The Christianization of Western Baetica

The Christianization of Western Baetica

Architecture, Power, and Religion in a Late Antique Landscape

The province of Baetica, in present-day Spain, was one of the most important areas in the Roman Empire in terms of politics, economics, and culture. And in the late medieval period, it was the centre of a rich and powerful state, the Umayyad Caliphate. But the historical sources on the intervening years are limited, and we lack an accurate understanding of the evolution of the region. In recent years, however, archaeological research has begun to fill the gaps, and this book-built on more than a decade of fieldwork-provides an unprecedented overview of urban and rural development in the period.
  • Cover
  • Table of Contents
  • Addendum: Location and Current Names of Places Mentioned in this Book
  • List of Abbreviations
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction
  • Part 1. Baetica in Late Antiquity
    • 1. Roman Baetica in History
    • 2. Cities and Landscapes in West Roman Baetica
    • 3. From Constantine the Great to the Arab Invasion
      • Rome Was Not Eternal
      • The Dark Ages
      • History of the Goths
  • Part 2. Early Christian Topography
    • 4. The Ecclesiastical Organization of Baetica in Late Antiquity
    • 5. The Bishopric of Córdoba (Corduba)
      • The City of Córdoba
      • The Outskirts of the City of Córdoba
    • 6. The Bishopric of Cabra (Egabrum)
      • The Outskirts of the City of Cabra
      • The Territory of the Bishopric of Cabra
    • 7. The Bishopric of Écija (Astigi)
      • The City of Écija
      • The Territory of the Bishopric of Écija
    • 8. The Bishopric of Seville (Hispalis)
      • The City of Seville
      • The Territory of the Bishopric of Seville
    • 9. The Bishopric of Italica
      • The Outskirts of the City of Italica
      • The Territory of the Bishopric of Italica
    • 10. The Bishopric of Niebla (Ilipla)
      • The Periphery of Niebla
      • The Territory of the Bishopric of Niebla
  • Part 3. Christianization: An Archaeology of Ecclesiastical Power
    • 11. The First Christian Buildings of Late Antique Western Baetica
      • Episcopal Complexes
      • Churches: Types, Topographic Context, Purpose
      • Baptismal Buildings
      • Baptisteries
      • Monastic Complexes
      • Towers
      • Colonnaded Streets, Sigma-Places, and Atria
      • Funerary Buildings
      • Funerary Enclosures
      • A Global Perspective
    • 12. The City of God: The Making of Church Power
  • Bibliography
  • Index
  • List of Illustrations
    • Figure 1 Early Christian topography in late antique western Baetica
    • Figure 2 Evolution of bishoprics’ territories.
    • Figure 3 Early Christian topography of Córdoba. Building complexes, inscriptions, and architectural decoration
    • Figure 4 Building Complex C13. Church built on a termae. 1) a column; 2) door?; 3) decumanus occupied by the new church
    • Figure 5 Fragment of sculpture broken and cast intentionally to the pool of the termae
    • Figure 6 Building Complex C10. Mosque of Córdoba
    • Figure 7 Building Complex C10. Phase 1 of the remains found under the mosque. Possible cross-shaped mausoleum
    • Figure 8 Building Complex C10. Phase 2 of the remains found under the mosque
    • Figure 9 Building Complex C7
    • Figure 10 Building Complex C6
    • Figure 11 Building Complex C4. Aerial photography of excavations (Hidalgo 1998). The places where problems with stratigraphy have been detected are indicated by numbers
    • Figure 12 Building Complex C4. Reconstruction of the complex of Cercadilla (Hidalgo 1998). The letters indicate each of the buildings
    • Figure 13 Building Complex C5. Baptistery (reconstruction of Rafael de la Hoz)
    • Figure 14 Impost capital found in the area of the monastery of St. Christophorus, on the other side of the Guadalquivir river
    • Figure 15 Building Complex C3. Archaeological remains found during the first excavations at El Germo (Blanco 1914)
    • Figure 16 Building Complex C3. Plans of the church and of the annex building (Ulbert 1969)
    • Figure 17 Building Complex C3. Plans of the church and a new interpretation
    • Figure 18 Building Complex C3. Sarcophagus of La Chimorra
    • Figure 19 Building Complex C1. Remains of the church of La Losilla
    • Figure 20 Building Complex C1. Geophysical prospecting in the area of the monastery of La Losilla
    • Figure 21 Building Complex C1. Provisional reconstruction of the church of the monastery of La Losilla (2013)
    • Figure 22 Building Complex C2. Set of pools related to mining activities
    • Figure 23 Building Complex C2. Baptistery
    • Figure 24 Building Complex C17. Reconstruction of the church of Coracho with its different phases
    • Figure 25 3D reconstruction of the phases of the basilica of Coracho, a) Phase 1, fourth century; b) phase 2, Byzantine era; c) phase 3, Visigothic period; c) phase 3, mausoleum
    • Figure 26 Building Complex C14. Sketch of the church structure (Santos Jener 1958)
    • Figure 27 Building Complex S2. Reconstruction of the city of Écija and evolution of the funeral area in the city forum
    • Figure 28 Building Complex S2. Sculptures and inscriptions thrown into a sacred pond in the city forum
    • Figure 29 Sarcophagus with Greek inscriptions of Écija
    • Figure 30 Building Complex S3. Baptistery of Estepa
    • Figure 31 Building Complex S6. Small church of a late antique villa with an adjoining necropolis (Guerrero 2013)
    • Figure 32 Early Christian topography of Seville. Building complexes, inscriptions, and architectural decoration
    • Figure 33 Building Complex S7. Set of mausoleums of different types and historical phases
    • Figure 34 Building Complex S8. Depiction of the archaeological remains (from González 2011)
    • Figure 35 Building Complex S8. The columns of the possible atrium of the episcopium of the city
    • Figure 36 Building Complex S9. Depiction of the archaeological remains (from Ordóñez et al. 2013)
    • Figure 37 Building Complex S9. Column base in the central courtyard, fifth century
    • Figure 38 Building Complex S4. Depiction of the archaeological remains (from Vera 1999)
    • Figure 39 Building Complex S1. Depiction of the archaeological remains (from Fernández, Alonso de la Sierra, and Lasso 1987) with a new interpretation
    • Figure 40 Building Complex S1. Phases of the baptistery
    • Figure 41 Building Complex B1. Depiction of the archaeological remains (from Sastre 2010)
    • Figure 42 Remains of the Visigothic period reused in the present church of Santa María de la Granada (Niebla)
    • Figure 43 Mausoleum of Punta del Moral. Photograph taken at the end of the archaeological excavation. The door of the mausoleum is closed with a wall of adobes (from Del Amo 2003)
    • Figure 44 ‘II Concilio Hispalense’. Emilianense Codex. Library of the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, MS D.I. 1, fol. 205v. The author has painted the city of Seville, next to the river. In the centre of the city, the assembled council app

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