User:WavesOfAmur/Cordoba Sandbox Edit 1

Umayyad Rule
Different areas were allocated for services in the Saint Vincent Church shared by Christians and Muslims, until construction of the Córdoba Mosque started on the same spot under Abd-ar-Rahman I. Abd al-Rahman allowed the Christians to rebuild their ruined churches and purchased the Christian half of the church of St Vincent. In May 766 Córdoba was chosen as the capital of the independent Umayyad emirate, later caliphate, of al-Andalus. By 800 the megacity of Cordoba supported over 200,000 residents, 0.1 per cent of the global population. During the apogee of the caliphate (1000 AD), Córdoba had a population of about 400,000 inhabitants, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to an unlikely 1,000,000. In the 10th and 11th centuries Córdoba was one of the most advanced cities in the world, and a great cultural, political, financial and economic centre. As capital of al-Andalus province in the Umayyad Caliphate, Córdoba was the seat of that province for three centuries, and as a result, many examples of Muslim art and architecture were introduced throughout its territory. The Great Mosque of Córdoba dates back to this time. After a change of rulers the situation changed quickly. The vizier al-Mansur–the unofficial ruler of al-Andalus from 976 to 1002—burned most of the books on philosophy to please the Moorish clergy; most of the others were sold off or perished in the civil strife not long after.

Great Mosque of Córdoba
From 784- 786 AD, Abd al-Rahman I built the Mezquita, or Great Mosque, of Córdoba, in the Umayyad style of architecture with variations inspired by indigenous Roman and Christian Visigothic structures. Later caliphs extended the mosque with more domed bays, arches, intricate mosaics and a minaret, making it one of the four wonders of the medieval Islamic world. The "tale of the conversion of the Great Mosque of Córdoba", written by Rodrigo Ximenenez de Rada in the early 1240's, purports the Mosque as being the largest in the Islamic world, surpassing all others in both grandeur and in size '''. The Mosque was also thought to contain influences of processes learned by Arabic architects through settling in al-Andalus. Their new found knowledge of jewelry making, silversmithing, and inclusions of Spanish architectural styles and craftsmanship aided in the creation of the Mosque, among other wonders of Islamic architecture, such as The Alcázar of Seville and The Alhambra of Granada. Moreover, the architectural style of the Mosque in Córdoba inspired other works in contemporary Spain many years after its construction. The Modesto Echaniz and Lino Garay building in Bilbao (1881), for example, uses similar techniques found in the Mosque, such as its architecture using Córdoban designs of ringed-shafted thin columns, decorated lattice motiffs on ceilings, and an ataurique, a form of arabesque artistic decoration '''. After the Christian reconquest of Andalucía, a cathedral was built in the heart of the mosque, however much of the original structure remains. It can be found in the Historic Centre of Córdoba, a recognized World Heritage Site.