Aljafería

In spite of the many changes it has undergone, the Aljaferia of Saragossa is the best surviving example of Art from the Taifa epoch. This palace was built on the orders of a prince from the Hudid dynasty: Abu Ja’far Amad ibn Sulayman al-Muqtadir, who gave the palace its name. It was also named Qasr al-Surur. The original structure of the palace has been transformed due to the various interventions after the city was conquered by the Christians in 1118. The palace is situated outside the city walls and is encircled by a fortified wall with several circular towers and a rectangular tower from an earlier date.

The fortified aspect of the palace has led certain researchers like B. Pavon Maldonaldo, to make comparisons with Umayyad palaces constructed in the desert or with certain Tunisian ribat, influenced by Byzantine constructions, such as in Sousse. O. Grabar however, believes that these desert palaces had only symbolic value, had no real defensive function and were not constructed by princes of the ruling dynasty.

The semi-circular towers of the Aljaferia are typical of the fortress-palaces, built under Byzantine influence by Arabs from the Orient and the Maghreb.[1] This type of tower can be seen at other sites in al-Andalus like the Talavera la Reina fortress, the Albaycin fortified walls in Granada and in certain constructions of Roman origin such as the city walls in Saragossa. As with the Abbasid and Umayyad palaces, the austerity of the fortifications is in stark contrast with the sumptuous decors of the interior.

According to a study made by B. Pavon, the palace measures some 80 by 70 metres. A tower from an earlier period marks the north-south axis. Inside the walls the palace occupies the central area. This layout has led B. Pavon to compare the Aljaferia with the tripartite layout of other oriental fortified palaces, such as Mshatta in Jordan and Raqqada in North Africa. The palace is built around a large, rectangular, central courtyard known as the “Saint Isabelle” courtyard. The longer sides are bordered by porticos and rectangular rooms. The layout is in the form of a cross with two raised aisles, which meet in the centre. In front of the porticos are a series of rectangular pools. The largest rooms, which were for ceremonial use, are on the northern side, as is a tiny but ornate oratory. It was customary to include a prayer room in the Oriental fortresses[2] and Tunisian ribat. According to B. Pavon Maldonaldo, the same cruciform layout is to be found in the al-Ma’mun Palace in Toledo; the design later evolved as can be seen at the Ziza Palace in Palermo and The Ambassadors Salon in the Alcazar in Seville.

Even if the Aljaferia is part of the artistic heritage of the Cordoba caliphate, numerous parallels exist between its décor and that of several contemporary edifices on the Iberian Peninsula, in the Orient and in the Maghreb. The Epigraphic décor of the oratory, for example the interlaced shape and knot of the letter lam-alif, is similar to certain steles in Kairouan or to the decoration of the Qal’a of Banu Hammad in Algeria. We can see curvilinear arches which had not been used in al-Andalus and for which the al-Hakim minaret in Cairo represents the most well known precedent. Other examples from the 10th and 11th centuries can be found in Tunisia and Algeria: the Zaytuna or the Qal’ of Banu Hammad. Later example can be found in Almoravid and Almohad art. The interlaced arches bound by large circular knots may have been inspired by the stuccos in Samarra. The poly-foiled lancet arches supported by delicate columns bear witness to the baroque aspect of the art developed at the Aljaferia. Trelliswork in the form of interlaced octagons and six pointed stars can also be seen. These decorative themes, according to B. Pavon Maldonaldo, are also to be found in the Alcazab in Malaga and on sculpted wood in Toledo. They may well have been influenced by stucco decorations by the Abbasids in Iraq or in Nisapur.

[2] ‘Ayn al-Jarr, Khirbat al-Mafjar, Qasr al-Tuba, Qasr al-Khayr al-Sharqî.