The suburban villa (munya) and court culture in Umayyad Cordoba (756-976 CE)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 218-241).As the capital of the Umayyad dynasty (r. 756 CE-1031 CE), the city of Cordoba developed into one of the most renowned urban centers of the western Mediterranean. The Great Mosque of Cordoba is the outstanding testament to the architectural activities of the dynasty, yet textual and material evidence indicates that the Great Mosque was but one facet of a broader program of Umayyad patronage. The dissertation focuses on the dynasty's secular monuments - the suburban villas (Arabic munya, p. munan) constructed around the city by the Umayyad rulers and their courtiers. It analyzes the munya as a medieval architectural, landscape, and social phenomenon. By addressing issues of function, patronage, and meaning, the dissertation utilizes Cordoban villas as a vehicle for the investigation of Umayyad court society. The dissertation is divided into two parts. Part One (Chapters I-IV) defines the architectural characteristics and agricultural functions of the munya. Part Two analyzes the social functions of the Cordoban estates as settings for Umayyad court activities, and the meanings associated with estate patronage and the Umayyad construction of a villa landscape.(cont.) The dissertation contextualizes the munya within a broader constellation of Mediterranean villas and villa culture, and argues that the munya tradition informed subsequent developments in palace architecture on the Iberian Peninsula. Cordoban villas provided significant revenue for the state and patrons, supplied the court with the luxury crops considered necessary to refined life, served as settings for court activities, and demonstrated status and power among the Umayyad ruling class. The Cordoban rulers therefore attached a strong ideological importance to the estates. With the establishment of the caliphate in the tenth century, Cordoba's fertile villa landscape became entwined with Umayyad notions of sovereignty and good governance, in which a fertile landscape was conflated with political legitimacy, a theme that is also apparent in Umayyad court literature. Thus, the dissertation demonstrates that an appreciation of the many links between the villas and the Cordoban ruling class is central to comprehending Umayyad court society.by Glaire D. Anderson.Ph.D

Dataset, Assassin's Creed Mirage History of Baghdad

Dataset of images and information on museum artefacts included in new in-game educational feature for Assassin's Creed Mirage'When Assassin's Creed Mirage launches on October 12, it will continue the series' tradition of bringing players closer to history with History of Baghdad, a feature that adds historical context to the game's simulation of the past. Part of an in-game Codex that also includes tutorials and a Database with lore, History of Baghdad will deliver expertly curated information on the history, art, and culture of Baghdad and the Abbasid Caliphate circa the ninth century, accompanied by images provided by museum partners.

Digital Munya Dataset

Dataset of museum artefacts, cultural heritage sites, and Arabic primary sources informing Digital Munya 2 and The Cordoba Journe

The spatialization of Jerusalem during the early Muslim period

Jerusalem during the early Muslim period, and more specifically the reign of Caliph 'Abd al-Malik, underwent a series of major spatial changes. Via a series of building projects, the Muslim conquerors attempted to reorient a Christian city. The first major building project in Jerusalem during this period was the creation of the Dome of the Rock. Following the Dome of the Rock were the Aqsa Mosque and a recently excavated palace complex.These building projects participated in the creation of an Islamic identity within the city. By incorporating earlier religious associations of the building sites, but also accentuating the differences of the new religion, 'Abd al-Malik created an identity that was cosmopolitan and syncretic. Looking back to the monuments of Arabia, while referencing the existing monuments in the city of Jerusalem, 'Abd al-Malik created a monumental Islamic identity.Thesis (M.A.)--University of Colorado at Boulder, 2007.School code: 0051