The Mihrab at The Great Mosque of Cordoba

In early Arabic secular literature, ?mihrab? sometimes referred to the part of the palace where the king would sit, sometimes to a niche that held an image, and sometimes to a colonnaded platform. Because it is used to describe such a variety of architectural features, historians have had to trace the origins of the word. ?Mihrab? could either be derived from the Ethiopic word ?merkuerab? meaning sanctuary (an obvious suggestion considering the religious role of mihrabs), or the Arabic ?harba?, a form of authoritative lance (a valid proposal because the prophet would often define the boundaries of the prayer space by planting his lance). However, this latter theory is questionable because the

mihrab was such a focal point of Islamic mosques and the word ?harba? appears only five times in the Koran. Also supporting the former theory is the fact that each time it appears in the Koran, it refers to a chamber or fine structure.

The three columns above the mihrab aisles are elaborately interlaced, significantly highlighting the passage into the mihrab where it is quite closed off from the rest of the mosque. This isolation of the mihrab from the rest of the hypostyle hall along with the extensively intricate mosaics within and around the mihrab produce the feeling that it is a privileged space, an effect that had previously been created with far more subtlety.

Altogether, these additions cost an enormous amount of money to construct, and the community of worshippers questioned the necessity of many of these additions, such as the destruction of an old sabat and construction of a new, more ornate sabat in the same place. The public questioned the necessity of the purposes for which the funds had been used and refused to pray in the new enlargement until it was explained to them how the project was financed. Al-Hakam II rationalized his decision to expand the mosque as a service for the expanding community of worshippers, as they were so faithful that they overcrowded the mosque, causing some to faint and perish. Also, to heed the financial concerns of the community, he coordinated with the superintendent of pious foundations, the jurists, and the witnesses to develop a plan for enlargement that could be carried out using only existing funds and any contributions from pious foundations. Still, most of the community was uncomfortable with such a sumptuous construction, the magnificence of the mihrab being the primary source of uneasiness.

The mihrab itself is an octagon with only one open side, causing the closed feeling it has. The seven walls are bordered with blind tribbed arches on paired columns and covered with carved stucco panels and inscription bands. The domed roof of the mihrab and the dome in front of the mihrab, the horseshoe arch at the entryway, the adjacent doors in the qibla and the three interconnected arches above the mihrab aisles are also mosaic, and the horseshoe arch and inside dome of

Some topics in this essay:
, Al-Hakam II, Damascus Abd, Mosque Cordoba, Cordoba Spain, Northern Africa, Cordoba Islam, Barcelona Umayyad, Mosque Damascus, Umayyad Khalifs, islamic architecture, dome front mihrab, doors qibla, columns mihrab, historical context, mihrab aisles, variety architectural, abd ar-rahman, front mihrab, dome front, word mihrab,