User:TheZoBird/Alcázar

A view of the Patio de las doncellas, a ṣaḥn within the Alcázar of Seville.

An alcázar is a type of Moorish castle or palace located in the Iberian Peninsula built during Muslim rule between the 8th and 15th centuries.They were used by... in.....The term is also used for many medieval castles built by Christians on early Roman, Visigothic or Moorish fortifications and is frequently used as a synonym for castillo or castle. Palaces built by Christian rulers were also often called alcázars.

Function

Court of the Lions in the heart of the Alhambra, at night.

Alcázars were owned by Islamic, and later, Christian rulers of al-Andalus, the buildings symbolized the ruler's power and wealth over the region. Over time, the different cultural influences of the buildings merged, marking the Alcázar as a transmission between high Islamic culture, Western Christendom and Jewry.

Historical Context

Alcázars first became constructed under Umayyad Dynasty. It was after conquering the Visigothic Kingdom when the Umayyads began expanding on their current architecture to create a sophisticated Islamic empire.After the 717 conquest, Umayyad caliphs established their capital in Córdoba, Spain, transforming the former Visigoth palace into the Alcázar of the Caliphs.

Extant Alcázars

• Alcázar of Segovia was first cited in the 12th century, though its foundations date back to Roman times. It is a castle built by the Christian monarchs in the place of a Moorish fort. During the Middle Ages when in the Kingdom of Castile, the alcázar of Segovia was the favorite residence of the Castilian monarchs, and almost each king added new parts to the building, transforming the original fortress into a courtier residence and prolonging the construction of the castle until the 16th century, when king Philip II added the conical spires and the slate roofs. A fire in 1862 destroyed part of the roofs, but they were restored in the very same style in which they were built 300 years before. In this castle there was the proclamation of Isabella I as queen of Castile in 1474 starting the War of the Castilian Succession.
• Alcázar of Toledo was used as a military academy in modern times. The Siege of the Alcázar in the Spanish Civil War references this castle, which was held by the Nationalist colonel José Moscardó Ituarte against Republican forces. Republican forces captured Moscardó's 24-year-old son Luis, and on 23 July 1936 informed Moscardó that if he did not turn over the alcázar within ten minutes his son would die. When Moscardó did not surrender, Luis was murdered, not immediately but one month later, on 23 August.
• Alcázar of Seville, on the site of the palace of the Almohad Caliphate called al-Muwarak, was built in the 1360s by Christian Castilian craftsmen in Mudéjar style, and frequently remodeled. It was first used by Peter of Castile with his mistress María de Padilla. The structures and gardens are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, also called "the Alcázar of Córdoba", in Córdoba, Andalusia, was a Moorish palace after the 13th century Reconquista of Córdoba. The Moors had expanded a Visigoth fortress into a large compound with gardens and a large library. This alcázar was the summer home of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and the site of their meeting with Christopher Columbus before his famous voyage to the Americas.
• Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera, was a fortified palace-city located in Southern Spain. Today, it is home to a public park.
• Castle of Burgos, ruins of what was once an alcázar and a royal residence.
• The Alhambra in Granada, a palace and complex fortress. It was the last Muslim stronghold in Al-Andalus before it functioned as a royal Christian palace following the Reconquista.