Palacio de la Aljaferia

The Aljafería Palace is a fortified medieval Islamic palace built during the second half of the 11th century in the Taifa of Zaragoza of Al-Andalus, present day Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. It was the residence of the Banu Hud dynasty during the era of Abu Jaffar Al-Muqtadir after abolishing Banu Tujibi of Kindah dynasty. The palace reflects the splendour attained by the kingdom of the taifa of Zaragoza at the height of its grandeur. The palace currently contains the Cortes of the autonomous community of Aragon.The structure holds unique importance in that it is the only conserved testimony of a large building of Spanish Islamic architecture of the era of the Taifas . So, a magnificent example of the Caliphate of Córdoba, its Mosque , and the Alhambra of Granada in Al-Andalus must be included in the triad of the Hispano-Muslim architecture the Aljafería of Zaragoza as an example of the realizations of the taifa art, in the intermediate time of independent kingdoms previous to the arrival of the Almorávides. In 2001, the original restored structures of the Aljafería was included in the Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon a World Heritage Site inscription declared by UNESCO.The solutions adopted in the ornamentation of the Aljafería, such as the use of mixtilinear arcs and springers is in S, the extension of arabesque in large areas or the schematisation and progressive abstraction of the yeserias of a vegetal nature, decisively influenced the Almoravid and Almohad art of the Iberian Peninsula. Also, the transition of the decoration towards more geometric motifs is at the base of Nasrid art. After the reconquest of Zaragoza in 1118 by Alfonso I of Aragón happened to be residence of the Christian kings of the Kingdom of Aragón, with which the Aljafería was became the main diffusing focus of Mudéjar Aragonese. It was used as a royal residence by Peter IV of Aragón and later, on the main floor, the reform was carried out that converted these rooms into the palace of Catholic Monarchs in 1492. In 1593 it underwent another reform that would turn it into a military fortress, first according to Renaissance designs and later as the quartering of military regiments. It underwent continuous reforms and major damages, especially with the Sieges of Zaragoza of the Peninsular War until it was finally restored in the second half of the 20th century and currently hosts the Cortes of Aragon. This is a rare case, because very few transformed or demolished buildings have been reconstructed in Spain. Although it must be said that much of the Aljafería was rebuilt with preserved and found remains and restored. In its origin the construction was done outside of the Roman wall, in the plain of the saría or place where the Muslims developed the military boasts known as al-Musara. With the urban expansion through the years, the building has remained inside the city. It has been possible to respect a small garden environment around it.
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