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Corduba (Córdoba)

Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
Córdoba already was a town of some importance when the Carthaginians conquered Andalusia. They have it a new name. Its original name is unknown, but the Phoenician element Kart, 'town', is still recognizable. The Romans conquered the region in the last decade of the third century BCE, gave the town the status of colonia in 152 BCE, and made it the capital of their province Hispania Ulterior (which was later called Baetica). The Via Augusta connected the city with Carmo and Seville in the west, and Tarraco in the northeast. This picture shows a milestone that once could be seen along this road; it is at the entrance of Córdoba's famous mosque/cathedral.
Another milestone, also at the entrance of the mosque/cathedral. It mentions (in the seventh line) the distance of 63 miles "to the Ocean". (The previous picture mentions 64 miles.) According to a popular legend, the famous Muslim qadi and philosopher Ibn Rush or Averroes (1128-1198) was pilloried to this milestone after he had published his book on The harmony of religion and philosophy. People shouted insults and threw dirt towards him, but he smiled, knowing that for the first time in his life, Muslims, Christians and Jews agreed on something. In the age of the Crusades, this was really quite something.
The Roman bridge across the Guadalquivir. The great river is navigable up to this point. From here, olive oil and ores used to be transported to the Atlantic Ocean and to the Mediterranean Sea. The bridge was built by the emperor Augustus and has often been repaired. Here you can see it on a satellite photo.
The remains of a Roman temple, which was probably dedicated to the emperor.
Another picture of the same temple. 

Several illustrious Romans were born in Córdoba: the elder and younger Seneca and the poet Lucanus for example. Bishop Ossius (or Hosius) is the author of the Creed that was agreed upon during the Council ofNicaea (325). Traces of his church, the Saint Victor, have been discovered beneath the mosque.
© Jona Lendering for
Livius.Org, 2003
Revision: 29 May 2007
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