FOURTH EPOCH.
The Kings of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
The Condition of the Moors; their Despondency . . . . . . 118
Mohammed Alhamar; his Character and Influence with his
Countrymen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
He founds the Kingdom of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Description of the City of Grenada and its Vega . . . . 121
Extent and Resources of this Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Reign of Mohammed Alhamar I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
The Moorish Sovereign becomes the Vassal of the King
of Castile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Ferdinand III. besieges Seville . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
The Taking of Seville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Revenues of the Kings of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Military Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Cavalry of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
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Disturbances in Castile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Reign of Mohammed II. El Fakik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
He forms a League with the King of Morocco . . . . . . . . 134
Misfortunes of Alphonso of Castile . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Interview between Alphonso and the Sovereign of Morocco . 134
State of Learning and the Fine Arts under Mohammed al
Mumenim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Description of the Alhambra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
The Court of Lions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
The Generalif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Mohammed III. El Hama, or the Blind, ascends the Throne
of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Troubles in Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Reign of Mohammed IV. Abenazar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Reign of Ismael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Reign of Mohammed V. and of Joseph I. . . . . . . . . . . 152
The Battle of Salado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Successive Reigns of Mohammed VI. and Mohammed VII. . . . 154
Horrible Crime of Peter the Cruel of Castile . . . . . . . 150
Condition of Spain—of Europe in general . . . . . . 156, 157
Mohammed VI. reassumes the Crown . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Reign of Mohammed VIII. Abouhadjad . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Favourite Literary and Scientific Pursuits of the Moors
under the munificent Rule of Abouhadjad . . . . . . . . 160
Universal prevalence of a Taste for Fiction
among the Arabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Music and Gallantry of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
The mixture of Refinement and Ferocity in the Character
of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Description of the Women of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . 169
The national Costume of both Sexes . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Moorish Customs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Folly of the Grand-master of Alcantara . . . . . . . . . . 172
The Result of his Expedition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Dreadful Death of Joseph II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Mohammed IX. usurps the Throne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Singular Escape of a condemned Prince . . . . . . . . . . 176
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Generous Disposition of Joseph III. . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Disturbed Condition of the Kingdom after his Death . . . . 177
A rapid Succession of Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177, 178
Reign of Ismael II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
The Miseries of War most severely felt by the Cultivator
of the Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Mulei-Hassem succeeds Ismael II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
The respective Characters of these Sovereigns . . . . . . 181
They declare War against the Grenadians . . . . . . . . . 182
Statesmen and Soldiers of the Spanish Court . . . . . . . 182
Stern Reply of the Grenadian King . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Alhama is Surprised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Civil War is kindled in Grenada by the Feuds of the
Royal Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Boabdil is proclaimed King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Cause of the ambitious hopes of Zagal . . . . . . . . . . 185
Boabdil is taken Prisoner by the Spaniards . . . . . . . . 186
The politic Spanish Rulers restore Boabdil to Liberty . . 187
The Moors become their own Destroyers . . . . . . . . . . 187
Death of Mulei-Hassem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Boabdil and his Uncle divide the Relics of Grenada
between them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Baseness of Zagal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Boabdil reigns alone at Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Ferdinand lays Siege to the City of Grenada . . . . . . . 189
Condition of the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
The Spanish Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Isabella repairs to the Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
She builds a City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Surrender of Grenada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Departure of Boabdil from the City . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
The entrance of the Spanish Conquerors into the City . . . 195
Summary of the Causes of the Ruin of the Moors . . . . . . 196
Characteristics of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
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Anecdote illustrative of their Observance of the Laws
of Hospitality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Christian Persecution of the Moors . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Revolts of the Moors, and their Results . . . . . . . . . 199
Final Expulsion of the Moors from Spain . . . . . . . . . 201
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
A Brief Account of the Rise and Decline of the
Mohammedan Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Chapter I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Chapter II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Chapter III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
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INTRODUCTION.
The name of the Moors of Spain recalls recollections of gallantry and refinement, and of the triumphs of arts and arms. But, though thus celebrated, not much is generally known of the history of that remarkable people.
The fragments of their annals, scattered among the writings of the Spanish and Arabian authors, furnish little else than accounts of murdered kings, national dissensions, civil wars, and unceasing contests with their neighbours. Yet, mingled with these melancholy recitals, individual instances of goodness, justice, and magnanimity occasionally present themselves. These traits, too, strike us more forcibly than those of a similar description with which we meet in perusing the histories of other nations; perhaps in {xiv} consequence of the peculiar colouring of originality lent them by their Oriental characteristics; or perhaps because, in contrast with numerous examples of barbarity, a noble action, an eloquent discourse, or a touching expression, acquire an unusual charm.
It is not my intention to write the history of the Moors in minute detail, but merely to retrace their principal revolutions, and attempt a faithful sketch of their national character and manners.
The Spanish historians, whom I have carefully consulted in aid of this design, have been of but little assistance to me in my efforts. Careful to give a very prominent place in their extremely complicated narratives to the various sovereigns of Asturia, Navarre, Aragon, and Castile, they advert to the Moors only when their wars with the Christians inseparably mingle the interests of the two nations; but they never allude to the government, customs, or laws of the enemies of their faith.
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The translations from the Arabian writers to which I have had recourse, throw little more light upon the subject of my researches than the productions of Spanish authors. Blinded by fanaticism and national pride, they expatiate with complacency on the warlike achievements of their countrymen, without even adverting to the reverses that attended their arms, and pass over whole dynasties without the slightest notice or comment.
Some of our savans have, in several very estimable works, united the information to be collected from these Spanish and Arabian histories, with such additional particulars as they were able to derive from their own personal observations.
I have drawn materials from all these sources, and have, in addition, sought for descriptions of the manners of the Moors in the Spanish and ancient Castilian romances, and in manuscripts and memoirs obtained from Madrid.
It is after these long and laborious researches {xvi} that I venture to offer a brief history of a people who bore so little resemblance to any other; who had their national vices and virtues, as well as their characteristic physiognomy; and who so long united the bravery, generosity, and chivalry of the Europeans, with the excitable temperament and strong passions of the Orientals.
To render the order of time more intelligible, and the more clearly to elucidate facts, this historical sketch will be divided in four principal Epochs.
The first will extend from the commencement of the Conquests of the Arabs to the Establishment of the Dynasty of the Ommiade princes at Cordova: the second will include the reigns of the Caliphs of the West: in the third will be related all that can now be ascertained concerning the various small kingdoms erected from the ruins of the Caliphate of Cordova: and the fourth will comprehend a narration of the prominent events in the lives of the successive sovereigns of the Kingdom of Grenada, until the {xvii} period of the final expulsion of the Mussulmans from that country.
Care has been taken to compare the dates according to the Mohammedan method of computing time, with the periods fixed by the ordinary mode of arrangement. Some of the Spanish historians, Garabai for instance, do not agree with the Arabian chronologists in relation to the years of the Hegira. I have thought proper to follow the Arabian authorities, and have adopted, with occasional corrections, the chronological arrangements of M. Cardonne, whose personal assurance I possess, that he attaches high importance to his calculations on this subject. I have thus reason to hope that this little work will serve to elucidate many points hitherto doubtful in relation to this matter.
The proper names of the Moors vary even more in the different authorities than their statements respecting the date of events, either in consequence of the difficulty of pronouncing them, or from ignorance of their proper {xviii} orthography. In instances of this character I have always given the preference to such as appeared to be most generally adopted, and were, at the same time, most harmonious in sound.
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