Scholar Philosopher Writer Caliphate of Córdoba929–1031

Ibn Hazm

Lived 994–1064 (about 70 years)

Also known as: Ibn Hazm of Córdoba, Ali ibn Hazm

Ibn Hazm was an Andalusi jurist, historian, philosopher and theologian, born in Córdoba in November 994 in the eastern suburb of Munyat al-Mughira. He died on 15 August 1064 on his family's estate in what is now Huelva province, far from the city where he was formed. He is remembered mostly for The Ring of the Dove, a treatise on love, but in his own day he was first a fierce polemicist whose books were burned.

His trace in Córdoba is thin, which is part of the interest. The Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba is the great scholarly space of the city he knew. Outside the old centre, a 20th-century statue of him by the sculptor Ruiz Olmos stands just in front of the Puerta de Sevilla, the Seville Gate on Avenida Conde de Vallellano. Most visitors walk past it.

For the poetry and the exile that followed the collapse of the caliphate, read Ibn Zaydun, Córdoba's exiled poet. For another thinker the city produced a century and more later, see Averroes. The full account of his life, his books and the troubadour debate is in Ibn Hazm's Ring of the Dove: Córdoba's Love Treatise: read the full story there.

The full story

Ibn Hazm writing the Ring of the Dove in medieval Al-Andalus Córdoba, scholar at a candlelit desk with Arabic manuscript and quill, warm ochre tones, photorealistic

Ibn Hazm's Ring of the Dove: Córdoba's Love Treatise

Ibn Hazm's Ring of the Dove (1022 CE) is the medieval Arab world's most searching analysis of love and one of the most readable books to survive Al-Andalus.

Read the full story

In their time

Caliphate of Córdoba

929–1031
Abd al-Rahman III proclaimed the caliphate in 929, and Córdoba grew to an estimated 500,000 people. Medina Azahara was begun in 936, and the Mezquita was enlarged in 961 and 987.
1. Medina Azahara
  
  936 Monument
  
  Medina Azahara is Córdoba's UNESCO listed Caliphate City: a 10th century palace 8 km from town, with the Salón Rico and award-winning museum. Plan your visit.
2. Torre Campanario de la Mezquita-Catedral
  
  951–958 Monument
  
  Climb 150 steps up the Mezquita-Catedral's 10th-century minaret-turned-bell-tower for 360-degree views over Córdoba's rooftops, Roman Bridge and Alcázar.
3. Caliphal Baths (Baños del Alcázar Califal)
  
  961–976 Monument
  
  Underground 10th-century Islamic hammam beneath Córdoba's Campo Santo square, with star skylights, marble pillars and intact cold, warm and hot rooms.
4. Abd al-Rahman III
  
  c. 890–961 Historical figure
  
  Abd al-Rahman III (890-961), caliph of Córdoba, had Medina Azahara built and enlarged the Great Mosque. See where his trace survives and read his full story.
5. Al-Hakam II
  
  915–976 Historical figure
  
  Al-Hakam II (915-976), caliph of Córdoba from 961, expanded the Great Mosque and its mihrab. See where his trace survives in the city and read his full story.
6. Hasdai ibn Shaprut
  
  c. 915–970 Historical figure
  
  Hasdai ibn Shaprut (c. 915-970) was physician and diplomat to Córdoba's caliphs. Visit the Judería and the Jewish sites that hold the city's later story.
7. Al-Zahrawi
  
  c. 936–1013 Historical figure
  
  Al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis, c. 936–1013), Córdoba surgeon and author of the Kitab al-Tasrif. Find his trace at the Medina Azahara ruins and read the full story.
8. Almanzor
  
  c. 938–1002 Historical figure
  
  Almanzor (c. 938-1002) ruled Córdoba as chamberlain under a puppet caliph. See what remains of his eastern extension of the Mezquita and read his story.
Go deeper
- Medina Azahara
- Córdoba's Islamic golden age