Situated in the Andalusian region of southern Spain, the city of Granada was an important cultural and artistic center for nearly 800 years of Islamic rule in Spain. Its significance both in regards to art and architecture would continue well past the Christian reconquest of the Iberian peninsula and the capture of the city at the end of the 15th century. As a testament to the influence of Islamic, or Moorish rule, multiple landmarks can be found throughout Spain to the present day. One of the most famous of these landmarks is Granada’s Alhambra, one of the few Islamic palaces to have survived intact since medieval times. Scholars and students worldwide are generally familiar with the Fountain of the Lions. However this is only one of the multiple striking architectural details of this complex of six palaces, gardens, and towers.
The Alhambra complex of palaces, as well as the nearby Generalife palace, reflect a rich and diverse history stemming from the architectural influences of both Islamic and Christian cultures. In fact, the name of the complex itself is derived from the Arabic al-hamra, meaning “the red.” This perhaps refers to the red ferruginous dust that stains the outer stone walls of the palaces, as well as the red clay found in the surrounding countryside (Irwin 21). Ancient Iberians first occupied the country surrounding Granada, followed by the Romans, Visigoths, and later the Moors. In the early 800s AD, the palace as it is known today was simply a small fort, called the “qa’lat al-hamra,” built on a rocky spur called the Sabika Hill that overlooked the capital city of Granada. By the late 9th Century, the western corner of this spur was heavily fortified, but it remained relatively unchanged until the advent of the rule of the Nasrid dynasty. Replacing the defeated Almohad Caliphate as the dominant power on the Iberian peninsula in the early 1200s, the first Nasrid rulers took Granada as their seat of power. Muhammad I (Ibn al-Ahmar), known as the founder of the Nasrid dynasty, fortified the older foundations of what would become the Alhambra by building a Qasaba, or Arabic citadel, above them (Irwin 23). None of the original fortress remains today, having been completely replaced by the current palace complexes.
Maria Judith Feliciano, a specialist in Iberian culture, notes that the original fortress that would later become the Alhambra was constructed in 897, and was originally purposed for military use, and was not employed as the Nasrid king’s royal residence until 1238 (28). The most important changes to the complex came during the 14th century, during the reigns of Nasrid kings Muhammad III, Yusuf I, and Muhammad V. These included gardens, palaces, new military installations, a mosque, a school, and lookout points. It was at this point that the Alhambra became a palace city rather than a single palace, boasting five to six palaces within the complex. Other parts of the structure are beyond the scope of this study, which will focus primarily on the Palace of the Lions, the Comares Palace, and their adjoining areas. By the height of the Nasrid influence, the walls enclosed a barracks, zoo, aviary, and industrial workshops. Many of the shops found within the city of Granada itself could also be found within the palace walls, making it a sufficient palatine city for its inhabitants (Irwin 21).
After 250 years worth of military struggles between Christian and Moorish kingdoms in Spain, King Ferdinand (1452-1516) and Queen Isabella (1451-1504) completed a Christian Reconquista, or reconquest, of previously Moorish territories, bringing the Iberian peninsula under complete Christian rule for the first time in nearly 800 years. After the fall of Granada, Isabella declared the Alhambra as a Casa royal, or royal house, and she and Ferdinand provided maintenance and renovated rooms in the palace, using it as a residence (Feliciano 28). It would retain this status until 1868. Much of the Moorish art was altered, whitewashed, or damaged over the subsequent centuries, as the Christian conquerors modified the palaces to suit their needs and cultural background. Isabella, for instance, ordered a convent and church to be built on the grounds. Indeed, the monarchs are still closely tied to the city of Granada, with their tombs near the city center in the Capilla Real. There, they are buried in simple lead caskets completed by massive marble effigies (Murphy 118). The modification of the original Alhambra complex continued into 1526, when Charles V spent a honeymoon in Granada, later turning it into the capital of the Iberian world. According to Feliciano, the architect Pedro Manchuca began construction of a Renaissance style palace on the Alhambra grounds in 1533. It was a struggle to complete, and was abandoned after a century of construction. The interior of this palace collapsed due to an incomplete roof, but the decorated outer stone walls are still in place today (28). According to Irwin, by the 17th century the palaces fell upon hard times, and weathered several earthquakes and fires. By the early 19th century they were used to house animals and became a sort of agricultural shanty village. It was only in 1870 that the palace complex was declared a national monument, though it still weathered tourists carving their names on walls or chipping off pieces of stucco and mortar as souvenirs (65-66). By the late 19th century, it was famously inhabited by the American writer Washington Irving. Today, the palace complex remains a historic and cultural masterpiece and is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, consistently drawing thousands of visitors and tourists annually.
The scope of this architectural study focuses primarily on the two most well-known of the Alhambra’s palaces, the Comares Palaces and the adjoining Palace of Lions, seen in the inset below. As an architectural cross section of Moorish architecture, these two buildings most closely exemplify the original Islamic architecture and influences.
(Lopez, J Bermudez, Ground plan of the Alhambra)
According to Irwin, the oldest partially surviving palace in the Alhambra complex is the Partal Palace, constructed by Muhammad III (25). Situated to the east of the Court of the Lions, it consists of a tower, a portico, and a pool. The next oldest surviving palace is the Comares Palace, which is centered around the famous Court of the Myrtles. This building’s construction was begun by the Nasrid ruler Ismail I (r. 1314-25), continued by Yusuf I (r. 1333-54), and finally completed by Muhammad V in 1370. Contrary to the more axial northern Spanish palaces, this complex is a jigsaw of patios and rooms, mostly centered around garden courtyards such as the Court of Lions and the Court of Myrtles. Scholars such as Desmond Stewart have suggested that this central palace complex can be divided into three primary parts. The first, that of justice and administration, can be seen in the Comares Palace. The Hall of the Ambassadors, the Nasrid throne room, was the primary focus of this part. The private residence of the ruler himself, and by extension the ruler’s harem, comprised the other two and are attributed to the Palace of Lions (Stewart, 20).
The Hall of the Ambassadors, the main chamber of the Nasrid rulers, is characterized by elaborately patterned floors, carved wooden beams, and intricate wainscoting on the walls. A sixty foot domed ceiling caps the space, and the cavernous room is lit by nine large windows with latticework screens (Stewart 166). In addition to this Hall, there are three large, square rooms to the side of the Court of the Myrtles. The Hall of the Two Sisters, part of the private apartments within the Lions Palace, adjoins the Comares Palace, with sleeping alcoves set into either side. The walls of this chamber have inscriptions from Islamic poems, and are called the finest example of cursive epigraphy in Islam by scholars. Below the South wall of this palace is the site of the Alhambra’s mosque, built in 1308 by Muhammad III. This mosque was in an excellent state of preservation until the 19th century, when it was destroyed by Napoleonic forces. The Church of Santa Maria de la Alhambra now stands on the site (Stewart 164-165). To the north of the Alhambra complex is the Generalife, one of the oldest examples of a Moorish garden. This complex, translated to mean “Garden of the Architect,” was reputedly designed and initially occupied by one of the Alhambra’s original architects. According to Stewart, the building itself was purchased by Sultan Ismail Ibn-Faraj in 1320 to become a part of the greater Alhambra complex (165). Today, the general entrance to the palace complex opens directly onto the Court of the Myrtles, the central courtyard of the Comares Palace. To the west of this is the Meshwar, formerly administrative offices during the Moorish occupation. These were reconstructed into a palace chapel in the 16th century, and today are mostly occupied by gardens. These remain outside the scope of this study, however.
There is great similarity, according to Stewart, between the Islamic and early Christian architecture of the Iberian peninsula, which is reflected in the design of the Alhambra. Both cultural backgrounds produced architecture featuring simple, bare exteriors that concealed elaborate interiors. In the case of the Alhambra complex, the interior exquisitely reflected the Moorish culture in Spain. An often cited example of the skill of the Moorish craftsmen is the Court of the Lions. The Palace of the Lions, in Nasrid times, was separate from the other palaces, only joined to the Court of the Myrtles during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella (Stewart 46). The center of the Court of the Lions features the famous fountain, surrounded by twelve stone carved lions. These lions do not actually support the fountain, giving it a weightless quality when viewed from afar. An account from 1602 indicates that originally, each quadrant of the now tiled Court contained six orange trees and beds of flowers (Stewart 50).
However, the majesty of the Nasrids is conveyed through the intricate decoration of the interior walls of the palace complex. Irwin suggests that the actual brick construction of the palaces reflect the poverty of the Nasrid rulers in comparison to the Eastern dynasties. Although the design is magnificent, the materials used in the design are not. The designers instead fake magnificence through a clever use of stucco, wood, and tiles (70). A recent study of the pigment and plasterwork revealed several interesting techniques. On almost all the walls, the basic technique for surface decoration was to apply glazed tiling to the lower half, while covering the upper parts of the wall in stucco. Woodwork, on the other hand, was limited to ceilings, doors, girders, and eaves. However, both mediums were polychromed in bright color (Cardell-Fernández, Carolina, and Carmen Navarrete-Aguilera 165). The study found that the pigment composition of these polychromed structures varied according to the architectural function, but made interesting conclusions in regards to the actual pigments themselves. Two color palettes, in particular, were identified as having been used by the Nasrid architects. A simpler palette of blue, red, and black is indicative of earlier constructions such as the Partal Palace. A more complicated palette of red cinnabar, green malachite, carbon black, and gold appears extensively throughout the Lions Palace. Cardell-Fernández and Navarrete-Aguilera attribute the use of expensive pigments such as lapis lazuli, azurite, and malachite, to the high esteem to which the palace was held by the rulers and builders (176). Unfortunately, due to the restyling of paintings by later Catholic Christian kings, few examples of Nasrid polychromy remain today.
Most of the decoration of the Alhambra’s interior is that of intricate geometric designs and descriptions characteristic of Islamic architecture. However, a stark contrast is found in the Sala de Justicia, or Hall of Justice. Three paintings within this hall, covering the vaults of the hall’s ceiling, clearly portray human figures. Scholar Torres Balba argues that the work was a result of a Western Gothic painter, while others argue that the work was completed by a French war captive. According to scholar Jerrilynn Dodds, six scenes from this space contain iconography directly attributed to French 14th century artistic tradition (188). As the Nasrid kings were forced into constant contact with neighboring Christian kingdoms during the latter part of the dynasty’s rule, the presence of these paintings may be a testament to the encroaching influence of the Northern kingdoms.
Further study of the Alhambra’s physical components reveals that the Nasrid builders understood the harsh climate of the Al-Andalus landscape and constructed accordingly. Chemical analysis of mortar specimens taken from various buildings reveal high concentrations of gypsum and pozzolanic materials. The high concentrations of Iron, Silicon, Calcium, and other trace minerals are found to be responsible for the high compressive strength in the mortars of the palace walls (Binici, and Kapur, 101-110). Furthermore, the climate of Granada yields temperature swings from -13 to 43 degrees Celsius between winter and summer. There is only scant documentation, and the bulk of research on this subject is anecdotal, however research suggests that the Nasrid rulers used seasonal wardrobes and room furnishings to account for these climatic shifts (Wilmert 159). In addition, more open plans in the palaces allowed for greater ventilation. The Hall of the Ambassadors itself functions in a manner similar to a ventilation tower, with cross-ventilation allowing warm air to escape during the summer. Alterations were made to the buildings during Christian occupation, such as windows being punched into exterior walls, and the addition of some form of heating elements such as fireplaces. Wilmert suggests that this indicates that those who came after the Nasrids either misunderstood the purpose of the building designs or viewed the enclosed rooms as cramped (167).
As some of the research on the construction of the Alhambra palace complex is scant, there are some disagreements among scholars as to certain building purposes. Scholar Juan Carlos Ruiz Souza a historian at the University of Madrid, postulated that the Court of Lions was not intended as a courtyard at all, but rather was intended as a madrasa housing religious scholars of the Koran. Other scholars take note of the function of the Sala de la Barca, a room off the north side of the Court of the Myrtles. Some argue its function as a bedroom, however the room itself is awkwardly shaped and in an inconvenient place to function as such. Still others theorize that it was intended as a dining room, but there is no evidence for this either (Stewart 41-42).
The Alhambra palace complex continues to function as a historic and cultural relic of Moorish Spain today. Although it has weathered the elements remarkably well, the palace still shows signs of degradation. This is especially evident in the Court of the Lions, where the centuries-old fountain has shown some signs of decay. A study into the minerals found on the fountain concluded that the best course of action in the near future is to shut off the water supply in the interests of preservation. This is followed with a recommendation for moving the original fountain to a museum and replacing it with a replica (Sarró et al, 1811-1820). Whether or not this will be the decided course of action by caretakers and scholars of the Alhambra in the future is unknown. However, as with culturally important sites such as this, preservation for future generations is of the utmost importance. With proper oversight, the Alhambra can remain a historical masterpiece of times long past, for generations to come.