[6] See Note E, page 221.
[7] A.D. 1213, Heg. 610.
[8] See Note F, page 231.
[9] A.D. 1236, Heg. 634.
{118}
FOURTH EPOCH.
THE KINGS OF GRENADA.
Extending from the middle of the Thirteenth Century to the period of the Total Expulsion of the Moors from Spain, A.D. 1493.
The unprecedented success of the Spaniards, and, above all, the loss of Cordova, spread consternation among the Moors. That ardent and superstitious people, who were ever equally ready to cherish delusive hopes, and to yield to despondency when those anticipations were disappointed, looked upon their empire as ruined the moment the Christian cross surmounted the pinnacle of their grand mosque, and the banner of Castile waved over the walls of their ancient capital—those walls on which the standards of the Caliphs of the West and of their Prophet had for centuries floated in triumph.
Notwithstanding this national dejection, however, Seville, Grenada, Murcia, and the kingdom of Algarva still belonged to the Mussulmans. They possessed all the seaports, and the {119} whole maritime coast of the south of Spain. Their enormous population, and great national wealth and industry, also secured to them immense resources; but Cordova, the holy city, the rival of Mecca in the West—Cordova was in the possession of the Christians, and the Moors believed that all was lost.