What was “the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba” known for in medieval Iberia?

The story behind the answer

Established when Abd al-Rahman III declared a caliphate in 929, Córdoba became a wealthy, independent powerhouse of al-Andalus, rivaling Baghdad and Cairo. Its rulers funded vast libraries and scholarship, expanded the Great Mosque, and built the palatial city of Madinat al-Zahra. Thinkers like the surgeon Al-Zahrawi and the scholar Ibn Hazm advanced medicine, philosophy, and literature.

At its zenith, Córdoba was among Europe’s largest cities, noted for paved, lit streets, public baths, gardens, and irrigation systems that boosted agriculture. Muslims, Christians, and Jews interacted in a relatively tolerant urban milieu, circulating ideas across the Mediterranean. It was neither a province run from Baghdad nor a Berber dynasty centered in Fez, but an Iberian caliphate that set cultural benchmarks for medieval Europe.