The Great Mosque of Córdoba was built in Córdoba, Andalusia, in southern Spain: the capital where Muslims live. The great Mosque of Cordoba has undergone enormous changes over the centuries. These changes occurred because the Mosque was taken over by groups of people following different religions, including Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Each religion marked its conception by modifying or adding a unique work of art that symbolized its essence. The Great Mosque of Cordoba was built by Arab architects in the 8th century and then a cathedral was added by Christian conquerors in the 16th century. Islam was born in the seventh century, but the uniqueness of Islamic architecture among other architecture appeared in the eighth century after the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632. The Roman Empire was the most important empire and was recognized for its central position, which dominated not only Europe but also the entire Mediterranean basin, including the Near East and North Africa, was destroyed by the barbarian invaders who moved westward and spread into Gaul penetrating Spain, and by the spread of Islam which came from the Arab East and extended northwards. But while several Germanic tribes were eventually absorbed into a Christianity that had established its capital in Rome and attempted to continue Roman legitimacy, Islam proved non-compliant with such assimilation. Riding the peak of religious and political expansion, eight years after the death of the prophet Muhammad the Muslims conquered Egypt, then continued on to Tunis, and by 698 had expelled the Byzantines from the former Byzantine imperial center of North Africa, Carthage. And in 711, exactly a century after the Prophet began his teachings, Islam reached... middle of paper... interpreted by the drawings, ceilings and ceramics of the Mosque. Works Cited Burckhardt, T. et al. (2009). Art of Islam: Language and Meaning. Bloomington, India: World Wisdom. Cornell, V. J. (2007). Voices of Islam. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers.Fuentes, C. (1992). The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and the New World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.Gascoigne, B. (n.d.). History of Spain. Retrieved 2011 from HistoryWorld: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=ebvG, J., & M. (n.d.). The Cathedral of Cordoba is a mosque! Retrieved 2011, from Spain Then and Now: http://www.spainthenandnow.com/spanish-architecture/-s-cathedral-is-a-mosque/default_44.aspxKamiya, T. (2004). Questions and answers. Extract 2011, from INTRODUCTION to ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/arc/ind/1_primer/questions/que_eng.htm