Door of the Caliph

<p>This book focuses on the conceptualization of the court palace and ruler of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus. Western terminology still plays a normative role in the representation of <em>foreign courts</em> determining concepts that fit poorly into chronologies with their own dynamics and specificities which is the case of Muslim <em>courts</em>. While Court Studies is a well-developed field for modern Western societies Muslim medieval courts lack a consistent field of research.</p><p>Sources elaborate a specific terminology for medieval Muslim<em> court</em> societies. In the specific case of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus the <em>court</em> is usually articulated as <em>Bāb Suddat al-Khalīfa</em> (“The door of the <em>Sudda</em> of the caliph”) – a reference to the symbology of the main city gate of Cordoba – or simply as <em>Bāb</em>. <em>Bāb Suddat al-Khalīfa</em> became the most emblematic concept to name the Umayyad palace and its society which will be additionally interpreted in the framework of the performance of ceremonial. The strong conceptualization of the Umayyad <em>court</em> of Cordoba was highlighted through the articulation of ceremonial as the<em> mis-en-scène</em> of the conceptualization expressed by gestures insignia and hierarchies.</p><p>The preliminary comparative perspective with the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus the ‘Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates and the Byzantine Empire further discusses the Umayyad Andalusi model in relation to other dynasties. While this book focuses on the Umayyad conceptualization and articulation of ceremonial this model will be discussed within the Mediterranean and Eastern framework of the 10th and 11th centuries which broadens the interest of the book to other fields of research.</p>