Half the wealth and nearly half the territory of the Christian Roman Empire once in Muslim hands
Special to The B.C. Catholic
Travel guidebooks in Spain often make mention of the Reconquista, a series of military campaigns by Christian states to recapture territory from the Muslims, or Moors, who had occupied it for 770 years, since the early eighth century.
It had all begun at a moment of apparent universal Catholicism. A new religion had been born at the edge of the Roman world in the Arabian wilderness: Islam. Within just a lifetime it had overwhelmed half of Christian civilization by force of arms.
Just 100 years after the first assault, half the wealth and nearly half the territory of the Christian Roman Empire were in Muslim hands.
Islamic forces had crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in 711. Spain was completely unprepared for the invasion and was overwhelmed in just a few years. Next the invading armies moved into France.
Islamic rule lasted 770 years in Granada, Spain, and for hundreds of years in other parts of the country.
During this difficult time was born something totally unique, what has today became a mosque-cathedral, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of C¢rdoba, declared a World Heritage Site in 1984.
The cathedral was first a Catholic basilica, then the largest mosque of the Western Caliphate, then was consecrated as a Catholic cathedral.
Before the initial Islamic invasion of C¢rdoba in 711, it had been a Hispanic-Visigothic basilica from the sixth century, the Basilica of St. Vincent the Martyr, believed to have been the largest church in the area.
With the Islamic invasion in 711, part of the church was first turned into a mosque. By 786 it had been completely turned into a mosque, which was eventually demolished to make room for a much larger mosque.
The new mosque came to be considered the most important sanctuary of Western Islam. An impressive architectural creation, it became a religious, social, cultural, and political site. In fact it was so richly embellished and expanded it came to replace the great mosque of Damascus as a reference model.
The building today, a fascinating mix of many influences, attracts students of art and architecture. A strong Hispanic-Roman influence is perceived from the use of materials that came from the demolished church of St. Vincent.
Byzantine artists contributed to the famous mosaics that were used in the building of the mihrab (the place beside where the imam leads prayer). The cross-like design of the ensemble formed by the skylights and the mihrab remains, presenting a Latin cross plan and reaffirming the influence of the basilica layout found in the initial structure.
The mosque was divided into a courtyard and a large prayer hall, made up of more than 800 marble, jasper, and granite columns. Artistic highlights include about 400 horseshoe arches in two colours. Walls are adorned with marble, precious stuccos, and beautifully coloured Byzantine mosaics with gold background.
Hardly a trace of the ancient Christian church exists. Under subsequent building phases during the age of the caliphate, the mosque grew into what is today hailed as a renowned work of Moorish architecture. Construction was carried out by four Umayyad rulers.
During the prosperous stage of the independent emirate, the time of the early Christian persecution, an addition lengthened the courtyard and the aisles of the prayer hall. In the courtyard a minaret was constructed for calling people to prayer.
Another expansion, which added eight aisles, was an ostentatious display of power, though it merely copied the existing structure. The cost was kept low: the alternating colours of the arches were not produced this time with brick and stone, but instead were painted.
When King Ferdinand III (also called the Saint) liberated the city in 1236, his royal banner was preceded by the processional cross, symbolizing the important significance of reclaiming Spain for Christ.
That same day, the former mosque was consecrated, and dedicated to the Holy Mother of God by Bishop Don Juan Dominguez in the presence of many prelates. A diagonal cross was ceremonially traced in ash on the floor with the bishop’s crozier with the letters of the Greek and Latin alphabet, uniting East and West.
Plans were made for further additions. The minaret was changed into a bell tower in the 17th century and additions were made to the structure until the end of the 18th century.
A main chapel, transept, and choir were begun in 1523 under a vault inspired by Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. The result was an ingenious integration of the Caliph structures within the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque motifs, making this an even more extraordinary display of the wealth of both pre-Islamic, Islamic, and Christian art.
A Cathedral Chapter of Canons, a college of priests, is responsible for solemn liturgical functions in the cathedral. It has overseen the liturgical life of the cathedral every day, without exception, since that memorable day in 1236 when, after more than five centuries, the cathedral was reclaimed for the one true faith.
J.P. Sonnen is a tour operator and history docent with Vancouver-based Orbis Catholicus Travel.
