The
Aljafería Palace (Spanish: Palacio de la Aljafería) is a
fortified palace built during the second half of the eleventh century in
Zaragoza, as the residence of the Banu Hud dynasty during the era of Al-Muqtadir
and reflecting the splendor attained by the kingdom of the taifa of Zaragoza
at the height of its grandeur. The palace currently contains the Cortes
(regional parliament) of the autonomous community of Aragon.
Aljafería
PalaceThe structure holds unique importance in that it is the only conserved
testimony of a large building of Spanish Islamic architecture of the era
of the Taifas. In conserving the magnificent example of the Caliph of Cordoba’s
Mezquita (10th century), and another swan song of Moorish culture, the
Alhambra (14th century), we should include in the triad of Moorish architecture
the Aljaferia of Zaragoza as an example of the intervening era of independent
kingdoms, before the arrival of the Almoravid dynasty in the 11th century
A.D. |
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