A beautifully illustrated book that explores the famous palace city, which was once the heart of Islamic Spain. Madinat al-Zahra, a 10th-century palace city in the western suburbs of Córdoba, Spain, and a UNESCO World Heritage site, bears witness to the multicultural environment cultivated by its founders. Created by ʿAbd al-Rahman III (929–961), a member of the Umayyad dynasty and the first caliph of al-Andalus, the city symbolized the caliph's desire to dominate the Fatimid caliphs in Ifriqiya of North Africa and the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad, and was a place of extensive cultural and artistic creation.

The complex volume accompanies an exhibition at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University and highlights the intricate visual vocabulary of Madinat al-Zahra, derived from diverse cultural traditions and translated into new and unique architectural and material cultures. Thematic essays examine the history of the Islamic Caliphate in Muslim Iberia (al-Andalus), the cultural and artistic traditions of the era, as well as the resulting multicultural society, while shorter chapters focus on a variety of artifacts found at the ancient site—from jewelry and ceramics to medical texts and inscriptions.

The contributors include Maribel Fierro Bello, Gerrit Bos, Patrice Cressier, Miquel Forcada, Teresa Garulo, Tawfiq Ibrahim, Fabian Käs, Ana Labarta, Eduardo Manzano Moreno, Antonia Martínez Núñez, Jorge Elices Ocón, Mariam Rosser-Owen, Irene Montilla Torres, Antonio Vallejo Triano, and Mercè Viladrich.

Distributed by the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University.

Exhibition Schedule:
Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University
October 30, 2024 – March 2, 2025

Pages: 272, Dimensions: 22.9x22.9cm