Madrasa of Granada

[6] The madrasa was built at the heart of the city, near the main mosque (now the site of the Granada Cathedral) and the Alcaicería, then the elite bazaar where silk, gold, linen and other cloth were traded.

[8][9][10] Madrasas were a type of Islamic institution newly introduced to the region at that time, having originated in Seljuk Iran in the 11th century and then spread progressively west.

In 1499, an uprising by Muslims in the region of Alpujarras paved the way for Gonzalo Jimenez de Cisneros, as inquisitor-general, to intervene in Talavera's diocese.

[18] Cisneros took advantage of the situation to assault the Madrasa, the contents of whose library was brought to the plaza of Bib-Rambla and burned in a public bonfire.

[21][19][20] Most of the original madrasa structure was demolished between 1722 and 1729 and replaced with a new baroque building, designed by José de Bada, to house the city hall.

[22][8] Ibn Hazm (Fisal) gives us some indication of the curriculum of the "Andalusian school of philosophy": "Consecrate the first fruits of your intelligence to mathematics and begin your scientific education by his deep study of the properties of numbers.

Then gradually pass to consider the position of the stars, the apparent shape of the celestial sphere, how to verify the passage of the sun, moon and five planets (…) all other phenomena and accidents physical and atmospheric.

[21] Its exterior façade was covered in white marble, parts of which survived and were reused as flagstones before being moved to the Archaeological Museum of Granada, where they remain today.

[8] Among these were the words "If in your spirit you provide a place for the desire to study and to flee from the shadows of ignorance, you will find in it the beautiful tree of honor.

[8][13] On the southeast side of the Nasrid madrasa's courtyard was a prayer room, which today is the only part of the original building that has been preserved and restored.

The octagonal Mudéjar Sala de Cabildos was constructed in this era; its 1513 decoration included an inscription alluding to the Christian conquest of the city.

The oratory or mihrab is original from the 14th century; the Sala de los Caballeros XXIV, a council room, is in Mudéjar style and features a magnificent artesonado ceiling.