The alcazaba of Málaga (from the Arabic al-qaṣbah, قصبة, al qasbah, ‘citadel’) is a palatial fortification from the Islamic period, built on top of an earlier fortification of Phoenician-Punic origin. It is located on the slopes of Mount Gibralfaro, in an elevated position but adjoining and connected to the historic centre of the city, which constituted the ancient madina of Mālaqa, and at the top of which stands the Gibralfaro Castle.

It occupied the eastern end of the now defunct walled enclosure of the city, so that the south, west and north fronts were inside the city walls. Its current surface area of 15,000 square metres is not even half the size it was in its heyday, as can be seen from the historical plans that have been preserved.

According to the architect and restorer, Leopoldo Torres Balbás, the Alcazaba of Málaga is the prototype of the military architecture of the Taifa period, 11th century, with its double walled enclosure and large number of fortifications, its only parallel being the castle of Crac de los Caballeros, a fortress built in Syria by the Crusaders between the 12th and 13th centuries.

This palace-fortress is one of the historical monuments of the city, a very popular place for combining history and beauty in the same place.

From the Muslim period, it is located at the foot of Mount Gibralfaro, where the Andalusian defensive castle is located, to which it was linked by a corridor protected by walls called La Coracha; next to the Roman Theatre of Malaga and opposite the Palacio de la Aduana, it is an opportunity to see in just a few metres the union of the Roman, Andalusian and Renaissance cultures, which makes this corner of the city a very special place.