3. El papel de las fortificaciones en el proceso de islamización. Norte/Sur

Third session of the "Islamization Under Debate" series organized by Casa Árabe in Córdoba. On this occasion, the invited experts will discuss the role that fortifications played in the process experienced by the Visigothic population in al-Andalus. In the process of implementing the Islamic social and political model in al-Andalus, fortifications, particularly those promoted by the Umayyad authorities, played a fundamental role. Many of these fortresses were built with materials and construction methods with common characteristics, indicating their connection to the Cordoban power. Among these, the use of ashlar masonry stands out, initially reused from previous buildings and progressively extracted from quarries. The distribution of these fortifications appears to have been concentrated initially in two more or less well-defined areas: on the one hand, in the central and western Iberian Peninsula and, on the other, around the Ebro Valley, where a certain unique architectural endemism is detected. The comparison between these two areas offers an interesting exercise in determining the role these fortifications played in the Islamization of al-Andalus. This requires precisely establishing their chronology, architectural influences, the relationship between their builders and the Cordoban authorities, and so on. Participants: Jesús Brufal Sucarrat and Pedro Gurriarán Daza. Moderator: Alberto León Muñoz. Jesús Brufal Sucarrat is a Serra Hunter Fellow at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. His main research focus is the history and archaeology of al-Andalus. Architecture, Landscape and Identity (8th-12th centuries)' revolves around three thematic axes: 'Dryland areas in the Lleida district', 'Identity and power on the Upper Frontier of al-Andalus', and 'The transition between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages in the Ebro River valley (6th-9th centuries)'. He is the coordinator of the Medieval History area at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and co-director of the Centre for Archaeological Heritage Studies at the same university. He is the director of the archaeological excavations at the Santa Coloma d'Àger necropolis and the Castell d'Algerri. Pedro Gurriarán Daza Architect, University of Seville, Higher Technical School of Architecture, specializing in Urban Planning (2001). Doctoral candidate at the University of Seville, Higher Technical School of Architecture, with the doctoral thesis entitled “Construction and Power on the Southern Frontier of al-Andalus during the Caliphate of Cordoba” (2015). His professional work has focused on heritage restoration since 2002. Founding partner of Yamur. Arquitectura y Arqueología S.L. in Málaga (2002). Founding partner of Arhitektura i Arheologija d.o.o. in Dubrovnik, Croatia (2009). Member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Campo de Gibraltar Studies for Section 1 (Geography and History). Member of the editorial board of the journal Arqueología de la Arquitectura (Archaeology of Architecture), published by the Institute of History of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of the Basque Country, since January 2014. Member of the Technical Commission of the Alcazaba of Almería Monumental Complex, since February 2013. Alberto León Muñoz is a tenured professor of Archaeology in the Department of Art History, Archaeology, and Music at the University of Córdoba since 2011. His research focuses on Late Antique and Medieval archaeology, the archaeology of architecture, and Islamic and Andalusian urban planning. He has been part of the research team under the Collaboration Agreement between the Municipal Urban Planning Department and the University of Córdoba, directing archaeological excavations such as the Patio de Mujeres (Courtyard of the Women) at the Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs, the walled enclosure of La Calahorra, and the Sequnda suburb. A member of the "Sísifo" Research Group at the University of Córdoba (UCO), he has participated in numerous projects funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology under the National R&D&I Plan, including: "Evolution of the historic city of Córdoba, the funerary world, medieval architecture and urban planning" and "Development and Innovation Oriented to Societal Challenges for the Digitization of the Documentary Legacy of the Catalan Architect Félix Hernández Jiménez." He currently co-directs the project "From Julius Caesar to the Catholic Monarchs: Archaeological Analysis of 1500 Years of History in the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba and its Urban Surroundings," within the framework of the State Programs for the Generation of Knowledge and Scientific and Technological Strengthening of the R&D&I System (2020 Call for Proposals), and directs the Specific Archaeological Activity in the Courtyard of the Orange Trees of the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba (since September 2020). More information: https://www.casaarabe.es/eventos-arab....