Madrid

Architecture is one of the primary sources for writing
the history of a culture. In order to tap into this source,
buildings must be understood as architecture designed by
man. The present paper attempts to do this by taking the
so-called Salón Rico of Madīnat az-Zahrā’ in Córdoba (Spain,
954 – 956 A.D.) as an example. The point of departure is the
question how the designs of buildings originate. Neither the
technical means available to the architect nor the existence
of prototypes are able to explain satisfactorily why buildings
are designed the way they are. Rather, architecture must be
understood as an interpretation of human actions in space.
The decision to arrange space in a certain way and thus interpret the function of a building is based on a specific image of man. Understood in this way, the architectural design of the Salón Rico allows the viewer to make inferences on the underlying image of man and power in Islamic Córdoba – two fundamental themes of cultural history.

The chronicle of ar-Rāzī comprises detailed descriptions
of audiences held at the court of Caliph al-H. akam II in
Córdoba, among them the reception of Gˇaʿfar ibn ʿAlī and his followers in 971. From the arrival at the border, the escort to Córdoba, a military parade in the capital, through to a reception with military honours in the city-palace of Madīnat az-Zahrā’ to the audience with the caliph, these descriptions provide an indication of contemporary ceremony concerning receptions. Since the architectural setting, too, is known from excavations in Córdoba and Madīnat az-Zahrā’, the role of architecture in staging these court ceremonies can be judged. However, there seem to be different concepts between the ceremonial and the architectural setting: while the protocol describes a linear way leading to the ruler and a hierarchical structure of the participants, the architecture points to a worldly and human notion based on the idea that all believers are equal.

The creation of short access routes was not among the aims of architects in early dynastic Egypt. In many palaces, long and winding corridors led from the palace gate to the audience hall. As a result, the space allotted to entrance ways occupies a significant part of the total surface area of the buildings. The narrow corridors serve as a means for monitoring those who seek access, while at the same time they convey the impression of a palace of limitless size. The visitor quickly loses his orientation, to be struck only the more forcibly by the grandeur of the courtyards and halls in the interior of the palace. A very similar attitude toward the design of access routes can be observed in the “ciudadelas” of the Chimú-state of northern Peru. Here, a confusing network of corridors connects courtyards, reception areas (so called “audiencias”) and magazines. Does the similarity in the structure of the ground plan in the two cultures suggest similarities in the conception of power? Is it possible to assume a ritual function for winding corridors,
e.g. forming part of the “rite de passage” of rulers? The aim of the paper is to compare palaces at Abydos, Buto and Sakkara in Egypt (3rd millennium BC) with those in Chan Chan in Peru (2nd millennium AD), and to suggest possible analogies in the respective interpretations of kingship.

Egyptian pyramid temples of the Old Kingdom show a gradual development from temples with large courtyards and few interior spaces opening onto the courtyard (Snofru, Cheops, Mykerinos) to temples with small courtyards and closed interior spaces extending in depth (Sahure, Niuserre). On the one hand, this development necessitated the placing of windows in the rear rooms of the temple. On the other hand, it became possible to accentuate the interior rooms through the deliberate use of light. The pyramid temples thus present an early example of the discovery of light as a forming principle in architecture.

Das islamische Reich al-Andalus gilt schon lange als Vermittler antiken Wissens an die Höfe Italiens. Archäologische Untersuchungen einer Gartenanlage bei Córdoba lassen nun vermuten, dass das neue Menschenbild der Renaissance zudem von muslimischen Errungenschaften inspiriert war.

L’étude archéologique d’un parc privé d’époque califale de la région de Cordoue suggère que le jardin oriental et la conception de l’homme qu’il convie ont eu une influence sur
la concrétisation des idées humanistes dans les jardins d’agrément de la toute première Renaissance italienne.

Im Frühjahr 2014 stießen Mitarbeiter des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts in der Königsnekropole Dahschur auf die Reste einer großen Gartenanlage. Bemerkenswert ist nicht nur ihr Erhaltungszustand und ihre Ausdehnung, sondern auch ihr Alter. Der Garten stammt aus den ersten Regierungsjahren des Königs Snofru (4. Dyn. des Alten Reiches, um 2.600 v. Chr.) und ist damit die älteste Gartenanlage dieser Größenordnung, die in Ägypten bislang entdeckt worden ist.