Muslim Walls of Madrid

The Muslim Walls of Madrid are the oldest surviving construction in the city, dating back to the ninth century. They were ordered by the Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba between eight sixty and eight eighty to fortify a strategic military outpost known as Mayrit. Built on a rocky promontory overlooking the Manzanares River valley, these defenses protected the city's original citadel, which stood on the site now occupied by the Royal Palace. The walls were constructed from flint, limestone, and mortar, forming a defensive enclosure that stretched nearly one thousand meters.