The Great Mosque of Córdoba (Mezquita-Catedral)

Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain

One of the most celebrated monuments of Islamic architecture, featuring a forest of double-arched columns. Now functioning as a Catholic cathedral after the Christian capture of Córdoba.

Historical Context

Abd al-Rahman I, the sole survivor of the Abbasid overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty in Damascus, founded the Emirate of Córdoba and commissioned the mosque in 784 CE on the site of a Visigothic church (which itself had been built on a Roman temple). His descendants expanded it over 200 years into the largest mosque in the Western Islamic world. After Ferdinand III of Castile captured Córdoba in 1236, the mosque was consecrated as a cathedral. In the 16th century, a Renaissance nave was built inside the prayer hall — a decision that even Charles V reportedly regretted.