THE ISLAMIC SOVEREIGN: AL-ANDALUS Theme: The Andalusi sovereign Keywords: sovereign, majesty, al-Andalus, caliph, courtly iconography. Synthesis of the theme: Some art works belonging to the Andalusian courtier art1 show a possible representation of the sovereign or the princely dignity, typified and distinguishable by attitudes and characteristic attributes of that rank2. The basic iconogram is characterized by a strict frontality and being sited in the Turkish way on a throne or a platform. The main character often holds a cup or a bottle in line with his body long axis and a branch with the other hand, being flanked by acolytes in regards to whom he has a marked hierarchical proportion. The various motifs that surround the character underscore the courtly character of representation. The seat has basically two typologies, the sofa-throne (sarīr) and the platform (arīka) sustained by felines. The cup or goblet is an element of solar connotations in the pre-Islamic iconographic tradition3. The branch4 recalls a literary topic present in the panegyric poetry that praise the generosity of the sovereign, exalted as a guarantor of the wealth and prosperity of the state, as illustrated by some excerpts recited on courtier celebrations5. Another sign of sovereignty would be the ring-seal (jātam)6. However, some authors reject the possible representation of the sovereign in these images according to the informal nature of certain scenes7 or the lack of princely range features such as the beard8, only seen clearly in the medallion of the Leyre Casket. In 1 Among them the Pyxis of al-Mughira (968), the Pyxis of Ziyad (972), the Davillier Pyxis (end of 11th century), the el Pyxis of the Ashmolean Museum (10th century), the Funerary Ŷuba of Oña (10th century?), the Veil of Hisham II (976-1013), the Leyre Casket (1004-1005), the Fermo Chasuble (1116-1117) or the mural paintings of El Partal in the Alhambra (s. XIV). 2 According to some researchers, the caliphal works raise the possibility that they portray the Cordoban caliphs or members of the royal family. Such hypothesis is favoured by the precise chronology of many of the pieces. Navascués identified the ruler of the Leyre Casket with Hisham II -NAVASCUÉS Y PALACIO, Jorge (1964): p. 244. The same author suggested the identification of ‘Abd al-Malik, son of Al-Mansur, with the character holding a branch in the left medallion of the front of the same casket NAVASCUÉS Y PALACIO, Jorge (1964): p. 245. ZOZAYA Stabel-Hansen, Juan, and CASAMAR, Manuel (1991) argue that the enthroned figure in profile holding a cup of the Ŷuba of Oña represents Mu’awiya, founder of the Umayyad dynasty, as “Lord of life.” Similarly, the sons of al-Hakam II have been identified in the Pyxis of al-Mughira -PRADO VILAR, Francisco (1997): p. 24 -, Ziyad ibn Aflah in the pyxis of his name -BECKWITH, John (1960): pp. 20-21- and again Hisham II, with his mother, in the veil preserved in the Royal Academy of History in Madrid. However, it seems more likely that in all these works, the character in question embodies an abstract image of power, stereotyped, impersonal and timeless -PÉREZ HIGUERA, María Teresa (1994): p. 38; GALÁN Y GALINDO, Ángel (2005): t. I, p. 259. 3 ROUX, Jean-Paul (1982): pp. 98-108; DANESHVARI, Abbas (2005) : pp. 113-115. 4 Present at the Leyre Casket and comparable to those in the hands of two men in the Casket of the Victoria & Albert Museum number 10-1866 and to the ear of the Pyxis of al-Mughira. 5 PÉREZ HIGUERA, María Teresa (1994): p. 55; PÉREZ HIGUERA, María Teresa (1997): p. 344; DANESHVARI, Abbas (2005) : pp. 114-116. 6 Ibn Khaldun mentions it as mark of the sovereign dignity. In the Andalusi visual corpus it is only represented in the Leyre Casket. GALÁN Y GALINDO, Ángel (2005): t. I, p. 256, maintains that the ring-seal “only reveals us the importance of the character, not his royalty.” 7 HOLOD, Renata (1992 b): p. 195. 8 PRADO-VILAR, Francisco (1997): p. 23, in reference to the Pyxis of al-Mughira. this work it has been even recognized the image of a sheik, a defender of faith, rather than the caliph’s one9. Written sources: the Andalusi sovereign image is not based on a specific written tradition. However, literary sources can clarify the meaning of some particularities of its iconography. Despite having been written in the fourteenth century, the chapter “On the emblems of royalty and the hallmarks of sovereignty” of Ibn Khaldun’s AlMuqaddimah (Book III, chap. XXVI)10 is a precious statement of the visual symbols of power in medieval Islam. Some of the signs of regal dignity glossed by Ibn Khaldun acted in the shaping of an image of power in the Cordoban Caliphate, as shown by the artistic representations11. Non written sources: the princely scenes illustrated in the arts of al-Andalus probably emulate visually the court life developed in the courts of Muslim Spain, which has some parallels in the Abbasid, Fatimid and Byzantine worlds, whose sources allow a closer approach to the official ritual12. Some common aspects would be the luxury dressing of the stage and the strict hierarchical arrangement of the various groups of the court surrounding the sovereign, who highlights its range thanks to the location occupied in the room as axis of the assembly13. Sumptuary representations of the sovereign are usually characterized by a strict symmetry in which he used to centralize the composition, being flanked by servants or other characters. Another type of scenes are related to a more intimate events characterized by the combination of musical performance, poetry recitation and drinks served in a garden area. In both cases the court ceremonial would be a visual source for the images cited. Geographical and chronological spreading: in al-Andalus, the first representations of the sovereign or the prince belong to the period of the Caliphate (929-1031) and are related to the palatine workshops of Cordoba and Madinat al-Zahra. The Taifa period does not seem retained any examples14. From the Almoravid period it has been preserved the Fermo Chasuble, dating from 1116-1117 and produced in Almería15. The last examples are related to the Nasrid period and they belong to the decorative programs of the Alhambra in Granada. 9 GALÁN Y GALINDO, Ángel (2005): t.I, p. 256 and t. II, p. 50. The author considers that only the scene of the Pyxis of Ziyad in which a character carries a flag in his hand between two servers can be admitted as a princely character representation among the caliphal ivories. ROBINSON, Cynthia (2003): pp. 94 and 109, identifies the character of the Leyre Casket with the patron and recipient of the work, the son of Al-Mansur, ‘Abd al-Malik Sayf al-Dawla. 10 IBN JALDŪN (1977): pp. 475-492. 11 PÉREZ HIGUERA, María Teresa (1994): pp. 35-57. 12 As noted by M. Barceló regarding the reconstruction of the courtly ceremonial of Al-Hakam II held in the Salón Rico of Madinat al-Zahra: BARCELÓ, Miquel (1995). Interesting reflections also can be found in EWERT, Christian (1991, which develops the idea of the hierarchical space that isolates the Caliph during the ceremony and makes him the protagonist. 13 The Caliph stood under the blind arch of the nave of the Salón Rico, while the rest of dignitaries and officials were distributed in both sides. Some centuries later something similar would be repeated in the Façade of Comares in the Alhambra, whose scenographic design was conceived regarding the central position of the sultan there. 14 The “Pila” of Játiva, approach us, however, to an iconography of courtly character in this period. 15 It has been therefore associated with the amir ‘Ali ibn Yusuf (1107-1143). Its design, like that of other textiles of Almería, is composed of linked circles containing various representations. Two of the medallions show the image of the prince with a halo between two acolytes following a pattern which emphasizes the greater size of the sovereign as in the Leyre Casket. Supports and techniques: the representations of the Andalusi sovereign appear in the sumptuary arts and in the architectural decoration. In the luxury arts they are found in both the ivories (pyxis and caskets) and the textiles. In the Nasrid period possible images of the sovereign were depicted in the mural paintings in the Casa del Partal of the Alhambra16. If, as it has been pointed out, the central figure of the middle vault of the Sala de los Reyes of the Alhambra is an image of Muhammad V, the technical repertory would be extended to leather painting17. Precedents, transformations and projection: In Abbasid times a new iconographic model of the representation of the caliph in majesty appeared. It was different from these of the Umayyad period, debtors of the Roman-Byzantine and Persian imperial court iconography18. According to this new model, the Caliph appears on a low seat, like a bench, crossing his legs in the Turkish way position, and is used to hold a cup up to the torso and in the long axis of his body. The objects supported and the position of the arms are the elements that identify the sovereign within a ceremonial context19. The formula was highlighted by J.P. Roux and K. Otto Dorn, who set its appearance in the Mesopotamian area in the ninth century as a result of the Turkish contingent of mercenaries who joined the ranks of the army and the Abbasid caliphal guard20. They would have enabled the adoption of a model developed in the Central Asian steppes, where the element of the cup has sacred connotations in connection with shamanic practices21. Precedents have been recognized not only in pre-Islamic Central Asia, but also in Sassanian Iran22. The model had a great success in the Abbasid art, judging by numerous testimonies datable around the tenth century: a gold medal of the caliph alQadir (908-932) in the Berlin State Museum, a medallion of the Caliph al-Ta’i (975976) in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, an Iranian silver platter in the Hermitage Museum, a gold Iranian medallion in the Freer Gallery of Art or a ceramic lustre plate of the Metropolitan Museum of New York. The model spread even in Christian art and it was depicted in the reliefs of the church of the Holy Cross in Aghtamar (Armenia), built between 915-921. The arrival of Oriental objects to Cordoba from the ninth century is one of the main ways of penetration of these iconographic schemes in al-Andalus. Ziryab, the musician from Baghdad who arrived to Cordoba, enabled the introduction of refinements and courtly manners in imitation of the Abbasid caliphate. It should be noted also the important commercial and diplomatic activity that favoured a cultural exchange across 16 The scenario that frames the figure of the sovereign is different from the examples quoted above. It is a pomp tent like those whose use is documented extensively in the Almohad period sources and is also reflected in the manuscript illumination of Alphonse the Wise (Rich Codex from the Cantigas de Santa María, cantiga CLXV, fol. 222). Partal into paintings are represented as four stores in the east wall. Three of them stay inside characters who carry swords. Among these, one of them, more prominent, occupies the central place sitting on the couch and becoming larger than the rest. Could be identified with the sovereign, following the pattern seen so far. 17 PÉREZ HIGUERA, María Teresa (1994): p. 65. The scene has traditionally been interpreted as a depiction of the ten rulers of the Nasrid dynasty or the ten judges of Granada. According to the author, it could be a meeting of knights headed by the sovereign. However, more recent analysis raise the location of a palatine library in this area, so this depiction could be interpreted as a meeting of doctors-RUIZ SOUZA, Juan Carlos (2001): pp. 95-97. 18 STRIKA, Vincenzo (1964) ; CABAÑERO SUBIZA, Bernabé (1996); GRABAR, Oleg (1996). 19 ROUX, Jean-Paul (1982): p. 84. 20 OTTO DORN, Katharina (1965): pp. 79 y 101-102. 21 ROUX, Jean-Paul (1982): pp. 98-108. A recent revision in DANESHVARI, Abbas (2005). 22 DANESHVARI, Abbas (2005): pp. 110 and 112. the Mediterranean and the East. The influx of foreign products led, in turn, to the production of articles of luxury in imitation of the oriental ones. The projection of this iconography in the medieval Spanish context also stands out. It was adapted in the illuminations of the Beatus codex at the scene of the Woman and the kings of the earth (Rev. 17, 1-18), where the updating of the Commentary of Beatus enables the identification of the apocalyptic Babylon as Córdoba23. The woman, in front attitude, sits on cushions on a platform arranging his legs at right angles, like the figures of the Davillier Pyxis and of the Leyre Casket. Prefigures and related topics: The difficulties involved in discerning the regal nature or not of the scenes are illustrative of the fragile boundaries between the iconography of the sovereign itself and the whole cycle of princely life, whose themes are related with the first: maqamat scenes, hunting, musicians and drinkers, etc. Pictures: - Pyxis of al-Mugīra. Paris, Louvre Museum (968). - Pyxis of Ziyad. London, Victoria&Albert Museum (972). - Davillier Pyxis. Paris, Louvre Museum (end of 10th century). - Pyxis of the Ashmolean Museum. 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Author and electronic address: Francisco fdagarcia@ghis.ucm.es; fcoagarcia@gmail.com. de Asís García García –