Archaeological site Medina Azahara in Córdoba

You're standing at Medina Azahara, the ruins of a walled palace city a few kilometres west of Córdoba. The name means something like the radiant city. Take a look at the hillside around you. The city was built in terraces at the foot of the Sierra Morena. The caliph lived at the top, the government sat in the middle, and the common people and the army lived at the bottom. The landscape itself showed everyone who was in charge.