The Alhambra in Granada is year after year one of the most visited historical places in Spain. Visitors arrive there attracted by the palaces and gardens that best recall Andalusian splendor. Hence, today we need to get a little closer to the curious birth of the Nasrid dynasty, the lords who for more than two and a half centuries built the spectacular Alhambra in Granada on the small hill of Sabika.
A marvel, the Alhambra in Granada.
After the defeat of Navas de Tolosa.
The Almohad Empire, which had exercised control over al-Andalus until the year 1212, was crumbling by leaps and bounds. The Almohads had promoted this domain thanks to their military force that had come from Africa. With it, they had subdued the small Andalusian kinglets, and thanks to the raids against the Christians of the north they had managed to please the people, since after obtaining ample loot they undertook tax reductions. But the defeat at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa produced a great turn of events.
While the Christians celebrated Christmas in the year 1213, an-Násir, the Almohad caliph who had been defeated in Las Navas de Tolosa, was assassinated by his own men in the fortress of Marrakesh. The reign of his son, al-Mustansir, who came to power when he was only 15 years old, precipitated the emancipations within al-Andalus. This last caliph suffers the same fate as his father, and since there are not two without three, his successor al-Majlú completes the list of caliphs assassinated in his own palace by his servants at the service of the different Almohad political options.
The arrival of al-Ádil, a Murcian turned Almohad caliph in 1224, with the support of his brothers in Malaga, Córdoba or Granada, seems to have brought some control to the territories andalusís, A mirage, since he dies three years later suffering a fate similar to that of his predecessors. His reign was the last chance for the Almohads in the Peninsula, since after his death a bloody civil war began between Andalusians and Maghrebis for control of the caliphate.
But the biggest mistake of the Almohads was to ask Fernando III for help, since the Castilian king was put a piece of candy in his mouth, with the transfer of several castles in exchange for military support in Africa. That was the key moment for the birth of the last great Moorish kingdom of the Iberian Peninsula, the Nasrid kingdom of Granada, which, as we will see, was the product of knowing how to be in the right place at the right time.
al-Andalus in the year 1230, after the union of Castile and León.
The Hudis in Murcia.
At the beginning of the 13th century, the great dynasty of the Hudís, who had commanded the destiny of the great Taifas of Zaragoza or Lleida in the past, was practically extinct. Hence, it is difficult for historiography to find the origin of Ibn Hud, who claimed to be a descendant of that dynasty and who for some reason acted as governor in Murcia in 1228, the moment in which he began his adventure. From there, before the Almohad dismemberment, he began a series of conquests for al-Andalus, soon the Andalusian governors saw in him a lifeline. The governors of Almería and Málaga join the new Andalusian political project and soon the Murcian sets his sights on the two jewels of al-Andalus, Córdoba and Seville.
Hypothetical reconstruction of the Castillo de Ricote, abode of Ibn Hud.
But the Guadalquivir valley was at that time considered to be the most interesting area of the Iberian Peninsula, its fertile lands and the possibility of connecting Castile with the Mediterranean did not go unnoticed by Fernando III. Nor can we forget that León, and especially Portugal, were Christian rivals in the area to be conquered. The first was soon going to be controlled, in short, the Leonese inheritance of Alfonso IX would settle after his death in the year 1230 in Fernando III of Castile, so it would only be necessary to wait for the union of the two crowns. Portugal, a priori, was a more qualified rival, the warrior skills of Sancho II, its king since 1223, presaged greater conflicts, its great inconvenience the problems with the Papacy, which reduced its chances of conquest focused exclusively on the area from the Algarve.
It was clear, Ferdinand III had a magnificent opportunity to seize the western territories of al-Andalus, but for this he had to control Ibn Hud. What better way to carry it out than to generate an internal conflict among the Muslims of the Peninsula, exactly what he did. The Castilian king sought a partner in Al-Andalus to achieve his goals, that was our protagonist today and he will end up founding the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada.
Muhammad Ibn Nasr.
His place of birth, the town of Arjona in Jaén, marked his warrior character. When the Almohads were defeated in the nearby Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, our protagonist turned 18 years old. From that moment on, the border line between the Christian and Muslim kingdoms was completely blurred, becoming a place of opportunity for an adventurer with a desire for battle. The following years he was building his fame as Sultan of Arjona, hence Fernando III chose him as the counterpoint of Ibn Hud's power.
Statue of Ibn Nasr in his hometown of Arjona.
The lands of what would now be the province of Jaén became the site of the conflict between Ibn Hud and Muhammad Ibn Nasr. Faced with the organized disorder with continuous riots and looting among the Muslims themselves, Fernando III directed his troops in the year 1233 to the rich town of Úbeda, which he quickly conquered due to Muslim disagreements.
The reproaches were continuous and the Andalusian civil war was served. Both contenders set their sights on Seville, whoever obtained control of it would have al-Andalus in their hands. Between 1233-1234 the city passes from hand to hand between the two, the governors swear allegiance to one or the other, while Fernando III rubs his hands together. The Castilian king continues to instigate Muhammad Ibn Nasr to finish off Ibn Hud, and more so since he obtains the title of emir of al-Andalus from Syria. Thanks to this support, the Arjona conquer Guadix, Baza and set course for Granada.
The birth of the Kingdom of Granada.
In the year 1238 Ibn Hud died in Almería, for which Muhammad Ibn Nasr, Fernando III's protégé, became the only Moorish king of the Peninsula. His domains covered the current provinces of Malaga, Granada and Almeria, that is, the territories south of the Guadalquivir. The rest, the object of Ferdinand III's desire, will soon remain in Christian hands. Córdoba, already conquered two years earlier, will be joined by Jaén after a harsh siege in 1246, and Seville in 1248 when the Castilian fleet that descended from the Bay of Biscay was born. to get to Seville by the Guadalquivir.
The center of that kingdom that remained in the hands of the Muslim vassal of Fernando III, was a small town of 4,000 Muslim homes around the steep alleys of the Albaicín. Its inhabitants received Muhammad Ibn Nasr as the victor of Islam, they soon began to call him Ibn al-Ahmar, thanks to his huge red beard. Among the Castilians it was known as Alhamar.
The kingdom of Granada in the year 1264
Initially, Alhamar established his residence in the same palaces that the ancient Zirid dynasty owned in the so-called Albaicín neighbourhood. But soon the characteristics of the Sabika hill caught the attention of the first king of Granada. In it there were already ancient defensive settlements, both Roman, Visigothic and Muslim. But the best was yet to come, the dynasty that had just been born made that red mountain the most spectacular Andalusian palatine city. Or at least that's how it seems to us today, after the destruction suffered in Córdoba after the fall of its powerful caliphate.
Recommended reading.
Nasrid , is the story of a man; Muhammad bin al-Ahmar, who will become the first king of Granada and progenitor of a dynasty that will transform the city of Darro into the most beautiful place built by Muslims on their way through the peninsula.
Nasrid in Historioteca.
More info:
History of Spain in the Middle Ages, Cood. Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela, Ed. Ariel, 2011.
Santiago and close, Spain!, José Javier Esparza, Ed. Sphere of books, 2013.