Food, Cooking and Meals in Umayyad Societies

Umayyad rule linked communities with different food landscapes. The caliphate of Damascus (661–750) governed Syria, Iraq and the North African province of Ifriqiya, centered on modern Tunisia; a separate Umayyad dynasty ruled al-Andalus from Córdoba between 756 and 1031. Irrigated river plains, Mediterranean countryside and Iberian towns supplied different ingredients and ways of cooking through cultivation, animal keeping, and exchange. Archaeological remains and dated texts show how food moved from fields and herds into household and palace kitchens.

Grain, livestock and urban supply

In Mesopotamia, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates in modern Iraq, the rivers supported large towns whose demand drew on irrigated farmland and river transport. Historian Hugh Kennedy describes how urban growth, the agricultural potential of the region and the state’s fiscal arrangements shaped that supply. Across Syria and the southern Levant, cooking vessels show another part of the system. At Jerash in present-day Jordan, kilns produced cooking pots and pans, and similar wares reached Amman, Madaba, Mount Nebo and Pella. These vessels carried local production into nearby homes.

At Šaqunda, a Cordoban suburb occupied from 750 until its destruction in 818, dated food remains show how animal products entered an urban diet. Sheep and goats predominate in the studied waste deposits; the excavator reports that many were slaughtered at about a year old, while cattle bones came from older animals likely kept for milk. Chicken and other fowl supplied meat and eggs. This makes the remains a specific early Andalusi example of household food, herding and animal use.

Grain needed work before it became food. After harvest, threshing separated kernels from stalks; stored grain could then be ground between millstones to make flour. At the same suburb, excavators found hand-mill stones. Flour could be mixed into dough in household basins, then baked on a flat clay bread plate or in a tannūr, a portable clay oven. Grinding, kneading and baking were distinct tasks, each requiring equipment, fuel and time. Households could carry out several stages at home or obtain some provisions already processed.

Pots, kitchens and preservation

The Šaqunda finds also include cooking pots, lids, jugs, jars and bowls. Metal trivets, supports that held cooking vessels over a hearth, were found with pots and lids, confirming their use in cooking. Some basins have burn marks; the excavator suggests they could also have heated liquids. A basin’s size and shape made it useful for mixing dough, while a pot with a lid suited heating food over a hearth.

The 10th-century Calendar of Córdoba records seasonal work in the western caliphate. Its January entry mentions citron jam and carrots placed in bottles; in June it lists venison preserved in brine, a salty liquid; July brings figs dried in the plains and fruit syrups. Drying removed moisture, and jam-making and brining kept foods for later use. The calendar also notes grain weighed on a threshing floor and rainwater collected in cisterns. These month-by-month entries place preservation alongside harvest and water management in Córdoba’s agricultural year.

Large storage jars at Šaqunda stood in prepared settings, where mortar held them in place and insulated their contents. Some were repaired with metal staples, extending their use. The calendar, containers and animal remains show different steps: producing supplies, keeping them, and preparing them for a meal.

Fasting, households and palace kitchens

The Qur’an forbids carrion, blood, pork and meat dedicated to another deity (2:173), and directs believers to avoid intoxicants (5:90). For Ramadan, it permits eating and drinking until dawn and directs the fast to continue until night (2:187). These rules shaped Muslim food choices and the timing of meals. In the multi-religious towns of al-Andalus, Muslim, Christian and Jewish households followed different dietary traditions.

Household and court meals had different settings. At Šaqunda, pottery, millstones, hearths and household refuse show residents preparing food in domestic courtyards. At the 10th-century palace city of Madinat al-Zahra outside Córdoba, bones from drains in the house of Ja‘far and service residences include abundant sheep and goat, along with chicken and other consumed species. The palace also had portable stoves: attendants fed the fire through an opening at the base, while vents let air circulate and smoke escape, allowing them to cook or keep a pot warm. The reception halls hosted diplomats and court ceremonies, and invitations to dine with the caliph marked prestige. The contrast between domestic courtyards, staff kitchens and formal receptions shows how household labor and hospitality operated at different scales.