8.13.25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome. This is Marcia for Radio I and today I
will be reading National Geographic History Magazine. As a reminder,
RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
read printed material. Please join me now for the first
article titled Glory of Cordoba by Yolanda Victoria Olmedo Sanchez.

(00:29):
From the late eighth century, new stewards added to the
Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba. The glorious monument embodied the artistic
legacy of Muslim Spain as it blended with successive styles
of Christian art. On June thirtieth, twelve thirty six, King
Ferdinand the Third of Castile entered the city of Cordoba,

(00:52):
putting an end to the five months siege that his
troops had staged around the square. The Spanish reconquista of
Islamic Andalusia was advancing, and Cordeba, capital of the Umayad
Caliphate in the tenth century, was the latest to fall.
It had once been the brightest and most populous city

(01:14):
in el Andalous. It was also home to one of
the world's marvels of architecture, the Alhambras Mosque. A day
before the king entered Kordiba, after the Muslims had already
abandoned it, a group of Castilians left the place where
they were encamped, entered the walled city through the El

(01:34):
Jesiras gate and went to the great mosque. They placed
a cross and a flag of Castile atop the minaret.
A few hours later, the Bishop of Osma sanctified the
building and celebrated a dedication mass after consecrating the altar.
In a few moments, the magnificent Eljndra Mosque had become

(01:56):
a Christian cathedral. The New Begins, decreed by Ferdinand Third
in twelve thirty six, was not the first transformation of
the site. At the foot of the Sierra Morena in
southern Spain. Legend has it that when Romans founded Cordiba
in the second century BC, they built a temple there
dedicated to Janus, the two faced god of new beginnings.

(02:20):
Some eight hundred years later, the Visigoths took control of
much of the Iberian peninsula. In AD five seven, two
Visigothic king Leoviglido captured Cordiba and a Christian basilica was
built there. The next new beginning came nearly two centuries later,
when the expanding Umayad Empire pushed into the Iberian Peninsula

(02:44):
from North Africa around seven eleven. Muslim forces would soon
control most of the peninsula and named it Al Andalous.
A provincial capital was established at Cordiba, while the caliphate
capital remained in Damascus, Syria. A few decades later, around
seven fifty, power in Damascus changed hands from the Yumayads

(03:06):
to another powerful Muslim faction, the Abbasids. Afraid for his life,
Abd al Rahman, a son of an Umayad prince, fled
from Damascus after a harrowing flight across North Africa, he
escaped to the Iberian Peninsula and crossed into al an Dulus.
Al Rahman contracted several allies and defeated the existing governor,

(03:32):
setting up his new capital in Corduba, which now became
a Muslim Aramit Emirate, with Abdul al Rahman the first
ruling as its emir. It was the beginning of a
period of growth and glory for the city. When susposition
seemed secure, Al Rahman demolished the Visigothic Basilica and in
seven eighty six began construction of a new sacred structure

(03:56):
on the site. The city flourished, becoming a center of
learning and culture as splendid works of architecture arose throughout
the whole of Alndulous. The death of ah Raman in
seven eighty eight did not halt work on the Grand Mosque,
which had yet to be completed. His son Hisham and
their successors would continue the work for two centuries. One

(04:18):
of the mosque's most iconic features is its massive hypostyle
prayer hall, filling filled with soaring, symmetrical columns, some of
which were salvaged from ancient Roman structures, topped by colorful
arches of stone and red brick. These columns stretch out
almost endlessly, as row upon row, makes the room feel

(04:39):
larger and more expansive. A focal point in the prayer
hall is the miirab, a prayer niche used in mosques
to signify which wall faces mecha birthplace of Islam, and
intricately decorated golden arch frames the miirab, calling attention to
the sacred space. Soaring above a roof of intersexting ribs

(05:01):
form a spectacular, segmented dome, sparing no expense. The Umayad
rulers who followed continued to embellish the mosque. A courtyard,
fountains and orange grove, and a covered walkway were all
added to the complex. Perhaps most notable was a minaret.
The tower used to call Muslims to prayer. Abd al

(05:23):
Rahman the Third built what some historians consider the mosque's
first true minaret in nine fifty one nine fifty two.
The original minaret's floorplan was square and the structure narrowed
as it rose. On the top perched a gilt bronze
dome topped by an iron finial called ayamor in Islamic architecture.

(05:48):
Civil war weakened Umayad control of Allandalous in the early
eleventh century, which would later allow Fernand the Third and
its forces to take the city in twelve thirty six.
The kest Billians might have radically changed the Great Mosque's
spiritual function, but they certainly weren't going to destroy it.
They recognized the magnificence of the architecture, and many Christian

(06:10):
writers praised it. Don Juan Manuel, grandson of Ferdinand the Second,
mentions the Great Mosque in his story collection The Tales
of Count Lucanor thirteen thirty five, with a character describing
it as one of the most beautiful mosques the Moors
had in Spain, Glory to God. It is now a
church called Saint Mary of Cordova. It was dedicated by

(06:34):
the Good King Ferdinand to Saint Mary after he had
taken Cordova from the Moors in the mid fifteenth century.
The Cordiban writer Hieronimo Sanchez also expressed his great admiration
a temple worthy of all praise, whose exceedingly pleasing beauty
revives the spirit of those who behold it, even a

(06:54):
wonder of the world. In the first two centuries of
Christian rule, existing spaces were adapted for Christian worship, but
structural alterations were few. Much of it was carried out
in the Mudahar style, which combined Christian artistic currents with
Muslim architectural and decorative traditions. The so called Royal Chapel

(07:16):
was one of the earliest, built in the thirteen seventies.
It combines a tiled plinth, plasterwork, a beautiful ribbed vault,
and stalactite like mukarnas ornamented vaulting. After the building's consecration
as a Christian church, the minaret was converted into a
bell tower. The most obvious change made to the mosque

(07:37):
during the first phase of Christian rule was the addition
of numerous private chapels along the inner walls of the complex.
The city's most illustrious families were buried here, and there
is evidence that the chapel construction began shortly after the
Christian conquest of the city. One of the earliest was
in twelve sixty two, when a man named Juan Perez

(07:59):
Eshan signed in agreement allowing him to construct a chapel
delimited by lattices and with an altar inside. The end
of the fifteenth century and beginning of the sixteenth saw
the most significant alterations to the structure. The first significant
transformation of its interior took place between fourteen eighty six
and fourteen ninety six, when Bishop Enigo Manrique had a

(08:24):
long Gothic nave built in front of the main chapel,
a complex later called the Chapel of Villaviciosa. This space
had served as the focal point of Christian worship since
Ferdinand the Third's forces captured Corduba thanks to the skylight
installed by Jakam the Second in the tenth century. Later

(08:45):
renovations were largely directed by the Ruiz dynasty of architects.
Nernan Rui's father, son and then grandson held the position
of Master builder the cathedral. They designed and oversaw construction
and were responsible for dealing with any techie problems. Hernan
Ruiz the First, also known as Hernan Ruiz the Elder,

(09:05):
oversaw the transformation of the mosque's courtyard into a Gothic
Moudahar cloister. The building of a new main chapel and
a new choir designed by Hernan Ruiz, was a turning
point in the mosque's transformation. The project involved moving the
main chapel to the cathedral's center, where, according to Bishop
Alonso Manrique, it would be better than where it is now,

(09:29):
as that is a corner of the church. The project
caused great controversy and huge classes between members of the
city council and the cathedral chapter. Various councilors, then known
as Ventiquaro's the twenty four, owned private chapels in and
around the cathedral's main original main chapel. They worried that

(09:52):
these would be lost prestige if they If the main
worship space were moved, spaces closer to the central place
of wa worship were higher status. It was also concerned
about destroying a considerable section of the original mosque, which,
according to one of the statements in protest, because of
the way it is built, is unique in the world.

(10:14):
The dispute became so heated that the antique Cuarros argued
that the workmanship that is being undone is of a
quality that could not be remade with the same goodness
and perfection. They even threatened to harm those working on
the demolition, but Bishop Alonso Manrique determined that the work
should proceed. Response responded by excommunicating them, and then appealed

(10:38):
to the crown. King Charles the Fifth gave his approval
for additions at the old mosque complex's center, and construction
began in fall fifteen twenty three. Three years into the project,
Charles the Fifth traveled to Cordoba with his new wife,
Isabella of Portugal and visited the cathedral to see how
the project was progressing. Allegedly, he was disappoint pointed with

(11:00):
the renovations that he himself had approved. Tradition has it
that he delivered a rather scathing critique of the job.
You have destroyed something unique to build something commonplace. For
the new main chapel, hErenn Ruiz the First designed a
rectangular chapel that would stand at the complex center. It
had three naves, the central one higher and wider than

(11:21):
the two to the side. A magnificent dome rose above
the central crossing. He used slightly pointed arches for the
central nave and ribbed vaults for the lateral ones. The
sense of height was accentuated by incorporating arches from the
old Mosque. His aim was to integrate the Christian temple
without losing the original Muslim's oratory splendor. Opinions remained divided

(11:46):
on the result. Building work continued for several decades. His son,
Hernan Ruiz the Younger, built the apse and the arms
of the transept and vault in the apse of the
main chapel, which he had decorated with Gothic open work
and the images of the Virgin Mary. When Hernan Ruiz
the Second died in fifteen sixty nine, the crossing's construction

(12:07):
was halted for thirty years, Starting again at the end
of the sixteenth century, during the time of Bishop Francisco Ruinso,
the master builder Juan de Juaca added a lowered, bareau
vault decorated with intricate plasterwork by Francisco Utires Garrido. Another

(12:27):
new place dedicated to worship was the chapel of the
Socrarium in the southeast corner of the complex, with a
facade built by her Nan Ruiz the third. The wall
paintings inside were made in fifteen eighty three by the
Italian painter Cesare Arbasia and depict the Eucharist and various
Cordiban martyrs. Following and designed by the Cordibon humanist Ambrosio

(12:51):
de Morales. In fifteen eighty nine, an earthquake caused major
structural damage to the bell tower, and a new one
was built, incorporating remnants of the old minaret. It was
designed by Hernan Ruiz the Third and crowned with a
sculpture of Saint Rafael. Later, during the Renaissance. In Baroque
period's private chapels were added to the mosque cathedral, some

(13:14):
sumptuous in their decoration. The Chapel of Our Lady of
Conception carved in marble. On the west flank of the
cathedral was the work of Malquar de Auguare between sixteen
seventy nine and sixteen eighty two, who was endowed by
Bishop Frey Alonzo de Medina Celezanes as a burial chapel.

(13:35):
Between the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning
of the eighteenth another funerary space was built at the
south end, the Chapel of Saint Teresa, also known as
the Chapel of Cardinal Salazar, a work in Baroque style
by Francisco Urtado is Cuerrado and Teodosio Sanchez de Rueda.

(13:56):
The Chapel of Saint Ynez was built in Neoclassical style
in the later half of the eighteenth century. Visitors to
the Mosque cathedral have never failed to be impressed by
its beauty and the way it embraces the visual styles
of two separate faiths. In nineteen eighty four, the Mosque
Cathedral of Cordoba became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In

(14:17):
nineteen ninety four, UNESCO added nearly two hundred acres to
its listing, including part of the city's historic center, the
Fortress or al Khazar and the south to the Guadalquiverer
River's far bank, the Roman Bridge and the Kalajora Tower.
With this designation, the Mosque, Cathedral of Cordeba and its

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site will be studied, appreciated, and renewed for many generations
to come. Changing faith time line. Circa seven eleven, forces
of the Umayad Caliphate enter Iberia from North Africa. They
will establish a provincial capital at Cordoba. Seven eighty six,
Abd al Roman the First orders the construction of a

(14:58):
large mosque in Cordaba. Several extensions are added over the
next two centuries. Twelve thirty six, the troops of Ferdinand
the Third of Castile take control of Cordeba. The mosque
is used as a site of Christian worship. Thirteen seventy one,
the Royal Chapel, a masterpiece of Mudahar art, is built
to house the tombs of two kings of Castile. Fifteen

(15:21):
twenty three, master builder Hernan Ruvis the First starts construction
of a new main chapel to become the focus of
Christian worship. Next Choga Zanbil, the Zigurat of Elam. Excavations
in southern Iran revealed the remains of a towering ancient
tembile in the nineteen fifties. One of the few zigurats

(15:42):
outside of Mesopotamia, it was built by a culture that
scholars named after the biblical kingdom of Elam. Flying a
reconnaissance miss mission in nineteen thirty five over the Khuzistan
region in southwestern Iran, oil prospectors noted in odd looking
hill on the landscape. The Iranian Archeological Service was notified

(16:04):
of the sighting. They in turn contacted the French archaeological
delegation to Iran, which was excavating at nearby Susa, the
ancient capital of the Elamite kingdom. When French archaeologists, led
by Rolande Makuernem inspected the mound, they found it contained
the ruins of a city. Later studies would reveal a

(16:25):
ziggurat at its heart, the largest outside of Mesopotamia city
of Elam. Local people knew the hill as Choga Zambil,
meaning basket shaped mound. It became the official name for
the site, whose excavation began in nineteen thirty six under
the direction of Maquinem. The French team identified the mound

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as ancient dur Untash the city of Untash, built by
Untashe Naperchia and Elamite king Untash Napisha, who descended from
the long line of Elamite kings who had dominated the
region for centuries, reigned around the heart of the thirteenth
century b C. Extending across the plateau east and north

(17:08):
of the Persian Gulf, Elam straddled today's border of Iran
and Iraq. It comprises a loose federation of leaders whose
chief monarch ruled from the ancient city of Suza. The
people of this region called themselves the Hatami. The name
Elam fell into popular use when archaeologists adopted the Hebrew

(17:28):
term from the Old Testament, in which there are numerous
references to the kingdom. A king of Elam in Genesis
fourteen one is named as Chedo Laomer and, according to tradition,
ruled Elam in the wider region at the same time
as the Sumerian king Hamarabi in the eighteenth century BC.

(17:50):
Historians do not know if Cheddo Laomer was a historical figure,
but the Biblical references reflect Elam's regional importance, revealing the Zigarat.
In nineteen thirty nine, the outbreak of World War II
suspended the work of the French archaeologists at Chogha Zanbil
and the Mother's site at Suza. More than a decade

(18:11):
would pass before work finally resumed. The newly appointed head
of the French Archaeological Delegation in Iran, Roman Gershman, would
now continue the excavations at the site. Born in Khardif Kharkiv, Ukraine,
Gershmann emigrated following the Russian Revolution of nineteen seventeen and
established a career in archaeology in France. He chocked up

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a series of successful projects, including excavations at the Sasanian
Persian city of Bishapur, Iran and the ancient Khushan city
of Begram in Afghanistan. His nineteen forty six appointment to
France's archaeological delegation in Iran centered on the ongoing excavation

(18:54):
at Susa and from the space Gershman restarted the excavation
at Chogai Zanbil in nineteen fifty one. Turning their attention
to the mound, his team peeled away the earth to
reveal a stepped pyramid or a zigarat. Girshman established that
the three story structure once had five stories, including the
temple on top, and originally stood more than one hundred

(19:16):
seventy feet tall by some estimates, double the height of
the existing ruins. The zigarat was the highest expression of
Mesopotamian architecture because these structures were built with mud baked bricks.
Most Mesopotamian ziggurats have been unearthed in a poor state
of preservation. Chogat Zanbil is an exception, is the largest

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outside Mesopotamia and the best preserved of its kind. Kirshman
and his team of archaeologists would spend nine season at
the Choga Zanbil site methodically working to uncover the remains
of the Elamite structures. There. A royal quarter had been
built near the productive city walls, which surrounded several smaller

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temples and the towering zigarat. The zigurat dominates the central
sacred area of dur Untashi, where Girshman uncovered temples dedicated
to Elamite gods, including Pinikir, the mother goddess. Beyond the
sacred area lay the royal quarter, consisting of richly decorated
palaces built using brick, plaster, stucco, majolica, and glass. Underground,

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a hypogium contains vaulted burial chambers. The Zigurat was dedicated
to in Shushinak, god of the Earth, and Napirisha, god
of Suza, the two principal Elamite deities. Choosing these gods,
Untash Napirisha may have intended the new city to transcend

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the role of a local religious center and become an
equal to or even outshine Suza. Coinciding with a surge
of Elamite regional power and confidence, Untash Napirisha's reign produced
notable artworks, which is the magnificent detailed bronze statue of
his queen Napiasu found at Suza, along with the works

(21:07):
of art found at Shoga Zanvil. After Untash Napirisha's death, however,
the complex was not finished. Tiles were stacked unused, and
the royal burial vaults remained empty. The site was spared
plundering and became a place of pilgrimage until around one
thousand BC, when it was abandoned. By the first millennium BC,

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elam was a worthy competitor to the great powers of
the region. It was no match, however, for Asherbanopol and
the Assyrians, whose troops sacked but did not destroy, chogat
Zanbil in the mid seventh century BC. One hundred years later,
Elam was absorbed into the Persian Empire. Its treasures were
entombed and forgotten until its rediscovery twenty five hundred years

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later in the Age of colonialism and oil. This article
by Antonio RATIAKX Cannons in the Savannah A Blast from
Georgia's Past by Braden Phillips. Dredging operations on Georgia's Savannah
River have turned up nineteen cannons likely to be linked

(22:12):
to the American War for Independence. To deepen the shipping
channel of Georgia's Savannah River, contractors for the Army Corps
of Engineers have been hauling up not only twenty four
million cubic guards of sand and clay, but also something
even more impressive. Artifacts from the Revolutionary War. To date,
as many as nineteen cannons have been recovered. The weapons

(22:33):
appeared to have come from British Navy ships involved in
the war. The Red Coats captured the port of Savannah
in seventeen seventy eight. A year later, the British Navy
scuttled the HMS Savannah and HMS Venus to create a
blockage and prevent French ships from aiding the colonialists. Their
tactics seceded succeeded, and the British were able to hold

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Savannah until July seventeen eighty two. The cannons were not
the only recovered objects. Parts of US ship's bell, ammunition,
including cannonballs and bar shot, and anchors from the Revolutionary
War era have been pulled from the murky water. Archaeologists
hope conservation work on the cannons and the bell will

(23:15):
connect them to a specific vessel. Current archival research points
to the HMS Savannah as the origin of most of
the found artifacts, including anchors and armament. Researchers are requesting
access to the ship's logs for both the Savannah and Venus,
which are held by the United Kingdom's National Maritime Museum

(23:36):
in Greenwich, London. These documents would help definitely identify the
origins of the cannons. We know the river is full
of undiscovered history, but didn't expect to find anything in
this area due to past investigations, said Andrea Farmer, Corps
District Archaeologists. It's a remarkable find. In the meantime, historians

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have plenty of clues to go on the style. The
shape of the muzzle and breech indicates their classic Armstrong
type British ordinance from the mid to late seventeen hundreds,
said Stephen James, an archaeologist with Commonwealth Heritage Group. James
believes that fourteen of the guns came from the Savannah,
with others belonging to the Venus or other scuttled transport ships.

(24:22):
The Savannah was scuttled with all of its fourteen cannons
on board, which was unusual. Typically weapons were removed before
scuttling a ship. Corp archaeologist Farmer noted the British must
have had to move quickly to keep French forces from advancing.
This is giving us an opportunity to investigate a story
of Savannah that hasn't been looked at in a very

(24:44):
long time, said Farmer. Next, Europa Regina a continent personified.
Johannes Putch's fifteen thirty map depicts the continent as a
queen pleading for peace and unity, personification that sparked a
sixteen century cartographic craze. In the late fourteen hundreds, map

(25:04):
making in Europe was flourishing. Many maps were practical produced
for navigating expanding trade routes, but a few notable creations
contained more than just geography. These reflected cultural, social, and
political concerns of the time. One of the most notable
maps was produced in the fifteen thirties by the Austrian
scholar and courtier Johannes Pusch, whose most famous work personified

(25:28):
Europe as a crowned and gowned queen holding an orb
and scepter. PUSH's original map, a somewhat crude woodcut, became
known by a variety of titles, including Europa Regina Queen Europe.
The progression from the queen's head to foot moves from
west to east, which labeling each region with a Latin name.

(25:49):
Hispania Iberian Peninsula in the west is the figure's head,
and eastern regions of Bulgaria and Mascovia from her form
her feet on the left of Italy and Sicily is
represented by an orb in its hand, the arm on
the right of Denmark. Seeing Europe as a woman must
have come naturally to readers of classical myths, who would

(26:11):
have known the continent was named for Europa. The princess
kidnapped by the Greek god Zeus. Personifications of Europe circulated
in the form of drawings by the fourteenth century Italian
mystic Opiciginus de Canistris. Although it is not known off
Pusch had seen Opisinus's works, it is likely he witnessed

(26:33):
imperial processions stage by the Habsburg rulers, in which continents
were often personified as women. Putch's beautiful image sent a
powerful message by showing Europe as one entity. The Habsburg Empire,
centered on Spain and the Holy Roman Empire in Germany,
was Europe's most powerful military force, and its role in

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holding Europe together is central to Pucha's theme of unity.
Accompanying the map where verses, Pooch wrote in Latin, speaking
in the first person, Queen Europe pleas for unity and
directly addresses Charles, the fifth Holy Roman Emperor and King
of Spain and his brother Fernan, the First of Austria,
in whose court Pooch worked. The Queen addresses them as

(27:19):
the most brilliant stars of the world and entreats them
to end the wars in Italy and between Protestants and
Catholics that are tearing her apart with additional threats from
the Ottoman Turks in the east. Her safety depends on
the faithful and mighty offices of Habsburg, Germany, located near
her heart, and Spain in her head. Few biographical details

(27:44):
are known of Pusch. He died a young man in
fifteen forty two, but his creation lived on, smoothed out
in later editions and enhanced with color. This concludes readings
from National Geographic History magazine. For to day, your reader
has been more USA. Thank you for listening, Keep on listening,
and have a great day.