Palacio de la Aljafería

Historia

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 splendor 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. The Mudéjar remains of the palace of the Aljafería were declared World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2001 as part of the "Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon" ensemble.