Al-Andalus

Išbīliya إشبيلية

Today: Sevilla, Spain

Years: 712–1248
Role: Taifa capital and Almohad seat

A river port on the Guadalquivir, Išbīliya became the capital of the ʿAbbādid taifa in the 11th century and the Almohad seat in al-Andalus in the 12th, when they raised the great mosque whose minaret is now the Giralda. It fell to Fernando III in 1248 after a long siege.

What to see today

Giralda (Alminar de Išbīliya): Minaret, c. 1184 to 1198
Torre del Oro (Burŷ al-Ḏahab): Tower, 1220 to 1221
Real Alcázar de Sevilla (Alcázar de Išbīliya): Palace, 10th to 12th century
Torre de la Plata: Tower, 12th to 13th century
Torre de Abd el Aziz (Torre de ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz): Tower, 12th century
Torre Blanca (muralla de la Macarena) (Torre Blanca): Tower, 12th to 13th century

Day drives

The heart of the Caliphate: 4 stops · about 128 km

Get directions

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