Alcazaba of Badajoz

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The Alcazaba of Badajoz is an ancient Moorish citadel in Badajoz, Extremadura, western Spain. The alcazaba, as it now appears, was built by the Almohads in the 12th century, although it probably existed from the 9th century, when Badajoz was founded. In the 11th and 12th centuries, it was the residence of the taifa of Badajoz rulers. It was declared a national monument of Spain in 1931.

History: Badajoz was founded by Abd-al Rahman Ibn Marwan in 875. After leading several rebellions, he was expelled from Mérida but allowed to find a new city. He built a large citadel on a hill commanding the new city, thereby granting Badajoz a strategic role in controlling the passage from Portugal to central Iberia. The current line of walls dates mostly from the Almohad age, although there are traces of earlier work from 913 and 1030; in 1169, the Almohad caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf rebuilt the fortress, giving it its current appearance. Abu Yahya ibn Abi Sinan carried out the last Muslim restoration in the 13th century, a few years before the city's capture by the Christian King Alfonso IX of León. During the Peninsular War (1807–1814), the citadel was successfully stormed by allied British, Spanish...