An Islamicate History of the Alcazar of Seville: Mudejar Architecture and Andalusi Shared Culture (1252-1369 CE)
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University History Dissertations Department of History Summer 8-7-2018 An Islamicate History of the Alcazar of Seville: Mudejar Architecture and Andalusi Shared Culture (1252-1369 CE) John Sullivan Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss Recommended Citation Sullivan, John, "An Islamicate History of the Alcazar of Seville: Mudejar Architecture and Andalusi Shared Culture (1252-1369 CE)." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2018. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss/67 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of History at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN ISLAMICATE HISTORY OF THE ALCAZAR OF SEVILLE: MUDÉJAR ARCHITECTURE AND SHARED ANDALUSI CULTURE (1252-1369 CE) by JOHN F. SULLIVAN Under the Direction of Allen Fromherz, PhD ABSTRACT At the height of the Reconquista c. 1340 CE, Christian King Alfonso XI of Castile-León constructed a new throne room to commemorate his victory over Muslim forces from neighboring Granada and North Africa. The throne room called the Sala de la Justicia (Hall of Justice) was built almost entirely in the Mudéjar style, a style that looked Islamic in nature and included inscriptions in Arabic, several referencing the Qur’an, but predominantly intended for non-Muslims. The construction of this throne room in the Alcazar of Seville, a palace built by the Muslims and later used as the royal residence for the conquering Christians, has puzzled scholars due to its clearly Islamicate design being used in a new construction by a Christian ruler against a backdrop of the Crusades and the Reconquista in Spain. Raising further questions was the construction of the Alcazar’s Mudéjar palace by Alfonso XI’s son Pedro I between 1364- 1366 CE. This new construction mirrored designs in the neighboring Alhambra of Granada, a territory still controlled by Muslims, which even employed some of the same artisans. Attempts to interpret the Mudéjar designs utilized by Christians was further exacerbated by the same design style appearing in new buildings and additions by non-ruling Christians, Muslims, and Jews across al-Andalus, among them residential and religious buildings including churches and synagogues. This project re-examines these constructions through the lens of a cultural history reveal a shared culture and visual language that existed between the Castilian Christians, their Muslim antagonists and the minority populations of Christians, Muslims, and Jews living in al- Andalus over the course of several hundred years, reaching its apex in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Participation in this shared culture by members of the three confessional communities was enabled because it existed separately from any specific political or religious affiliations which would otherwise be prohibitive. In this proposed re-interpretation, a cosmopolitan Islamicate culture coexisted among residents in al-Andalus, including ruling Christians, minority Muslim or Jewish subjects, and neighboring political and religious antagonists. Ultimately, it is this shared Islamicate culture that best explains the Christian constructions in the Alcazar of Seville. INDEX WORDS: Islamicate, Cosmopolitanism, Alcazar, Seville, Mudéjar, al-Andalus AN ISLAMICATE HISTORY OF THE ALCAZAR OF SEVILLE: MUDÉJAR ARCHITECTURE AND SHARED ANDALUSI CULTURE (1252-1369 CE) by JOHN F. SULLIVAN A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2018 Copyright by John Francis Sullivan 2018 AN ISLAMICATE HISTORY OF THE ALCAZAR OF SEVILLE: MUDÉJAR ARCHITECTURE AND SHARED ANDALUSI CULTURE (1252-1369 CE) by JOHN F. SULLIVAN Committee Chair: Allen Fromherz Committee: Ghulam Nadri Ian Fletcher Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University August, 2018 iv DEDICATION To Marshall G. S. Hodgson, I couldn’t have done it without you. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many have contributed to the successful completion of this project including Allen Fromherz, whose excellent guidance and unwavering support was beyond essential. Ian Fletcher, who along with Ghulam Nadri, expended valuable time and energy to help me across the finish line, also served as an outstanding editor. Georgia State University and the GSU History department for financial support and a travel grant to complete my field research. A special thank you to Lourdes Sanchez and her father who helped get me to Tordesillas. Lou Ruprecht for introducing me to countless authors and scholars and who ultimately helped set this project in motion. And finally, my wife Marlysa whose continual support and encouragement cannot be measured, but who also allowed me to take over every room in the house for use as “offices.” vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ V LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... IX 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 2 COMING TO TERMS ..................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Monolithization ............................................................................................................ 6 2.2 Convivencia ................................................................................................................. 11 2.3 Islamicate .................................................................................................................... 26 2.4 Mudéjar ....................................................................................................................... 32 3 A STRANGE TRIUMPH ............................................................................................... 38 3.1 Reconquista and Crusade .......................................................................................... 42 3.2 Triumphalism and the Battle of Rio Salado (1340 CE) .......................................... 55 3.3 The Curious Case of Santa Clara de Tordesillas .................................................... 86 4 TOWARD A SHARED CULTURE .............................................................................. 90 4.1 “Mudéjar” and Mudéjarismo (Mudéjarism) ........................................................... 92 4.2 Religion, Law, and Shared Culture in al-Andalus .................................................. 98 4.3 Toledo and the Beginning of Shared Islamicate Culture ..................................... 107 4.4 Cristo de la Luz ........................................................................................................ 109 4.5 Shared Visual Language and Shared Culture ....................................................... 118 4.6 The Conquest of Seville and Alfonso X .................................................................. 127 vii 4.7 Alfonso X el Sabio: Patron of Shared Culture....................................................... 135 4.8 Islamicate Material Culture, Shared Culture, and Monolithization ................... 152 4.9 Ceramic Shared Culture.......................................................................................... 158 4.9.1 Valencia: A Corollary Context ............................................................................. 159 4.10 Other Forms of Shared Culture.............................................................................. 170 5 THE SYNOPTIC CONSTRUCTIONS....................................................................... 172 5.1 The “Default Theory” .............................................................................................. 174 5.2 The Synoptic Constructions .................................................................................... 178 5.3 The Palace at Tordesillas ......................................................................................... 182 5.3.1 The “Arab” Baths ................................................................................................. 188 5.4 El Sinagoga del Tránsito .......................................................................................... 196 5.5 On the Origins of the Alcazar of Seville ................................................................. 224 5.6 Pedro I ....................................................................................................................... 230 5.7 The Synoptic Constructions – The Alcazar and The Alhambra ......................... 234 5.7.1 Making Connections ............................................................................................ 235 5.7.2 Poly-lobed Arches ................................................................................................. 246 5.7.3 Alicatados Mosaics (dado) ................................................................................... 250 5.7.4 Girih Designs ........................................................................................................ 253 5.8 Further Connections ...............................................................................................