Kasbah

Kasbah of Sfax in Tunisia

A kasbah (/ˈkæzbɑː/, also US: /ˈkɑːz-/; Arabic: قَـصَـبَـة, romanizedqaṣaba, lit.'fortress', Arabic pronunciation: [qasˤaba], Maghrebi Arabic: [qasˤba]), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city.[1][2][3][4] It is also equivalent to the term alcazaba in Spanish (Spanish: [alkaˈθaβa]), which is derived from the same Arabic word.[5][6] By extension, the term can also refer to a medina quarter, particularly in Algeria. In various languages, the Arabic word, or local words borrowed from the Arabic word, can also refer to a settlement, a fort, a watchtower, or a blockhouse.

  1. ^ Petersen, Andrew (1996). "qasaba". Dictionary of Islamic architecture. Routledge. p. 236. ISBN 9781134613663. Central part of a town or citadel.
  2. ^ Bloom, Jonathan M. (2020). "Glossary". Architecture of the Islamic West: North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, 700–1800. Yale University Press. p. 282. ISBN 9780300218701. qaṣba: also qaṣaba, casbah, kasba(h); fortress
  3. ^ Barnaby Rogerson (2000): Marrakesh, Fez, Rabat, p. 65: "as its purpose, for a kasbah should be the domain of a ruler, be he sultan, governor or just a tribal chieftain. Most of the ancient cities of Morocco retain a large portion of their outer walls, but the kasbah (the government citadel containing [...]"
  4. ^ Barrucand, Marianne; Bednorz, Achim (1992). Moorish architecture in Andalusia. Taschen. pp. 226, 228. ISBN 3822896322. Sing. burdj, hisn, qal'a, qulay'a, qarya, qasaba. These Arabic terms for the highly varied forms of fortified settlement with or without an administrative centre can be found in Spanish placenames even now, most frequently al-qal'a and its diminutive alqual'aya: Alcala de Henares, Alcala la Real, Calahorra, Alcolea del Cinca. (...) Alcazaba: Spanish, from the Arabic al-quasaba [sic], fortress, fortified, fortified town, also administrative centre.
  5. ^ Zozaya, Juan (1992). "The Fortifications of Al-Andalus". In Dodds, Jerrilynn D. (ed.). Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 63–74. ISBN 0870996371.
  6. ^ M. Bloom, Jonathan; S. Blair, Sheila, eds. (2009). "Military architecture and fortification". The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195309911.

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