Excursion to Cordoba

With the light hand of Marcus Claudius Marcellus, a Roman praetor, Cordoba in 169 BC received the status of a Roman municipality and patrician families from Rome built their villas there. They were the political elite of the time. Is it any wonder that Cordoba finds himself in the thick of historical events? In Córdoba, two of the most prominent generals and politicians of the time find their relationship: Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompeii Magn. This is the Civil War of the First Triumvirate. In the courtyard of 49 BC and Cordoba is subjected to a brutal siege by Caesar's troops. The defense of the city is led by Gnei Pompeii the younger - the son of the great commander. The siege was followed by an assault. City taken. At the same time, more than 45% of the total population of Córdoba – 22,000 people – died. Caesar gives a speech in the city square, thanks his supporters, planting a tree (planet) on the place where the Alcázar of the Christian Kings is now located. And you, my friend, walking with me through these historic sites, realize how little has changed in essence Humanity since then. Only historical surroundings change, not people, not their characters. The faint-hearted and treacherous legate of Pompey, Varron, sensing on whose side the military fortune was leaning, surrendered to the mercy of Caesar with his legions, instead of supporting the besieged troops.

But the concussions of the war behind and by the time of the Second Triumvirate of Cordoba, which by that time was called Cordoba Colonia Patricia, turned into a brilliant residence of the Roman nobility. Here are built temples, amphitheaters, baths, aqueducts. In terms of the number of theaters and amphitheaters, Córdoba surpasses Rome itself! Its population is growing to 250,000 people. At this time, the great philosophers Lucius Anneus Seneca and his nephew Marcus Anneus Lucano were born there - the teacher of the future emperor Nero and the author of the poem La Farsalia, just describing the struggle of Gnaeus Pompey and Julius Caesar.

In Cordoba, we can still see the richest heritage in Spain from the Roman era. In the main hall of the palace in the Alcázar of Christian Kings, a wonderful Roman mosaic is exhibited, and in the Archaeological Museum there are statues and household items of the Roman period.

In 716, at the very beginning of the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, Cordoba became the capital of the province of the caliphate with the throne in Damascus. But already in 756, Abd al-Rahman I – the only surviving representative of the Umayyad dynasty after the palace coup – proclaims an independent emirate of Al-Andalus with its capital ... in Córdoba. In the following centuries, in 929, his descendant, Abd al-Rahman III, proclaimed himself caliph and Cordoba became the capital of the caliphate of Al-Andalus. By the year 1000, its population is 450,000, making Córdoba one of the most populated cities in the world. The library of Córdoba, with its 400,000 volumes, is the largest in the world. Since then, we have reached the historical heritage in the form of the Grand Mosque of Alham, the tower of Calaorra, the Alcázar of Christian Kings, the Roman bridge of the first century AD.

After the conquest of Cordoba from the Muslims in 1236, another historical era came - the era of the Christian rulers of Castile. The city was taken after a six-month siege and on June 29 King Fernando the Third "Saint" enters the city gate. His descendant, King Alfonso Eleven, began in 1329 the construction of the Alcázar, which we can see today - the Alcázar of Christian Kings. The construction was continued by King Enrique the Fourth and this palace and fortress complex took its finished form. These walls saw a lot: Christopher Columbus, and the torture of the Inquisition, and brilliant Catholic monarchs – Isabel of Castile and Fernando of the Second Aragon. In Córdoba, residents managed to preserve the spirit of antiquity and it is felt in everything: in the facades of houses, in massive wooden doors with door hammers, in the decoration of patio courtyards. Let’s walk along the old narrow streets of Cordoba and see its ancient sights.

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