervals, and
in the other two, two intervals, formed between columns of white and red
jasper, and over the windows there is a crowning of solid arches
sustained by small columns of the same jasper. These windows break up
the mass of the walls in an admirable manner. The minaret is covered,
both inside and out, with beautiful tracery in relief.
Abd-er-Rahman also rebuilt the wall which enclosed the mezquita to the
north, looking towards the Orange Court, and he had the entire floor of
the mosque levelled.
[Illustration: CORDOVA
A VIEW IN THE GARDEN BELONGING TO THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE MOSQUE--LATERAL GATE.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE, OR CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE, MOORISH STYLE, BUILT 961-967, UNDER HAKAM II.]
In 961 A.D., Abd-er-Rahman III., the last great Omeyyad Sultan of
Cordova died, and among his papers was discovered a diary, in his own
handwriting, in which he had carefully noted down the days which he had
spent in happiness and without any cause of sorrow. They numbered
exactly fourteen. “O, man of understanding!” says the Arabian
philosopher, “wonder and observe the small portion of real happiness the
world affords even in the most enviable position! The Khalif An-nasir,
whose prosperity in mundane affairs, and whose widely-spread empire
became proverbial, had only fourteen days of undisturbed enjoyment
during a reign of fifty years, seven months, and three days. Praise be
given to Him, the Lord of eternal glory and everlasting empire.”
The Sultan Hakam, as soon as he succeeded to the Khalifate, determined
to enlarge the mosque, which was too small to accommodate the numbers of
those who went there to perform the “azalas.” He called together the
architects and geometricians, who decided that the addition should
extend from the “kiblah”--the point looking towards Mecca--of the mosque
to the extreme end of the atrium, thus running the entire length of the
eleven naves. The addition measured ninety-five cubits from north to
south, and as much from east to west as the width of the whole mosque.
The passage to the alcazar, used by the khalif when he came to the
“azalas,” was intersected near the “nimbar,” or pulpit, inside the
“maksurrah.” In the year 354 of the Hegirah the cupola, which crowned
the “mihrab,” or sanctuary, containing the Koran, in the addition to the
mosque made by Hakam, was completed. In the same year the “sofeysafa,”
or enamelled mosaic work, was commenced in the mosque, and, by the order
of Hakam, the four incomparable columns, which formerly had served as
jambs for the doors of the old “mihrab,” were set up again in the new
one. It is related that while the addition was being made, a lively
dispute arose as to the exact spot of the “kiblah,” and it was finally
decided to erect the sanctuary at the limit of the prolongation of the
eleven naves, in the centre, looking directly to the south. Between the
interior southern wall and the exterior, which was strengthened with
round towers, a space of some fifteen feet remained. This was divided
into eleven compartments, corresponding with the eleven naves of the
mosque, that in the centre being destined for the sanctuary, and the
others being reserved for the priests and other purposes. In this manner
the “mihrab” was placed in the exact centre of the south side, with a
wing on each side, of precise resemblance. In the west wing there was a
secret passage leading from the mosque to the alcazar, which extended
very near the west wall of the mezquita. The doors of this passage were
arranged in a most intricate fashion, doubtless for the greater security
of the palace, and they gave entrance to the interior of the
“maksurrah,” a sumptuous reserved space, communicating on the north,
east, and west with the great naves, and on the south forming part of
the interior wall of the mosque. This “maksurrah” was a privileged spot,
enclosed by a sort of wooden grating, elegantly worked on both faces,
and surmounted by turrets, the object of which was to cut off all
communication with the sultan. This screen, measuring twenty-two cubits
to its summit, gives its name to that part of the edifice which it
occupies. Its ornamentation, as well as that of the new part of the
central nave, extending from the old to the new “mihrab,” is magnificent
in the highest degree. The plan of the “maksurrah,” properly speaking,
was a large rectangle, divided into three parts, almost square, from
which rose three Byzantine domes of rare beauty.
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE MOSQUE--INTERIOR VIEW.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
INTERIOR VIEW OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE MOSQUE--GENERAL VIEW OF THE INTERIOR.]
That in the centre served as a vestibule to the sanctuary, and was the
most remarkable for its proportions, its outlines, and its decorations.
This part of the mosque has been preserved in its principal features to
the present day. The edifice has lasted nine centuries, and there is no
indication that it will not endure for nine centuries more.
Over the festooned arches, which intersect each other, rise seven light
and graceful horse-shoe arches, which disappear into the south wall,
thus closing the picture and terminating the lower body of the sumptuous
vestibule. Above these double arches runs an impost, beautifully worked
and very graceful, embracing and crowning the four façades, and dividing
the cupola into two zones--an upper and a lower. On this impost rest
beautiful columns in pairs, oversetting great bold semi-circular arches,
arranged with such art that they seem to imitate the curves of the
interlaced garlands of a choir of beautiful odalisques, as the arches do
not go from each column to the corresponding one of the next couple, but
leave the intervening pair open. In this way, as there are two pairs of
columns supporting the impost in each façade, eight principal arches are
formed in the space in two great quadrilaterals placed opposite each
other, their springing stones crossing and forming eight points of a
star. There is an octagonal ring in the centre with eight graceful
pendants, as an embellishment to the capitals of the eight pairs of
columns. A horseshoe arch from point to point, to which a tablet of
alabaster is fitted, leaves an uncertain prospect of the vault of
heaven, which shines upon the cupola and the profusion of rich mosaic
work with which it is adorned.
Between the elegant arches, which appear rather to hang from the cupola
than to support it, the marvellous façade of the “mihrab” appears in the
background, which glistens in the rays of the setting sun like a piece
of brocade loaded with jewels, and which must have been dazzling as a
fairy palace when, in the month of Ramadhan, the fourteen hundred and
fifty-four lights of the great lamp shone under this enamelled
“half-orange.” This façade, in spite of its marvellous richness, does
not show the smallest confusion in its ornamentation, each line is
traced with the idea of giving greater beauty to the arch which forms
the entrance to the sanctuary. It is composed of the arch with its
spacious architrave and its smooth jambs with small columns, together
with its “arraba” surrounded by Grecian frets, and a light series of
arches without vacuums, upon which rest the imposts which divide the
upper and lower bodies of the dome. But such is the profusion and
splendour of the ornamentation of each of these parts that it is
impossible to describe them. The keystones, the architrave, the circle
drawn in squares, the panels, the trefoil arches and the tympana are
incomparable, and the combination of Grecian frets with Persian and
Byzantine ornaments and geometrical figures is as beautiful as it is
bewildering. These last, moreover, do not preponderate as was the case
later in the degenerate Mussulman ornamentation proper. Here the Grecian
frets are the most important, being combined in a thousand different
ways, the stems and leaves tracing the most graceful curves, and all
uniting to form an elegant border, of the most capricious tracery. The
whole of this ornamentation is of marble, delicately carved, now smooth
and white, now covered with minute mosaic of various colours, and loaded
with crystal and gold. The inscriptions seen here are also in gold, on a
ground of crimson, or ultra-marine, alternating with the shining
“sofeysafa.”
“Sofeysafa” is an obscure word, which Don Pascual de Gayangos believes
to be a transposition of the Arabic
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE CENTRAL NAVE OF THE MOSQUE--961-967.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE MOSQUE--CHIEF ENTRANCE.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
INTERIOR VIEW OF THE CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE--LATERAL NAVE.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE--EAST SIDE.]
[Illustration: PLATE XVII.
CORDOVA.]
[Illustration: PLATE XVIII.
CORDOVA.
Detail of one of the niches of the Cupola.
Mosaic keystones of the great arch of the Mihrab.
Details of the Mihrab.]
[Illustration: PLATE XIX.
CORDOVA.
Cufic inscription, over the arch of the Mihrab.]
[Illustration: PLATE XX.
CORDOVA.
Pieces of Wood used in the ancient covering of the Mosque.
Details of the Interior of the Mosque.]
word Foseyfasa,[A] signifying enamel work of exceptional brilliancy,
laid down by Greek workmen whom Abd-er-Rahman had brought to Cordova for
the task.
[A] _Foseyfasa._ Gayangos tells us that the word is not in the
Dictionaries, but that, according to an old Arabian writer, it is a
substance of glass and small pebbles, crushed and baked together,
uniting, with great variety of colour, great brilliancy, and beauty;
it is sometimes mixed with silver and gold. One of the conditions of
peace granted to the Emperor of Constantinople by the Khalif, Al-waléd,
was that the Emperor should provide a certain quantity of _foseyfasa_,
or enamelled work, for the great mosque at Damascus. Idrisi, in his
description of the mosque of Cordova, says that the enamel which
covered the walls of the “mihrab,” came from Constantinople.
Two columns are built into the jamb of the entrance arch to the
sanctuary--one of black marble, the other of jasper, with lavishly
carved capitals. If his blind enthusiasm did not deceive El-Makkari, the
four columns were of green jasper and lapis-lazuli, two of each. An
impost rests upon them as a cornice, and from this the arch springs; and
on the impost an inscription in golden characters upon a crimson ground
is written, which has the following meaning:
“In the name of God, clement and merciful, let us give praise to Him,
who directed us to this, for we could not have directed ourselves if we
had not been directed by God, for which purpose the deputies of our Lord
came with the truth. The priest Al-mostaner Billah Abdallah Al-Hakam,
Prince of the Faithful--may God be faithful to him--ordered the
president and prefect of his court, Giafar ben Abd-er-Rahman--may God be
pleased with him--to add these two columns, since he laid the
foundations in the holy fear of God, and with His good pleasure. This
work was concluded in the month of Dhilhagia of the year 354 of the
Hegirah.”
From this inscription it would seem that two of the columns supporting
the arch of “sofeysafa” were placed there by order of Hakam II., and
that the others belonged to the old “mihrab,” which had been demolished
in order to lengthen the mosque; but no one is capable of saying to-day
whether the black marble columns, or the jasper, were those added by
the order of the magnificent khalif; and whether the inestimable gift
which was deemed worthy of being commemorated in letters of gold was of
lapis-lazuli or not. “God alone knows!”
The sanctuary is a small heptagonal space, with a pavement of white
marble, a socle formed by seven great slabs of the same, and a dome,
also of marble, shaped like a shell and made of a single piece, edged
with an elegant moulding. The seven sides of the heptagon are decorated
with exquisite trefoiled arches, supported by marble columns, with gilt
capitals of delicate workmanship; the columns resting on a cornice,
below whose modules runs a fascia, or fillet, of gilded characters
carved in the marble of the slabs, which form the socle, or
sub-basement.
Within this sanctuary was kept the famous “nimbar” of Hakam II., which
was a sort of pulpit, according to the Arab historian, unequalled in the
world, either for its materials or its workmanship. It was of ivory and
precious woods--ebony, red and yellow sandal, Indian aloe, &c.--and the
cost of it was 35,705 dineros and three adirmames. It had ten steps, and
was said to consist of 37,000 pieces of wood joined by gold and silver
nails, and incrusted with precious stones. It took nine years to build,
eight artificers working at it each day. This pulpit, which must have
been of mosaic of wood, jewels and metals of price, was reserved for the
khalif, and in it was deposited also the chief object of veneration of
all the Mohammedans of Andalusia, a copy of the Koran, supposed to have
been written by Othman, and still stained with his blood. This copy was
kept in a box of golden tissue studded with pearls and rubies, and
covered with a case of richest crimson silk, and was placed on a desk or
lectern, of aloe wood with golden nails. Its weight was so
extraordinary, that two men could scarcely
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE MOSQUE--DETAIL OF THE GATE.]
[Illustration: THE MOSQUE--FAÇADE OF THE ALMANZOR.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
VIEW IN THE MOSQUE--961-967.]
[Illustration: CORDOVA
THE MOSQUE--A GATE ON ONE OF THE LATERAL SIDES.]