[1275-1432 A.D.]
Strong as was Granada’s claim to an honourable place in history, it had no fixed laws of succession, and beside princes worthy of all admiration we see cruel and incapable despots who precipitated the ruin of the Moslem races. Muhammed ben al-Akhmar and Muhammed II (1273-1302) were able to repress all attempts at disorder in their states, but Muhammed III was not so fortunate. One of his brothers, Nasar Abul-Jinz, incited an insurrection in Granada and got himself proclaimed king, only to be deposed in his turn four years later by his nephew, Ismail ben Faraj. This prince reigned twelve years and was succeeded by his two sons, Muhammed IV (1325-1333) and Yusuf I (1333-1354). The latter was the author of many of the reforms we have noted above, and was, without doubt, the most remarkable of the rulers of Granada, notwithstanding the defeat he suffered at Rio Salado at the hands of the Christians. At the death of Yusuf, Muhammed (V) Guadix, his son, was excluded from the throne by family intrigues and jealousies, but finally mounted it in 1362 and reigned until 1391. The succession next fell to Yusuf II, and Muhammed VI, who condemned his elder brother Yusuf to death. Yusuf was playing chess when the executioner appeared before him; he asked and obtained leave to finish the game; but before it was ended messengers from the court arrived with the news that Muhammed VI was dead, and that he, Yusuf, was to ascend the throne. Yusuf III (1408) retained the crown until 1423, when there broke out all over the realm those civil dissensions that were to bring about the fall of Granada, and in which the powerful families of the Zegris, the Abencerrages, and the Vanegas played so prominent a part.
From the time of their accession to power the Castilians were the only enemies the kings of Granada had to fear; hence they strove to conciliate them by receiving them honourably at their court, or by arbitrating personally in any disputes that might arise. But the differences in race and religion were too great to allow of any real friendship being established, and the Castilians were only withheld by their own internal troubles from carrying out further the projects of Ferdinand III. If the princes of Granada had seized the opportunity offered them by these disorders among the Castilians, the standard of the prophet might yet have been raised in Spain; but the spirit of conquest had completely abandoned them, and the warfare in which they were engaged during a long period of time was confined to attacking a few places, among which were Gibraltar, Tarifa, and Almeria. One last effort was made, however, in 1275, by Muhammed II, who delivered over Tarifa and Algeciras to Abu Yusuf, and together the two princes invaded Algarve. Sancho the Brave was not intimidated, and successfully defended the interior of the country. Later, when the states had awarded him the crown as a return for his valour, his father, Alfonso X, begged aid of the king of Granada against his rebellious son, and if the Arab ruler had yielded his subjects would have had an excellent opportunity of penetrating to the heart of Castile. But Muhammed II preferred, by entering an alliance with Sancho, to gain for himself the friendship of a powerful warrior.
In 1308 the Castilians took Gibraltar and laid siege to Algeciras; to induce them to raise the siege it was necessary to cede to them several cities. During the minority of Alfonso XI two of the infante or regents of Castile united their forces and made a hostile advance on Granada; but their ardour made them neglect all prudence and they were completely defeated on the spot that is called to this day the Sierra de los Infantes (1319). This victory encouraged the king of Granada, who immediately sent out expeditions to reconquer the places he had lost, even Gibraltar. The advantage might have been pushed still further had the Africans supported Muhammed V, but on the contrary they took from him Algeciras, Marbella, and Ronda. It was not until the accession of Yusuf II that a genuine alliance united all the Moslems under one banner. In concert with the Merinid prince, Abul-Hassan, Yusuf attacked Tarifa; but the allied forces met with severe defeat and Abul-Hassan, after surrendering all his possessions to Spain, went to hide his shame in Fez (1340). His fleet was shortly afterward destroyed by the European galleys which had united to assure the empire of the sea to the Christians.
[1432-1491 A.D.]
Henceforth the Arabs in Spain were thrown entirely on their own resources, and situated as they were at the extremity of the peninsula, they asked for nothing but to remain in complete obscurity. Not until 1432 was war again resumed; at that time Yusuf IV and Muhammed VII disputed for the crown, and one of the two competitors implored aid of the Castilians, who assisted him to victory. Now followed a series of isolated frontier-combats caused by incursions of Castilian nobles and Arab sheikhs into one another’s territory; but they brought about no general war, being, as it were, preliminary jousts that served to prepare the public spirit for the supreme struggle that was to come.
Granada was in no condition to resist the Castilians when Mulei Hassan ascended the throne in 1466. Despite his courage and patriotism, that new king was not received with favour by the people, who accused him of cruelty and arrogance and resented the power he had allowed a Christian slave-woman to gain over him; many even went so far as to assert that he would name the son of this slave his successor, to the exclusion of Abu Abdallah (Boabdil), the son of the sultana Zoraya. In Castile, on the contrary, the nobles had united to form a faction around the infanta Isabella, who was married to Ferdinand, king of Sicily, who was, moreover, the heir presumptive to the crown of Aragon. Disposing of the revenues of three kingdoms, the husband and wife were about to establish forever the unity and power of Spain by destroying the Arab domination in the peninsula. Mulei Hassan aroused their resentment by refusing to pay the tribute agreed to by his father; he even carried hostilities to the point of attacking Zahara, which he took in 1480. But the ruins of the conquered city were destined to fall upon the heads of the victors; their own Alhama, the main support of Granada, was taken by the Castilians, who shortly afterward advanced upon the capital.
Here all was trouble, the partisans of Abu Abdallah having just deposed Mulei Hassan, who abandoned by the most of his supporters was obliged to retire to the provinces. The Castilians carried on the war for a while longer, but without great energy; and when Abu Abdallah finally fell into their hands they immediately restored him to liberty, thinking that his culpable ambitions would serve them better than the most signal victory. Mulei Hassan recovered the throne for a short time, but was forced to abdicate in favour of his uncle, Az-Zagal. Abu Abdallah, who had incurred the contempt of his compatriots, sought aid of Ferdinand; and that king immediately invaded the kingdom of Granada, taking the cities of La Vega, after which Az-Zagal delivered over to him Granada (1486). Ferdinand had attained the object of his expedition; but instead of retiring he concluded a new compact with Abdallah, which authorised him to pursue Az-Zagal and take from him all the strongholds in which he might seek refuge. Armed with this pretext he besieged and captured Malaga, then directed his troops against Almeria, Baza, and Vera. Convinced that further struggle was useless, Az-Zagal proposed a general capitulation to Spain. Ferdinand accepted and displayed great generosity and moderation. In return for all the states he delivered over, the Moslem king was to receive full proprietary right over vast domains, and his subjects were to become subjects of Castile, retaining all their property and liberties on payment of a tribute.
[1491-1525 A.D.]
The greater number of the Arabs of Granada saw in this treaty the assurance of future peace, and were willing to submit to the Christian domination; but the orthodox Moslems flew to arms, and forcing Az-Zagal to take flight in Africa they fortified Granada and determined to successfully defend it or be buried under its ruins. The 9th of May, 1491, Ferdinand appeared before the walls of the city at the head of eighty thousand men. The ablest of the Arab generals had organised the defence; but despite that fact and the bravery with which all the inhabitants, men, women, and children, endured the hardships and horrors of a siege, Ferdinand and Isabella had superior might on their side, as well as indomitable perseverance, and were bound to succeed.